Karma Canon

by Whitney Foutz

photo courtesy of Special Collections

Tired of the mundane, scientific approach to the dying process often taken in our Western society? Sure, we all are. Looking for a new perspective? Yearning for answers? Want a little enlightenment?

If you are able to find your way to the MacGregor Room of Alderman Library without getting lost, consider yourself headed in the right direction. Until March 14, the Department of Special Collections will be presenting the Tibetan Book of the Dead exhibit. Read the Tibetan texts, meditate before the Buddha, feel the karma ... And if you can't read Sanskrit, aren't flexible enough to tackle the lotus position, and wouldn't know karma if it smacked you upside the head, come by anyway. There's plenty of enlightenment to go around.

Understanding the Tibetan Book of the Dead requires a quick lesson in rudimentary Buddhism. Buddhists believe in the cyclic nature of life. A person is born, lives, dies, experiences a 49-day intermediary state called bardo, and is then born again. The bardo state is seen as the most critical, allowing the deceased an opportunity to change old ways, answer lost questions, and possibly break the cycle of birth and rebirth. During the bardo state a lama, or spiritual master, whispers prayers and instructions into the deceased's ear in order to guide him through the confusing and often frightening postmortem experience. Those sufficiently prepared move from the bardo state into the afterlife. Bardo literature is an important part of the Tibetan Book of the Dead, along with sutras, tantras, and personal accounts of the world beyond death. Sutras are texts taken directly from the word of the Buddha (Kama Sutra = love advice from the Buddha), while tantras are considered more mystical and esoteric. The Tibetan Book of the Dead is not actually a single volume, but a canon of literature from several sources that serves as a guide for the dead and the living.

Clearly, Tibetan Buddhists hold a very different view of death than most Westerners. We all have our own philosophies about what happens after we die, but in Western society, the actual dying process is often ignored. Death is almost a taboo subject in our culture. Most Americans are preoccupied with youth and would rather not discuss the inevitable. It's not that Buddhists are morbid; they just accept death as part of the cyclic nature of birth and rebirth. Tibetan Buddhists believe that in order to spiritually progress, you must confront death. The death experience, and the bardo state in particular, can be simulated through meditation. By doing this, a person becomes more comfortable and prepared for death and may possibly gain some insight into the Buddha's enduring wisdom and compassion.

In many ways, the Tibetan Book of the Dead is also a guide for living. The Buddha said, "If we wish to die well we must learn how to live well." To this extent, the Tibetan Book of the Dead describes a way of life that will lead to enlightenment and a positive destiny. The sacred bardo texts are more than just words for the deceased to absorb subconsciously. When read by the lama, they also serve as a sort of eulogy for the benefit of the living. One part of the Tibetan Book of the Dead is aimed exclusively at the living. Several people have journeyed into the bardo state and returned to share their experiences, and their accounts resemble those of near-death experiences in Western society. These stories of the journey beyond death are usually glimpses into what befalls a person who lives an immoral life. They teach the living that hell is horrible, heaven is bliss, and that the afterlife is contingent on the way a person lives his life.

The 1927 English-translation publishing of the most famous bardo text, The Great Liberation upon Hearing in the Intermediate State, was the starting point for a new interest in the Tibetan Book of the Dead in Western society. Intellectuals analyzed the book for its anthropological, philosophical, and psychological content. Eventually, a less scientific approach to the Tibetan Book of the Dead was taken by the 1960s avant-garde. The impressions of the Tibetan Book of the Dead given by 60s guru Timothy Leary and others were a "peculiar blend of American counter-culture individualism and Tibetan Buddhist orthodox conservatism." Leary's book, The Psychedelic Experience: A Manual Based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead revamped these sacred Buddhist texts into a "guidebook for the LSD experience." The acid trip was broken into several bardo phases, with a "lama" to guide the "deceased" through his psychedelic journey. While Tibetan monks used meditation to simulate the bardo state, your typical American hippie used acid. However, both believed that this mental experience would lead a person a little closer to enlightenment and understanding. Robert A. F. Thurman, a friend of Leary's (and yes, Uma's father), further developed the modern Western understanding of the Tibetan Book of the Dead. His version served as "an easy-to-read guidebook for contemporary Americans."

Since the 1960s the University of Virginia has held one of the world's largest collections of Tibetan Literature. The Tibetan Book of the Dead exhibit was created in part to increase public awareness of this unique asset. In addition, the library borrowed several pieces of Tibetan art for the exhibit from private and public sources. The exhibit's curator is Bryan Cuevas, a graduate student in the religious studies department, writing his dissertation on the Tibetan Book of the Dead.

From the introduction of Buddhism in Tibet nearly 1500 years ago to the hippie gurus of today, the Tibetan Book of the Dead has inspired many interpretations. But no matter what you believe, a look into Buddhism and the Tibetan Book of the Dead will provide you with a new perspective. You may be surprised at the similarities and intrigued by the differences. Feel the enlightenment.