Tibetan Book of the Dead

Audience

According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Tibetan Book of the Dead is chanted to a dying or dead person for him or her to be liberated from the cycles of rebirth from the Six Realms, or the samsara. It is also intended for readers not necessarily facing death but seeking a way to a deeper realization of the meaning of their existence as humans. It guides the person through his or her encounter with the various apparitions or deities, both cheerful and wrathful, which in scientific terms are the positive and negative projections of human instincts and consciousness. For the modern reader, the bardo experience reflects one’s psychological makeup, as in the form of heavy psychological pressure, nervous breakdowns, and insecurities in life. Once people have realized the process and features of dying and death, they will be more assured of their reason for living. The Tibetan Book of the Dead continues to be read—sometimes read aloud to a dying person—as a source of awareness of a high state of consciousness.