Customer Reviews

The Tibetan Book of the Dead : The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo

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I'm new to Buddhism, about to attend my first Dzogchen Retreat, and was advised to read this text. I selected this version not because of how much I admire the talent of Richard Gere the actor, but because of hearing about Richard Gere the philanthropist who donates proceeds to build Buddhist shrines--thus epitomizing the Bodhisattva vow, Even if I become rich and famous, I will wisely shun conceit; worldly fortune is without essence.
I found that the audio CD is compellingly yet relaxingly performed. His voice is subdued, yet retains the elocution evidenced in his worldly artistry. His expertise with cadence and tone and using them to render continually interesting the rather repetitive text allows the repetitive parts to do their work: to sink in and to generate images and thoughts, rather than float by unretained. In such a way he effectively utilizes the Buddhist science of prosody.

Material that could have felt droning or intimidating in written form thus was rendered accessible and even fascinating in audio form.

This supersedes an earlier version that paired a blue-covered "pocket" condensation of the TBoD with a shorter audiotape. While the added material may overwhelm a first-time student of this daunting text, here's some suggestions for how to get the most out of this tape. Read the book first, study its commentary, and then you'll benefit more from hearing it in this eloquent presentation. No book, however, is provided in this unabridged 3-CD set.

Listening to this set of recordings can be very beneficial. Provided that one understands the basics of the content first. Unlike many other audiobooks, I'd advise the user to read the book first, perhaps repeatedly, and then let the assured, steady voice of Richard Gere, admirably suited to this formidable set of prescriptions, encouragement, and cautions from the world beyond, sink in to enhance one's comprehension of this quite disorienting-- literally-- set of precepts for making one's way through the projections of beauty and terror as the spirit encounters the passageways through the days after death.

The three CDs begin, disc one, with a brief introduction and the first part that follows the physical death of the body and its entry into the next array of apparitions, projections, and sensations. Disc two takes one through the bardo of "dharmata" into the visions of calm and turmoil. Disc three concludes as the spirit read to fails, presumably, to find freedom and becomes tempted to return to another body; guidance for finding the best match is offered in this dharma of becoming, for another go-around of existence.

However, I would not start simply by cuing up the CDs of this calm, modulated, and well-paced recitation of "The Book of Liberation in the Great Bardo by Hearing," although that's how this medieval Tibetan "treasure-text" is meant to be heard-- spoken by a guru at the deathbed, aloud for the soul that's recently left its body. Why? We in the West nearly all will lack the familiarity that its original audience would have had with the advanced practices in this life meant to prepare the spirit-body for its entry into the complex sounds and visions of the afterlife.

This text remains esoteric, challenging, and erudite for Westerners. It's necessary to study it first, as you may easily be baffled or your attention may wander unless you have made an effort first to comprehend the gist of the translation included. Therefore, I'd read it first, with the introductory material that translators Francesca Fremantle and Chogyam Trungpa provide. I remind you that the yellow-covered edition here offered differs from that earlier issues-- in a blue cover-- which was the condensed "pocket" version rather than the fuller 1975 publication by Shambhala. I'd recommend the whole deal; this is essential material that newcomers need for grasping what can be a very slippery compendium of exhortations, warnings, and appeals.

You may even want to go further with finding out more about what's rather misleadingly called the "Tibetan Book of the Dead," named by W.Y. Evans-Wentz, its first popularizer, to associate it in the 1920s with the Egyptian pop culture craze. Curious readers may want to take on other renderings for comparison and deeper appreciation. I've reviewed on Amazon the following texts: a simpler telling, Stephen Hodge & Martin Boord's "Illustrated TBoD;" Robert Thurman's expanded edition and translation of the "TBoD" and supplemental texts-- much greater detail than the version provided and recorded here; the entire "TBoD" recently issued from Penguin by Gyurme Dorje, Graham Coleman and others; and Fremantle's incorporation of a revision of some of the earlier translation in this book-CD set, as her commentary on the TBoD after an additional twenty-five years of study, "Luminous Emptiness."

After studying these texts, I found this CD recording. Hearing the TBoD for the first time, then, I appreciated nuances that had escaped me before. I found my concentration drifting, and the ability to rewind a few seconds or sentences to focus again proved a great stimulus. I wondered how Gere or any actor would take on such lists as the 58 wrathful deities, but his skill shows in small details.

He almost hesitates a millisecond before pronouncing the Tibetan and Sanskrit, often polysyllabic, names, and this prepares you to pay closer attention. This shift prepares you for the instruction; similarly he softens his tone when giving the invocations, appealing for their liberating message to be made manifest. He subtly accents even "buddha" and gives the final stress to "dharmata" in a way that gently reminds you of the difference of this elevated but somehow direct and unforgettable teaching, and of its poetic presence.

This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read. Why?because I feel like I have "woken up" from a comma. Thisbook is extremely important because it lets you discover a new way of looking at death and life. It is a manual for the living as well as the dead. This book also gives us valuable information about the death process as well as beautiful prayers that can be read to the deceased. As a result of reading this book I have learned about the power of spirituality and the incredible opportunity to learn something that can actually change the course of my "being."

I purchased for myself and received this set in March '08. It would certainly make a nice gift. As one interested in Eastern practices this set has been a good introduction for me to the TBD. Richard Gere is easy on the ears, too ;) Recommended to purchase.

An explanation for the buyer: this blue-covered, older version combines a published "pocket" condensation of the TBoD with a shorter tape read by Richard Gere. A longer, unabridged 3-CD version has been released in September 2008 with a yellow cover. This follows the longer translation with commentary published by Shambhala back in 1975, but the book is not included in the yellow-covered CD set (also reviewed by me).

Listening to this recording can be very beneficial. Provided that one understands the basics of the content first. Unlike many other audiobooks, I'd advise the user to read the book first, perhaps repeatedly, and then let the assured, steady voice of Richard Gere, admirably suited to this formidable set of prescriptions, encouragement, and cautions from the world beyond, sink in to enhance one's comprehension of this quite disorienting-- literally-- set of precepts for making one's way through the projections of beauty and terror as the spirit encounters the passageways through the days after death.

However, I would not start simply by cuing up the tape of this calm, modulated, and well-paced recitation of "The Book of Liberation in the Great Bardo by Hearing," although that's how this medieval Tibetan "treasure-text" is meant to be heard-- spoken by a guru at the deathbed, aloud for the soul that's recently left its body. Why? We in the West nearly all will lack the familiarity that its original audience would have had with the advanced practices in this life meant to prepare the spirit-body for its entry into the complex sounds and visions of the afterlife.

This text remains esoteric, challenging, and erudite for Westerners. It's necessary to study it first, as you may easily be baffled or your attention may wander unless you have made an effort first to comprehend the gist of the translation included. Therefore, I'd read it first, with the introductory material that translators Francesca Fremantle and Chogyam Trungpa provide. I remind you that the edition here provided is a condensed version rather than the fuller 1975 publication by Shambhala. The "pocket" printing does cut down, necessarily but perhaps less than helpfully, essential material that newcomers need for grasping what can be a very slippery compendium of exhortations, warnings, and appeals.

You may even want to go further with finding out more about what's rather misleadingly called the "Tibetan Book of the Dead," named by W.Y. Evans-Wentz, its first popularizer, to associate it in the 1920s with the Egyptian pop culture craze. Curious readers may want to take on other renderings for comparison and deeper appreciation. I've reviewed on Amazon the following texts: a simpler telling, Stephen Hodge & Martin Boord's "Illustrated TBoD;" Robert Thurman's expanded edition and translation of the "TBoD" and supplemental texts-- much greater detail than the version provided and recorded here; the entire "TBoD" recently issued from Penguin by Gyurme Dorje, Graham Coleman and others; and Fremantle's incorporation of a revision of some of the earlier translation in this book-CD set, as her commentary on the TBoD after an additional twenty-five years of study, "Luminous Emptiness."

After studying these texts, I found this CD recording. Hearing the TBoD for the first time, then, I appreciated nuances that had escaped me before. I found my concentration drifting, and the ability to rewind a few seconds or sentences to focus again proved a great stimulus. I wondered how Gere or any actor would take on such lists as the 58 wrathful deities, but his skill shows in small details. He almost hesitates a millisecond before pronouncing the Tibetan polysyllabic names, and this prepares you to pay attention. This shift prepares you for the instruction; similarly he softens his tone when giving the invocations, appealing for their liberating message to be made manifest. He subtly accents even "buddha" and gives the final stress to "dharmata" in a way that gently reminds you of the difference of this elevated but somehow direct and unforgettable teaching, and of its poetic presence.

This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read. Why? because I feel like I have "woken up" from a comma. This book is extremely important because it lets you discover a new way of looking at death and life. It is a manual for the living as well as the dead. This book also gives us valuable information about the death process as well as beautiful prayers that can be read to the deceased. As a result of reading this book I have learned about the power of spirituality and the incredible opportunity to learn something that can actually change the course of my "being."

A great insight which contains new perspectivesand wisdom for the living. I listened to this every day in Phoenix traffic which is horrible and it mellowed me out. The book pairs well with psychedelics. :)