The Tibetan Book of the Dead: First Complete Translation (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) Paperback – Deckle Edge, January 30, 2007

Beautiful book - great addition to any library

I love the edges of the pages, and the vibrant orange. Perfect to have on hand for reference, so so pretty.

It's a great book in great shape.

I have the incomplete, first translation of this work; I jumped at the chance to get the first complete translation. Let me state this for the sake of clarity: in terms to profundity, this book is, in my opinion, unparalleled.We, here in the west, assume that we are among the most advanced nation(s) on the planet; that materialism, capitalism, even religious thought - are the acme of civilization. Then there's this book.I have been a voracious reader all my life, and have been exposed to thousands of pages of literature from countless brilliant minds; my advice to those of my ilk: read this book and be amazed at the complexity of it. Read the foreword by the Dalai Lama; you will come away shaking your head. The philosophy expressed by His Holiness is akin to one perfect thought honoring a process of liberation of the soul.And this: you would be in error to classify this book as religious; Buddhism? Buddhism is Science of Mind.

A very artistic paper binding covers this book. The leaves with orange background cover seems to have a calming effect. I am not an expert but there is some very sensitive, practical human advice in one of the chapters that advises on how to accompany someone who is close to death. It reminded me of my experience with a dear person in like circumstance. The metaphysic is nicely presented except unfortunately the author tends to draw a warped view of "western society" in order to put it down and compare it unfavorably with his eastern culture and metaphysic. This is often done by authors but besides being inaccurate can most unfortunately lead the reader into resentments that are detrimental to real understanding. It is considered a classic for a reason and is meritorious for the student and scholar.

It is very difficult to understand for a western mind.the chapters which instruct how to avoid reincarnation by just wearing, using, listening something, in my opinion they are similar to some of the traditions in catholic religion. I feel like is cheating, or trying to by heaven

By far this is the best translation of the The Great Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States (bar do thos grol chen mo). To have the full text is a huge added value. What people usually call "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" in other translations is the translation of just one chapter called "The Great Liberation by Hearing" of a bigger text. Were it becomes important to have the whole translation is that there is a lot of relevant information in terms of understanding the process of death and performing the rituals in the other chapters of the book and the authors here make a great job cross-referencing the various sections of the entire book. I am enjoying very much reading this and would recommend it to anybody interested in this tibetan literary genre.

This book cover is beautiful and I like the rough cut pages