Tibetan Book of the Dead

by Glenn H. Mullin, Thomas L. Kelly (Illustrator)

This is a fresh look at this timeless classic. It brings together a range of stunning images by the renowned photographer Thomas Kelly, with a contextual analysis and abridged translation by the ubiquitous Tibetologist Glenn H. Mullin. As such, the Bardo Todol is a relevant as a guidebook to daily(and nightly) living as it is to a successful death and transmigration.

Genres: Philosophy, Buddhism

260 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1400

Reviews

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of the Bardo thödol and with beautiful and relevant imagery, including many detail photos of authentic thanka paintings of the associated meditational deities. However, it is worth noting that this is not even the usual abbreviated text, as first published in English by Theosophist W.Y. Evans-Wentz; rather, it is a further abridgment of the core of that text, including the essential readings, along with new explanatory material by Mullin. As such, it's an excellent starting point for the curious, instead of being a scholarly or practice text. For that, I would instead recommend the translations by Thurman, Trungpa, or the recent "complete text" by Coleman. The only complaint I have about this edition is that the occasional black text on red background, as occurs with the captions on chapter heads, is rather difficult to read without blazingly good light, which perhaps is expected to be spontaneously generated from the heart of the enlightened reader.

[Cecilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo recomiendo para quien quiere a acercarse a la filosofía budista. Esta edición en particular tiene unas fotografías buenisimas.

[Jason Magpie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An abridged version presented in beautiful full-color images and text that is not nearly as dense or esoteric as the original text--I also highly recommend the video series with the same name narrated by Leonard Cohen.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of 6 books I chose from the library, to acquaint myself with my neighbors, that I found especially helpful.

((I was provided with access to a library as part of spending this winter in close proximity to a cultural center. I have been involved in some way with Buddhism for my entire adult life, but this tradition is the least familiar to me, and for good reason. Imagine that once upon a time there were seven great libraries, and all but one of them was burned down. So this tradition also protects the thoughts and scholarship of entire cultures, many vanished, while at the same time provides a long continuous record of striving to move into the future by acquiring knowledge and living a principled life. The result of this reading list has been to discover uncanny similarities in such colorful difference, which has brought me closer to the philosophy of non-duality that has meant so much to my education. I am sharing a list that I can recommend, this does not make an expert in the slightest, but I can promise these are rich and better distillations than many I have scanned. ))

Lavishly illustrated, this is not a translation of the primary text, but a carefully considered and thorough study of the context of that document. The tradition of Bardo is unique to the Tibetan school, and has no close match in any of the other major Buddhist worlds... it is considered to be an example of the fusion of shamanic traditions with Buddhist philosophy, and is an interesting example of the often doubted notion that there is always compatibility between the ancient study of cognition, and any culture that it happens to encounter. Of course, we share the same basic body and brain, so it should make more sense in this time period than ever before, if not less earth shaking at the same time.

By the end of this book, you'll know more about who and where this tradition came from, and this is refreshing because it means you do not have to be a scholar to appreciate the role of art in human understandings of the conceptual, and the life of the mind.

[dist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a different version. I found it extremely interesting although I know i didn't understand a lot of it.