The Bardo Guidebook

The Bardo Guidebook
Author: Chökyi Nyima
Publisher: Rangjung Yeshe Publications
Total Pages: 196
Release: 1991
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9789627341116

Existence is an endless cycle of experience called the four bardos. These four periods include our present life, the process of dying, the after-death experience, and the quest for a new rebirth. Drawing from his intimate knowledge of the innermost Vajrayana teachings, the Tibetan master Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche presents in The Bardo Guidebook straightforward, direct instructions on how to deal with the four bardos.

Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen

Union of Mahamudra and Dzogchen
Author: Chokyi N. Rinpoche
Publisher: Rangjung Yeshe Publications
Total Pages: 244
Release: 1994
Genre: Avalokiteśvara (Buddhist deity)
ISBN: 9789627341215

In simple and direct language, the Union of Mahamudra & Dzogchen contains Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche's teachings on a complete path to enlightenment, based on eight songs by the 17th century yogi and poet Karma Chagmey. As the first book by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, a living master of the Practice Lineage, the Union serves as a forum for his subtle brilliance and humor, the trademark of his teaching style.

The Mirror of Mindfulness

The Mirror of Mindfulness
Author: Sna-tshogs-raṅ-grol (Rtse-le Rgod-tshaṅ-pa)
Publisher:
Total Pages: 152
Release: 1993
Genre: Buddhism
ISBN:

This presentation of Tibetan Buddhist teachings on the endless cycle of experience, the four bardos—life, death, after-death, and rebirth—is aimed at inspiring and helping the practitioner achieve liberation from deluded existence and awaken to complete enlightenment for the benefit of others. This book is the foundation for the commentary Bardo Guidebook by Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche and is indispensable for the study of living and dying.

Luminous Emptiness

Luminous Emptiness
Author: Francesca Fremantle
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 554
Release: 2003-03-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0834824787

The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a best-seller for three decades, is one of the most widely read texts of Tibetan Buddhism. Over the years, it has been studied and cherished by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. Luminous Emptiness is a detailed guide to this classic work, elucidating its mysterious concepts, terms, and imagery. Fremantle relates the symbolic world of the Tibetan Book of the Dead to the experiences of everyday life, presenting the text not as a scripture for the dying, but as a guide for the living. According to the Buddhist view, nothing is permanent or fixed. The entire world of our experience is constantly appearing and disappearing at every moment. Using vivid and dramatic imagery, the Tibetan Book of the Dead presents the notion that most of us are living in a dream that will continue from lifetime to lifetime until we truly awaken by becoming enlightened. Here, Fremantle, who worked closely with Chögyam Trungpa on the 1975 translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Shambhala), brings the expertise of a lifetime of study to rendering this intriguing classic more accessible and meaningful to the living. Luminous Emptiness features in-depth explanations of: • The Tibetan Buddhist notions of death and rebirth • The meaning of the five energies and the five elements in Tibetan Buddhism • The mental and physical experience of dying, according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition

Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth

Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth
Author: Tulku Thondup
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2006-12-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1590303857

The author of The Healing Power of Mind draws on Buddhist scripture, firsthand accounts, and other sources to present an overview of Tibetan Buddhist teachings on facing death with openness and insight Buddhism teaches that death can be a springboard to enlightenment—yet for all but the most advanced meditators, it will be the gateway to countless future lives of suffering in samsara. Tulku Thondup wrote this guide to help us heal our fear and confusion about death and strengthen our practice in anticipation of this transition, and to help us realize the enlightened goal of ultimate peace and joy—not only for death and rebirth, but for this very lifetime. In simple language, he distills a vast range of sources, including scriptures, classic commentaries, oral teachings, and firsthand accounts. The book includes: • A downloadable audio program of guided meditations (URL provided in the book) • An overview of the dying process, the after-death bardo states, and teachings on why, where, and how we take rebirth • Accounts by Tibetan "near-death experiencers" (delogs), who returned from death with amazing reports of their visions • Ways to train our minds during life, so that at death, all the phenomena before us will arise as a world of peace, joy, and enlightenment • Simple meditations, prayers, and rituals to benefit the dead and dying • Advice for caregivers, helpers, and survivors of the dying The paperback edition links to a downloadable audio program providing guided instructions by the author on how to visualize Amitabha Buddha in the Pure Realm; how to receive his blessings; how to visualize transforming your body into light and sound at the time of death; how to share the blessings with compassion for all sentient beings; and how to rest in oneness. By becoming intimate with this practice while we're alive, we can alleviate our fear of death, improve our appreciation of this life, and prepare for death in a very practical way, while planting the seeds for rebirth in the Pure Land.

Vajrasattva

Vajrasattva
Author: Richard Chambers Prescott
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2014-02-21
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1491863676

To see more manuscripts by Richard Chambers Prescott go to Scribd.com and enter Grascott or PrescottRC. This book answers the question to the most concealed practice in the Bardo Todol, commonly known as The Tibetan Book of the Dead. What is the true intent of the Secret of the Four Wisdoms Gathered into the Clear Hollow Mysterious Passage of Vajrasatva? After eliminating all other possibilities you will discover that Trekcho and Togal are the one answer to this mystery. The encounter with the Vajrasatva Mystery is an Imbedded Clue to Trekcho and Togal which reveal Clear Light Evenness, not only in the after death state, but equally in the living state. Trekcho, Letting Go and Togal, the Four Stages of Soaring On or Skull Crossing are the deepest secrets of Dzogchen, the Natural Great Completion. In Nyingma these are restricted secret practices kept from the public eye. Whereas, in the Kagyu school and Bonpo tradition these same methods are open to one and all. You are the decider on these two attitudes. Let your thought be lighted by the words of the Lion of the Sakyas, Ananda? I have set forth the Dharma without making any distinction of esoteric and exoteric doctrine; there is nothing, Ananda, with regard to the teachings that the Tathagata holds to the last with the closed fist. I hope you will find the freedom of your own experience in the detailed observations and in depth examinations of these secret methods of Dzogchen. The text is in no way, nor tries to be a teaching text, a manual, nor a guidebook on Trekcho and Togal or Bardo, for I am in no way at all, a teacher, an expert nor a guide in these practices. Nor do I ever wish to be one. This essay is an answer to a life long question I have had since reading the Bardo Thodol as a young person. What is the true meaning of Vajrasattva, the Mysterious Passageway and the Union of the Four Wisdoms? It just so happens that after one goes through all possibilities of what this means one finally comes to the sacred secret teachings of Dzogchens Trekcho, Togal and Bardo. So I have had to explain what little that I know about these special secret practices to answer the primary question this text attempts to answer. Why wade through the torrent of concepts on this when we can go directly to the clear, most reasonable and satisfactory answers that leave no shadow of hesitation? Vajrasattva stands for the Primordial Clear Light Void as Love and Compassion. The secret Mysterious Way of the pure Clear Passage of Vajrasatva is the Kati, running from the Heart to the Eyes. Within this Kati are the Four Lamps. From Clear Light, through the Open Kati these Lamps give forth an arising to the Four Togal Appearances. Since it is found in the highest wisdom texts from Dzogchen on Trekcho, Togal and Bardo and Tibetans favorite book on guidance in the afterlife, it is worthy of taking a serious look.

Mind Beyond Death

Mind Beyond Death
Author: Dzogchen Ponlop
Publisher: Shambhala
Total Pages: 357
Release: 2008-08-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1559398469

An indispensable guidebook through the journey of life and death, Mind Beyond Death weaves a synthesis of wisdom remarkable in its scope. With warm informality and profound understanding of the Western mind, the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche makes the mysterious Tibetan teachings on the bardos—the intervals of life, death, and beyond—completely available to the modern reader. Drawing on a breathtaking range of material, Mind Beyond Death shows us how the bardos can be used to conquer death. Working with the bardos means taking hold of life and learning how to live with fearless abandon. Exploring all six bardos—not just the three bardos of death—Mind Beyond Death demonstrates that the secret to a good journey through and beyond death lies in how we live. Walking skillfully through the bardos of dream meditation and daily life, the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche takes us deep into the mysterious death intervals, introducing us to their dazzling mindscape. This tour de force gives us the knowledge to transform death, the greatest obstacle, into the most powerful opportunity for enlightenment. With both nuts-and-bolts meditation techniques and brilliant illumination, Mind Beyond Death offers a clear map and a sturdy vehicle that will safely transport the reader through the challenging transitions of this life and the perilous bardos beyond death.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

The Tibetan Book of the Dead
Author: Glenn H. Mullin
Publisher: Lustree Press: Roli Books
Total Pages: 253
Release: 2009
Genre: Buddhist art
ISBN: 9788174364364

The Tibetan Book of the Dead brings together a range of stunning images by the renowned photographer Thomas Kelly, with a contextual analysis and abridged translation by the ubiquitous Tibetologist Glenn H. Mullin. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, or Bardo Todol, is one of the great classics of Tibetan literature. The present volume is a fresh look at this timeless classic. It brings together a range of stunning images by the renowned photographer Thomas Kelly, with a contextual analysis and abridged translation by the ubiquitous Tibetologist Glenn H. Mullin. As such, the Bardo Todol is as relevant as a guidebook to daily (and nightly) living as it is to a successful death and transmigration. Thomas Kelly s photographs bring this great Tibetan classic to life, and draw the reader into a deeper sense of the spiritual environment in which The Tibetan Book of the Dead exists.