In 1927; Oxford University Press published the first western-language translation of a collection of Tibetan funerary texts (the Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Bardo) under the title The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Since that time; the work has established a powerful hold on the western popular imagination; and is now considered a classic of spiritual literature. Over the years; The Tibetan Book of the Dead has inspired numerous commentaries; an illustrated edition; a play; a video series; and even an opera. Translators; scholars; and popular devotees of the book have claimed to explain its esoteric ideas and reveal its hidden meaning. Few; however; have uttered a word about its history. Bryan J. Cuevas seeks to fill this gap in our knowledge by offering the first comprehensive historical study of the Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Bardo; and by grounding it firmly in the context of Tibetan history and culture. He begins by discussing the many ways the texts have been understood (and misunderstood) by westerners; beginning with its first editor; the Oxford-educated anthropologist Walter Y. Evans-Wentz; and continuing through the present day. The remarkable fame of the book in the west; Cuevas argues; is strikingly disproportionate to how the original Tibetan texts were perceived in their own country. Cuevas tells the story of how The Tibetan Book of the Dead was compiled in Tibet; of the lives of those who preserved and transmitted it; and explores the history of the rituals through which the life of the dead is imagined in Tibetan society. This book provides not only a fascinating look at a popular and enduring spiritual work; but also a much-needed corrective to the proliferation of ahistorical scholarship surrounding The Tibetan Book of the Dead.
#1780087 in Books Bryan J Cuevas 2006-03-23Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 6.00 x .90 x 8.90l; 1.11 #File Name: 019530652X352 pagesThe Hidden History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead
Review
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Valued CustomerExcellent!!!19 of 19 people found the following review helpful. A must read if you are interested in the Tibetan Book of the DeadBy 3.14piThis book is required reading for anyone studying the Tibetan Bardo tradition. Professor Cuevas exposes the prejudices of some revered authors on the subject; including pioneer Evans Wentz; who Cuevas points out gave the work its misleading name. As other highly personalized interpretations followed from Tim Leary's The Psychedelic Experience to E.J. Gold's The American Book of the Dead; little attention was given to the actual historical context of these ideas. Cuevas digs deeply into the available records finding links between Bon and Buddhist traditions that produced not one but many works on the bardo. Many of the key ideas westerners associate with the bardo writings are traced back to their source in Hindu tradition. Cuevas takes time to acquaint the reader with neglected facets of these teachings from their earliest form to nearly forgotten elaborations revealing an until now lost world of rich and varied contributions.
