Good book but
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This book was not really written by Sogyal Rimpoche. It was mainly written by Harvey mentioned as a secondary author (or someone else called Paul Harvey). This information comes to me via a Tibetan Buddhist who sponsored Sogyal Rimpoche's arrival and settling down in the UK. As a reviewer at Amazon.com and a Buddhist practitioner who has met Sogyal, I stand by the above statement. The informant was quite sure though the communication was provided under informal circumstances. Before I continue, in the publishing world it is probably not uncommon for books to be "authored" by one person but actually written by another. Jefferey Archer's editor or some other editors often may have written a book under the umbrella of a lucrative author. Sogyal Rimpoche has started Rigpa and earns a lot of money. His disciples carry cash in suitcases (I gathered from the above source and am not surprised after attending one of Sogyal's retreats). He was disowned by or he disowned Dujom Rimpoche his teacher. Sogyal is fond of quoting his familial links and relationship to Dujom or the Dalai Lama and is regarded as some sort of incarnation (aren't we all?). Sogyal Rimpoche was informed that he was not mature enough to teach in the Nyngma tradition and was asked to return to Tibet. He refused. Harvey kept the fee and Sogyal harvests the royalties. This book is a cherry picked slice of Tibet's greatest teachings with highlights on death, rebirth, compassion incorporating practices somewhat external to a principal Tibetan source text on death and rebirth which forms the basis of the book. It is recommended reading before you go on a Sogyal retreat boosting sales. The book is not especially deep and designed to appeal. Small wonder it attracts few detractors. It reads rather well I suppose and Rimpoche remains a charismatic teacher. As long as you don't swallow it lock, stock and smoking barrel.
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Exoteric
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All of the above reviews that I have sampled, are falling into a trap many 'western' philosophers get caught in. The psychologist Jung saw only the exoteric meaning. This is not a book on the act of actually dying physically, it is all a metaphor to confuse the non-initiates. The book is about ego-loss, specifically 'non-game ectasy' ego-loss. It is the death dying and rebirth of the ego. The 3 bardo's just represent states that are commonly encountered in the journey. The goal is to die, transcend briefly, and then the ego is reborn and the choice lies in ascending to a higher state (permanent growth) or to go to a lower level (or the same/similiar). That is the esoteric meaning, the entire book is metaphorical, if you aren't aquainted with altered consciousness then you will be lost. Useful in psychadelic ego-loss as well. The book itself is an excellent guide, I recommend strongly to pick up a version of The book of the dead if you seek consciousness alteration, and/or ego-loss.
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Humorous, Insightful...Yet Quite Ambiguous
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This is a book which is extremely difficult to review due to the vast wealth of knowledge contained within the actual text. Sogyal Rinpoche was raised by some of the most prolific Tibetan teachers of modern times, the most well known may well have been Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro. He had been an authority on all of the traditions of Tibet and a leader in the so called, "non partisan" movement. At any rate, this book does a lot of things for us. Rinpoche explores and explains the difficult and esoteric teachings of the famous Holy Text "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" to us, as well as some most interesting autobiographical looks at his own life. The most important thing to keep in mind when reading this book, is that it's as much about life as it is about death. Sogyal Rinpoche has a great sense of humor, something that is almost a necessity when explaining texts like this to the modern reader; it helps take the edge off of the weighty material at hand. The one and only reason I gave this book four stars is that indeed many of the issues explored are very cryptic; as some reviewers have pointed out. Some of it merely must be taken in with a grain of salt. But all around it is absolutely a worthwhile read that I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone. Enjoy!
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Definitely Worth Reading, perhaps twice...
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If you look at death as a transition state from where you are now, to where "you" will be when you have exceeded your body's limits, then this book provides a guide to understanding some of that journey. This book provides one with a new viewpoint on how life and death are connected. I found it fascinating and very helpful in answering many of my own questions about what we can expect in the dying process. The level of detail is quite remarkable and can only be attributed to the few enlightened beings that have experienced some of this process and found a way to share that experience with those of us still here. The scary part is how reading this can bring back memories of actually being in the "between" state and those memories are what help validate the book's message. If you only read one book this lifetime, perhaps this should be the one.
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not for everyone
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This is not the Buddhism I know, and I found it totally unhelpful. I have to admit that I did not read the whole book, but after 60 pages of feeling frustrated and insulted, I had to give up. In those 60 pages, I got no sense of what a Buddhist perspective on death and dying might be. It seems that belief in an afterlife is crucial both to coping with the fear of death and to living a more just and harmonious existence, as if without that reassurance, there is no further insight to be found in Buddhism that could keep us all from running amok. (Is this really so central to Buddhist ethics and its approach to the fear of death? Not to my way of thinking.) Instead of exploring the meaning of that belief in an afterlife (apparently reincarnation?), the reader gets lots of silly references to pseudo-scientific "proof" of an afterlife and superficial comparisons of Buddhist thought and practice to Christianity, Judaism, and Hinduism. A vague and flimsy condemnation of "modern civilization" and its supposed effects on the members of that civilization is also a central part of the author's argument. We live in an admittedly competitive and conflict-ridden world, but is the answer to our dilemma real so simple as translating Tibetan Buddhist practice wholesale into our lives? I say "translate" and, yet, the author fails even to take this step. He recommends mantras in Tibetan that apparently have magical effects on crowds, but if you want to know what they mean, you'll have to flip to the appendix. This is reminiscent of the use of Latin in Catholic mass, which rather transparently invests all religious authority in Latin-literate priests. Similarly, the author gushes about the powers of various masters, and a close relationship with a paternalistic "master" generally seems to be a much more important ground of proper practice than anything that could be realistically adopted by most of us screwed-up moderns, who have neither the means nor the inclination to follow our own Buddhist master.
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