The Waystation: Navigating the Bardo of the Thunderbolt
- dingirfecho
- Oct 29
- 5 min read
The System’s Collapse and the Logic of Accelerated Transformation
We are living through a time of profound and accelerating change. The Vajrayāna—the “Diamond Thunderbolt” path—embodies this very quality: a vehicle of urgency, transformation, and direct engagement. It is not a slow evolution, but an immediate illumination that calls for active participation in the unfolding of reality.
Reality itself is never static. It constantly dissolves and reforms, demanding that our perception also remain fluid. The ongoing breakdown of familiar structures around us reflects this same truth. In that collapse lies both the danger of confusion and the opportunity for awakening.
If the modern world operates as a vast digital matrix of habits and systems, the Thunderbolt moment is when that matrix briefly short-circuits—revealing the fluid nature of what lies beneath. This breakdown is not destruction, but preparation: the clearing of old ground so that a deeper form of consciousness can emerge.
Defining the Interregnum: Waystations in the Bardo
This in-between state is what the Vajrayāna tradition calls Bardo—the gap between two realities, two moments, or two ways of being. The Bardo is not only the space between death and rebirth, but any threshold where one world dissolves and another begins.
At such moments, our reference points vanish. The mind feels unanchored. Yet this exposure is also where the light of awareness shines most clearly. The purpose of Vajrakula is to provide guidance for moving through this passage—to help practitioners navigate the turbulence of transition with steadiness and clarity.
The Urgency of Practice
The first challenge in the Bardo of the Thunderbolt is the sheer intensity of transformation. Vajrayāna is a path of speed—it demands courage to face the rapid, luminous power of change.
This journey begins on Friday, October 31, with Lama Celeste Palavecino’s online teaching:Pensando la Impermanencia como Camino para Reducir el Sufrimiento (“Thinking about Impermanence as a Path to Reduce Suffering”). This will be in the Girando la Rueda del Dharma's channel.
Impermanence (Anitya) is the simple, undeniable truth that all things change. To see this deeply is to dissolve the root of suffering—the habit of clinging to what cannot last.
By preparing the mind to meet impermanence, we learn to stay centered in intensity rather than resisting it. Every transformation—personal or collective—requires the death of what came before. To embrace this is to allow genuine renewal.
The Communal Infrastructure: Bodhicitta and Refuge
Transitions can feel isolating. In a world marked by digital disconnection, the risk of the Bardo is to drift alone through the dissolution. The antidote is community—Refuge in the shared field of Bodhicitta, the heart of compassion that unites all practitioners.
On Saturday, November 1, we gather in Buenos Aires for [GP] Refuge as the Field of Bodhicitta: The Communal Heart of Vajrayāna.
Refuge is not retreat from the world; it is the act of building a collective ground strong enough to hold transformation. By creating this living field of compassion—the Sangha—we establish the foundation from which genuine practice and mutual support can flourish.
Beyond Thought: Dzogchen in the Bön Tradition
Once the heart is anchored in compassion, the next step is to train the mind to see beyond conceptual fixation.
On Friday, November 7, Vajrakula hosts [GP] Charla – Más allá del pensamiento: Dzogchen en la tradición Bön,with John Jackson, in Buenos Aires.
In the Bön lineage, Dzogchen represents an ancient and non-sectarian approach to realization. This talk introduces its view and method in an accessible way.It is open to the general public and does not establish any Samaya (tantric bond). The session is intended as a space of reflection and introduction, inviting participants to experience the freshness of awareness without formal commitments.
This is part of Vajrakula's commitment to the ideals of Rime, making every tradition accesible and working to further Dharma in this world.
The Great Mahayana Sutra of Vidyutprāpta’s Questions
Mid-month, we turn toward the vast philosophical and compassionate vision of the Mahayana.On Saturday, November 15, Vajrakula offers an online teaching via Zoom: [GP] The Great Mahayana Sutra of Vidyutprāpta’s Questions.
This ancient dialogue explores the foundations of wisdom and compassion through the lens of deep inquiry. The bodhisattva Vidyutprāpta—whose name means “Radiant Knowledge”—asks the Buddha a series of profound questions about perception, suffering, and the nature of ultimate truth.
The Sutra unfolds a vision of interdependence and ethical clarity: a world where compassion and understanding are not opposites but reflections of the same luminous awareness. It invites us to contemplate how insight translates into action, and how wisdom becomes a living force of liberation in our everyday relationships.
This teaching represents the analytical heart of the Mahayana tradition. It trains the mind to think clearly, question deeply, and recognize that all phenomena arise within a single, compassionate field of being.
Embodiment and Empowerment
The body must also be included in this process. During times of instability, grounding awareness in movement, rhythm, and breath becomes essential.
At Aruna Yoga, in Esquel, we continue this embodied work with:
Friday, November 14 – ✨ La Iluminación en el Cuerpo (Illumination in the Body)
Saturday, November 15 – 🪷 Una Jornada de Mindfulness, Ritmo y Meditación (A Day of Mindfulness, Rhythm, and Meditation)
Rhythmic practice re-establishes balance, integrating insight into the body. Illumination, here, is not abstract—it is the calm, present radiance of a centered being.
The Unconquered Code: The Aparajita Dharani
The month concludes with a higher transmission: Saturday, November 22 – [P2+] The Empowerment of Longsal Aparajita Dharani (Online).
Aparajita means “the Unconquered.” This Dharani functions as a sacred code of protection against the obstacles that arise when transformation reaches its peak.
Restricted to advanced practitioners, this empowerment safeguards the integrity of the lineage while offering powerful methods for navigating chaos with clarity and courage.
Mapping the Waystation: November 2025 Schedule
Date | Focus | Event | Format | Audience |
Oct 31 | Mahayana | Pensando la Impermanencia… | Online | Spanish |
Nov 1 | Vajrayāna | Refuge as the Field of Bodhicitta | In-Person, Buenos Aires | GP |
Nov 7 | Dzogchen / Bön | Más allá del pensamiento – John Jackson | In-Person | GP (No Samaya) |
Nov 14 | Embodiment | La Iluminación en el Cuerpo | In-Person | RSVP |
Nov 15 (AM) | Embodiment | Mindfulness, Ritmo y Meditación | In-Person | RSVP |
Nov 15 (PM) | Mahayana | Vidyutprāpta’s Questions Sutra | Online | GP |
Nov 22 | Vajrayāna | Aparajita Dharani Empowerment | Online | P2+ |
The progression is deliberate—from refuge and community, to insight and study, to embodied grounding, culminating in empowerment and protection.
Closing Reflection
The Vajrayāna path asks us not to fear intensity, but to meet it with presence. The collapse of old systems is not an ending—it is the revelation of what has always been luminous beneath the surface.
Vajrakula offers the tools and companions for this passage: community, clarity, and courage. Step into the Bardo not as a victim of change, but as a conscious traveler in the age of the Thunderbolt.
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