The Tibetan Book of the Dead
by W. Y. Evans-Wentz · first published 1936
30% recommend65% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
A guide to the bardo, the intermediate state after death, that offers clarity on dying and on reincarnation; often suggested to readers curious about Tibetan Buddhism or mortality, even non-Buddhists.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Dr. Walter Yealing Evans-Wentz was the first englishman to make it to the Tibetan Lamas, high in the mountaiuns in the early 1900's. He was the first indoctrinated by the Tibetan Lamas at that time. His translation, and interpretation of The Tibetan Book of The Dead is the first also. It is an excellent book, and he was very strict in staying as close to the original text as possible, and yet translate to the english language. He was under the strict guidance of his Lama the entire time.
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I highly suggest "The Tibetan Book of The Dead" and "The Power of Silence." Try to find the TBOTD version translated by W.Y. Evans-Wentz if you're not one for happy meal, watered-down philosophy. Take these texts with a grain of salt at first only…
on “Meditation Becomes Beneficial Surprisingly Fast” ↗The Tibetan Book of the Dead
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗…https://docs.google.com/open?id=1b9b6uO51isx8fKfuvDC_ftvaatE... Tao Te Ching :- https://docs.google.com/open?id=1NbIyjE_phiigwpR-jRlOc0u_n1-... The above books are not directly related to reincarnation. On reincanation you can read "tibetan book of the dead"
on “Hacker irked by reincarnation” ↗…grounded in the Vajrayana from Tibet. You can find a Center here: http://shambhala.org/centres/find-shambhala-centre/ One excellent text that comes from one of the parent lineages of Shambhala is the Tibetan Book of the Dead, which is basically a preparation for the Bardo, or the "in-between" stages after life. You can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardo_Thodol There is a vast library of teachings from our…
on “On Mother's Day, My Mom Asked Me to Help End Her Life” ↗-- To further your point - The Tibetan Book of the Dead (1994) - Narrated by Leonard Cohen is excellent peek into the word of Bardo -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg8ikDKL_zs
on “Why does anything exist?” ↗If you're still alive read "The Tibetan Book of The Dead" (I'm not Buddhist but it will provide you with a deal of clarity if you can see past the metaphors). I'm not a fan of platitudes but I think taking responsibility for yourself and living on your own…
on “Ask HN: Dead man coding.” ↗In similar vein, I recommend checking out The Bardo Thodol (AKA The Tibetan Book of the Dead) by Padmasambhava.
on “At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on” ↗Not really obscure, but I have a copy of a couple of Indian printed (pirate!) copies of books I bought in a bookshop in Kathmandu: The Tibetan Book of the Dead The Ascent of Rum Doodle My Dad has a lot of old late 1800s early 1900 books including a huge 2 volume dictionary, which is actually more of an encyclopaedia. It has topic sections like "How to defend…
on “Ask HN: What is the most obscure book you own?” ↗…see for yourself rather than looking for scholarly books. A number of the scholarly books are written by people who do not practice, and so there exist distortions to their words. Reading something like Tibetan Book of the Dead may not be terribly helpful if you are not also practicing too.
on “Astrology For Businesses” ↗…drawing out any further conclusions is counter-productive. Strassman, for instance, "documents" things like "Hey, the pineal gland is usually visible around 49-days into a fetus's development. And hey, the Tibetan Book of the Dead says 49 days is how long reincarnation takes!" This kind of mystical tripe is unscientific and reinforces the stereotype that psychedelic users are illogical, new-age hippies. I feel this way about a…
on “Drugs and the Meaning of Life (2011)” ↗Is that from Tibetan book of the Dead? Never read it, but early Buddhism rejects calling consciousness the “soul” or even supports the concept of a soul. In fact there is one Sutta in the Pali Canon where one monk went around proclaiming…
on “Americans Are a Lonely Lot, and Young People Bear the Heaviest Burden” ↗I know nothing about the Tibetan book of the dead, but it portrays the experience of death as an infinite psychedelic experience. (At least that's how I surmise it -- others might justifiably disagree.) To me this seemed prescient because I've heard…
on “Hyper-Reality [video]” ↗No, Tibetan book of the dead is orthogonal to Buddha's teaching. People attempted to mix them but Buddha's teaching was only able to be correctly revealed in each detail by a Buddha due to only him having a high enough level to see…
on “Americans Are a Lonely Lot, and Young People Bear the Heaviest Burden” ↗This guy needs to read the Tibetan book of the dead. People in the past have thought long and hard about consciousness... and actually experienced alternate states similar to death. We just choose to treat them as loonies in the west. Who knows what happens…
on “Why Cryonics Makes Sense (2016)” ↗…control it?" "No I couldn't control it. If one began with fear and hate as the major premise, one would have to go on the conclusion." "Would you be able," my wife asked, " to fix your attention on what The Tibetan Book of the Dead calls the Clear Light?" I was doubtful. "Would it keep the evil away, if you could hold it? Or would you not be able to hold it?" I considered the question for some time. "Perhaps," I answered at last,…
on “Cabal: A peer-to-peer, off-grid, community-first, hackable chat platform” ↗