The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Or, The After-Death Experiences on the Bardo Plane, according to Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup's English Rendering (Galaxy Books) (Paperback)

~ W. Y. Evans-Wentz (Editor), Lama Anagarika Govinda (Introduction), Sir John Woodruffe (Foreword), C. G. Jung (Contributor)
Key Phrases: peaceful deities, perfect enlightenment, fourteenth day, Bardo Thödol, Clear Light, Intermediate State (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Probably the single most recognizable Tibetan title to Western readers, this text (elaborated in the 14th century) discusses the process of death and rebirth as understood by Tibetan Buddhists.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Dr. Evans-Wentz, who literally sat at the feet of a Tibetan lama for years in order to acquire his wisdom...not only displays a deeply sympathetic interest in those esoteric doctrines so characteristic of the genius of the East, but likewise possesses the rare faculty of making them more or less intelligible to the layman."--Anthropology (on the previous edition)
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 249 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 3 edition (December 31, 1960)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195002237
• ISBN-13: 978-0195002232
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #186,061 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This remains the best translation., January 17, 1999

By A Customer

You've got to be ready to concentrate and wade deep to enjoy the introductions and translation, but the effort will reap great rewards. Using exacting and poetic prose with a disciple and intellectual honesty that is probable too good and un-dumbed-down to get published these days, this remains the best translation for those willing to work.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Whatever else you read......read this one, June 23, 2000

By	Sanjeev manohar (USA) - See all my reviews

This book brings to the forefront the immediacy of what we all try to avoid....thinking of our own mortality and our impending "end". And whats more, it goes into the various stages we go through after death and how we can mentally avoid certain pitfalls and how we can use certain mental technologies (or approaches) to be able to succesfully navigate through a kind of twilight zone called the BORDO. It stresses the importance of clearing the mind of all violent or jealous thoughts in this journey and warns us of the impending doom if we cannot discipline ourselves to do that. This has profound consequences for us while we are still alive. If we have not conditioned our minds to be filled with peace and love while we are living, its going to be near impossible to embrace these emotions during the terrifying travel after death. The book triumphantly proclaims that what we "see" after death is a product of our own imagination, or cause-and effect, and that while our own violent past actions steer us through horrifying regions, if through our will power we keep our heads straight and display compassion and love, we are sure to not only come out of this labyrinth, but also to come out a liberated soul. The stunning message of the possibility of liberation from the cycle of cause and effect in the BORDO makes this book not only a must read for anyone interested in understanding the mystery of life, but also to anyone needing an additional impetus to correct one's emotional trajectory while still alive.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic, February 10, 2005

By	Hakuyu "Ikeda" (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews

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 a universal experience - and E-W placed it in a truly universal context. Is that so surprising?
The Jungian commentary appended to the first ed. of this text has also come in for criticism (some editions now delete it). But Jung had something - when suggesting that we ought to read the TBD 'BACKWARDS' - to understand the difficulties modern minds get into - when trying to approach such territory. Still, as E-W points out, late medieval Western culture had a similar perspective on death. It was part of life, we similarly understood the need to 'live our dying' - and the need to 'die-in-life' to find the greater spiritual life. There are chapels in Europe, constructed entirely of human bones. It looks morbid to modern people - but, in fact, it signified a triumph over death. Death is the greatest adventure. Whatever we may be doing, death is the ultimate destination that awaits us. Many European cathedrals have a 'memento mori' - an image of death, saying: "I was as you are;as I am, so shall ye be. " Will you be able to pay the ferryman - when the boat comes?