bardo
LowFormal / Specialised (Religious/Buddhist context); Informal/Figurative (General use)
Definition
Meaning
In Tibetan Buddhism, the intermediate state or transition between one life and the next after death, before taking rebirth.
More generally, any liminal, transitional, or in-between state in life; a period of uncertainty, passage, or transformation. Popularised in Western culture, especially through the title of Jack Kerouac's novel 'The Dharma Bums' and references in popular works like 'The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying'.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
The term is most precise within Tibetan Buddhist doctrine, describing specific stages. In broader Western use, it has been secularised and metaphorically extended to describe psychological or life transitions. Not to be confused with the Italian geographical term 'bardo' (a town).
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in definition. Slightly more recognised in American English due to the Beat Generation's popularisation (Kerouac) and the New Age movement.
Connotations
In both, carries connotations of spirituality, transition, and esoteric knowledge. In secular use, may imply a difficult, uncertain waiting period.
Frequency
Equally rare in everyday speech in both regions. Appears primarily in spiritual, literary, or philosophical discussions.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[subject] is in a bardo (between X and Y).The teachings describe the [adjective] bardo of [noun].He navigated the bardo of unemployment.Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “A bardo moment”
- “Stuck in a corporate bardo”
- “The bardo between jobs”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Metaphorically for a transitional phase like between projects, mergers, or career changes. 'The department is in a bardo during the restructuring.'
Academic
Used in religious studies, anthropology, and comparative philosophy to discuss Buddhist eschatology. 'The paper analyses the six bardos according to the Nyingma school.'
Everyday
Rare. If used, it's figurative for a personal transition. 'After the breakup, I felt like I was in a strange bardo.'
Technical
Specific term in Tibetan Buddhist theology and meditation practices, detailing post-mortem consciousness stages.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- He felt he was bardoing through his thirties, uncertain of his path.
American English
- She described the months of therapy as bardoing between old and new selves.
adverb
British English
- He lived bardo-ly, never committing to any one place or career.
American English
- The project progressed bardo-ly, with frequent pauses and direction changes.
adjective
British English
- The bardo-like atmosphere of the empty airport terminal was unsettling.
American English
- They shared a bardo experience during the company's hiatus.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- After finishing school, he was in a kind of bardo before starting university.
- The book has a chapter about the bardo.
- According to Tibetan Buddhism, the soul enters the bardo after physical death.
- The film's protagonist exists in a psychological bardo, unable to make a decisive choice.
- Her latest poetry collection explores the bardos of modern urban life—those interstitial moments of quiet desperation and potential.
- The lama's teachings on navigating the bardo of becoming are both complex and profoundly practical.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a BAR with a DOor at each end. You're in the BAR-DO, between two doors, not fully in one place or the other—a transitional space.
Conceptual Metaphor
LIFE IS A JOURNEY, and the BARDO IS A TRANSITIONAL LEG OF THAT JOURNEY (e.g., a waiting room, a corridor, a ferry crossing).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid translating as 'барда' (slang for 'mess' or 'chaos').
- Not related to the Russian word 'бард' (bard, poet-singer).
- Concept has no direct equivalent in Orthodox Christian terminology; it's a specific Buddhist concept.
Common Mistakes
- Using it as a synonym for 'afterlife' (it's a *state within* the afterlife process).
- Pronouncing it like 'bard' (as in Shakespeare). Stress is on the first syllable: BAR-do.
- Capitalising it as a proper noun (it's not standard).
Practice
Quiz
In its most precise sense, the word 'bardo' refers to:
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Originally, yes. It is a central concept in Tibetan Buddhism. However, it has been adopted into broader English to metaphorically describe any transitional or liminal period.
In British English: /ˈbɑːdəʊ/ (BAR-doh). In American English: /ˈbɑːrdoʊ/ (BAR-doh). The 'a' is as in 'father', and the stress is always on the first syllable.
Yes, increasingly so. It is used figuratively in psychology, literature, and everyday speech to describe periods of uncertainty, waiting, or transformation, like 'the bardo between jobs'.
Both denote an intermediate state. 'Limbo' (from Christian theology) often implies neglect, passivity, or oblivion. 'Bardo' (from Buddhism) is an active, conscious process with potential for progress and is more structured in its phases.