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. A collection of ancient egyptian funerary texts from various periods, containing prayers, magic formulas, and hymns to be used by the soul of the. Evanswentz, although a product of our century, seems to have originated in another age. The tibetan book of the dead and neardeath experiences. What is the best translation of the tibetan book of the dead. 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. Filmed primarily in the rugged terrain of the himalayan mountain region of tibet this documentary makes a decidedly feeble attempt at examining the book of the dead s overall meaning and its apparent importance.
Mar 11, 2011 the tibetan book of the dead has a wonderful story, and in this fascinating and charming little book, donald lopez reveals himself to be a wonderful storyteller. The tibetan book of the dead was first published in 1927 by oxford university press, london. The tibetan book of the dead is a religious text from tibet, written as a guide for persons attending someone who is dying or recently dead, to bring comfort and. The guru hid his books in stones, lakes, and pillars because the tibetans of that day and age were somehow unprepared for their teachings. The message of the book there seems to be a fundamental problem when we refer to the subject of the tibetan book of the dead. More information on the speakers and lineup is available here. Its what i read first and i had to unlearn and relearn more traditional terms as i went on scientist deities. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The tibetan book of the dead for reading aloud is famed playwright jeanclaude van itallies poetic adaptation of traditional tibetan passages used to aid and comfort at the time of death. It is one of many mortuary texts of the nyingma sect of tibetan buddhism and is commonly recited to or by a person facing imminent death. In recent decades, the tibetan book of the dead tbd has attracted much attention from westerners interested in eastern spirituality and has been discussed in the literature on dying and neardeath experiences. The tibetan book of the dead is the tibetan buddhist text that is most well known to the west. The great book of natural liberation through understanding in the between padma sambhava, robert thurman, the dalai.
There was another shorter version, called the american book of the dead, which i liked, but it read more like learywilson than a translation. 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 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. In tibet, nepal, and mongolia, a lama will often recite the book of the dead to a recently deceased person in order to help him understand his experiences and gain enlightenment, or at least a positive rebirth. Graham coleman, graham coleman, thupten jinpa, dalai lama, gyurme. The tibetan book of the dead is a kind of baedeker for the. 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.
I took the liberty of remastering audiobook for personal use. The tibetan book of dead is written long time back by indian religious man about how to end the circle of life. The tibetan book of the dead quotes by padmasambhava. Unlike other translations of bar do thos grol or the tibetan book of the dead, robert thurmans takes literally the entire gamut of metaphysical assumptions. What the tibetan book of the dead can teach us about dying. Rinpoche, gave a seminar entitled the tibetan book of the dead, which is included here as a commentary. Gyurme dorje is a leading scholar of the nyingma tradition of tibetan buddhism, from which the tibetan book of the dead literature derives. It was found in the fourteenth century by karma lingpa 2686. In this first installment above, the tibetan book of the dead. You can take from it what you need, or take all of it, and make of it what you will.
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. The tibetan book of the dead is a buddhist funerary text and guide to the afterlife. Evanswentz coined the title because of parallels he found with the writings of the egyptian book of the dead. If you are interested in death, a much better introduction is the tibetan book of living and dying, by sogyal rinpoche the similarly named tibetan book of the dead is a text with a specific focus, which relies on the instruction and elucidation of an awakened teacher, and ones subsequent practice based on that teaching. The tibetan book of the dead translated by gyurme dorje, edited by graham coleman with thupten jinpa 496pp, penguin classics. It includes prayers, instructions for both dying persons and their attendants, and descriptions of the afterlife.
The tibetan book of the dead audiobook narrated by richard gere 2008. Narrated by leonard cohen, this twopart series explores ancient teachings on death and dying and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to tibetan philos. Leonard cohen narrates film on the tibetan book of the dead. 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. According to leary, metzner and alpert, the tibetan book of the dead is. Book of the dead synonyms, book of the dead pronunciation, book of the dead translation, english dictionary definition of book of the dead. Download the tibetan book of the dead free pdf ebook. The tibetan book of the dead a way of life youtube. A way of life, the dalai lama weighs in with his own views on life and death at 33.
It was read aloud to the dying or recently deceased to help them attain enlightenment and liberation from the endless cycle of death and rebirth. Or the afterdeath experiences on the bardo plane, according to lama kazi dawasamdups english. Oct 21, 2005 the tibetan book of the dead translated by gyurme dorje, edited by graham coleman with thupten jinpa 496pp, penguin classics. It takes time, effort, and a particular frame of mind, to truly get to grips with the text. The tibetan book of the dead is a buddhist text written as a guide for those who have passed from this life. The bardo thodol is also known in the west as the tibetan book of the dead, a title attributed to it by editor walter evanswentz. Questions about the translation and style of expression continually came up, and as a result of these questions it was. First complete translation penguin classics deluxe edition coleman, graham, jinpa, thupten, dorje, gyurme, dalai lama on.
The tibetan buddhists have the tibetan book of the dead. The approach of comparing it with the egyptian book of the dead in terms of mythology and lore of the dead person seems to miss the point, which is the fundamental principle of birth and death recurring constantly in. Thurman translates bar do thos grol as the great book of natural liberation through understanding in the between. Rent the tibetan book of the dead 2003 on dvd and blu. The buddhist sect responsible for this manuscript holds that with death man passes into what they call the bardo world. I have read the tibetan book of the dead, but i havent. Written in the 18th century, the tibetan book of the dead acts as a guide for the dying. Nov 27, 2019 most of the accessible englishlanguage translations of the bardo thodol only include chapter 11, the liberation upon hearing. These teachings contained the texts of the now famous great liberation upon hearing in the bardo. The most complete edition is the gyurme dorje translation, the tibetan book of the dead, though unless you are taking. Graham coleman et thubten jinpa relecture, tibetan book of the dead, penguin books ltd, 2005, isbn 9780 7994148. Aldous huxley introduced the tibetan book of the dead to timothy leary. 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. Tibetan book of the dead simple english wikipedia, the free.
Jul 22, 2015 the tibetan book of the dead audiobook narrated by richard gere 2008. Written by a tibetan monk, the book of the dead describes in detail the stages of death from the tibetan point of view. The book of the dead is a product of the nyingma school of tibetan buddhism. However, the egyptian book of the dead was written over 4000 years ago as a guide for the afterlife, and may actually be the oldest spiritual scripture in existence. The paperback and hardcover editions of the book contain extensive notes by evanswentz about the conclusions he drew from the. The tibetan book of the dead its history and controversial. The tibetan book of the dead is a most unusual book in the annals of recorded thought. Feb 19, 2014 the tibetan book of the dead a way of life. Tibetan book of the dead article about tibetan book of the. The tibetan book of the dead is an instruction guide for the after death experience. Thurmans translation is interesting to say the least. It is one of many mortuary texts of the nyingma sect of tibetan buddhism. Fyi this 90minute tibetan book of the dead presentation was originally aired for television viewing back in 1994. Graham coleman is founder of the orient foundation for arts and culture, a major tibetan cultural conservancy organization, and writerdirector of the acclaimed feature documentary tibet.
Sogyal rinpoche, author of the tibetan book of living and dying one of the great scripts of world civilization. Rent the tibetan book of the dead 2003 starring leonard cohen on dvd and bluray. During the seminar he used a tibetan text, while the audience followed in the evanswentz edition. The book acts as a guide for the dead during the state that intervenes death and the next rebirth.
Book of the dead definition of book of the dead by the free. Quotations on the tibetan book of the dead, buddhism, clear. The tibetan book of the dead book club is held on wednesday evenings, june 14 through july 26, 78. The tibetan book of the dead, or bardo thodol, is considered a key text in understanding early tibetan religious views on life, death, and the afterlife. First complete translation penguin classics reprint by coleman, graham, coleman, graham, jinpa, thupten, lama, dalai, dorje, gyurme isbn. Bardo thodol means liberation by hearing on the after death plane, it was originally written in tibetan and is meant to be a guide for those who have died as they transition from their former life to a new destination. His lyrical and insightful poetry is accompanied by gerry vezzusos vivid photographs, tibetan art, and other images evocative of this process. Terms of activation by activating, you agree that you want to enable cloud technology to access your xfinity stream subscription on additional supported devices like computers and tablets, as well as the tv connected to your settop dvr via comcasts network. In 2005 a journalist telephoned the eminent scholar of buddhism and tibetan studies, donald s. Sep 28, 2000 the tibetan book of the dead is one of the texts that, according to legend, padmasambhava was compelled to hide during his visit to tibet in the late 8th century. The bardo thodol belongs to a special class of writings called termas. 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. Its history and controversial aspects of its contents michael nahm, ph.