An integral Book of the Dead

The Tibetan Book of the Dead (Bardo Thodol) is considered one of the great wisdom books of mankind. Since its metaphorical language is hard to understand for non-Buddhists, the author's concern was to carefully transfer the main contents into a modern language while preserving the poetry of the original. Knowledge and experience as a psychologist as well as his own meditation practice and near-death experiences helped him to detach the universal spiritual truths from the Buddhist context and translate them into contemporary images. This has resulted in a longer prose poem as the main text, which describes the different phases of dying until well beyond the last breath. Following the original, it can be read aloud to a dying person to support him or her in transition. Practical instructions help to create an appropriate atmosphere and to structure the reading in time. The book is designed in such a way that it can also be used for personal meditation on death and transience and for exploring one's own consciousness.
The appendix has a chapter that relates the subject of death and dying to the integral model of consciousness. The extensive essay by Ken Wilber discusses the place of The Tibetan Book of the Dead in modern psychology and spirituality.
Music recommendations and useful links complete the content.

The book is a short and very practical guide for dying. It should not be read once but it is a workbook for preparing to the important moment of the death. Highly recommended!
Traudel Rei in Buddhismus aktuell 3/2010

The book is a revised and expanded edition of Das andere Totenbuch (2009, ISBN 978-3-8391-0645-7).