Books : The Tibetan Book of the Dead
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Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9788188043125
ISBN: 8188043125
Label: Winsome Book India
Manufacturer: Winsome Book India
Publication Date: August 30, 2005
Publisher: Winsome Book India
Sales Rank: 402884
Studio: Winsome Book India
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The Tibetan Book of the Dead is one of the texts that, according to legend, Padma-Sambhava was compelled to hide during his visit to Tibet in the late 8th century. The guru hid his books in stones, lakes, and pillars because the Tibetans of that day and age were somehow unprepared for their teachings. Now, in the form of the ever-popular Tibetan Book of the Dead, these teachings are constantly being discovered and rediscovered by Western readers of many different backgrounds--a phenomenon which began in 1927 with Oxford's first edition of Dr. Evans-Wentz's landmark volume. While it is traditionally used as a mortuary text, to be read or recited in the presence of a dead or dying person, this book--which relates the whole experience of death and rebirth in three intermediate states of being--was originally understood as a guide not only for the dead but also for the living. As a contribution to the science of death and dying--not to mention the belief in life after death, or the belief in rebirth--The Tibetan Book of the Dead is unique among the sacred texts of the world, for its socio-cultural influence in this regard is without comparison.
This fourth edition features a new foreword, afterword, and suggested further reading list by Donald S. Lopez, author of Prisoners of Shangri-La: Tibetan Buddhism and the West. Lopez traces the whole history of the late Evans-Wentz's three earlier editions of this book, fully considering the work of contributors to previous editions (C. G. Jung among them), the sections that were added by Evans-Wentz along the way, the questions surrounding the book's translation, and finally the volume's profound importance in engendering both popular and academic interest in the religion and culture of Tibet. Another key theme that Lopez addresses is the changing nature of this book's audience--from the prewar theosophists to the beat poets to the hippies to contemporary exponents of the hospice movement--and what these audiences have found (or sought) in its very old pages.
Average Rating: 
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A very interesting book. Many of the texts are foreign to me but a learning experience throughout my reading. I enjoy reading about the many types of religious cultures. This book kept me motivated to learn more about how Tibetans view life after death.
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This translation deserved the good reviews. The text has been summed up well in other reviews. A word about the author seems appropriate. It is worth pointing out that W.Y. Evans-Wentz was an American (one reviewer stated that W.Y. E-W was English).The confusion here stems from the fact that W.Y. E-W went to Oxford, England, as a Rhodes scholar. He was a very articulate and erudite man - well versed in the Western classics, Western mystery tradition etc. - and in his footnotes, he made frequent cross references to such.
A few people now fault E-W' work - because of the universal sweep of his intuitions.It has even been suggested that he corrupted the purity of the Tibetan teachings - by his inter-cultural or trans-cultural horizons.Some Tibetan Lamas (i.e. Trungpa) have faulted E-W's work on such grounds.Western afficionadoes of Tibetan Buddhism - people who like to imagine themselves among the elect(Professors and pop followers alike) have chimed in.
Such people forget (or prefer to ignore) the fact that W.Y.Evans-Wentz spent many years studying and working with Tibetan Lamas. Be assured, W.Y. Evans-Wentz' projects had the blessing of his Tibetan co-worker - Lama Kazi Dawa Sammdup. There are those who would argue that this blessing did not extend to the commentary material - subsequently added by E-W, after his work with the Lama. But how E-W presented the material to a Western audience - was his business.
Death is most certainly ... Read More
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This is not the Richard Gere "pop Buddhism" approach. This is the work of an English academic in the early 20th Century, as he uncovers an "Oriental" classic for a Western audience. Evans-Wentz even brings Carl Jung into the picture for the Westerners, as Jung's psychology was "New School" at the time and offered a sublime link between Oriental and Occidental thinking. I hold this book in the highest regard, not because it is a mystical Buddhist text, but rather because it offers tips for daily living and and self-actualization. As with most quality philosophical doctrines, this book is a paradox...a book of the dead that is really an abstract book for the living, regardless of religion or nationality. It is a refreshing and enlightening break from an increasingly fundamental world.
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This is the original "Tibetan Book of the Dead". All other versions are a toned-down version of this work by different authors who want to accommodate people who do not want to put the work in. You need to put the work in. No one can spoon-feed this kind of wisdom to you.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead is an extremely authoritative translation of the original texts of the "Bardo Thodol" by Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup who schooled W.Y.Evans-Wentz in Tibetan Buddhism. The book is an extremely important piece of work for both the scholars of psychology and religion, and the lay person who has the time to spend working on it. The book is also the reality behind the "Necronomicon" which has been popularized by fiction writers, such a H.P.Lovecraft, but has been completely taken out of its true context.
To begin with, this book is a beautiful book once you truly understand the message that it is trying to convey to the reader - or more correctly, when the reader correctly understands the message that is being conveyed. It has a primordial air to it and is certainly ancient in its wisdom and understanding. The book was translated in the early 1900s and was first published in 1927. Be warned - this book is exceptionally difficult to read because the standard of grammar used is of the highest acumen humanly possibly. Evans-Wentz was a Doctor of Literature, a Doctor of Science and a Master of Arts. If you don't have a full size Oxford dictionary, then you will have trouble ... Read More
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First published in 1927. Translated by LAMA KAZI DAWA-SAMDUP. Edited by Dr. W.Y Evans-Wentz, formerly of Jesus College, Oxford who spent the rest of his life dedicating himself to following the teachings of this very translation. This writer is the one who first produced the teachings of 'The Tibetan Book of the Dead' to occident man in the west. It still remains the definitive edition to this day. The book also has many footnotes and an important lengthy introduction by C.G. Jung to introduce the occident mind to the nature of the book. The footnotes are the helping hand in reading and understanding the text.
This is a book about the raw mind. It may take you many lifetimes to understand. You may understand it after the first reading. There are no devices, tools, sects, schools or Gods used to get you there. This is a book about your mind. The mind is the only device you should need along with the book to bring you to the understanding of - knowing the nature of reality. Then when you are done with the book pass it on and use the only tool that this book expounds on. The mind.
I have not even attempted to read anything else since I found this book. That is because it is definitive. The book only needs your mind. Nothing else. That is why this book is THE definitive book of the mind. Christians should not be afraid of this book in any way shape or form. It is good natured, good willing and does nothing more than help expand your goodness.
It is ... Read More
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