The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Its History and Controversial Aspects of its Contents

One of 937 articles in Journal of Near-Death Studies
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Abstract: In recent decades, the Tibetan Book of the Dead (TBD) has attracted much attention from Westerners interested in Eastern spirituality and has been discussed in the literature on dying and near-death experiences. However, the history of the TBD has practically been ignored in that literature up to now. This history has been elaborated in detail by Tibetologist Bryan Cuevas (2003). To bring this history to the attention of scholars in the field of near-death studies, I present in this paper a summary of the TBD's development based primarily on the work of Cuevas (2003). The summary shows that the … continued below

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26 p.

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Nahm, Michael Spring 2011.

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This article is part of the collection entitled: Journal of Near-Death Studies and was provided by the UNT Libraries to the UNT Digital Library, a digital repository hosted by the UNT Libraries. It has been viewed 1769 times, with 16 in the last month. More information about this article can be viewed below.

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Abstract: In recent decades, the Tibetan Book of the Dead (TBD) has attracted much attention from Westerners interested in Eastern spirituality and has been discussed in the literature on dying and near-death experiences. However, the history of the TBD has practically been ignored in that literature up to now. This history has been elaborated in detail by Tibetologist Bryan Cuevas (2003). To bring this history to the attention of scholars in the field of near-death studies, I present in this paper a summary of the TBD's development based primarily on the work of Cuevas (2003). The summary shows that the TBD was gradually elaborated within a specific Tibetan Buddhist context, the Dzokchen tradition. In comparing features of first-hand reports of the death and dying process as reported in the TBD with those reported in four other categories -- Tibetan délok, near-death experiencers, mediums, and children who remember previous lives -- I find that some features are consistent but that other key features are not. Because it seems likely that inconsistent features of the TBD reflect idiosyncratic dying and afterlife concepts of the Dzokchen tradition, scholars in the field of near-death studies and others should be careful about adopting the contents of the TBD without question.

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26 p.

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"[The Journal of Near-Death Studies] is the only peer-reviewed scholarly journal (ISSN 0891-4494) devoted exclusively to the field of near-death studies. It is cross-disciplinary and published quarterly."

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  • Journal of Near-Death Studies, 29(3), International Association for Near-Death Studies, Spring 2011, pp. 373-398

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  • Publication Title: Journal of Near-Death Studies
  • Volume: 29
  • Issue: 3
  • Page Start: 373
  • Page End: 398
  • Pages: 26

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Journal of Near-Death Studies

The Journal of Near-Death Studies is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal devoted to the field of near-death studies. It is published on a quarterly basis by the International Association for Near-Death Studies. The Journal began publication in 1982 under the name Anabiosis which was changed to its current title in 1986 with the start of Volume 6.

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  • Spring 2011

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  • Dec. 4, 2014, 2:16 p.m.

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  • Dec. 7, 2021, 9:14 p.m.

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Thumbnail image of item number 1 in: 'The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Its History and Controversial Aspects of its Contents'.
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Nahm, Michael. The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Its History and Controversial Aspects of its Contents, article, Spring 2011; Durham, North Carolina. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc461682/: accessed May 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .

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