The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: The Spiritual Classic & International Bestseller
by Sogyal Rinpoche
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sogyal RinpocheEditor: Patrick Gaffney
Editor: Andrew Harvey
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1994-03-17
ISBN: 0062508342
Number of pages: 425
Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco
Book Reviews of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: The Spiritual Classic & International Bestseller
Book Review: Accessible interpretation of the most important teachings of Tibetan Buddhism
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a classic on Buddhism, especially Tibetan Buddhism. It was written to clear some of the misunderstandings appeared after the West published "The Tibetan book of the dead", but Sogyal's teaching goes beyond that and explains the big picture of which the teachings of Tibetan book of the dead is only a part. He presents - incidentally or not - some of the great Tibetan masters of the last century, that he was a student of. I believe this to be the most important book I have read so far, and I think I'll study more about Buddhism.
The book was inspired by the deaths in his childhood of two people he loved. Noticing similarities and differences he then realized the power of Tibetan tradition, that better practice in the lifetime makes for an easier death, and most of all. the presence of a master near the dying is a very important element. After decades of living in the West he felt death is misunderstood there, although it is the most important moment of life.
Unfortunately, people are avoiding such important issues of existence and preparing for death, either by filling their schedule to the rim and doing countless things, so there is no time left to be alone with themselves (in the West), or by spending time foolishly lying in the sun, drinking tea and gossiping with friends (in the East).
The only permanent thing in life - the only permanence - is the impermanence. Mind has a temporary, superficial and deceiving aspect (sem in Tibetan) and the inner nature, real and primordial (Rigpa in Tibetan). Realizing the true nature of mind is the key to understanding life and death; we need to understand the nature, that aspect of mind which remains the same even after dying, and that understanding needs to happen in the lifetime; realizing the Rigpa means realizing the true nature of everything in the Universe. Training the mind is the most important thing to prepare for dying, because when dead mind is almost impossible to control unless we trained it. Buddha left behind 84000 meditation methods, and Sogyal explains a few of them and emphasizes that true meditation influences every moment of life, not only when sitting in the posture, close eyes and focus on ourselves.
According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition the existence is made of four bardos (planes - intermediate, temporary realities): natural bardo of living, the painful one of dying, the luminos bard of dharmata, and the karmic bardo of becoming.
Even in the West many people believe in reincarnation - actually it was part of Christian teachings until Middle Age. Reincarnation - and life - is affected by karma (literally action), that is our good and bad deeds from the past (this life or previous lives). Per Buddhist teachings, a soul can reincarnate in one of six realms, depending on karma and the dominant negative emotion of the mind: gods (pride), demigods (jealousy), human (desire), animal (ignorance), hungry ghosts (greed) and hell (anger). The human realm is the best - or maybe the only one - for spiritual progress. The ego is the main obstacle of attaining enlightenment, because it determines a duality between "I" and the rest of the world.
In Tibet the master has a great role to play in enlightment, and he should have a known spiritual lineage, so the the student could be sure that the teachings are genuine. The student needs to fully surrender to the master, considering him even above the Buddha, because he is living in the same realm and can help much more than other enlightened being. Sogyal introduces the Guru Yoga - the practice of uniting with master's mind - every day, but most importantly at the moment of death.
The author presents some Dzogchen elements (most important compassion practices), explains the overview and emphasizes seeking a genuine master for going beyond that.
An important element of a good death is the knowledge of this book's teachings by the dying.and the accepting of death. Also, the family needs to accept it and let the dying know he/she has their permission to die, so that the death could be peaceful. The dying should get all the help they can get - even from lifelong enemies.
Compassion is an perhaps the main element of Buddhism - all religions actually - and is a very important step for attaining enlightenment. Tibetans have a special practice (meditation) for that, in which they help the beings in need, and those dying could benefit a lot from that. The people dying in pain could (mentally) direct their suffering toward helping others, and thus eliminating a lot of bad karma. That practice (Phowa) is all about transferring the consciousness from the dead body to another realm. Both the dead and others could do that. Phowa should begin shortly after dying and continued as often as possible for 21 days (or even 49).
At the moment of death, the best three attitudes are: meditation on the true nature of mind (Rigpa) - for people who achieved that, the practice of Phowa, or praying towards enlightened beings (or own master).
At the moment of death, the essence of the body transfers the subtle energy from gross essence to higher levels of matter. Eventually, the Clear Light (real nature of mind) will dawn - which is an opportunity for enlightenment. However, because or lack of training, most people will miss it, getting into a state of unconsciousness for three days (that's why Tibetan don't move corpses for at least three days after death). After three days the consciousness leaves the body definitively, the bardo of dying is gone,
The soul enters the bardo of dharmata, which has four phases - four opportunities for liberation (not as a great as the first one and even harder to recognize). It displays a landscape of light and sound, deities (depending of dead's beliefs), wisdom and spontaneous presence.
After the four opportunities are gone, the soul goes into the bardo of becoming, which will be inhabited for 49 days, of which 21 days have stronger connections to the life that just ended. It must be said that until now karma didn't manifest, the most important factor being the thoughts, the attitude at the moment of death (which is a good thing for those with lots of bad karma, because they can achieve enlightenment if they recognize the opportunities). In the bardo of becoming the mind takes over, and consciousness begins to wander away, terrified by the wind of karma. The mind is very difficult to master in this bardo, especially without training during life. The dead can read minds, and a person (or relative) thinking badly about the dead can have a disastrous effect, because the mind is out of control and the anger will be amplified and have strong negative influences on the next birth. On the other hand, thinking good about them has amplified beneficial effects. Eventually, depending on preferences and mostly on karma, most souls choose some parents and get born through a process opposite to the bardo of dying.
Meanwhile, the people alive can and should help the dead with rituals to help the consciousness choose a better rebirth.
Sogyal shows that modern near-death experience confirm most of the bardo teachings.
Different aspects of the mind get stronger during different bardos. Even during lifetime we get through all the stages: living (being awakened), dying (dreamless sleep), dharmata (the moment before dreams begin) and becoming (the dreams). Actually, between two thoughts we go through all the stages.
To conclude, the book helps putting the life in the proper perspective. If you are a seeker, but not for a very long time, probably this book can give you many answers and save you a lot of time of. I recommend it highly!
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Summary of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: The Spiritual Classic & International Bestseller
This acclaimed spiritual masterpiece is widely regarded as one of the most complete and authoritative presentations of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings ever written. A manual for life and death and a magnificent source of sacred inspiration from the heart of the Tibetan tradition, The Tibetan Book Of Living and Dying provides a lucid and inspiring introduction to the practice of meditation, to the nature of mind, to karma and rebirth, to compassionate love and care for the dying, and to the trials and rewards of the spiritual path.
In 1927, Walter Evans-Wentz published his translation of an obscure Tibetan Nyingma text and called it the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Popular Tibetan teacher Sogyal Rinpoche has transformed that ancient text, conveying a perennial philosophy that is at once religious, scientific, and practical. Through extraordinary anecdotes and stories from religious traditions East and West, Rinpoche introduces the reader to the fundamentals of Tibetan Buddhism, moving gradually to the topics of death and dying. Death turns out to be less of a crisis and more of an opportunity. Concepts such as reincarnation, karma, and bardo and practices such as meditation, tonglen, and phowa teach us how to face death constructively. As a result, life becomes much richer. Like Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Sogyal Rinpoche opens the door to a full experience of death. It is up to the reader to walk through. --Brian Bruya
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