Description
Book SynopsisFirst revealed by a Tibetan monk in the 14th century, Bardo Thodol (“Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Intermediate State”) – known more commonly as The Tibetan Book of the Dead – describes the experience of human consciousness in the bardo, the interval between death and the next rebirth in the cycle of death and rebirth. The teachings are designed to help the dying regain clarity of awareness at the moment of death, and by doing so achieve enlightened liberation.
Popular throughout the world since the 1960s and overwhelmingly the best-known Buddhist text in the West, this classic translation by Kazi Dawa Samdup is divided into 21 chapters, with sections on the chikhai bardo, or the clear light seen at the moment of death; chönyid bardo, or karmic apparitions; the wisdom of peaceful deities, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; the 58 flame-enhaloed, wrathful, blood-drinking deities; the judgement of those who the dying has known in life through the “mirror of karma”; and the process of rebirth. The text also includes chapters on the signs of death and rituals to undertake for the dying.
Presented in a high-quality Chinese-bound format with accompanying illustrations, The Tibetan Book of the Dead is an ideal resource of ancient wisdom for anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhist notions of death and the path to enlightenment.
Table of ContentsBook IThe Chikhai Bardo and the Chönyid Bardo
The Obeisances
The Introduction
The Transference of the Consciousness-Principle
The Reading of this Thödol
The Practical Application of this Thödol by the Officiant
Part I
The Bardo of the Moments of Death
Instructions on the Symptoms of Death, or the First Stage of the Chikhai Bardo: The Primary Clear Light Seen at the Moment of Death
Instructions Concerning the Second Stage of the Chikhai Bardo: The Secondary Clear Light Seen Immediately After Death
Part II
The Bardo of the Experiencing of Reality
Introductory Instructions Concerning the Experiencing of Reality during the Third Stage of the Bardo, Called the Chönyid Bardo, when the Karmic Apparitions Appear
The Dawning of the Peaceful Deities, from the First to the Seventh Day
The First Day
The Second Day
The Third Day
The Fourth Day
The Fifth Day
The Sixth Day
The Seventh Day
The Dawning of the Wrathful Deities, from the Eight to the Fourteenth Day
Introduction
The Eighth Day
The Ninth Day
The Tenth Day
The Eleventh Day
The Twelfth Day
The Thirteenth Day
The Fourteenth Day
The Conclusion, Showing the Fundamental Importance of the Bardo Teachings
Book II The Sidpa Bardo
The Obeisances
Introductory Verses
Part I
The After-Death World
The Bardo Body: Its Birth and Its Supernormal Faculties
Characteristics of Existence in the Intermediate State
The Judgement
The All-Determining Influence of Thought
The Dawning of the Lights of the Six Lokas
Part II
The Process of Rebirth
The Closing of the Door of the Womb
Method of Preventing Entry into a Womb
The First Method of Closing the Womb-Door
The Second Method of Closing the Womb-Door
The Third Method of Closing the Womb-Door
The Fourth Method of Closing the Womb-Door
The Fifth Method of Closing the Womb-Door
The Choosing of the Womb-Door
The Premonitory Visions of the Place of Rebirth
The Protection Against the Tormenting Furies
The Alternative Choosing: Supernormal Birth; or Womb-Birth
Supernormal Birth by Transference to a Paradise Realm
Womb-Birth: The Return to the Human World
The General Conclusion
The Appendix
I. The Invocation of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas
II. ‘The Path of Good Wishes for Saving from the Dangerous Narrow Passageway of the Bardo’
III. ‘The Root Verses of the Six Bardos’
IV. ‘The Path of Good Wishes which Protecteth from Fear in the Bardo’
V. The Colophon
