Bardo refers to an intermediate state between death and rebirth that is a concept in Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism. It describes three transitional phases: the painful bardo of dying between life and death, the luminous bardo of dharmata which is death itself, and the karmic bardo of becoming between the intermediate state and the next life. The bardo concept arose after Buddha and is a central theme of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which provides guidance on liberation during the intermediate state.