I liked that broke things down and explained each topic clearly and. Sep, 2015 the tibetan book of the dead outlines 8 stages of death where the vision of the blissful and clear white light is the last. The tibetan text describes, and is intended to guide one through, the experiences that the consciousness has after death, in the bardo, the interval between death and the next rebirth. Leonard cohen narrating tibetan book of the dead youtube.
Written by a tibetan monk, the book of the dead describes in detail the stages of death from the tibetan point of view. Jul 22, 2015 the tibetan book of the dead audiobook narrated by richard gere 2008. The text widely known as the tibetan book of the dead, is meant to guide one. Liberation in the intermediate state through hearingalso called tibetan book of the dead, in tibetan buddhism, a funerary text that is. This new translation of the tibetan book of the dead is a tremendous accomplishment. It is considered one of the most unusual texts of its type and is still studied by. The afterdeath experiences on the bardo plane, according to lama kazi dawasamdups english rendering. The tibetan book of the dead is a kind of baedeker for the. Tibetan book of the dead describes process of dying. Oct 21, 2005 the tibetan book of the dead translated by gyurme dorje, edited by graham coleman with thupten jinpa 496pp, penguin classics. The tibetan book of the dead is one of the greatest works to have ever been created by any culture, and it is the most meaningful one in the buddhist tradition of the west. The tibetan book of the dead was called in its own language the bardo thodol, which means liberation by hearing on the afterdeath plane.
When i first picked up the book, the tibetan book of the dead, i wondered if there was any value in reading this book. The bardo of dying describes a dissolution of the self, a falling away of. It is translated as liberation through hearing during the intermediate state or profound dharma of selfliberation through the intention of the peaceful and wrathful ones. Death is real, it comes without warning and it cannot be escaped. Evanswentz coined the title because of parallels he found with the writings of the egyptian book of the dead. As described in tibetan literary sources, including the tibetan book of the dead, the elemental energies that make up the cosmos are understood to be undifferentiated from those that make up the human. By kevin williams the tibetan book of the dead, whose actual title is the great liberation upon hearing in the intermediate state or bardo thodol, is traditionally believed to be the work of the legendary padma sambhava in the 8th century a. A travelers guide to other worlds in fabled tibet, the land of diamond vehicle buddhism, the trek of the deceased is described in a religious classic called the bardo thodol or liberation by hearing in the afterdeath plane. In the psychedelic experience the authors discuss the tibetan book of the dead and use the process of death and rebirth presented in it as a metaphor for the experience of ego death or depersonalization. Narrated by leonard cohen, this enlightening twopart series explores the sacred text and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to. The tibetan book of the dead or bardo thodol is a book with guiding teachings for the dying and dead. According to tibetan tradition, the bardo thodol commonly referred to as the tibetan book of the dead was among many treasures hidden by the tao master.
I took the liberty of remastering audiobook for personal use. An ancient source of strength and guidance, the tibetan book of the dead remains an essential teaching in the buddhist cultures of the himalayas. The tibetan book of the dead is the title created by walter yeeling evanswentz 18781965, its first westernlanguage editor, for a collection of tibetan ritual and literary texts concerned with death, intermediate states sanskrit, antarabhava. The bardo thodol belongs to a special class of writings called termas. The paperback and hardcover editions of the book contain extensive notes by evans. Full text of secret doctrines of the tibetan book of the. As i did my third project on the tibetan book of the dead, this documentary offered a real life view into the rituals that i read about. We all remain the same person in the fourth dimension. Commentaries on the tibetan book of the dead red zambala. According to tibetan tradition, the bardo thodol commonly referred to as the tibetan book of the dead was among many treasures hidden by the tao master padmasambhava,tibet 742797, subsequently discovered by a tibetan terton by karma lingpa 2686 terton tibetan. Like a high mountain peak, it is widely admired but hard to climb. I had a vague idea of what this book was going to cover. I found thurmans part i, the first 90 pages, very well written and informative about the so called tibetan book of the dead.
Aug 04, 2017 the tibetan book of the dead, or the bardo thodol, is a book of instructions for the dead and dying. Tibetan book of the dead describes the process of dying with guidance to the afterlife. The tibetan book of the dead by padmasambhava goodreads. In the tibetan tradition many masters have said that this life is all a preparation for death time when enlightened is the easiest to attain.
The tibetan book of the dead is a tibetan buddhist text that was written as a guide for navigating the process of death, the bardo and rebirth. The second incarnation in the modern west after walter evanswentzs pioneering 1927 translation of the tibetan book of the dead, leary, et al. Francesca fremantle, buddhadharma magazine the most celebrated and widely read work of tibetan literature outside tibet. The tibetan book of the dead was first published in 1927 by oxford university press, london. The tibetan book of the dead is the tibetan buddhist text that is most well known to the west. The compendium of texts known as the tibetan book of the dead contains exquisitely written guidance and practices related to transforming our experience in daily life, on how to address the processes of dying and the afterdeath state, and on how to help those who are dying.
The text describes the process of death and rebirth in terms of. The book stresses over and over that the free consciousness has only to hear and remember the teachings in order to be liberated. Like the egyptian book of the dead, it is meant to be a guide for the dead man during the period of his bardo existence, symbolically described as an intermediate state of fortynine days duration between death and rebirth. Rinpoche, gave a seminar entitled the tibetan book of the dead, which is included here as a commentary.
The bardo thodol commonly known in the west as the tibetan book of the dead, is a text from. The esoteric meaning of the bardo thodol, as it has been interpreted in this manual, is that it is death and rebirth of the ego that is described, not the body. The writing is best known as a guide through the intermediate state or bardo between death and rebirth. Liberation in the intermediate state through hearingalso called tibetan book of the dead, in tibetan buddhism, a funerary text that is recited to ease the consciousness of a recently deceased person through death and assist it into a favourable rebirth. The book acts as a guide for the dead during the state that intervenes death and the next rebirth. The tibetan book of the dead, whose actual title is the great liberation upon hearing in the intermediate state or bardo thodol, is traditionally believed to be the work of the legendary padma sambhava in the 8th century a. The great book of natural liberation through understanding in the between padma sambhava, robert thurman, the dalai lama, karma lingpa on. Evanswentz, although a product of our century, seems to have originated in another age. It chronicles the experiences and religious opportunities a person encounters at various stages. The tibetan book of the dead is a buddhist text written as a guide for those who have passed from this life.
The tibetan text describes, and is intended to guide one through, the experiences that the consciousness has after death, in the bardo, the. The bardo thodol, commonly known in the west as the tibetan book of the dead, is a text from a larger corpus of teachings, the profound dharma of selfliberation through the intention of the peaceful and wrathful ones, revealed by karma lingpa. The following is a description of the bardo realms that one travels through after death. The tibetan book of the dead and neardeath experiences. Although the normal english title would suggest it is about the dead, thats not really what its about, and not what the original tibetan title says. Download the tibetan book of the dead free pdf ebook. Yet, for the scholar of the present day, looking back now more than seventy years to the publication of the first volume of the series, the tibetan book of the dead,in 1927, the tibetan tetralogy of w. The bardo thodol, liberation through hearing in the intermediate state is commonly known as the tibetan book of the dead. In this classic scripture of tibetan buddhismtraditionally read aloud to the dying to help them attain liberationdeath and rebirth are seen as a process that. Here you can read the commentaries of highly respected buddhist lama chogyam trungpa rinpoche on the tibetan book of the dead, otherwise known as bardo thodol.
The tibetan book of the dead by recovery rocks cafe. As thurman makes clear, the real translation of the title is liberation through understanding in the between, which seems the appropriate title now. The tibetan book of the dead is ostensibly a book describing the. Apr 04, 2012 the tibetan book of the dead or the bardo thodol is the english translation of the famous tibetan death text, the great liberation upon hearing in the intermediate state. Very old esoteric book tibetan book of the dead describes the process of dying. Its history and controversial aspects of its contents. The tibetan book of the dead bardo thodol paranormal. Unlocking the secrets of the tibetan book of the dead. It would talk about the living and about those who have passed on to the afterlife. This translation of the tibetan book of the dead emphasizes the practical advice that the book offers to the living. Questions about the translation and style of expression continually came up, and as a result of these questions it was. The tibetan book of the dead quotes by padmasambhava. Mar 12, 2019 the bardo thodol, liberation through hearing in the intermediate state is commonly known as the tibetan book of the dead.
The psychedelic experience a manual based on the tibetan. One of the more fascinating books out there is the bardo thodol, or more popularly known as the tibetan book of the dead. In this classic scripture of tibetan buddhismtraditionally read aloud to the dying to help them attain liberationdeath and rebirth are seen as a process that provides an opportunity to recognize the true nature of mind. As we shall see, the words attempt to wake being up to its true nature which transcends its bodymind complex traditionally called a person, while including it. Dalai alma the holiness for his contribution oh great masters no words to describe.
These stage are what i would like to introduce readers to today. Full text of secret doctrines of the tibetan book of the dead by detlef ingo lauf translated by graham parks see other formats. During the seminar he used a tibetan text, while the audience followed in the evanswentz edition. Though written in 70s, his commentaries are highly appreciated and recommended as very authoritative by many teachers of tibetan buddhism until this day.
Considered treasures, these books are kept secret and hidden until the human race is ready for them. The tibetan book of the dead is a buddhist text written as a guide for those who. The bardo thodrol, or tibetan book of the dead, is the most famous and mysterious book of tibet, widely known and often begun but seldom read all the way through. Ian pindar welcomes the first full english translation of buddhisms guide to the afterlife, the tibetan book of the dead. The paradox is that the book has many similarities with what people have described after coming back from neardeath. The tibetan book of the dead shambhala publications. As tibetan lama govinda states in his introduction to this book, it is a book for the living as well as for the dying.
977 308 180 287 1006 594 181 1537 555 46 940 639 263 1396 1198 287 737 944 912 159 741 1385 1049 1574 1283 633 564 639 1105 567 1268 183 1547 332 1254 144 159 1217 654 875 1275 683 815 106 698 730