What is the Tibetan Book of the Dead?

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Thank you to Wondrium for sponsoring today’s video! Signup for your FREE trial to Wondrium here: ow.ly/BBou50N4T0f

[@christopherp.8868]

Can you talk about Jung/Campbell/Peterson on archetypes? FYI I don't agree with those concepts because there is obviously way too much nuance/historical context. That perennialist way of thinking probably hurts religious studies. I'd love more content challenging those ideas they possess.

[@rogerdodger8415]

Could you do a review of a fascinating book called "the Passover plot"?? I'd love to hear your take on it. Thanks!

[@astitvakachiar]

It is not for dead or corpses to real aloud. It is for practicing death during meditation while living

[@rogerdodger8415]

@@astitvakachiar It's always fun to practice death while living. Gets you ready for the real thing.

[@leapdrive]

What proof do Buddhists have that they’re beliefs are even real? We have Jesus Christ who produced miracles to authenticate Himself by showing His power over death and nature with simple commands. He taught us through his Church who created us, why we were created and how to go back to the Creator after our own deaths. So why do so many bother with beliefs that are unproven and teachings that produce a backward civilizations?

[@danielx40]

My teacher’s teacher once told him: “when you die, look straight ahead. Do not be distracted by left or right. Or you will be sucked right back to this place.” After you die, things that scares you, disturbs you, attracts you, attached to you, turns you on the most will appear, if you don’t look straight ahead, you will be sucked back and become someone’s child. You will become the child of parents that embodies the qualities that stimulates/disturbs you the most. The only way to not be reborn, is to let go of everything and look straight ahead.

[@donnafraenkel7852]

Helpful information You are right and I recommend this in life pathways as well.... focus on the finish line and not the people next to you It's not for comparison and this is where people fail

[@uwangchuk90]

❤🙏

[@ralphhardie7492]

😂😂😂😂

[@freeyourmind7538]

Meh...if this is the case, just look left/right, the first death, be born again, learn from your first experience and look up straight during the second death 🤷🏾‍♂️ The issue i find with these rebirths is that you NEVER know your previous events so how can you know, you are being born again,?

[@TheLovingRock]

Sounds like avoidance.

[@hankinaz]

When I first read this book, I was confused by it's imagery (i.e. demons drinking blood from skulls??!!) However, a friend recommended also reading The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche as a way to provide graspable context. In a nutshell, what I took away was the practical learning that when confronted with someone who is dying (i.e. in a hospice or coming upon a very traumatic accident), you should try to put them at ease and let them know it is okay for them to move on ... the mindset with which they leave this world (i.e guilt, fear, calm, etc.) is the mindset with which they will enter the new world (kind of like how waking from a scary or peaceful dream can shape your state of mind for that day.) Just a thought ...

[@furrycircuitry2378]

It's ok, Mr.hanikaz, I accept your passing go forth into the light and feel joy and comfort knowing you left this realm and the people in it better than before.

[@illsed]

Is just symbol n avatar

[@bb9a]

They're not demons, but they are entities of spirit

[@LoahKiLynKd87]

Perfectly sumadup

[@hellboundtruck123]

You’ve unlocked the gross level meaning, now you may delve deeper 🙏🏼

[@simonpaterson9648]

5 months ago, I was lingering between life and death on life support with a usually lethal pneumonia. I was having these incredible mental projections for 13 days on life support. There were many projections, but one was of possessing a very small mental body, and others had very small mental bodies. I went searching, and after not being impressed with Christian experiences, I was finally in shock to find how similar these Bardos in Buddhism were to my direct experience. I have a psychiatrist, for post ICU,'' PTSD'', and he was fascinated with my description of what I experienced. Usually, he would diagnose someone as psychotic.

[@altverse1]

So good to hear brother.The deity in the bardos are similar to Hindhu text such as yama which we call him as yamaraj, so for me religion has been more like derived from each other since padmasambahava took the teaching from india.Anyway may the god bless you to an eternity.

[@DavidAKZ]

Psychotic or awakening ?

[@seadawg93]

Excellent. Another American/western aspect of the “Tibetan Book of the Dead,” is the idea that it is for anyone or everyone. While some modern teachers would accept that, the traditional view is that this is a text specifically for vajrayana practitioners who have received the specific teachings while alive. I have specifically been warned against using it for non-initiated people, because things like the descriptions of the wrathful deities would be very upsetting. There are other funerary practices, such as phowa, Shitro or Chang Chod. John Reynolds has a large section in his book “self liberation through seeing with naked awareness” (from the same cycle as the bardo thodrol) describing how deeply wrong Wentz’s and Jung’s understanding of Tibetan Buddhism were.

[@meesalikeu]

they were not “deeply wrong” lol, that is just hyperbole - they were just misguided as it was a partial text pulled out of context that they felt was enough and ran with for their western audience.

[@seadawg93]

@@meesalikeu they were misguided, took texts out there historical context and opined on the meaning, sometimes even the “true” meaning (ie. Allegedly truer than actual Buddhist teachers), of Buddhism and influenced how westerners viewed Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism specifically, to this day. If you don’t think that that is deeply wrong, so be it. But they were pretty wrong, and pretty sure of themselves as well.

[@bushit123456]

could yoo quote some of his criticism?

[@RJ-we1me]

What did jung got wrong?

[@yrobtsvt]

"phowa" is a scary term to me as Aum Shinrikyo used that word as a euphemism for murdering their enemies

[@iguanajoe9329]

I read the Bardo Thodol as a teenager because I was fascinated by eastern "mysticism", but little did I know how much it carried on with me. I partake in psychedellic use, and DMT once brought me to a place of pure blackness, and in it, I forgot everything that made me, "me". I instantly felt terror, because I could not fathom the idea of "me" disappearing, but deep in the blackness I remembered some of the lines, and I was able to let go of everything as it pleased. That was the only way I could achieve peace of mind deep where I was, and I inmediately understood that everything is connected. This book is severely underrated and everyone should get to know it.

[@theopenmouth9695]

U just did drugs.

[@Suzume-Shimmer]

Thats great you had such a tool to guide you at rhe right moment. 👍 Yeah, Timothy Leary , the original LSD 'guru' of the 60s acid experiments, recommends 2 books to understand and help with the psychedelic terrain . And one of them is The Tibetan Book of rhe Dead

[@Badficwriter]

You were better prepared than I was. During an acid trip, I got amnesia. It was terrifying and only a kind person in the house with me constantly reassuring me kept me calm. Telling me my memories had no effect, because my brain deleted them as soon as I heard the information. It wore off as the drug did. I have heard many stories of hallucinations in bad trips, but never knew you could get temporary amnesia.

[@aspersiondetergent5673]

I literally had the same experience except I felt sorrow for my loved ones. It felt as though my desire to not leave them behind is what brought me back. I am sitting here, listening now entertaining the idea that such an experience itself may have been an opportunity to fully let go in of itself. That maybe just the full acceptance of the “ situation” and realization would be enough (and if is such… recognizing the connection between all things…that it would not be leaving them behind at all, but existence itself, reaching a return to “oneness” Again, just spitball in my stream of consciousness atm It was wild though, reality just sort of flipped and I was in a void just as you mentioned. That feeling of “welp! You really done it this time!” Haha Best wishes, thank you for sharing your experience

[@natalyawoop4263]

People can get thought loops from psychedelics, which seems similar to amnesia, but memory becomes kind of circular.

[@fkapps]

I always find a text more interesting when framed in the context of the culture that produced it. The romanticizations of the east from the 60s, from orientalism, from theosophy, and the like are never as interesting as an exploration of those topics that involves the actual people and conditions from which they originated! Great video, thanks.

[@stevenvaleriojr1177]

I agree. Out of curiosity, though, what is your opinion on western authors who are actually legitimate practitioners of an authentic lineage- I'm thinking along the lines of Robert Thurman, Robert Buswell, Bernie Glassman, or even Brad Warner?

[@chitwansingh]

+

[@viljamtheninja]

What about the context of the culture that produced that romanticization? That is, after all, also a culture with its own context, its own reasoning, its own metaphysic search for truth and meaning which, to me, is just as interesting. And, it IS a way to understand other cultures, it was just a simplified, immature attempt at that. I think the typical presentation of Orientalism as somehow nefarious often rings a little hollow. People in the West, in their search for meaning and grappling with the eternal questions of death and suffering, finding inspiration in and fascination with foreign sources and ideas and somewhat turning them into their own thing is not much different from how cultures have always interacted and taken inspiration from elsewhere while reinterpreting through the context of their own cultural lens. The concept of Orientalism seems like a pretty natural result of Weber's demystification of the world through Western science and philosophy; it's an interesting cultural and philosophical phenomenon on its own. Now of course a video on the Tibetan Book of the Dead should probably primarily focus on the Tibetan context in which it originated, but I think its role in the West is equally interesting, just in a completely different way. It was, after all, an interest that arose due to some kind of spiritual need, something deeply human, and to present it as something negative just because it doesn't understand the entire context of the origins of its sources of inspiration seems either like academic elitism (but academics research these texts for reasons entirely different from why they become popular in the first place) or some kind of problematic cultural purism.

[@benardman2665]

Theosphy is Christian lol

[@seadawg93]

Absolutely! I love so much the approach nowadays (well, you know, in some circles at least) of approaching texts and ideas IN context. Especially given the western tendency to privilege text over other forms of authority, which may or may not be appropriate to a given culture.

[@Maitreya-7777]

You made so many videos on Buddhism. ❤ From India. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, a Buddhist from India.

[@chrisrichardson8988]

Since Buddhism was nearly wiped out of India, it is wonderful to see that the spread of teachings around the world is returning home.

[@expressnigga]

Buddha wasn't a Buddhist. He didn't drop from the sky neither were his teachings. He and his teachings went nowhere. They were here and shall stay so until the end.

[@dreamadventure8220]

​@@chrisrichardson8988 yes Buddhism is the original civilisation, heritage of india

[@tribaljukebox1773]

Jesus is King

[@beaustur]

Buddhism is evil, all religions are. Putting sophisticated consciousnesses into something with as limited capacity as a dog, frog, or whatever is SATANIC. These are things that aren't up for debate, they're facts.

[@fraktaalimuoto]

A practitioner of a Buddhist terma tradition here: there are various bardo practices in various practice lineages - many of them practiced while alive.

[@hexane8]

ICU psychosis happens a lot it doesn't mean that you're schizophrenic

[@justjoe4390]

Can you name some of the ones that are practiced while alive? I'd be very grateful.

[@DavidAKZ]

​@@hexane8you could be wakening and this society cannot handle it.

[@luridus584]

Yet again You provide some of the best mythological/cultural lectures on this platform, thank You for Your hard work, i could listen to You for hours

[@eyeofgnosis558]

Weird thing: before I knew anything about Buddhism, Jung or theosophy, I had (unknowingly) been drawing 'mandalas' to help organise my mind when I was going through chronic depression and suicidal ideation. Then I had an experience not too dissimilar to that in the Tibetan Book of the Dead (which I only encountered a year after the experience) that completely turned my life around for the better ^_^

[@L3onking]

It's no coincidence, these are the signs of the lama mass awakening.

[@donnafraenkel7852]

I've also had such experience. God greets you 😊

[@NullStaticVoid]

I started my journey into Buddhism with some books on Japanese Zen (Chan) Buddhism. Later when I was in college I realized that everything I read on Buddhism was written by European intellectuals. So I'd basically learned European existentialism with Buddhist window dressing. I moved on to Tibetan Buddhism, but again I messed up and read the "Book of the Dead" and a few other such texts which came to the west from European orientalists, who were were putting quite a lot of their own philosophy into their interpretation of Buddhism. Eventually I found a few books written by Tibetans with help from westerners. These were less sullied by the imposition of dualistic frameworks and philosophical baggage of Plato and the enlightenment (irony no?). The Dalai Lama has a few really good books on mindfulness meditation. And his discursive style is easy to follow. More recently I've been studying Theravada through the translations of Bhikku Bodhi. Though I got there strangely through Thích Nhất Hạnh. After I read a few of his books I mistakenly assumed he was Theravadan, though he is actually from the Vietnamese branch of Chan/Zen. Nevertheless I find Theravada more straightforward and less reliant on supernaturalism and deity worship. It's been pointed out that I am not the first westerner to find a home in Theravada for these reasons. A western preference for the secular I suppose?

[@yrobtsvt]

@Lex Waldorf This would have to be translations of sutras. It's impossible to have a modern text *about* Buddhism without Western influence, although academic scholars do their best....

[@yaoliang1580]

The road to better understanding of spirituality is long, difficult n filled with many pitfalls. Most important is understanding of the basics of life n keep our feet firmly on the ground n not be carried away with too much theories n philosophies, which is good for references but often do not work in real life n has cause many who seek such pursuits to fall into a state of disillusion, disenchantment, confusion n separation.

[@dreamadventure8220]

Woo, I thought thic nan to be thereavada too, thanks for clearing

[@alex434343]

I find secularism to be appealing to Western students in large part as a reaction to what we don't/didn't like in our own native religions (the many flavors of Christianity, mainly). Almost exclusively we've found our native religions to be wanting in some way and gone looking to the East for something that suits us better. Personally I think we can go too far in rejecting anything that even kinda-sorta-maybe looks like something Judeo-Christian. However to each his own, Theravada is wonderful as are Vajrajana/Mahayana which I personally prefer :)

[@fannyalbi9040]

u sounds like finding some sort attachments or comfort of certain buddhist sect than finding buddhahood within.

[@canisronis2753]

Worth a cup of coffee for sure, very useful!

[@marykayryan7891]

You never cease to amaze me. Such high quality videos. Succinct. Clear. Accurate. Accessible. Respectful. Just fantastic. Thank you.

[@hotdogflavoureddrink]

Not exaggerating, but he really is all of those things.

[@Jaz-ml5jv]

Love all the videos on Buddhism! I’m currently reading through the Tibetan Book of the Dead and it has been great to watch your videos to get a deeper understanding of it all 🌸

[@isaaccutlip5815]

Read the bible too

[@justinspicyrhino3075]

I take the Tibeten book of the Dead literally. There are a lot of parallels to people with near death experiences. I try to prepare my mind for death as often as possible.

[@catherinegrimes2308]

I noticed the similarity as well, maybe that is where the ideas come from?

[@SudoSkitz]

Dude, your channel is awesome. You're always so succinct and on point. Keep these up. To me, your channel sets the standard for anyone speaking on religion.

[@joshgwin8820]

Agreed

[@skarrven]

💯 Same

[@contempris2383]

He's a breath of fresh air. The internet discourse on religion is so toxic and not very academic. I can not stand Bible beaters or Debate Bro Atheists.

[@samgamgee7384]

What I like best is how eclectically agnostic he is. He can talk about Kabbalah, Chinese folk religion or the roots of anime with the same objectivity.

[@Chamelionroses]

I just like that he is honest

[@SunsetHoney615]

It is also a remarkable commentary on the modern idea of near death experiences. The parallels are remarkable indicating a rich tradition within Tibetan history of discussing the NDE experience.

[@Tinil0]

But this has nothing to do with NDE, this is intended to be read to the already dead. This isn't revealed information from people who have had near-death experiences.

[@SunsetHoney615]

@@Tinil0 most likely the tradition that created this text is very much based on the stories told by people who “returned from death”. They are called Delogs.

[@3mindgame]

Tibetan book of the Dead is one of the most profound book I ever read. It’s almost like it’s referring to everyday life on one level while simultaneously referring to a actual physical death process. Great read. Then check out the “ American Book of the Dead”

[@vk3act]

I m. Student of Sogyal Rinpoche. Thank you for this video.

[@freemanacount5609]

If you want to read about Tibetan religious views on death and rebirth that's very accessible to a western audience, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is a great modern read written by a Tibetan.

[@BornR3STLESS]

That book radically changed my perspective on life, death and spirituality. It is quite a thought provoking book.

[@amberevol]

I bought these at the same time bc I was under the impression they went together. I feel like they do even tho they weren't written that way to my knowledge

[@facebookmary7502]

​@@BornR3STLESSthe author is a creepy guy that rapes women

[@Jack-fs2im]

Bhuddism is not a religion its a philosophy

[@siddarth3955]

​@@Jack-fs2im Buddhism is literally a religion with elaborate myths and after life. Saying it's just a philosophy is done by non Buddhists especially abrahamics adherents to not feel guilty for following another faith when their god especially prohibited them from doing so.

[@mbass718]

Still in the middle of the video but getting ready to go to sleep. I had what I can only describe as a Buddhist near death experience a year and a half ago. Almost died. Woke up after being in the Bardo. My Bardo experience was just my conscious being someplace where I was seeing what I can only say were strands of my DNA in building blocks swirling like Mandalas in a way. It was far beyond any psychedelic I've ever experienced. And at one point I said...Where am I. A voice that sure sounded god like replied.. "You're in the Bardo State of Dying and being reborn"' That was it. That's exactly what it felt like. It was so beautiful I wish I could remember it better. If I would have been reborn I think I would have been okay. It was almost sad coming back but I'm glad to be here

[@mbass718]

@@mydreamsarecomingtrue No idea. It was infinite

[@FriendlyGoat00]

@@mbass718as a Tibetan I don’t know much about my religion. I recommend you vist India place called nalanda (origin of Buddhism), it’s a very important pilgrimage Indian and Tibetan make. I also recommend you visit Tibetan monastery in India because you will truly see what it’s about. Don’t vist Tibet in china because it’s very restricted to foreigners.

[@BallBatteryReligion]

Well, that's interesting. It sounds similar to an intense psychedelic experience I had. I too saw DNA strands (though it wasn't clear that it was my own, felt more general) spinning in cycles, interconnecting like turning gears. The DNA would transform into two dimensional spiders and strange geometric patterns too. I had no concept of mandalas or Buddhism at the time beyond a very basic knowledge as something I'd heard about. The more I learn, the more the entire experience gets recontexulized in hindsight. Considering this, along with the other visuals like hieroglyphics and cave paintings of hunters and men marching, the weird insights I had about why humans build monolithic structures and the general theme of finite, cyclical time, mortality and the how I had been, and how so many humans waste their limited time on petty distractions; the overall meaning of it has become pretty clear. Thus here I am, former agnostic/atheist more and more drawn to Buddhism by the day lol.

[@mbass718]

@@BallBatteryReligion I've definitely had my share of intense psychedelic experiences too. This was far beyond the strongest medicines I've worked with. The strongest being Bufo. Bufo would be the only medicine I could somewhat compare it to but this was really far beyond a complete ego death with Bufo. I've definitely had experiences with losing my body and being connected to Source /G_D as well as connected to family members who've passed on. I only had a little knowledge about the Bardo and I never really believed in reincarnation before this NDE. I've had to rethink all of that. I've done some of the strongest medicines on the planet but never had anything where I asked a question and got a clear answer by a voice that certainly sounded G_D like. The whole time it was just seeing or being part of what I mentioned.. Just a non stop deluge of strands of my DNA that I somehow knew was mine.. I can't remember where they were coming from but they were in blocks.. One after another swirling endlessly. I was in Total peace and was just consciousness. At some point I asked where I was and that clear message in a booming voice answered.. You're in the Bardo state of dying and being reborn. From there I didn't need to ask anything else and if I would have died at that moment I would have been fine. I've definitely had immense visuals on potent shrooms, K, Bufo, 5meo etc.. But this was really way beyond all the experiences I've had with psychedelics. I also literally saw my mom's soul /light leave this world the second she passed away. That's a whole other story and completely different from what I experienced. I'm not sure where our souls go when we transition but I think some souls have different outcomes. I'm pretty certain my mom went to heaven from what I saw. Or at least to a better place. I think I'm coming back when my time is up in this body. I'm not a Buddhist but I do really like Buddhism and have done alot of Buddhist mantra meditations. I have no idea what the rest of the Bardo is like but I do know I was at peace and other than seeing my mom's soul /light leave this world.. Which people can believe or not. I know what I saw and it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and the biggest gift I've ever been given. Being in the Bardo and having Buddhist friends say they believe I was in it... Makes it equally the most incredible gift I've ever received.

[@mbass718]

@@BallBatteryReligion lol and I hear ya about Buddhism. It's the only religion that truly preaches peace and respect for all life.

[@robertpenny7180]

Thank you. I appreciate the time you spend on these videos. I've also heard the translation as "Oh child of noble family." It's interesting how a few words makes a huge difference.

[@QuasarEE]

That could probably be understood to refer to the Five Buddha families if it were accurate, and not a worldly lineage.

[@madnessbydesignVria]

Your academic, non-judgemental breakdowns always amaze me. Thank you so much for keeping knowledge alive... :)

[@tapishatrey6098]

I'm gonna start my tibetian book of dead study soon. This video definitely build a overview and info was very descriptive.

[@LangThoughts]

I'm a linguistics student studying Tibetan, and in the Modern Language "Bardo" is pronounced "Pardo" The full name "Bardo Thodol" is pronounced something like "Pardo Toejoel"

[@celsus7979]

That reminds me of a fun video by NativLang - The Hardest Language to Spell A video about Tibetan by a language lover, who had quite a difficult time with it

[@LangThoughts]

@@celsus7979 Actually "Bardo Thodol" is a fusion of the modern pronunciation and the Classical Spelling "Bar-do Thos-grol"

[@LangThoughts]

Note that the "oe" in "Toejoel" represents the sound that German spells as "ö" ie. o-umlaut.

[@Iskbest]

@@LangThoughts That's not how everyone says it! I personally haven't heard the Bardo spelled with "P". Can imagine a regional Kham (east Tibet) people saying it but have never heard that myself.

[@LangThoughts]

@@Iskbest Not in Khams, no, but if someone from the Western World mentions "Modern Tibetan", most of the time, we mean Lhasa Dialect, as that is the most studied Modern Dialect and IIRC, in that dialect བ་ is pronounced like ཕ་, unless there is a pre-initial consonant. Also, I made a mistake, I should have said "Perto" or "Peto", because in Lhasa Dialect, བར is pronounced as if it were ཕེར་ཐོ་ or ཕཻ་ཐོ་, except the tone is different.

[@dgeraldrunkle9304]

I have to say this is one of your best videos on this channel, nice job

[@jcfal1708]

I love your style. Your presentation is clinical, factual, but very engaging, making stupidly complicated texts and concepts understandable by far lesser minds ;)

[@SnackPack913]

It always blows my mind how deep and complex various religions are. Centuries of refinement, analysis, religious experiences, all build this extremely deep and mystical lore. Pretty wild what humans can transcribe onto paper

[@ShadyCharacter97]

Thanks for more Vajrayana & general Highland Mahayana Buddhist content! So underexplored in this KZbin space.

[@mldouglasjr]

Profoundly interesting. I just happen to be in a seminar that's discussing Westernization, Orientalism, and Buddhism this week. Thanks!

[@trevorjennings720]

Hello Mel, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??

[@secretshaman189]

This review of the "Tibetan Book of the Dead" was great, and to the point. The narration material and delivery was so professional! Loved it!

[@aimeemorgado8715]

Thank you for your scholarly, yet kind and human , analysis

[@robertschlesinger1342]

Excellent video. Very interesting, informative and worthwhile video.

[@InquisitorThomas]

Haven’t watched the video yet but that name sounds like the Maguffin that the Nazis would be looking for in some unreleased Indiana Jones movies.

[@jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901]

This kinda reminds me of a comic book I saw where the nazis established a buddhist deathcult in tibet after they lost WW2 and they return to end samsara for every human being once and for all or something.

[@chendaforest]

​@@jayasuryangoral-maanyan3901 sounds like something ripe for a Steven Seagull film.

[@stephanieparker1250]

Or Nicolas Cage

[@giovannicolpani3345]

Don't google Ahnenerbe and Ossendowski

[@siddhartacrowley8759]

@@giovannicolpani3345 Ok I won't.

[@zorgius]

Thank you! What a work of scholarship!!

[@PaulHaesler]

As far as I know, John Lennon only had access to Timothy Leary's "The Psychedelic Experience" which was loosely based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead - not the Bardo Thodol itself. (Certainly the opening line "Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream" is a quote from Leary's book)

[@JunguianPhantom]

It reminded me of "wade into the quiet of the stream" said by Hannibal in the eponymous series

[@pemaya4555]

Ah, this is so, so good.👏🏽 Last semester I taught our new study of religion students about the tibetan book of the dead after Prof. Jens Schlieter held his lecture on it for us, and I continue to be amazed by the academic quality of this channel. Big kudos to the team behind it! Also, I made my students watch quite a bunch of the other videos of RFB as I think they are wonderful teaching material with reliable information, especially for newer students 😄 Thank you for your work!

[@MultiWeb23]

As a zen buddhism practitioner, it is amazing to see how incredibly different tibetan buddhism is and how much it diverged and innovated in comparison to other schools! It's beautiful!

[@Prasad_California]

This definitely can not be true Buddha’s teachings. This is pure hallucination and imaginary. Funny enough to package it under name of Buddha who didn’t at all believe in deities like Yamdharma ( described here as drinking brain lol)

[@i_love_tibet7001]

@@Prasad_California You are quite the Ignorant and delusional one..... get the fact check right, even all informations are there.

[@khayon4364]

@@Prasad_California Or perhaps your lineage lost something important, eh?

[@driphella4080]

I never knew the Tibetan Book of the Dead was such a small part of such a large tradition, though it makes sense in hindsight Your commentary on the relationship between Western spiritualism and Eastern religions is highly insightful, especially so in this video I'm always happy I subscribed every time you show up in my feed. Always high quality stuff.

[@stevenvaleriojr1177]

I've really been enjoying this series on Buddhism. Are you planning to do one on the Zen sects (or have you done one and I somwhow missed it)? As a Zen (well, technically Soen, it's a Korean lineage) teacher and amateur scholar, I'm very interested to hear your take on it.

[@ReligionForBreakfast]

Yes, a video on Zen is in the works.

[@stevenvaleriojr1177]

@@ReligionForBreakfast Awesome!

[@tenzin4997]

a tibetan monk helped create the written language script for koreans in the court of kublai the phags-pa script

[@술톤윤돼지탄핵]

What a pleasure to see a fellow Seon Buddhist here! 🌷

[@fannyalbi9040]

i found a lot of people rather finding attachments or comfort for certain buddhist sect than achieving buddha hood within

[@flamephlegm]

I love your videos but especially the ones on Buddhism. Wish there was a whole course on here lol. Thanks for all of the videos. I deeply appreciate your labor.

[@Eclipti_Faith]

Thank you for all the work you put into your videos, they are always so informative!

[@briankleinschmidt3664]

It's not a guide to the dead. It is a description of the dying process. I read it (many years ago). It's not a life changing experience, but you can get some good out of it.

[@Slapsista]

Thanks for the critical angle and placing this in the historical context of how the text was published.

[@chronikhiles]

Gotta say, you're the first Westerner I've heard pronounce guru correctly. Appreciate it.

[@mjr_schneider]

I went to Tibet for about two weeks back in 2017 and learned so much about Tibetan religion and culture just from being there a short time, but was never able to learn about it in the depth that you go into in this video. I would be very interested in seeing you do a video on the Bon religion, because I haven't yet seen anyone do a really thorough explanation of it.

[@Thescrubsliker]

I think I experienced this when I was on lsd, even tho I didn’t know much to anything about these concepts except for maybe the name of the book. On one hand I find this really scary, on the other hand I’m relived that I found something that describes my expirence, so I don’t feel alone with it anymore.

[@gibrannicholau3447]

Texts simillar to The Tibetan Book of The Dead were found in Merapi-Merbabu scriptorium, Central Java and dozens of copies in Bali. I read a copy in my university's library and found one key difference from this video: many cantos end with "rahasya nemen, aywa wera" or 'this is an esoteric truth, keep it secret," instead of being read aloud.

[@kamenraidajoseph1894]

The Bardo Thodol is also intended to be kept completely secret - it's only modern interference that has broken this lineage

[@gibrannicholau3447]

@@kamenraidajoseph1894 ah I see thanks for this info! In Java and Bali these texts go with many titles, many of them were actually without a title but were given by later scholars. The copy I read was called Dharmasunya. To a certain degree the secrecy of these texts - Dharmasunya and related texts- were still kept, even families inheriting ancient copies would ask for a university student wanting to read it for a simple offering of flowers, benzoid incense, rice cakes and traditional cigars. Research books covering these texts would also be distributed sparringly, albeit for free.

[@nickdavila94]

In Tibet secret went out the window lol

[@seanpatrick4155]

I have seen many videos on this subject. I appreciate how concise and to the point your presentation was. ;)

[@shervinmarsh2456]

I appreciate your neutral analysis of religion. It speaks volumes. I live in Taiwan. I've been to both my in-laws' funerals, and they read from something. I'd be curious to know exactly what it is they are reading and what it means. I supposed it could be a Book of the Dead, but they are Mahayana Buddhists here, and I wasn't aware that they had a similar ceremony.

[@TheRealShadowX]

Great Tibetan Buddhism videos lately.

[@prismgems]

People comment as if the appropriation of the scriptures is bad. But this is how religions spread. Think of true religions as open source intellectual property. Indian buddhism became chan in China after Bodhidharma, and zen in Japan, and son in Korea. The teachings are adapted to the new culture. Teachings for a society of subsistence agriculture in 500 BC have to be made meaningful for a post industrial culture in 2100 AD, without losing the essence. Historically, this happened when an enlightened teacher either went to the new venue (e.g. Padmasambhava, Bodhidharma), or brought a native of that venue to enlightenment (e.g. Dogen).

[@prismgems]

The part I like is a verse at the end, sort of in an appendix. It goes, O procrastinating one, who thinketh not of the coming of death, Spending your time in the useless doings of this world, Improvident art thou in dissipating thy great opportunity, If thou returneth empty handed from this life. That's more for someone who wants to prepare for death, than someone who hasn't prepared as you described. Lucid dreaming, meditation, both great ways to prepare for the after death experience.

[@chrisrichardson8988]

There is a real connection to the ABHIDHAMMA that similarly describes the transmigration to rebirth linking. The Tibetan text is more poetic and personal, whereas the ABHIDAMMA is technical. Of course it’s always encouraging to see these teachings supported among various schools of Buddhist Teachings. Even Shinran Shonin of the Japanese school of Jodo Shinshu writes about ‘Transformed Lands’ which seemingly has to do with the descriptions of transmigration and rebirth linking.

[@LoudWaffle]

Very cool video! Fascinating to learn not only the "book's" contents, but its history as well. I also didn't even realise its significance in the West.

[@skatman339]

Loved this video, thank you! Any chance we can get a video on The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat(or just on Ra Lotsawa in general)? It shows a side of Tibetan Buddhism rarely discussed in the west, and I think it would make for a great video

[@KingfisherTalkingPictures]

There is a tendency to say, “Oh, look how the West has misinterpreted another culture’s religious practices.” But as shown is the episodes on Voudun, and the focus in African Christianity on the section of the Bible which discuss witches and exorcisms, it’s a human foible. We want to interpret the mysteries in our culture in a new way, that makes sense within our culture. The show, The Book of Mormon, ends with a historical misunderstanding which shows how new religions come into being. I always appreciate the takeoff line of W.C. Fields, from The Firesign Theater, “There’s a seeker born every minute.”

[@kevinnielsen1356]

Bardo Thodol is only one of six methods to escape ignorance this is within the Terma left by Padmasmbhava. Liberation on seeing is my favorite.

[@mikecaetano]

"Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream \ It is not dying, it is not dying ..." I have a copy of the Leary book. Lennon leans on it pretty good.

[@777johnp]

Great stuff. I have this book on my shelf and didn't know how to approach it. This gave me the context and framework on how to read and understand it, thank you.

[@lordofchaosinc.261]

The text goes against much we take for granted. There are several Buddhas featured in the book and not all of them play nice, some offer "tough love", everything in your interest of course. Then there's the notion that the state of your mind after death matters to your spiritual journey. While your actions in life offer some guidance on which realm you incarnate next, all of your good or bad deeds might not matter if you make right or wrong choices after death. It's a fascinating read confronting the reader with an almost eternity of reincarnations on the wheel to bring death into perspective.

[@blixten2928]

So much fun, so interesting, so well done. THANK YOU!

[@ObserverObserved24]

That helped so much! Thank you 🙏

[@lethemyrsmith2847]

This is one of the best series on Buddhism on the internet! Keep it up! Very few popular videos on Buddhism portray the religion like it really is because of how many misconceptions there are. I’m excited for the Zen video you teased in another comment.

[@rrezonkrasniqi]

Hey I am suggesting a series of videos about the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, you could do it in three parts, firstly the Masonic and the allegedly Rosicrucian origins, then in a second video you could talk about the prime of the Order, and lastly, you could talk about the downfall and the falling out with many schools being form from there. I think it would be in your style of work, and it would be very beneficial for the audience. I would really appreciate it if you would consider this!

[@HyperKyle]

Yeah. It’s true. During one of my near death experiences there was a tunnel of light that I felt attracted to, it was warm, but I pulled away at the last moment because I didn’t want to start over yet.

[@hunterpicker]

Seems pretty similar to the buddhists chants at my Chinese grandpapa’s buddhist funeral.

[@jorgegonzalez-larramendi5491]

Thanks!

[@LilFL117]

Love your content!

[@jgn1989]

This channel has been making me think a bit differently about religions, especially on how they work in practice for those who believe in it. I'd love to watch an essay on spiritualism under Allan Kardec's tradition since it's mostly seen as religion but fundamentally positioned itself as a science amidst the positivism of the 19th century.

[@phillylifer]

So well explained

[@jeffreysousa1104]

You provided so much necessary context to something I've been trying to understand for a while now, thank you so much

[@shamanic_nostalgia]

Coincidentally been listening to a lot of James Low talks on this and Vajrayana/Dzogchen in general...your videos on Buddhism are some of the best out there in my opinion and incredibly timely

[@Chase_Istre]

I think what gets me from time to time is that Buddhist principles and ideas are not followed by many Western spiritualist or ignored for the sake of what I call “spiritual entertainment”. What I’m talking about is the use of intoxicants and drugs which breaks one of the most basic teachings of the five noble truths. Yet they do so because they equate Eastern religion to a spiritual mysticism of hallucinogens. When more often than not, the teachings are more orthodox than it seems. Amituofo❤️🙏🏼😁

[@MattBellzminion]

Another pop cultural reference: in Art Spiegelman's iconic graphic novel "Maus", IIRC, Art reads the text (or tries to; I don't remember how far he got through it, & he may not have been specific about that; my recollection is that if anything, Art was reading the text for his own peace of mind as much as for a literal metaphysical benefit for his mother -- after all, he and his parents were all at least nominally Jewish) after his mother died by suicide. Mother and son had had an extremely fraught relationship, and it seems that Art largely hated his mother, but he also felt guilty for doing so, in large measure because she had survived the Holocaust in Auschwitz, and Art understood that much of the tension in their relationship stemmed from her constant torment as a survivor of the unimaginable and unbearable.

[@wilhelmseleorningcniht9410]

I would honestly be fascinated to watch a video about Theosophy. With how influential they've been on western occultism, and subsequently on new religious movements, it's a fascinating subject

[@hannahtunks411]

Great video, pumping out hits left and right

[@_ClearConscious]

We are truly limitless! Don’t let your mind rule you! Love yourself and keep moving forward! ❤

[@JohnVance]

This was a lot less traumatic than watching Enter The Void.

[@rabbitazteca23]

Tobetan culture and philosophy is so interesting to me

[@HEROFrogman69]

Very glad I found this channel

[@praporbarton3961]

Came here right after Reading P. K. Dick's 'Ubik'. He did a great job incorporating themes from the Book and his psychedelic experiences into that novel

[@ImzelM]

Great content!

[@Grace-fb7jk]

This video was amazing. Concise and highly informative. Thank you.

[@ElsieDreamWorld]

Have you done any video about Hinduism? It would be so interesting . Thanks for your teachings.

[@JonathanDavisKookaburra]

great summary

[@donnafraenkel7852]

I did the walk of the bardo....true story Every person should know these scripts

[@donnafraenkel7852]

The five wisdoms is very similar as each direction is a different realm and links to character

[@trevorjennings720]

@@donnafraenkel7852 Hello Donna, how are you doing today, hope you’re fine and safe from the COVID-19 virus??

[@m.fazlurrahman5854]

Tibetan Book of Death was written to visit Tibet and spend the “hare Rama” for a while before one gets back to the civilian society again. Some could take the experience and forgot and could move on. However, a number of recurring tourists kept the demand for such books high.

[@bewg]

I remember this one time while on liquid lsd, stoned and inhaling no2. Directly after I took a huge no2 hit (lacking oxygen to brain) everything went dark and then in an instant it was bright again but brighter than usual, I had entered into what felt like a pocket of reality entirely adjacent to ours but only containing the room and people I was with within. My two friends turned to me in synchronicity while we were in there and told me something which I will never be able to recall exactly, but the feeling I got from what I was being told was the most completely profound thing I had ever heard or felt as though I had just received some secret truth that entwined myself and everything in existence together in one simple idea. And the next moment I was back in the room asking my friends to repeat what they had just told me, meanwhile they're giggling and cackling at something else completely unaware of the experience I just had. Perhaps this is a similar source for the inspiration of luminous mind.

[@funkrobot9762]

Nah bro. You were just on drugs.

[@BlackestWolves]

I see it as a guide to maneuver throughout a breakthrough psychedelic traveling experience.. what to do when you see this or that and how to feel knowing what your seeing while in any level of state… is what I hear … nothing to do with death or dying. To each is own ,at the end of the day we each paint our very own picture

[@jibranelbazi]

First step sounds exactly like an ego death/awakening experience. The dying “person” is the ego dying, and this text helps the Self (capital S) to “pass through” and be “reborn.” Realizing the ego is nonexistent and thus leaving samsara.

[@milascave2]

A guy walks into a bardo---.

[@thestruggle3551]

😂

[@The0Stroy]

Well, since we see what people in the West do with this book, we can say that Padmasambhava's prophecy was right - his teachings get corrupted...

[@i_love_tibet7001]

Yes, in such degenerate time, people are less with virtue and merit for recognizing the Diamond..... all Guru Padmasambhava's prophecy are coming right in front of our true eyes...... SAD the West don't even have the basic morality to say the least.

[@grey7513]

Yep the entire West is corrupted.... pretty ignorant statement to group billions together and say they're the same.

[@1surfpesca_]

Mmm yes the west is the problem, and not eastern enemies of their own spiritual beliefs like the country of China who literally annexed Tibet… whom these monks are from… Are we that numb of a people that everything is just “west bad”?. Don’t get me wrong I think the west does indeed corrupt lord of religious texts… especially the Bible for which many of its teachings have been perverted… but I mean come on, they’re literally oppressed by an Eastern nation. This East vs west is just a waste of time

[@idtyu]

I mean Buddha already said that this is the dharma decline era, this is just one example

[@QuasarEE]

Yet there will be those who see the corruption for what it is, and reach out to find the truth they see still glittering behind it. So there is nothing, really, to despair about.

[@paulhoffmann3405]

"...the deities are manifestations of their own mind." - Wow. Very, very true.

[@videosefilmes22]

I had only known of this book because of Lennon's tomorrow never knows. It's good to have some more context

[@MSHNKTRL]

*TERMA: "oh, of course I couldn't have made this up; it was like this when I found it"*

[@mauveferret7076]

I've been trying to cope with post-traumatic stress for months after losing one of my close friends to a homicide. I'd give anything to know he's alright, wherever he is now..

[@qualitycontent5542]

Haha I had Donald Lopez as a professor at UofM last year, was pleasantly surprised to see his name come up here. A great and interesting man!

[@badsmilesorrisocattivo]

"They have weapon of fire, but have no fear" "Easy to say!"