Tibetan Book of the Dead / Bardo Thodol

[DS Star]

http://youtu.be/Ermcc6iDqQA
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This Best Seller book is actually a guide text use by Tibetan Buddhist monks to help the newly dead, guiding them in the "intermediate state" also known as "Bardo state" for a favorable rebirth.

For 49 days (7 weeks), the monks will chant from the text to help the consciousness of the dead (identified as soul to the common people) to move on to the next rebirth (or to 'cross over' by other religion):

"O nobly born, be not attach to this world, be not distracted, be not fear..."

It is actually an important Dharma teaching to guide us to ultimate liberation... if only we can understand it fully...

Description of the above video:

Bardo Thodol: The Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State, it is often referred to in the West by the more casual title, Tibetan Book of the Dead, a name which draws a parallel with the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, another funerary text.

The Tibetan text describes, and is intended to guide one through, the experiences that the consciousness has after death, during the interval between death and the next rebirth. This interval is known in Tibetan as the bardo. The text also includes chapters on the signs of death, and rituals to undertake when death is closing in, or has taken place. It is the most internationally famous and widespread work of Tibetan Nyingma literature.

According to Tibetan tradition, the Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State was composed in the 8th century by Padmasambhava, written down by his primary student, Yeshe Tsogyal, buried in the Gampo hills in central Tibet and subsequently discovered by a Tibetan terton, Karma Lingpa, in the 14th century.[7][8] There were variants of the book among different sects.[9] The Tibetan Book of the Dead was first published in 1927 by Oxford University Press. Dr. Walter Y. Evans-Wentz chose this title because of the parallels he found with the Egyptian Book of the Dead.[10]

The Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State is recited by Tibetan Buddhist lamas over a dying or recently deceased person, or sometimes over an effigy of the deceased. The name means literally "liberation through hearing in the intermediate state".

[RedLantern]

According to Tibetan Buddhism,the "Bardo Thodol" was composed by Padmasambhava and written down by his primary students.Yeshe Tsoghal,Padmasambhava is said to have introduce Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century found it necessary to conceal Sanskrit works he had arranged to be written while visiting Tibet.
The text,describe are intended to guide one through the experiences that the conscious has left ,death during the interval between death and the next rebirth.This interval is known in Tibetan as bardo.
One can perhaps attempt to compare the descriptions of the"Bardo Thodol" with accounts of of certain "out of the body" near death experiences describe by people who have nearly died in accidents or the operating table.There are accounts sometimes mention a "white light" and helpful figures corresponding to that person's religious tradition.

[icy]

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is a contemporary spiritual masterpiece and source of sacred inspiration that interprets Tibetan Buddhism for the West and persons who know no Tibetan.

Sogyal Rinpoche presents a radically new vision of living and dying. He shows how to go beyond our fear and denial of death to discover what it is in us that survives death and is changeless. Rinpoche explains simple yet powerful practices that listeners can use to transform their lives, prepare for death, and help the dying.

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (Audio Book) Part 1 of 8

Enjoy...

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying (Audio Book) Part 1 of 8	Small | Large

[Kim Hyun Jae]

I read the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying and also heard a narrated video on YouTube of the book. I have always wondered how did these master know what hell was like, what punishments were given to the hell beings who ended up therd in great detail?

Someone must have travelled down to hell and came back alive to tell the story to write the book. I cannot imagine how else can the book describe so vividly what hot or cold hells were like, how many levels there were and what kind of sins the living person did to end up going there after death.

The book is an eye-opener to me and frightens me as I will try not to commit such sins to others while living as a human.

[icy]

Death will come regardless of whether or not we have made time for spiritual practice. Although life is short, it would not be so bad if we had plenty of time for spiritual practice, but most of our time is taken up with sleeping, working, eating, shopping, talking, and so on, leaving very little time for pure spiritual practice. Our time is easily consumed by other pursuits until suddenly we die.