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    The Tibetan Book of the Dead
    The Tibetan Book of the Dead
    The Tibetan Book of the Dead
    Ebook441 pages6 hours

    The Tibetan Book of the Dead

    By Padmasambhava

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    The best-known work of Nyingma literature, the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the “Bardo Thodol”, or “The Tibetan Book of the Dead” is the work of Tibetan Buddhist spiritualism first revealed by Karma Lingpa in the 14th century. “The Tibetan Book of the Dead” is part of a larger corpus of texts called the “Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation through the Intention of the Peaceful and Wrathful Ones” which is believed to have been composed by Padmasambhava in the 8th century and written down by his student Yeshe Tsogyal. Intended as a work to help guide the spirit in the afterlife from death to the next rebirth, “The Tibetan Book of the Dead” describes the experiences that the consciousness will have after death. The work also includes descriptions of the signs of death and the rituals that one must undertake to prepare for the journey following one’s death. This volume presents the English translation of Walter Evans-Wentz first published in 1927 which helped to popularize the work in the West.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDigireads.com Publishing
    Release dateFeb 24, 2023
    ISBN9781420981773
    The Tibetan Book of the Dead
    Author

    Padmasambhava

    Guru Padmasambhava was miraculously born within a blossoming lotus flower on the shore of Lake Dhanakosha in the northwest of Uddiyana. Known as Padmasambhava, the Lotus-Born, he grew to adulthood in the kingdom of Uddiyana and traveled extensively thereafter through ancient India in search of realized masters of sutra and tantra with whom to study the Dharma. The Lotus-Born Guru then traveled to Nepal, where he engaged in rigorous practices and extraordinary displays of compassion. Finally, he reached Tibet at the invitation of the renowned Dharma King Trisong Detsen, taking teachings with him that would inspire and transform, and that continue to do so to this day.

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    Reviews for The Tibetan Book of the Dead

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      What in the world did I just read? This was really weird. I hate to sound insulting, but coming from an atheistic point of view, this read like someone was on a drug trip rather than dying. I should point out that this is a manual for Buddhist when they are going to die, when they are dead, and when they are reborn. I wouldn't read this unless you've read a few things about Buddhism. However, regardless of faith you are going to be thinking of death, keep that in mind before reading Tibetan Book of the Dead.

      My grandmother died earlier this month. I needed something to read that was related to death or some that would help calm me down. I wasn't sure when I wanted to read this because of the subject matter, but thought this was a good time. While it did help me calm down with the poetry, it made me think of the after life. Is there an afterlife? I decided I don't believe in one anymore. I use to think I'd go to one, but it just causes me to have anxiety if I think I'm going somewhere after this life. If we die, I think, we just die. Nothing more.

      Looking at some of these reviews not many of them talk about the poetry of this book. It gives us some great inspiration for fantasy stories. Most of the time it read like Dante or Revelation to me. Someone's interpretation of the afterlife set in sections and weird god-like beings. The next time someone argues with me whether or not Buddhism is a religion I'm going to ask them if they ever read this book. It's clear Buddhism is a religion more than a philosophy.

      Although I don't believe any of this, I will take away some points and ideas from this book. This isn't a book you just read and forget about within a week. This will say with you. Also, I found this edition extremely helpful. It has a ton of notes, a glossary, and background information that will help you understand the text. Plus, it has some cool art of the deities as well.
    • 4/5
      This read was primarily done for research purposes but the content was interesting enough to make it a pleasure. My favorite part was actually the preface to the version I read which was written by Carl Jung and gave a depth to things I would have missed otherwise. The content of the book itself was difficult to comprehend on its own, but there are a number of outside resources that helped with that, including trusty old Wikipedia. If you are a student of comparative religion, interested in the Bardo, or looking for some fresh ideas for the Sacred nature in your own writing, then please read this book.
    • 5/5
      Outstanding book that gives perspective to how the Tibetan culture views death and the afterlife. No matter one's religious background, I found these writings comforting to a topic that scares me to no end.

    Book preview

    The Tibetan Book of the Dead - Padmasambhava

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