DYING BY THE BOOK

A Tibetan Way of Death

It is usually assumed that death in Tibet was seen in Buddhist terms (Mullin, 1986) but this view plays down the influence of preBuddhist ideas. Buddhism arrived in Tibet in the eighth century after King Song-tsen Gampo (790Dorien Miras 844) was converted to the religion by one of his wives, who was a Chinese Buddhist. Prior The aim of this article is to explore a simple to this, the cultural and religious life of the Tibetan people was heavily influenced by a question: can Tibetan beliefs and practices shamanistic folk tradition called Bon. related to death and dying be translated and Although it is generally ignored by students of interpreted for modern Westerners without Tibetan Buddhism, Bon plays an important misunderstanding and confusion? The part in the development of Tibetan death popularity of Sogyal Rinpoche's book The literature - including the bardo thodol - and Tibetan Book of Living and Dying suggests this needs to be clarified if we wish to make that they can. This article challenges this view sense of The Tibetan Book of Living and and explores some of issues involved in Dying. It is interesting to note that Bon is not bringing the Buddha's teachings to the dying even mentioned in the index of Sogyal's book. and bereaved. Before looking at Sogyal's book in some detail it will be necessary to fill in some background by taking a look at Tibetan approaches to living, dying, the after-death state and rebirth. This will involve looking at the pre-Buddhist death traditions of the older shamanistic folk religion of Tibet called Bon. I believe that our understanding of the bardo thodol (or 'Tibetan Book of the Dead') is incomplete without this perspective: we need the context of both Buddhist and preBuddhist Tibetan teachings to make sense of Sogyal Rinpoche's book.

Bon was/is not really a religion in the Western sense of the term. It was/is a complete way of life in which whole populations were/are immersed (at some level or another) in its perspectives on living, dying and death. Those who live within these pre-Buddhist Tibetan beliefs and practices are called nangpas or'insiders': they are both inside the tradition and look inside the teachings for spiritual guidance (Richardson, 1984). For these people the world is alive with numinous powers: their world is based on community, communal practices, communion with wholeness, with a sacred cosmology. Everything is sustained through special rituals and spiritual practices which are infused with It will also be useful to look in some detail at a rich visual imagery that is both complex and the West's fascination with the so-called profound. These images are not merely 'Tibetan Book of the Dead'. Since its first symbolic: they represent the natural forces of appearance in English in 1927 there have the cosmos as perceived by Tibetans and they been five major attempts (including Sogyal's) offer opportunities for transformation to present the bardo thodol in a way that is (Snellgrove, 1967; Samuel, 1993). It is not attractive to Westerners. possible to give a full account of these rituals and practices here, but it is important to Following this I will look at The Tibetan highlight their significance in the context of Book of Living and Dying in some detail and the bardo thodol literature. will suggest that some of its central assumptions should be challenged. Whilst Sogyal's book is certainly Tibetan in its outlook, its relevance to the modern Western According to one Tibetan scholar, Bon has a death literature of its own "...complete with approach to death and dying is, in my view, practical applications, which has as its subject questionable. the cycle of peaceful and fear-inspiring deities who appear in the bardo state." In conclusion, I will attempt to provide an (Tucci,1970:196). He goes on to say that these answer to the question I have posed by may be the prototypes of the deities described looking at some of the ways in which the Buddha's teachings are being interpreted here in the bardo thodol literature. All of this suggests that a Tibetan way of death in the West.

contains elements from both Bon and IndoBuddhist sources. This cross fertilization of religious traditions is not unusual. It has recently been suggested that Tibetan religious practices may have similarities with the beliefs and rituals of the North American Indian Navajo people (Gold, 1994). According to Gold, both cultures go back thousands of years, both were transmitted orally and many of their practices, rites and rituals have a similar purpose. A Tibetan way of death must, therefore, take account of beliefs and practices much older than Buddhism. Westerners wishing to apply these practices (a mixture of'pre-Buddhist and Buddhist rituals) in the modern world will face a major difficulty: how do you translate and interpret this ancient indigenous cultural approach to death in the context of a post-modern society? Sogyal Rinpoche seems to believe that such a transformation can be made without misunderstanding and confusion and that his book can be used by anyone without preparation or with little understanding. This is quite a claim. As no research has yet been done on how his book is actually being used by Westerners working with those who are dying or bereaved, it is difficult to substantiate this claim.

Since death can come at anytime, Tibetan Buddhists believe that it is important to begin practising the Buddha's teachings straight away. Life is precious and should not be wasted. Another way of putting this is to see life as a preparation for death. This is particularly emphasised in the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism - perhaps most strongly in the Tantric practices of the Nyingma school (Sangpo, 1982). Glenn Mullin (1986) puts the death literature of Tibetan Buddhism into seven main categories: 1) instruction manuals to guide trainees in death meditation during life; 2) poetry and prose to inspire practice; 3) inspirational accounts of the deaths of great teachers and saints; 4) occult methods of divining untimely deaths; 5) yogic methods to prevent untimely death; 6) methods to train the mind in phowa or the transference of consciousness at death; and 7) ritualistic texts to be read to help a dead person during the intermediate state (bardo) between death and rebirth.

The most famous of these ritualistic texts on death is the bardo thodol or 'liberation in the intermediate state through hearing'. It first came to the attention of the West in 1927 when Walter Evans-Wentz compiled and edited a translation of the text by Lama Kazi Death in Tibetan Buddhism Dawa Samdup. The bardo thodol is believed Bon was originally an oral religious tradition to have originated from Padmasambhava, a which was spread through communal rites Tantric Buddhist master who arrived in Tibet and rituals. When Buddhism arrived in Tibet from India in 747 (Blofeld, 1970). He dictated during the eighth century it brought with it a its central message to his consort Yeshe written language. King Song-tsen Gam-po Tsogyal before it was concealed during the sent scholars to India to learn Sanskrit and to persecution of Buddhism during the ninth devise a written language for Tibetans, in century. Other Buddhist texts were also order to translate Buddhist literature hidden during this time of unrest and they (Thurman, 1994). Buddhist teachers came became known as terma or 'treasured' writings from India and brought with them knowledge and gave their authors (whether deserved or of medicine, poetry, art and architecture as well as Buddhist philosophy and psychology. not) a special spiritual status. All of this created a strong Buddhist cultural The Bardo Thodol base for a growing monastic elite, who eventually came to dominate the cultural and So what is the bardo thodol? It is basically a political life of Tibet (Tucci, 1970). Thus, spiritual guidebook for a dying (or recently Tibetan Buddhist views on death and dying dead) person. Its purpose is to offer a spiritual have been heavily influenced by Indian map through the bardo or religious thought - especially the doctrine of between death and rebirth.intermediate state Traditionally, there karma and rebirth. This is the view that our are three important stages to pass through: the intentional thoughts, words and deeds shape chikai bardo, the chonyid bardo and the sidpa the circumstances of our destiny because they bardo. have moral consequences which transcend The first stage, the chikai bardo focuses on death. Thus, death plays a crucial role in the physical processes associated with a Tibetan Buddhist teachings. dying body and its aim is to help the dying

The 'Tibetan Book of the Dead' and the Western Imagination The so-called 'Tibetan Book of the Dead' first came to the attention of the West in 1927 when Walter Evans-Wentz (1878-1965), an In the chonyid bardo the now dead person American theosophist "compiled and edited" experiences visions of supernatural deities the first English language translation of the who are said to be enveloped in the bright bardo thodol. Evans-Wentz had acquired lights of many colours. This element may some Tibetan texts from a British army have been adapted from the older Bon officer in India who had recently returned tradition (Allen, 1999). Also during this stage from Tibet. He took the texts to Kazi Dawa there are visions of the six realms of rebirth Samdup, a Tibetan who taught English at a (gods, titans, humans, animals, hungry ghosts boys' school in Gangtok. Samdup had served and demons) which are graphically depicted as Alexandra David-Neel's translator during in Tibetan religious art - for example in The her travels in Tibet during the late nineteenth Wheel of Life' painting which is popular in century. The translation carried out by him the West. But if the opportunity for liberation was to become the basis of 'The Tibetan Book is lost during this stage then the deceased of the Dead' (Lopez, Jr., 1998). person passes into the final stage, the sidpa It is clear from Evans-Wentz's introduction to bardo. the texts that he had been heavily influenced This is the final part of the post-mortem by the ideas and writings of the originators of journey and it is here that the dead person Theosophy - particularly Madame Blavatsky must now confront the consequences of their and A. P. Sinnett. In his Preface to the first past karma. Negative karma gives rise to edition, which is included in subsequent terrifying visions and Yama, the Lord of editions, he says that he is simply the Death, 'judges' each person by reflecting "mouthpiece" of a Tibetan sage (EvansWentz, back their own choices and actions in his 1960). This claim was often made by 'karmic mirror'. The dead person may also try Madame Blavatsky herself. to reenter their own physical body but it is It is in the third edition of the book (published impossible: by this time (believed to be 49 days after death) the physical body will have in 1957) that a long psychological commentary by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung decomposed, been fed to the birds or been (1875-1961) first appears. Jung is convinced cremated. that the bardo thodol is essentially a psychological treatise and he attempts to The bardo thodol texts point out that the whole bardo journey is mind-created, that its make it more intelligible to Western readers peaceful and wrathful imagery is the product by interpreting it in the terms of his own of the dead person's own karmic thoughts and theories and ideas. Jung's psychological perspective was to have a direct influence on actions. If this point is not grasped during later interpretations of the bardo thodol this final stage then rebirth inevitably literature. The third edition also contains a follows. Reciting the bardo thodol at the preface by Lama Govinda, a German-born bedside also helps the reader to resolve their practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism who had grief by allowing them an opportunity to studied in Tibet. Govinda also relies on a provide spiritual assistance to the deceased psychological framework for his (Goss & Klass, 1997). understanding of the texts and he argues that the bardo thodol is a purely Buddhist text This very brief outline of the bardo thodol

person recognise that death is imminent and that an opportunity will arise to enter a state that the bardo thodol describes as 'the clear light of the void' - a state in which (using Sogyal's words) "consciousness itself dissolves into the all encompassing space of truth" (Sogyal Rinpoche, 1992). It is at this point that the dead person is offered an opportunity to be liberated from the ceaseless round of birth-death-rebirth. But such an opportunity can be missed if, at the moment of death, the dying person is filled with fear and dread. If that is the case then he or she passes into the second stage.

provides a point of departure for the main concern of this article: can these teachings (and others like them) be used by modern Westerners without confusion or misunderstanding? Before looking at Sogyal Rinpoche's own attempt to offer these teachings in his book, it will be useful to look briefly at the West's fascination with this socalled'Tibetan Book of the Dead'.

A third incarnation of the bardo thodol literature was a translation of the text by Francesca Fremantle and Chogyam Trungpa in the 1970s. Unlike the Evans-Wentz version, their book was not swamped by commentaries and introductions although it is heavily influenced by psychological terminology. This is admitted by the authors in their brief introduction. But here, once again, is an attempt to take the texts out of their Tibetan cultural context. Trungpa moves the discussion away from death and focuses Since its publication in 1927, 'The Tibetan instead on states of consciousness. He also Book of the Dead' has undergone a number tries to relate the Tibetan description of the of reincarnations in the shape of new editions stages of death to psychological states of - each with more prefaces and introductions. mind (Fremantle & Trungpa, 1975). As Thus the text itself has been swamped by Donald Lopez, Jr points out, a careful reading psychological and theosophical of this book reveals a peculiar blend of interpretations which bear little relevance to American counter-culture individualism and a the cultural roots and spiritual message of the more orthodox Tibetan Buddhist bardo thodol literature. Nevertheless, many conservatism. Westerners remain fascinated by the book. This fascination re-surfaced in a colourful way during the 1960s. Three psychologists who were researching the hallucinogenic properties of LSD - Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner and Richard Alpert (now known as Ram Dass) - claimed that the spiritual realities described in the bardo thodol could now be confirmed by using psychedelic drugs (Leary, Metzner & Alpert, 1964). Their book, A Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, is said to be a guide to the use of hallucinogens in which the various stages of death, the intermediate state and rebirth as described in the bardo thodol, can be re-interpreted as the stages of a psychedelic experience. The popularity of the book during the 1960s arose from its promise to expand human consciousness and to transcend our limited ideas of the mind using a combination of mystical experience and the alchemy of drugs. But in order to use the imagery of the bardo thodol they had to lift it out of its context. Thus it ceased to be about death and became an instruction manual on how to break out of ego-centredness into a new realm of consciousness. This change of emphasis puts it at variance with Tibetan Buddhist doctrines on death and rebirth. The insistence on rejecting a literal understanding of the various realms of existence and the after-death states in favour of psychologising them, is an approach that has persisted in later versions of 'The Tibetan Book of the Dead'. Sogyal Rinpoche's book The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying was the fourth attempt to present the bardo thodol literature to the West, but before looking at it in some detail, mention should be made of the most recent translation by Robert Thurman, Columbia University professor and president of Tibet House in New York. Thurman attempts to present Buddhism in general and 'The Tibetan Book of the Dead' in particular as 'scientific' rather than religious (Thurman,1994). He also offers simple, practical instructions on how to make use of the Tibetan texts. It is intended to be read as a guidebook for use at the bedside of a dying person and he has written it in a style that is both lucid and informative. But this approach is a curious one because Thurman is (according to Lopez Jr, 1998) the only translator of the bardo thodol to reject the metaphorical or symbolic interpretations of the realms of rebirth. For example, he argues that the Buddhist heavens and hells are just as real as the human realm: "Those who have remembered their own previous lives have reported this to be the case. And it makes logical sense that the life forms in the ocean of evolution would be much more numerous than just the number of species on this one tiny little material planet we can see around us nowadays." (page 33) Thurman presents an interesting case for

untainted by the influence of Bon. However, recent research carried out by Per Kvaerne at the University of Oslo challenges this view (Kvaerne 1996). All in all, Evans-Wentz came up with an idiosyncratic interpretation of the bardo thodol. Nevertheless, he does deserve the credit for providing a point of departure for the growing number of Westerners who are seeking spiritual inspiration in Oriental religions.

accepting the literal reality of the after-death states rather than seeing them as merely psychological. It would seem that he accepts what the Tibetans themselves believe - that the after-death states actually exist. But Thurman is not a nangpa or 'insider'. He was ordained as a Tibetan monk in 1964 (the first American to do so) and he does have some recognition as a Tibetan scholar. But perhaps it is his widely publicised involvement with the Tibetan independence movement which allows him to identify so closely with the central tenets of Tibetan cosmology. Despite this solidarity there is still something problematic about Thurman's interpretation of the bardo thodol. Like Sogyal Rinpoche, he believes that the Tibetan imagery can be dispensed with if those who use the texts are not Tibetan - and this is at the heart of the problem as I hope to make clear in reviewing Sogyal's own contribution.

But there appears to be no mention of any prolonged monastic study and more importantly (given the title of his book) no indication that he had read or studied the bardo thodol in the original Tibetan versions. This seems a strange omission. Although Sogyal Rinpoche is credited as the 'author' of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying this needs some qualification. Sogyal acknowledges the assistance of two key people: his most senior student Patrick Gaffney and the writer Andrew Harvey.

In his recent book The Direct Path (2000) Andrew Harvey relates, "In 1990 I was invited by an English filmmaker to travel with him to Nepal to work on a film about the 'Tibetan Book of the Dead; during that trip I met several Tibetan adepts, studied the Mahayana teachings about death in detail, and was asked by Sogyal Rinpoche to collaborate with him and his assistant, Patrick Gaffney, in The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying The the writing of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying." He later comments, "In the middle of Tibetan Book of Living and Dying was first 1994 I heard that eleven of Sogyal Rinpoche's published in 1992 and was immediately women pupils were suing him for sexual proclaimed 'a spiritual masterpiece'. According to the publisher, it has sold over a abuse. I had devoted a year and a half of my life to him and to helping him and Patrick million copies world-wide and has been translated into at least 23 different languages Gaffney convey the greatness of the Tibetan - including Tibetan.' In this article I will not tradition to the world ... the news of what Sogyal was alleged to have done, as well as be exploring each chapter in depth but will the various ways in which the leading focus on the first two sections of the book. American Buddhist teachers tried to explain it These two sections (in particular) have away or cover it up, disgusted and scared me implications for the way Tibetan ideas and and shattered my faith both in the traditional practices may be used at the bedside of a 'master' system and in the New Age." dying person. The author of the book, Sogyal Rinpoche, was bom in Tibet around 1950 (no formal record of his birth was kept). He came to the - West in 1971 and before founding Rigpa, his own Buddhist organisation in 1979, he studied Comparative Religion at Cambridge University. He also gave teachings to small groups, translated for some of the most revered Tibetan teachers who had settled in India and helped to arrange the Dalai Lama's first visits to the West.

It would seem obvious that if a writer of the stature of Andrew Harvey had devoted "a year and a half" of his life to collaboration in the writing of the book then it would have his imprint and influence upon it. Significant too perhaps is Harvey's final disenchantment with "the New Age".

But what of the book itself ? Sogyal Rinpoche makes a number of claims for it and its value should be assessed against these claims. He asserts this is: a new Tibetan Book of the It is almost impossible to construct a Dead; a manual, a guide, a source of sacred biography of Sogyal from the personal information given in his book. He states that inspiration; that it has many layers of meaning; that it is "an unfailing loyal most of his childhood memories of Tibet companion to anyone who makes the choice have faded (page 41) - something which strikes me as odd. He seems to have travelled to become a bodhisattva"; and that it "explains about with his master and to have picked up and expands the 'Tibetan Book of the Dead"' (page 14). With such impressive various practices from observation.

influences are evident. But then, in the next two chapters (11 and 1 2 ) we are pitched back into Tibetan Buddhism once again and the two Tibetan practices of tonglen ('giving and receiving') and phowa ('transference of consciousness') are explained in some detail. Sogyal suggests that these two practices are ideally suited for use at the bedside of those who are terminally ill, because they can be In part one of the book 'Living', Sogyal adapted to meet the individidual's religious attempts to set out what is involved in the Tibetan Dzogchen teachings in a way that can views. In particular he encourages the use of phowa to help someone who is dying be understood by his Western readers. The regardless of their religion: basis of Dzogchen teaching is the self"People often ask me'if my dying relative or perfectedness and self-liberation of human friend is a practising Christian and I am a beings. Underlying this is the notion that all beings are products of, or manifestations of, Buddhist, is there any conflict ?' How could there be ? I tell them: You are invoking the the primordial energy of the cosmos. This energy centre in beings (sometimes referred truth, and Christ and Buddha are both compassionate manifestations of truth, to as Buddhanature, the womb of the appearing in different ways to help beings." Tathagata or True Nature) has to be (page 2 1 8 ) uncovered. When this occurs there is the realisation that each individual is a manifestation of the Totality, like a hologram, It may be true, as Sogyal says here, that Christ each one is all. Dzogchen is not really a and the Buddha can both be seen as 'religious' practice although it has been compassionate manifestations of truth, but he grounded in both the Bon tradition and the seems to suggest that all religious imagery is Nyingmapa school of Tibetan Buddhism inter-changeable. I am not convinced that it is (Norbu, 1 9 8 9 ) . and I suspect that this view could also be confusing and misleading for those who are not thoroughly grounded in either Christian Sogyal's exploration of Dzogchen involves theology or Tibetan Buddhist cosmology. admixtures from the Mahayana sutras and from Tantric texts. What is interesting is that at the end of this lengthy and detailed In suggesting that the bardo thodol literature exposition of Dzogchen (page 167) he says: has a lot to teach the West, Sogyal has much "Yet it cannot be stressed too often that the in common with Evans-Wentz. Both speak of path of Dzogchen can only be followed a universal message known to mystics all under the direct guidance of a qualified over the world, and both believe that it is master." preserved in its purest form only in Tibet. This surely begs a question: how many of Sogyal also seems to offer his own Sogyal's readers will actually undertake interpretation of the Buddhist teaching of training in Dzogchen under a qualified rebirth. For example, he suggests that the six master ? I would suggest very few. This realms of existence do not actually exist section of the book is certainly very somewhere but are "projected and informative and students of Tibetan Buddhism will find much here that is useful crystallized in the world around us" (page 113). Perhaps he feels that his audience in their studies and practice. What is not would flinch at the suggestion that they are clear is what readers with no previous actual physical realms where beings were knowledge of Tibetan Buddhism will make reborn after death. But for Tibetans brought of it. up within the traditional Tibetan cosmology his view might seem very odd indeed. In part two, 'Dying', the Dzogchen teachings give way to an account of someone dying in Throughout The Tibetan Book of Living and a hospice. The influence of Elisabeth Kubler- Dying there are many rapid transitions Ross and Dame Cicely Saunders is outlined between Tibetan Buddhist practices and and there is much talk about 'saying modern hospice care. These quick changes goodbye', 'the five stages of dying' and suggest that the book has not been written as 'unfinished business' - all of which is a continuity, but has been patched together accepted uncritically. The New Age ('edited') by Patrick Gaffney and Andrew

expectations for the book it is surprising that Sogyal did not take this opportunity to offer his own translation of the bardo thodol. Some of his quotes from the texts are not referenced (e.g. pages 2 8 2 - 2 8 4 ) and so it is hard to determine who has done the translation work - Sogyal or his co-authors.

Interestingly, some research on Buddhism in hospice care has recently been carried out in Australia (McGrath,1998). The Karuna Institute, a hospice service set up by Buddhists in Queensland, has been studied in some depth. Although this service emerges from a Tibetan Buddhist tradition its success It is true that The Tibetan Book of Living and is not based on a sharing of Buddhist Dying has made an important contribution to teachings with the patients themselves. The uniqueness of the service was felt to be the the growing literature on death and dying. compassionate way in which it was being There is much in the book to admire and offered. It would seem then that Buddhism learn from and it does seem to promise a does have a contribution to make to the care great deal: of those who are dying or bereaved.' "This book is giving you a sacred technology, by which you can transform not only your present life and not only your It is clear that Tibetan Buddhism holds a dying and your death, but also your future fascination for many Westerners in search of lives, and so the future of humanity." (page spiritual teachings. It is also clear that with 364) death at its centre, Tibetan Buddhism shares a This is very impressive - but can the promise common focal point with hospice care. Sogyal be fulfilled ? As far as I am aware no proper Rinpoche's book is one attempt to build a bridge between the two and there is little research study has been done on the way doubt that his efforts have met with some Sogyal's book is actually being used in considerable interest. This is indicated by the hospices and hospitals and until such research is forthcoming, I believe we should sales figures of the book itself and also by a variety of other 'spin-offs'. But can we be sure treat its claims with caution. that the bridge is safe ? Conclusion: The Buddha and the Dying The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying has been After reading The Tibetan Book of Living aimed at people who are involved in caring and Dying I am left feeling a little for those who are dying or bereaved uncomfortable. I am concerned by the whether on a personal or professional level. assumption that Tibetan Buddhist practices It holds out the promise of being able to help (some of them quite complex and spiritually and provide spiritual support for those who demanding) can be used by anyone without are dying. Tibetan Buddhism has proper training or guidance and who has no traditionally placed death at the centre of its background in or little understanding of the teachings and so its attraction for those Buddhadharma. Those involved in palliative involved with palliative care is care have to undergo an extensive understandable. In conclusion, therefore, I programme of training in both skills and would just like to mention two positive knowledge before they can practice developments in this area. confidently. The same is required by those wanting to practise Tibetan Buddhism. Christine Longaker, one of Sogyal's students, has taken up the challenge and has written "a The impression I get from reading Sogyal's book is that it can be used at the bedside by guide to the emotional and spiritual care of anyone and that religious rites and rituals can the dying" (Longaker,1997). Longaker, a be adapted simply by changing the spiritual former hospice worker in Santa Cruz, has images. I am also left with the unspoken based her book on The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying but it is free of the detailed message that Tibetan Buddhism is essential to a true understanding of death. Perhaps Tibetan teachings and practices outlined in

Harvey from a large number of talks which were given to a wide range of audiences. Thus, Sogyal's book is really a compendium: aspects of biography; aspects of Dzogchen teaching; aspects of hospice care; and some ordinary commonsensical advice. All of this could have been put together in any number of ways. Perhaps it might have been more helpful if the book had been presented as a series of talks in which the dates of transmission and types of audience were identified. But I suspect that such a format would not have the same attraction for a Western audience (or the publishers).

Sogyal's book. For those seeking ways to take the teachings of the Buddha to the dying, Longaker's book may turn out to be a more accessible resource for those working within the hospice movement who have little knowledge of (or interest in) Tibetan Buddhist teachings.

these views should be questioned. Dying by the book - this book - or indeed any book, may not be so easy as it appears. More than a mere reading and fascination with the teachings of a long-ago and far-off Eastern culture is required.
Notes: 1. Information supplied on the RIGPA website (www.rigpa.com) 2. Information about Buddhist Hospices and HIV/AIDS Projects can also be found at: www.buddlianet.net/bospices.htm

Samuel, G. (1993) Civilized Shamans: Buddhism in Tibetan Societies. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press Thurman, R. (1994) The Tibetan Book of the Dead. London: HarperCollins Tucci, G. (1970) The Religions of Tibet. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Trungpa, C. & Fremantle, F. (1975) The Tibetan Book of the Dead. London: Shambhala. [The Editor would be interested to receive comments on this article from readers of raft who have read The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.]

References Allen, C. (1999) The Search For Shangri-La: A Journey into Tibetan History. London: Little, Brown and Company Blofeld, J. (1970) The Tantric Mysticism of Tibet. New York: E.P. Dutton Evans-Wentz, W. Y. (1960) The Tibetan Book of the Dead. London: Oxford University Press Gold, P. (1994) avajo and Tibetan Sacred Wisdom: The Circle of the Spirit. Rochester Vermont: Inner Traditions Goss, R.E. & Klass, D. (1997) 'Tibetan Buddhism and the resolution of grief: the bardo thodol for the dying and the grieving.' (Death Studies, 21:377-395) Harvey, A. (2000) The Direct Path. London: Rider Kvaerne, P. (1996) The Bon Religion of Tibet. London: Shambhala Leary, T. et al. (1964) The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. New Jersey: Citadel Press Longaker, C. (1997) Facing Death and Finding Hope. London: Random House Lopez, Jr., D (1998) Prisoners of Shangri-La. Chicago: University of Chicago Press MaGrath, P. (1998) 'Buddhist spirituality - a compassionate perspective on hospice care.' (Mortality, Vol 3: No.3) Mullin, G. (1986) Death and Dying: The Tibetan Tradition. London: Arkana Norbu, N. (1989) Dzogchen: The SelfPerfected State. London: Arkana Richardson, H. (1984) Tibet and its History. Boston: Shambhala Rinpoche, S. (1992) The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. London: Rider Snellgrove, D. (1967) The ine Ways of Bon. London Sangpo, K. (1982) Tantric Practice in ying-Ma. New York: Snow Lion

Editor's otes Concoursive Communication Creates Caring Communities The word 'concourse' has two meanings: (1) a gathering of people and/or a coming together of ideas, (2) an open central space, as at a railway station or a shopping mall. It has always been my aim for raft that it be 'concoursive'. That is it would provide a genuinely open space for a gathering together of ideas. Discourses and discussions can often be divisive, as the root di- indicates, but the root con- suggests a coming together. Raft then provides openness for the expression of accounts of direct dharmic experience for the potential benefit of others on the way. It is not a publication produced for a mainly passive readership. Raft is a publication for people on their way, seeking information and understanding, willing to offer help and guidance to others as far as they feel able. Don't just be a reader, also be a contributor. It is basically through generosity - freely giving - that we shall create/recreate the caring communities so essential for a fully human life.