World Religions
Opening the Doors of Understanding
Welcome to the World Religion Convention

Buddhist Books: Workshop 3B
The Tibetan Book of the Dead was written by a Tibetan monk. It discusses, from a Tibetan’s point of view, death, the forty-nine day period between passing away and renaissance, and rebirth. The actual name of the Tibetan Book of the Dead is Bardo Todrol Chenmo. In Tibetan it means “The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Between.”
The mandal, or symbol, for the Tibetan Book of the Dead
The Mandala - The Symbol for the Tibetan Book of the Dead
In Mongolia and select other countries, a lama will often recite the Tibetan Book of the Dead to a dead person in order to give him/her a constructive rebirth and gain enlightenment.
A Buddhist lama
A Buddhist Lama
The Tibetan Book of the Dead was written around the 800’s AD. The book was then hidden because the author believed the world was not yet ready for it. Concealed works are called terma or “treasure”. It is believed that terma will not be discovered until people are ready for them. The Tibetan Book of the Dead was found in the 1400’s by a monk named Karma Lingpa.