Tibetan Book of the Dead – What Is It About? Ep. 75
In this podcast Professor Thurman talks about the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The Tibetan name of this book — The Bardo Thodol — literally means The Book of Natural Liberation through Understanding in the Between. A being can be liberated in “the between” (the term is often translated as “intermediate state”), the period after death but prior to rebirth. This liberation takes place through hearing and understanding, because the being in the between is said to become nine times more intelligent than when s/he was alive.
After death, fully transformative enlightenment can take place in the between because the patterns that are embedded in the body and in the coarse mind have lost all inertia.
This episode is an excerpt from the lecture “Exploring the Tibetan Book of the Dead with Robert Thurman” given at Tibet House US in New York City, February 12, 1994.
The Bob Thurman podcast is produced under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives License through the generous support of its listening audience and the Tibet House US Menla membership community. To learn about the benefits of membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us.
The songs “Trance Tibet” & ‘Dancing Ling’ by Tenzin Choegyal from the album ‘Heart Sutra‘ (2004) by Ethno Super Lounge are used on the Bob Thurman Podcast with artist’s permission, all rights reserved.
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The Tibetan Book of the Dead
The so-called “Tibetan Book of the Dead” has been renowned for centuries as a classic 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 […]
