THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD

PSYCHOLOGICAL
COMMENTARY By Dr.
C. G. Jung
Translated by R. F. C. Hull from DOS
Tibetanische Toienbuch
Before embarking upon the psychological commentary, I should like to say a few words about the text itself. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, or the Bardo Thodol, is a book of instructions for the dead and dying. Like The Egyptian Book of the Dead, it is meant to be a guide for the dead man during the period of his Bardo existence, symbolically described as an intermediate state of forty- nine days' duration between death and rebirth.
1 To one of Dr. Jung's most successful disciples.
Dr. James Kirsch, Analytical Psychologist, of Los
Angeles, California, who has discussed this
Psychological Commentary with Dr. Jung in
Zurich and aided in its English translation, the
Editor is indebted for the important prefatory
admonition which follows, addressed to the
Oriental reader:-
' This book addresses itself, primarily, to the
Occidental reader, and attempts to describe
important Oriental experiences and conceptions in
Occidental terms. Dr. Jung seeks to facilitate this
difficult undertaking by his Psychological
Commentary. It is, therefore, unavoidable that, in
so doing, he employs terms which are familiar to
the Occidental mind but which are, in some
instances, objectionable to the Oriental mind.
"One such objectionable term is "soul".
According to Buddhistic belief, the " soul " is
ephemeral, is an illusion, and, therefore, has no
real existence. The Germanic word " Seele ", as
employed in the original German version of this
Psychological Commentary, is not synonymous
with the English word " Soul ", although
commonly so translated. " Seele " is an ancient
word, sanctioned by Germanic tradition and used,
by outstanding German mystics like Eckhart and
great German poets like Goethe, to signify the
Ultimate Reality, symbolized in feminine, or
shakti, aspect. Herein, Dr. Jung uses it poetically
with reference to the " Psyche ", as the Collective
Psyche. In psychological language it represents
the Collective Unconscious, as being the matrix of
everything. It is the womb of everything, even of
the Dharma-Kaya; it is the Dharma-K&ya itself.
' Accordingly, Oriental readers are invited to
put aside, for the time being, their understanding
of " soul " and to accept Dr. Jung's use of the
word, in order to be able to follow him with an
open mind into the depths where he seeks to build
a bridge from the Shore of the Orient to the Shore
of the Occident, and to tell of the various paths
leading to the Great Liberation, the Una Salus.'

XXXVI
PSYCHOLOGICAL COMMENTARY

The text falls into three parts. The first part, called Chikhai Bardo, describes the psychic happenings at the moment of death. The second part, or Chonyid Bardo, deals with the dream-state which supervenes immediately after death, and with what are called '
karmic illusions '. The third part, or Sidpa Bardo, concerns the onset of the birth-
instinct and of prenatal events. It is characteristic that supreme insight and
illumination, and hence the greatest possibility of attaining liberation, are vouchsafed
during the actual process of dying. Soon afterward, the ' illusions' begin which lead
eventually to reincarnation, the illuminative lights growing ever fainter and more
multifarious, and the visions more and more terrifying. This descent illustrates the
estrangement of consciousness from the liberating truth as it approaches nearer and
nearer to physical rebirth. The purpose of the instruction is to fix the attention of the
dead man, at each successive stage of delusion and entanglement, on the ever-present
possibility of liberation, and to explain to him the nature of his visions. The text of the
Bardo Thodol is recited by the lama in the presence of the corpse.
I do not think I could better discharge my debt of thanks to the two previous
translators of the Bardo Thodol, the late Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup and Dr. Evans-
Wentz, than by attempting, with the aid of a psychological commentary, to make the
magnificent world of ideas and the problems contained in this treatise a little more
intelligible to the Western mind. I am sure that all who read this book with open eyes,
and who allow it to impress itself upon them without prejudice, will reap a rich
reward.
The Bardo Thodol, fitly named by its editor. Dr. W. Y. Evans-Wentz, ' The Tibetan
Book of the Dead ', caused a considerable stir in English-speaking countries at the time
of its first appearance in 1927. It belongs to that class of writings which are not only of
interest to specialists in Mahayana Buddhism, but which also, because of their deep
humanity and their still deeper insight into the secrets of the human psyche, make an
especial appeal to the layman who is seeking to broaden his knowledge of life. For
years, ever since it was first published, the Bardo Thodol has been my constant
companion, and to it I owe not only many stimulating ideas and discoveries, but also
many fundamental insights. Unlike The Egyptian Book of the Dead, which always
prompts one