Nfb produced the documentary in cooperation with nhk japan and mistral film of. Trade paperback 1998 mystical classics of the world quality paperback book club trade paperback in excellent condition. The tibetan book of the dead the best documentary ever. The tibetan book of the dead the best documentary ever duration.
When i first picked up the book, the tibetan book of the dead, i wondered if there was any value in reading this book. As i did my third project on the tibetan book of the dead, this documentary offered a real life view into the rituals that i read about. Leonard cohen narrating tibetan book of the dead youtube. Terms of activation by activating, you agree that you want to enable cloud technology to access your xfinity stream subscription on additional supported devices like computers and tablets, as well as the tv connected to your settop dvr via comcasts network. In 2007, the history channel released a documentary film, tibetan book of the dead.
Graham coleman is founder of the orient foundation for arts and culture, a major tibetan cultural conservancy organization, and writerdirector of the acclaimed feature documentary tibet. I was invited to write about the tibetan book of the dead. The tibetan book of the dead is a buddhist text written as a guide for those who have passed from this life. I had a vague idea of what this book was going to cover. Filmed primarily in the rugged terrain of the himalayan mountain region of tibet this documentary makes a decidedly feeble attempt at examining the book of the dead s overall meaning and its apparent importance. Thurmans translation is interesting to say the least. It was read aloud to the dying or recently deceased to help them attain enlightenment and liberation from the endless cycle of death and rebirth. Evanswentz named the book the tibetan book of the dead after the egyptian book of the same name since he saw several parallels between the two.
Fyi this 90minute tibetan book of the dead presentation was originally aired for television viewing back in 1994. Liberation in the intermediate state through hearingalso called tibetan book of the dead, in tibetan buddhism, a funerary text that is recited to ease the consciousness of a recently deceased person through death and assist it into a favourable rebirth. The tibetan book of the dead is an instruction guide for the after death experience. The book written by detlef ingo lauf is a necessary addition to the information, presented in the tibetan book of the dead. An ancient source of strength and guidance, the tibetan book of the dead. Apr 04, 2012 the tibetan book of the dead or the bardo thodol is the english translation of the famous tibetan death text, the great liberation upon hearing in the intermediate state.
The tibetan book of the dead quotes by padmasambhava. In this first installment above, the tibetan book of the dead. Tibetan book of the dead article about tibetan book of the. The bardo thodol belongs to a special class of writings called termas. You can take from it what you need, or take all of it, and make of it what you will. An ancient source of strength and guidance, the tibetan book of the dead remains an essential teaching of the himalayan buddhist culture. Aug 30, 2014 death is real, it comes without warning and it cannot be escaped. Quotations on the tibetan book of the dead, buddhism, clear.
The tibetan book of the dead is a religious text from tibet, written as a guide for persons attending someone who is dying or recently dead, to bring comfort and. This is the first of a sensitive twopart documentary showing how death and dying is contextualised in the traditional buddhist culture in ladakh. The tibetan book of the dead is one of the texts that, according to legend, padmasambhava was compelled to hide during his visit to tibet in the late 8th century. During the seminar he used a tibetan text, while the audience followed in the evanswentz edition. Thurman translates bar do thos grol as the great book of natural liberation through understanding in the between. An ancient source of strength and guidance, the tibetan book of the dead remains an essential teaching in the buddhist cultures of the himalayas. Sep 28, 2000 the tibetan book of the dead is one of the texts that, according to legend, padmasambhava was compelled to hide during his visit to tibet in the late 8th century. The tibetan book of the dead audiobook narrated by richard gere 2008. Tibetan book of the dead, naturally, is a guidebook, which teaches us to some extent about the bardo, that is to say the states that one passes through between death and rebirth. Rinpoche, gave a seminar entitled the tibetan book of the dead, which is included here as a commentary. Filmed in the spectacular heart of the himalayas where a rich buddhist culture still survives, cameras document the whole process of the death rituals with readings from the book of the dead. Its what i read first and i had to unlearn and relearn more traditional terms as i went on scientist deities.
The tibetan book of the dead is a kind of baedeker for the. It would talk about the living and about those who have passed on to the afterlife. In this documentary produced by the national film board of canada, cohen, together with practitioners of tibetan buddhism, elucidates what. Cover and pages from a tibetan book of the dead manuscript. By kevin williams the tibetan book of the dead, whose actual title is the great liberation upon hearing in the intermediate state or bardo thodol, is traditionally believed to be the work of the legendary padma sambhava in the 8th century a. What is the best translation of the tibetan book of the dead. Commentaries were written by others, the most famous of which was produced by psychiatrist carl jung. Written by a tibetan monk, the book of the dead describes in detail the stages of death from the tibetan point of view. The tibetan book of the dead and neardeath experiences. The hidden history of the tibetan book of the dead.
Before his appearance, the film provides some brief context of his supposed incarnation from the th dalai lama and his rise to governance, then exile. A biography is part of a new series from princeton university press called lives of great religious books. Tibetan book of the dead simple english wikipedia, the free. The volumes in the series describe the origins and legacies of some of the most famous religious works from around the world. The tibetan book of the dead 1 a way of life documentary. Yet, for the scholar of the present day, looking back now more than seventy years to the publication of the first volume of the series, the tibetan book of the dead,in 1927, the tibetan tetralogy of w. The tibetan book of the dead graham coleman haftad. The guru hid his books in stones, lakes, and pillars because the tibetans of that day and age were somehow unprepared for their teachings. Buddhism in a nutshell from the book an upside down world by gambhiro bikkhu. The life, death and rebirth of the tibetan book of the dead. In 1919 the distinguished scholar walter evanswentz visited.
English language translation of the famous tibetan death text, the great liberation upon hearing in. The tibetan book of the dead the bardo thodol an old man, tsering, is dead, the bardo thodol will help him to find his way in the afterdeath states. An ancient source of strength and guidance, the tibetan book of the dead remains an essential teaching in the buddhist cultures of. A way of life, the dalai lama weighs in with his own views on life and death at 33. The compendium of texts known as the tibetan book of the dead contains exquisitely written guidance and practices related to transforming our experience in daily life, on how to address the processes of dying and the afterdeath state, and on how to help those who are dying. The bardo thodol is also known in the west as the tibetan book of the dead, a title attributed to it by editor walter evanswentz. Gyurme dorje is a leading scholar of the nyingma tradition of tibetan buddhism, from which the tibetan book of the dead literature derives. Death is real, it is unannounced and can not be escaped.
There was another shorter version, called the american book of the dead, which i liked, but it read more like learywilson than a translation. Oct 10, 2010 a way of life presents the role of the tibetan book of the dead among the traditional tibetan buddhist communities of ladakh. The tibetan book of the dead documentary film psychedelic. It takes time, effort, and a particular frame of mind, to truly get to grips with the text. Dec 02, 2017 the tibetan book of the dead audiobook narrated by richard gere 2008. First complete translation penguin classics reprint by coleman, graham, coleman, graham, jinpa, thupten, lama, dalai, dorje, gyurme isbn. I have read the tibetan book of the dead, but i havent.
A biography this smart, entertaining introduction to the tibetan book of the dead is a real delight. An ancient source of strength and guidance, the tibetan book of the dead remains an. Nevertheless, its actual history and role in tibetan religious culture have remained topics of ignorance, even among scholars of buddhism. It is one of many mortuary texts of the nyingma sect of tibetan buddhism. An ancient source of strength and guidance, the tibetan book of the dead remains an essential teaching originating in the. Narrated by leonard cohen, this enlightening twopart series explores the sacred text and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to its profound wisdom. The tibetan book of the dead series the leonard cohen files. The book is a deep survey of buddhist and prebuddhist relations teachings, which attributed to the buddhist concepts of death and dying.
The tibetan book of the dead, narrated by leonard cohen the. The tibetan book of the dead is the title created by walter yeeling evanswentz 18781965, its first westernlanguage editor, for a collection of tibetan ritual and literary texts concerned with death, intermediate states sanskrit, antarabhava. It includes prayers, instructions for both dying persons and their attendants, and descriptions of the afterlife. The interesting twopart 1994 documentary embedded below explores the history and usage of the tibetan book of the dead and is made. Narrated by leonard cohen, this enlightening twopart series explores the sacred text and boldly visualizes the afterlife according to its profound.
According to tibetan tradition, it was composed in the eighth century cover and pages from a tibetan book of the dead manuscript rubin museum of art the rubin museum of art is a dynamic environment that stimulates learning, promotes understanding, and inspires personal connections to the ideas, cultures, and art of himalayan asia. The buddhist sect responsible for this manuscript holds that with death man passes into what they call the bardo world. The canadian film board, twopart documentary film, the tibetan book of the dead a way of life the great liberation, narrated by leonard cohen. Evanswentz, although a product of our century, seems to have originated in another age.
Leonard cohen narrates film on the tibetan book of the dead. Oct 21, 2005 the tibetan book of the dead translated by gyurme dorje, edited by graham coleman with thupten jinpa 496pp, penguin classics. Questions about the translation and style of expression continually came up, and as a result of these questions it was. Download the tibetan book of the dead free pdf ebook. Filmed primarily in the rugged terrain of the himalayan mountain region of tibet this documentary makes a decidedly feeble attempt at examining the book of the deads overall meaning and its apparent importance. The tibetan book of the dead is a buddhist funerary text and guide to the afterlife. Death is real, it comes without warning and it cannot be escaped. In the hidden history of the tibetan book of the dead, bryan cuevas now masterfully addresses these matters, shedding welcome light on a celebrated book and on tibetan religious history more generally. The tibetan book of the dead, or bardo thodol, is considered a key text in understanding early tibetan religious views on life, death, and the afterlife. I took the liberty of remastering audiobook for personal use. The tibetan book of the dead is the tibetan buddhist text that is most well known to the west.
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