Tibetan Book of the Dead
The "Tibetan Book of the Dead" – also known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead or Bardo Thödol (Tib. བར་དོ་ཐོས་གྲོལ་, Bardo Thödröl, "Liberation through Hearing in the Intermediate State") – is a spiritual text from Tibetan Buddhism. It is one of the most well-known works of Vajrayana Buddhism and describes what happens to consciousness after death.
Core contents of the Tibetan Book of the Dead:
The Bardo State:
Bardo means "intermediate state." There are different bardos – for example, the one between life and rebirth.
The book focuses on the time after physical death and before rebirth.
Purpose of the text:
The text is intended to help the deceased navigate the experience of death, achieve enlightenment, or facilitate a favorable rebirth.
It is traditionally read aloud to guide the consciousness of the deceased.
Experiences after death:
Various visions and apparitions are described, such as peaceful and wrathful deities, which are projections of one's own mind.
Consciousness initially encounters a radiant light – those who recognize this and are not afraid can attain liberation.
Structure:
The text is usually divided into three main parts:
The moment of death
The experiences in the Bardo
The decision to be reborn
Philosophical background:
The text is based on Tibetan Buddhism (particularly the Nyingma tradition) and provides a profound perspective on the mind, death, and rebirth.