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Near-Death Experiences of Buddhists
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The
Tibetan Book of the Dead is ostensibly a book
describing the experiences to be expected at the
moment of death, during an intermediate phase lasting
forty-nine days, and during rebirth into another
bodily frame. This however is merely the esoteric
framework which the
Tibetan Buddhists used to cloak their mystical
teachings. The language and symbolism of death rituals
of
Bonism, the traditional pre-Buddhist Tibetan
religion, were skillfully blended with Buddhist
conceptions. The esoteric meaning is that it is
death and rebirth of the ego that is described,
not of the body.
Tibetan lama Govinda indicates this clearly
in his introduction when he writes: "It is a book
for the living as well as for the dying."
The book's esoteric meaning is often concealed beneath
many layers of symbolism. It was not intended for
general reading. It was designed to be understood
only by one who was to be initiated personally by
a guru into the Buddhist mystical doctrines, into
the pre-mortem death-rebirth experience. These doctrines
have been kept a closely guarded secret for many
centuries, for fear that naive or careless application
would do harm. In publishing this practical interpretation,
we are in a sense breaking with the tradition of
secrecy and thus contravening the teachings of the
lama-gurus.
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Buddhism NDEs Index |
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"By giving away food
we get more strength. By bestowing clothing on others
we gain more beauty. By donating abodes of purity
and truth we acquire great treasures."
– Buddha
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The Tibetan Book of the Dead
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by Robert Thurman, Huston Smith
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This is Thurman's translation of
the Tibetan "Book of Natural Liberation
Through Understanding in the Between."
Composed by Padma Sambhava in the
late eighth century, this text minutely
describes the after-death transition
states.
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The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
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by Sogyal Rinpoche, Patrick D. Gaffney,
Andrew Harvey
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In 1927, Walter Evans-Wentz published
his translation of the Tibetan Book
of the Dead. Popular Tibetan teacher
Sogyal Rinpoche has transformed that
ancient text, conveying a perennial
philosophy that is at once religious,
scientific, and practical.
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Essential Tibetan Buddhism
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by Robert A. F. Thurman
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In this highly readable collection,
Robert Thurman brings together the jewels
of Tibetan literature that have made
their own distinctive contribution to
"the great river of Buddhism."
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