BARDO TEACHINGS: The Way of Death and Rebirth by Ven. Lama Lodo Rinpoche
"Bardo Teachings is remarkable because it reveals a significant portion of the secret tantric path. This is genuine tantra, a teaching on how to traverse the stages of death without fear. It is as true a guide to tantric Buddhism's view of life and death as can be found in print."--San Francisco Chronicle
DEATH, INTERMEDIATE STATE AND REBIRTH IN TIBETAN BUDDHISM by Lati Rinpoche & Jeffrey Hopkins, foreword by H.H. the Dalai Lama
This fascinating book unfolds in detail the complex Tibetan Buddhist system of subtle physiology--providing a complete exposition of the channels, drops and winds which serve as foundations for consciousness. Highest Yoga Tantra simulates processes of death, intermediate states and rebirth, so it is important for the practitioner to know how humans die--the stages of death and the physiological reasons behind them. "The work forms an excellent companion volume to the "Tibetan Books of the Dead," and also to contemporary Western works on death and dying."--Prof. Janice Willis, Religious Studies Review
DELOG: Journey to Realms Beyond Death by Delog Dawa Drolma, trans. by Richard Barron & H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
The Tibetan Word Delog (DAY-loak) refers to one who has crossed the threshold of death and returned to tell about it. For Delog Dawa Drolma, a woman renowned as one of the great realization holders of Vajrayana Buddhism in this century, being a delog meant that she lay without any vital sign of breath, pulse, or warmth for five days. During that time the link between her mind and body was released and her consciousness journeyed to other realms of experience.
GRACEFUL EXITS: How Great Beings Die Comp. and ed. by Sushila Blackman
Here are 108 stories recounting the ways in which Tibetan, Hindu, and Zen Buddhist masters, both ancient and modern, have confronted their own deaths. It recounts the grace, clarity, and even humor with which these teachers have met the end of their days. Kalu Rinpoche, Ling Rinpoche, Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Trijang Rinpoche, H.H. Gyalwa Karmapa, and Lama Yeshe are among those whose stories are recounted. Truly inspiring.
THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD by Bryan J. Cuevas
by placing the Tibetan Book of the Dead within its historical context, Cuevas takes a fascinating look at a popular spiritual work on the after-death states, and discusses many of the ways the text has been understood--and misunderstood--by Westerners.
JOURNEY OF THE MIND: Putting the Teachings on the Bardo into Effective Practice by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Putting the Teachings on the Bardo into Effective Practice. "Just as the appearances of this life are produced by states of mind, so are the appearences in the bardo and the appearances in one's future lives produced by states of mind. Accessible and practical teachings on the bardo states and phowa practice, by one of the most respected teachers.
JOURNEY OF THE MIND. Teachings on the Bardo by Thrangu Rinpoche
In these extraordinary teachings Rinpoche gives us a fresh perspective on the bardo. he de-emphasizes the detailed descriptions of the appearances and emphasizes more the relationship between various aspects of one's dharma practice - shamata, vipashana, mahamudra, Ngondro, deity meditation and other aspects of the stages of creation and completion - and one's experience of death and the intermediate state between death and rebirth itself.
This book provides brief but profound instructions on preparing for death. Because it is short and accessible, it has been read by a wide range of people, many of whom have commented that it is a book they feel comfortable giving to their elderly parents or to friends who are dealing with life-threatening illnesses.
Who are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going? How do we get there? Many have asked these questions, and many have attempted to answer them. But there is another question Good Life, Good Death asks us to contemplate: how does the idea of life after death affect how we live our lives? Gehlek Rimpoche tells stories of the mystical Tibet he lived in, as well as the contemporary America he is now a citizen of, and shares the wisdom of the great masters. He asks us to open our minds and see if we can entertain a bigger picture of life after life, even for a moment. He makes the connection between powerful emotions such as anger, obsession, jealousy and pride, and our past as well as our future.
Teachings on the Six Bardos. "Death isn't just something that happens on one particular day. Death is happening constantly, and that's why this teaching is called 'living with death and dying', because that's what is means. In our situation birth and death are co-existent, they always go together.