What in the world did I just read? This was really weird. I hate to sound insulting, but coming from an atheistic point of view, this read like someone was on a drug trip rather than dying. I should point out that this is a manual for Buddhist when they are going to die, when they are dead, and when they are reborn. I wouldn't read this unless you've read a few things about Buddhism. However, regardless of faith you are going to be thinking of death, keep that in mind before reading Tibetan Book of the Dead.

My grandmother died earlier this month. I needed something to read that was related to death or some that would help calm me down. I wasn't sure when I wanted to read this because of the subject matter, but thought this was a good time. While it did help me calm down with the poetry, it made me think of the after life. Is there an afterlife? I decided I don't believe in one anymore. I use to think I'd go to one, but it just causes me to have anxiety if I think I'm going somewhere after this life. If we die, I think, we just die. Nothing more.

Looking at some of these reviews not many of them talk about the poetry of this book. It gives us some great inspiration for fantasy stories. Most of the time it read like Dante or Revelation to me. Someone's interpretation of the afterlife set in sections and weird god-like beings. The next time someone argues with me whether or not Buddhism is a religion I'm going to ask them if they ever read this book. It's clear Buddhism is a religion more than a philosophy.

Although I don't believe any of this, I will take away some points and ideas from this book. This isn't a book you just read and forget about within a week. This will say with you. Also, I found this edition extremely helpful. It has a ton of notes, a glossary, and background information that will help you understand the text. Plus, it has some cool art of the deities as well. ( )

In this classic of the world's religious literature-traditionally read aloud to the dying-death and rebirth are seen as a process that offers the possibility of attaining ultimate liberation. This unabridged translation emphasizes the practical advice that the book offers to the living. The insightful commentary by the renowned meditation master Chogyam Trungpa explains what the scripture teaches about human psychology.

Contents

Editor's note
Foreword by Chogyam Trungpa
Introduction by Francesca Fremantle
Commentary by Chogyam Trungpa
The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Notes

This read was primarily done for research purposes but the content was interesting enough to make it a pleasure. My favorite part was actually the preface to the version I read which was written by Carl Jung and gave a depth to things I would have missed otherwise. The content of the book itself was difficult to comprehend on its own, but there are a number of outside resources that helped with that, including trusty old Wikipedia. If you are a student of comparative religion, interested in the Bardo, or looking for some fresh ideas for the Sacred nature in your own writing, then please read this book. ( )

Outstanding book that gives perspective to how the Tibetan culture views death and the afterlife. No matter one's religious background, I found these writings comforting to a topic that scares me to no end. ( )

The Penguin Classics 2005 hardbound edition is the first complete translation of the whole cycle, rather than just the section that has been translated many times before (chapter 11 in this edition). It also includes introductions, notes and general interpretation aid from actual holders of the lineage/transmission, which probably makes it more accurate than many alternatives (given how heavily Vajrayana Buddhism relies on oral transmission).

What I appreciated most was the translation itself (by Gyume Dorje), done in prose (while preserving line breaks) and aiming to clarity and precision rather than "beauty". Given that beauty is a subjective concept, I tend to find 19th century translation of Buddhist texts rather unreadable: this edition is as readable as the subject allows.

I heartily recommend this edition to anybody who wants to read the "Tibetan book of the dead".

As for the content itself, I don't feel it can be rated. It is a classic from an ancient spiritual tradition, and as such its value depends on one's spiritual path and practice. For myself, having read it, I cannot help seeing it as magic rather than spirituality (despite being myself a buddhist and influenced by Tibetan buddhism among other schools). It is fascinating as an anthropological and cultural document, but I haven't found it useful as a spiritual tool. In this I obviously differ from countless generations of Tibetan buddhists: my judgment is not to be taken as condemnation, but as a personal view based on my own inclination and experience.