The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Liberation Through Understanding in the Between

by Robert Thurman

The so-called Tibetan Book of the Dead has been renowned for centuries as a cornerstone of Buddhist wisdom and religious thought. More recently, it has become highly influential in the Western world for its psychological insights into the processes of death and dying - and what they can teach us about the ways we live our lives. It has also been found to be helpful in the grieving process by people who have recently lost their loved ones.

Composed in the eighth century CE, it is intended to prepare the soul for the trials and transformations of the afterworld. Its profound message is that the art of dying is as important as the art of living. Drawing on Tibetan spiritual traditions, it shows us the workings of the mind in its various manifestations - terrifying and comforting, wrathful and beautiful - which appear more clearly after death in the consciousness of the deceased. By recognizing these manifestations, we can attain a state of enlightenment, both in this existence and in the existence to come.

This authoritative translation preserves the form and spirit of the original and was prepared especially for Western audiences by Robert A. F. Thurman, one of the most prominent Tibetan scholars in America and a close associate of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction

Audiobook

Published November 3, 2020

Reviews

[Donald A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I “cheated” and read this as an audiobook narrated by the translator, Uma Thurman’s father. As a novice to meditation and Buddhism, this very spiritual book fascinated me. I did not follow along with the referenced PDFs, but might have learned more if I had.

Professor Thurman’s voice was at times soothing or irritating (which kept my rating at 3). Most of my listening was before falling asleep, so I felt that I was able to relax and absorb a great deal of the work.

If you are interested in religion, spirituality and how a non-Western culture approaches both life and death, I think the audiobook is a comprehensive and approachable way to learn about Buddhism.

[Seon Ji (Dawn) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. I will listen to it over and over again.

It helps having knowledge of Buddhism and Hinduism.

That's the best I can say. It's probably not for everyone, but I feel this is the most important sacred text to help reach liberation. It is said to help even the ordinary person in reaching liberation while in the in between.

I hope it finds you as it found me.

[Paul Buchanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even as someone fairly familiar with Buddhism and its concepts, this book really dives deep into a lot of the technicalities, the folklore and mythology of the buddhist faith. It can be difficult to understand if not in the right mood, but a real trip to just read the magnificent descriptions of gods and deity’s that one supposedly encounters in the between

[AttackGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starting with wisdom to share with the west but by then end just irritating Circular BS.

[Jeff Paal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pretty fascinating and unique book. Books like this are critical to breaking out of the hard-coded "Western" mindset that so many of us have.