Bardo yoga

Bardo yoga deals with navigating the bardo state in between death and rebirth. It is one of the Six Dharmas of Naropa (Wylie: na ro'i chos drug, Skt. ṣaḍdharma, "Naro's six doctrines" or "six teachings"), a set of advanced Tibetan Buddhist tantric practices compiled by the Indian mahasiddhas Tilopa and Nāropa (1016-1100 CE) and passed on to the Tibetan translator-yogi Marpa Lotsawa (c. 1012).^[1]

Tilopa's oral instructions state:

The yogi at the time of death withdraws the energies of the senses and elements, and directs energies of sun and moon to the heart, giving rise to a myriad of yogic samadhis. Consciousness goes to outer objects, but he regards them as objects of a dream. The appearances of death persist for seven days, or perhaps as much as seven times seven, and then one must take rebirth. At that time meditate on deity yoga or simply remain absorbed in emptiness. After that, when the time comes for rebirth, use the deity yoga of a tantric master and meditate on guru yoga with whatever appears. Doing that will arrest the experience of the bardo. This is the instruction of Sukhasiddhi.^[2]

According to Gyalwa Wensapa, one should practice tummo before death to experience radiance and then arise as Buddha Vajradhara in one's bardo body.^[3]