The Tibetan Book of the Dead

by W. Y. Evans-Wentz

Overview

In 1919 the distinguished scholar Walter Evans-Wentz visited an Indian monastery, where he encountered the source of this famous volume. Derived from a Buddhist funerary text, it offers instructions for preparing for death and moving through the various stages of rebirth. The book has since developed into a guide to attaining enlightenment and assuring an auspicious journey through the realms of the afterlife.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780486845371
Publisher:	Dover Publications
Publication date:	11/18/2020
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	306,561
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

W. Y. Evans-Wentz was a scholar of Theosophy who attended Stanford University and Jesus College, Oxford. He later traveled to the East, where he became a student of Tibetan religious texts and worked with Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup to translate works that would later be published as The Tibetan Book of the Dead or The After-Death Experiences on the Bardo Plane. He is considered one of the scholars responsible for bringing awareness of Tibetan Buddhism to the West.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Illustrations xvii

Foreword: The Science of Death Sir John Woodroffe xxv

Introduction 1

I The Importance of the Bardo Thödol 1

II The Symbolism 2

III The Esoteric Significance of the Forty-Nine Days of the Bardo 6

IV The Esoteric Significance of the Five Elements 8

V The Wisdom Teachings 10

VI The Death Ceremonies 18

VII The Bardo, or After-Death State 28

VIII The Psychology of the Bardo Visions 31

IX The Judgement 35

X The Rebirth Doctrine 39

XI The Cosmography 61

XII The Fundamental Teachings Summarized 66

XIII The Manuscript 68

XIV The Origin of the Bardo Thödol 73

XV The Translating and the Editing 78

Book 1 The Chikhai Bardo and the Chönyid Bardo

The Obeisances 85

The Introduction 85

The Transference of the Consciousness-Principle 85

The Reading of this Thödol 87

The Practical Application of this Thödol by the Officiant 88

Part I The Bardo of the Moments of Death

Instructions on the Symptoms of Death, or the First Stage of the Chikhai Bardo: the Primary Clear Light Seen at the Moment of Death 89

Instructions Concerning the Second Stage of the Chikhai Bardo: the Secondary Clear Light Seen Immediately After Death 97

Part II The Bardo of the Experiencing of Reality

Introductory Instructions Concerning the Experiencing of Reality During the Third Stage of the Bardo, Called the Chönyid Bardo, When the Karmic Apparitions Appear 101

The Dawning of the Peaceful Deities, From the First to the Seventh Day 104

The First Day 105

The Second Day 108

The Third Day 110

The Fourth Day 112

The Fifth Day 115

The Sixth Day 118

The Seventh Day 126

The Dawning of the Wrathful Deities, From the Eighth to the Fourteenth Day 131

Introduction 131

The Eighth Day 136

The Ninth Day 138

The Tenth Day 138

The Eleventh Day 139

The Twelfth Day 140

The Thirteenth Day 141

The Fourteenth Day 143

The Conclusion, Showing the Fundamental Importance of the Bardo Teachings 151

Book II The Sidpa Bardo

The Obeisances 155

Introductory Verses 155

Part I The After-Death World

The Bardo Body: Its Birth and Its Super: Normal Faculties 155

Characteristics of Existence in the Intermediate State 160

The Judgement 165

The All-Determining Influence of Thought 169

The Dawning of the Lights of the Six Lokas 173

Part II The Process of Rebirth

The Closing of the Door of the Womb 175

Method of Preventing Entry into a Womb 176

The First Method of Closing the Womb-Door 176

The Second Method of Closing the Womb-Door 177

The Third Method of Closing the Womb-Door 178

The Fourth Method of Closing the Womb-Door 180

The Fifth Method of Closing the Womb-Door 181

The Choosing of the Womb-Door 183

The Premonitory Visions of the Place of Rebirth 183

The Protection against the Tormenting Furies 185

The Alternative Choosing: Supernormal Birth; or Womb-Birth 188

Supernormal Birth by Transference to a Paradise Realm 189

Womb-Birth: the Return to the Human World 190

The General Conclusion 193

The Appendix

I The Invocation of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas 197

II 'The Path of Good Wishes For Saving From the Dangerous Narrow Passage-Way of the Bardo1 199

III The Root Verses of the Six Bardos' 202

IV 'The Path of Good Wishes Which Protecteth From Fear in the Bardo' 205

V The Colophon 209

Addenda

I Yoga 211

II Tantricism 213

III Mantras, or Words of Power 220

IV The Guru and Shistlya (Or Chela) and Initiations 222

V Reality 224

VI Northern and Southern Buddhism and Christianity 232

VII The Medieval Christian Judgement 238

Index 243

Editorial Reviews

Evans-Wentz, an Oxford professor, produced a number of original studies on Tibetan Buddhism from the 1930s to the 1960s, which went through several editions. Oxford here resurrects four of these works, which now include new forewords and afterwords by scholar Donald S. Lopez who also analyzes the earlier editions. More for academic collections. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

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