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4th out of 22 books
—
5 voters
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
by
Padmasambhava,
Karma-glin-pa, Gyurme Dorje , Graham Coleman (Goodreads Author) , Thupten Jinpa , Dalai Lama XIV
Hailed as a "tremendous accomplishment," the first complete translation of a classic Buddhist text
Graced with opening words by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, the Penguin Deluxe Edition of The Tibetan Book of the Dead is "immaculately rendered in an English both graceful and precise." Translated with the close support of leading contemporary masters, this book faithfully pres...more
Graced with opening words by His Holiness The Dalai Lama, the Penguin Deluxe Edition of The Tibetan Book of the Dead is "immaculately rendered in an English both graceful and precise." Translated with the close support of leading contemporary masters, this book faithfully pres...more
Paperback, Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, 592 pages
Published
January 30th 2007
by Penguin Classics
(first published 1200)
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A teaching ostensibly for guiding a dying person through the death-trip by talking them through it, sort of like an air traffic controller. Timothy Leary thought that the esoteric content of this book refers to any natural state of ego-loss, including death, psychedelic experiences and meditation.
The book vividly describes several states of mind that the student passes through, each with their pitfalls and possible escape routes to enlightenment. If the practitioner is skilled, she or he attain...more
The book vividly describes several states of mind that the student passes through, each with their pitfalls and possible escape routes to enlightenment. If the practitioner is skilled, she or he attain...more
I've made it a point to read a number of different religious writings from a variety of religions. I'm obviously not expecting to agree, religiously, with what I read; I just want to learn about the various religions of the world, enjoy the poetry, and glean what insights I can. Of all the sacred texts I've read, this one possessed the least literary quality and offered the least aesthetic pleasure as well as the fewest insights to me personally. It was somewhat dull and the reading was really s...more
Important deluxe edition of a new translation of the full version. This book is not a toy, so it's predictable that a lot of readers will get little or nothing out it, especially if they are looking for entertainment/amusement or a highspeed broadband route to 'enlightenment'.
It is a bit like a person who comes across a roasted fish, eats the bones and leaves the flesh untouched and concludes 'well that wasn't very nourishing'. So ,yes for those people, this book would be useless for them and a...more
It is a bit like a person who comes across a roasted fish, eats the bones and leaves the flesh untouched and concludes 'well that wasn't very nourishing'. So ,yes for those people, this book would be useless for them and a...more
Very difficult reading and a large text. I read this book because it is referenced in many of the books I've read. I wanted to get a better understanding of the prayers.
the essential preparation to death. Every spiritual seeker must try to understand this extraordinary wisdom and knowledge
I quite enjoyed this book. Better than I expected, and actually easy to read. Although I'm pretty doubtful that these things exactly happen to you after you die (just how exactly does the author know about all these intricate details!), I still believe in a lot of the concepts it presents, not only for thinking about post-death, but also in this lifetime. The worst thing to fear is fear itself! And your after-life is dictated by the state of your mind in the present life. If you are an angry or...more
A book read for research is a book none-the-less. After, in my childhood, having read a book called The Tibetan Book of the Dead," I had expectations about what I would find in this book. None of my expectations were correct. What I had read as a child was clearly an American author's fanciful narrative about fantastic ideas that had nothing to do with the reality of this book of Tibetan Buddhist holy instruction. This book was hard for me to read because there was no story in it. In fact, there...more
Apr 06, 2013
David
marked it as will-not-finish
Recommends it for:
mystics/esoterists
Shelves:
philosophy
This firsst complete translation is introduced by HH Dalai Lama. It is large/deep: I recommend 1st read Dhammapada, maybe other Theravada [Pali] Canon; then maybe Lankavatara or Shurangama sutra (for ethics,) Bodhisattva vows, maybe Perfection of Wisdom sutras or other Mahayana canon. It is much of another untranslated, maybe secret/buried/prophesized text (some/all the smaller text was unearthed,) but unless one wants to specialize in it one could read any of 108 Tibetan Kangyur (attributed to...more
First new translation of the complete Tibetan Book of the Dead. The important thing to know is that there is probably a reason why it wasn't completely translated before. The long symptom lists of "how you can tell you're dying," might have been useful back when the book came into being but now, they seem either sad, laughable, or a good basis for hypochondria. The part of the book that is most useful are the chapters dealing with the worlds and beings that one encounters after death, and the be...more
Spot on what I learned in Tibetan monasteries. For your own personal journey about why we are living, and dying, pick it up.
It is a hard read. It is logical and scientific, so if you're not used to Eastern religious text and thinking, it can be too methodical and rigorous. It's not the normal soft tone the Dalai Lama uses in his books, but does so to drive home the deep thought Buddhism has surfaced for this text.
It is a hard read. It is logical and scientific, so if you're not used to Eastern religious text and thinking, it can be too methodical and rigorous. It's not the normal soft tone the Dalai Lama uses in his books, but does so to drive home the deep thought Buddhism has surfaced for this text.
It was a hard slugging away at the heightened language but well worth my persistence. Many of the thoughts about life and death have stayed with me since I read it the first time 65 years ago. Valuable insights now that I'm 80 and death is looking for me. I intend on reading a modern translated version soon.
A valuable guide to living and dying.
A valuable guide to living and dying.
I think it is a good thing I am neither Tibetan nor Buddhist -- as I could not make myself read the whole book...maybe half at best and that was skimming most of it. Not at all what I expected. Moving on!
Fascinating exposition of the ancient Buddhist beliefs about what happens, or not, when you die. Full of graphic descriptions fit for a Tim Burton movie, the text describes the many stages of death and the various methods to 1) avoid rebirth, which is the goal, and 2) pick the best womb for your next life if your karmic existence in this one did not provide you with enough juice to avoid another one.
The Buddhists believe that regular meditation on one own mortality is a wise practice and I did f...more
The Buddhists believe that regular meditation on one own mortality is a wise practice and I did f...more
Certainly the content of this book is from a psychological point of view very interesting when considering the time when it was written (The scripture got found in the 15th century). The text was originally thought to speak to a person who is in the process of dying. Naturally the system of thinking of a closed society of old times, what has one way of thinking, forms the base of that. When the reader wants to tap into the old Tibetan way of understanding life and death, this book is interesting...more
This book is incredibly boring. Granted it is all about death and I hate death. I probably should have been able to get more out of it. Maybe someday I will mature enough to do so.
Sep 02, 2011
Miles De Grifter
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people with suicidal tendencies.
spritually, its very good. lyrically and rhetorically, its extremely hard to get through.
Finished 3/4 of the book. Lost interest.
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This is the best version I have come across.
I am doing a personal comparative study of this and the Egyptian book of the dead simultaneously. After the first two read throughs of this work I was extremely glad for the notes and appendixes provided for the study. I adore Tibetan Buddhism as a religion and culture and can relate very well to their ideas of mind projection in the afterlife, it gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "come into the light". I highly suggest if you read this book not to skip over the introduction and so forth i...more
One of the worst books I have read ever. A culmination of everything I hate about eastern philosophy wrapped up in a pretty orange cover. No chapters are of any substance or explain the philosophy at all which is what I was lead to believe by several Buddhists. Just godawful repeated prayers, useless mantras and aspersions to outdated medicinal practices. Don't read, not worth your time at all.
Luckily this is not my first introduction to Buddhism as a subject. I would suggest pretty much any ba...more
Luckily this is not my first introduction to Buddhism as a subject. I would suggest pretty much any ba...more
A must read and read again.
Jul 11, 2011
Charlotte Wiley
added it
Something to read over and over again.
I was not entirely impressed by this translation, nor was the book what I was expecting. I did however, get a glimpse into another culture/religions’ thought process, which I enjoyed. This is actually why I did not enjoy the translation. I felt that Thurman was a little too eager to make this particular brand of Buddhism tangible and applicable to Western religious practitioners. I would more have enjoyed further background on the practices and thought processes of Tibetan practitioners…not that...more
Amazing
This book is Buddhist scripture that is meant to be read to someone after they die to help them achieve liberation from the cycle of reincarnation. I picked it up out of intellectual curiosity. I was expecting something more interesting and beautiful. Now I know why you're supposed to read it to someone after they die. Almost no one would be willing to sit and listen to it while they were still alive and able to leave the room and go do something more interesting.
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One of several translations of the Tibetan Book of the Dead (which Thurman says would be better translated as "The Book of Liberation Through Understanding in the Between"), this is an excellent translation to begin with. Before the text is introduced, Thurman offers a thorough explanation of the text and its role in Tibetan Buddhism. His translation of the actual text is clear and his commentary helps make it accessible.
I have never studied buddism and so the prayers and the some of the ideas about the scenes and events that take place in the Between were questionable. But the main premise of the idea that we do not die in an instant and that death is a process, and the ability to learn how to become 'aware' of this state so that we can maintain control over our lives and our death is valuable.
I found what I needed to find in this book.
I found what I needed to find in this book.
I'm actually always reading this--it's my bedtime book. At some point I'm sure I'll do a thorough review of it, or at least as thorough as would be appropriate for something of this nature. I will say, however, that this translation is excellent, and the Introduction by His Holiness the Dalai Lama is alone worth the price of admission. Truly a lovely book, and very, very inspirational.
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According to tradition, Padmasambhava was incarnated as an eight-year-old child appearing in a lotus blossom floating in Lake Dhanakosha, in the kingdom of Uddiyana, traditionally identified with the Swat Valley in present-day Pakistan. His special nature was recognized by the local king who married him to one of his daughters, Mandarava. She and Padmasambhava's other main consort, Yeshe Tsogyal,...more
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“The Heart-mantra of Dependent Origination (rten-'brel snying-po [རྟེན་འབྲེལ་སྙིང་པོ]), which liberates the enduring continuum of phenomena and induces the appearance of multiplying relics ('phel-gdung [འཕེལ་གདུང་] and rainbow lights, is:
[OṂ] YE DHARMĀ HETUPRABHAVĀ
HETUN TEṢĀṂ TATHĀGATO
HY AVADAT TEṢĀṂ CA YO
NIRODHO EVAṂ VĀDI
MAHĀŚRAMAṆAḤ [YE SVĀHĀ]
('Whatever events arise from a cause, the Tathagāta [Buddha, "Thus-gone"] has told the cause thereof, and the great virtuous ascetic has taught their cessation as well [so be it]').”
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More quotes…
[OṂ] YE DHARMĀ HETUPRABHAVĀ
HETUN TEṢĀṂ TATHĀGATO
HY AVADAT TEṢĀṂ CA YO
NIRODHO EVAṂ VĀDI
MAHĀŚRAMAṆAḤ [YE SVĀHĀ]
('Whatever events arise from a cause, the Tathagāta [Buddha, "Thus-gone"] has told the cause thereof, and the great virtuous ascetic has taught their cessation as well [so be it]').”
Dec 01, 2010 01:27am