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 lives. It has also been found to be helpful in the grieving process by people who have recently lost their loved ones.
Composed in the eighth century C.E., it is intended to prepare the soul for the trials and transformations of the afterworld. Its profound message is that the art of dying is as important as the art of living. Drawing on Tibetan spiritual traditions, it shows us the workings of the mind in its various manifestations - terrifying and comforting, wrathful and beautiful - which appear more clearly after death in the consciousness of the deceased. By recognizing these manifestations, we can attain a state of enlightenment, both in this existence and in the existence to come.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Robert A. F. Thurman, Bantam Books, 275 pages, $20.00

Robert Thurman, acclaimed translator of The Tibetan Book of the Dead and author of Inner Revolution, heads the Department of Religion at Columbia University and is the director of the Center for Buddhist Studies. He is a friend of the Dalai Lama's, president of Tibet House in New York City, and one of the most visible and respected Buddhist scholars and thinkers in the West.

	Contents: THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD: Liberation Through Understanding in the Between
	List of Figures	xiii
	List of Color Plates	xv
	Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama	xvii
	Preface	xix
	PART ONE: PREPARATIONS FOR THE JOURNEY
	CHAPTER 1 - BACKGROUND	5
	An Outline of Tibetan History	5
	Tibet: A Spiritual Civilization	10
	Tibet's Present Plight	12
	Buddhism in Summary	13
	Tibetan Ideas About Death	18
	CHAPTER 2 - THE TIBETAN SCIENCE OF DEATH	23
	What is Death?	23
	The Six Realms	29
	The Three Buddha Bodies	33
	The Body-Mind Complex	35
	Stages of Death	41
	The Reality of Liberation	45
	CHAPTER 3 - THE TIBETAN ART OF DYING	51
	Introduction	51
	Ordinary Preparations for Death	52
	Extraordinary Preparations	58
	The Preliminary Stage	59
	Mentor and Initiation	63
	The Creation Stage	68
	The Perfection Stage	73
	CHAPTER 4 - THE NATURAL LIBERATION LITERATURE	83
	The History of the Texts	83
	The Sections of the Book	87
	PART TWO: THE GUIDEBOOK FOR THE JOURNEY The Great Book of Natural Liberation Through Understanding in the Between
	CHAPTER 5 - THE BETWEEN PRAYERS	97
	The Prayer of the Three Body Mentor Yoga	99
	The Prayer for Help from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas	105
	The Prayer for Deliverance from the Straits of the Between	108
	The Prayer for Refuge from All Terrors of the Between	112
	The Root Verses of the Six Betweens	115
	CHAPTER 6 - THE GUIDEBOOK TO THE BETWEENS	117
	The Prayer of the Reality Between	117
	Preliminaries	117
	Using The Book of Natural Liberation	119
	Recognition of the Clear Light in the Death-point Between	119
	The Central Channel Reality Clear Light	120
	The Out-of-Body Reality Clear Light	127
	The Mild Deity Reality Between	131
	The First Day	133
	The Second Day	135
	The Third Day	136
	The Fourth Day	138
	The Fifth Day	140
	The Sixth Day	141
	The Seventh Day	145
	The Fierce Deity Reality Between	149
	The Eighth Day	149
	The Ninth Day	154
	The Tenth Day	154
	The Eleventh Day	155
	The Twelfth Day	156
	Orientation to the Existence Between	167
	Basic Introduction	167
	Powers and Problems of a Between-Being	169
	Encountering the Lord of Death	174
	Detachment from the Previous Life	177
	Avoiding the Dull Lights to Block Rebirth	180
	Blocking the Door of the Womb	182
	Choosing a Good Womb	187
	Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels	195
	PART THREE: SUPPLEMENTARY TRANSLATIONS
	CHAPTER 7 - THE DHARMA PRACTICE, NATURAL LIBERATION OF THE INSTINCTS	205
	The Ten Branches of Accumulating Merit	206
	Enlightening, Protecting, and Purifying	210
	Vajrasattva Purification	210
	The Actual Visualization	211
	Self-Creation	211
	The Mild Deity Interior Mandala	212
	The Scientist Deity Interior Mandala	216
	The Fierce Deity Interior Mandala	218
	CHAPTER 8 - THE NATURAL LIBERATION THROUGH NAKED VISION, IDENTIFYING THE INTELLIGENCE	227
	The Quintessence	228
	The Need for This Identification	229
	The Detailed Identification	231
	The Three-Point Entrance	232
	The Forceful Method	234
	The Four Inerrancies and Four Nails	236
	The Oneness of Times	237
	Views, Meditations, Ethics, Fruitions	237
	This Knowing	238
	Mind is All	240
	Glossary	243
	Essential Bibliography	277