The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between Summary and Reviews

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between
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Book Summary Information

Compiler: Padma Sambhava
Translator: Robert Thurman
Foreword: The Dalai Lama
Collaborator: Karma Lingpa
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1993-12-01
ISBN: 0553370901
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Bantam Books, Inc.

Book Reviews of The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between

Book Review: A Highly Accessible Guide to Liberation in the Between
Summary: 5 Stars

With this translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, or Natural Liberation in the Between, Thurman fulfills the function of a Bodhisattva in helping others attain liberation. This is the most accessible, down-to-earth and learned rendering of this guide to spiritual liberation that I have encountered in modern American English. Thurman even manages to work in a little humor on the edges.

What this translation makes abundantly clear is just how many chances in the in-between we have for liberation. Apparently one has to be very non-aware to go through the in-between and miss the chance for stepping off the carousel. of samsara. (So why am I still here?)

It would be interesting to devote some time to a cross cultural/cross discipline study of death, dying and beyond. In particular, a study comparing Stan Grof's 3rd perinatal matrix; Sufi descriptions of the interworld (barzakh) and the world of Harqalya (see Corbin's Celestial Body); some schools of visualization/dream work; descriptions of the astral world (Robert Bruce's and Robert Monroe's works in particular); and shamanic traditions would be illuminating. Throw Dante in for good measure. There appear to be large areas of overlap and agreement as to what happens during death, and what happens next. (Get enough blind men together and compare their impressions of the elephant and a clearer picture may come to light.)

The best thing about this book, however, is that it invites the reader to learn the Tibetan death ritual for oneself. It helps that, as the book explains, our after-death mind is nine times more intelligent than our current mind. So just a little application now in learning these texts will go a long way later.

Face it. At some moment in the near future you will close your eyes for the last time on this world. Death is more certain than retirement - and longer. Like anything else, the more you learn about it and get acquainted with it, the less shocking and scary it will be.

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