Budhist

THE TIBETAN BOOK OF THE DEAD

2007-01-26T01:52:00.000-08:00

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

BUDHIST MANTRA

2007-01-26T01:39:00.000-08:00

Medicine Teacher Buddha
Namo YaoShi LiuLi Guang RuLai
Namo YaoShi LiuLi Hua RuLai
Namo XiaoZai YanShou YaoShi Fo
Glory Medicine Teacher Lapis Azulis Light Tathagata
Glory Medicine Teacher Lapis Azulis Transcend Tathagata
Glory Extinguish Disaster Extend Longevity Medicine Teacher Buddha
Namo - Glory
YaoShi - Medicine Teacher
LiuLi - Lapis Azulis
Guang - Light
RuLai - Tathagata
Namo - Glory
YaoShi - Medicine Teacher
LiuLi - Lapis Azulis
Hua - Transcend
RuLai - Tathagata
Namo - Glory
XiaoZai - Extinguish Disaster
YanShou - Extend Longevity
YaoShi - Medicine Teacher
Fo - Buddha

Introduction and History of Mantra Meditation
Mantras are words or phrases that are chanted out loud or internally as objects of meditation. Often these mantras are associated with particular Buddhist figures, whose qualities can be cultivated by the repetition of the relevant mantra.
Mantra meditation predates Buddhism, probably by hundreds of years. The origins of mantras go back at least to the Vedic tradition that preceded the Buddha, where mantras were used as incantations to influence, or even to control, the gods.
Throughout history, cultures have believed in the sacred power of words, and have believed that uttering certain words or names could control the external world, or control the unseen forces, like gods or spirits, that they believed acted upon the world. We can see that in the English word "spell", which can mean simply to put letters together to make words, or to use words in order to control the world. The words grammar and glamour have the same original meanings. Gramma-techne was the Greek term for the science or art of letters. This came into English as the word grammar, but also came in Scots (as "glammer") to mean "to cast a spell upon". The word glammer was anglicized as glamour, and came to have its more contemporary romantic and aesthetic associations. So the English language contains fossilized notions that words can have magical powers.
This was particularly so for the words that we call "names". In ancient India it was believed that if you knew the true names of the gods, then you could call upon them and compel them to do your bidding. If this sounds primitive, then imagine how you would feel if you discovered that someone had written your name of a piece of paper, put it in the toilet bowl before using the bathroom, and then flushed your name away. Most of us still, it seems, have a lingering belief in the special nature of names.
Although early Buddhism used chanting as a means of practice, and used the recitation of verses as a way of cultivating an awareness of the qualities of the Buddha (Buddhanusati), the use of mantras doesn't seem to have come into Buddhism until the rise of the Mahayana traditions, which incorporated elements of the non-Buddhist approach to spirituality known as "Tantra." Tantra made extensive use of mantras as ways of communing with and influencing the gods, and Buddhism co-opted this methodology as a way of getting in touch with the qualities of enlightenment. The Mahayana had already developed a "pantheon" of symbolical figures in human form to represent the diversity of the enlightened state. Given the close contact with the Tantric traditions, it was natural that these archetypal Buddhas and Bodhisattvas came to be associated with particular syllables and mantras.
Buddhist Mantras
Clicking on the link for each mantra below will take you to a page where you can read about that mantra, see the figure associated with the mantra (where applicable), and listen to an audio version of the mantra. You can chant along to the mantra until you're confident that you have it fully memorized.
There are ten repetitions of each mantra (more or less) to help give you time to learn the mantra and chant along. You can replay the mantra until you think you've got it.
Please note that the mantras as written here lack the diacritic marks that allow for accurate representation of the pronunciation. It's best to listen to the audio files in order to get a better appreciation of how they are pronounced (taking into account the fact that I have a Scottish accent). In the heading of each page I've represented long vowels with a double vowel (eg. aa).
Note: Tibetans typically pronounce some Sanskrit sounds in a non-standard way. For example they'll tend to pronounce "padme" (padmé) as pemé, and "svaha" as soha. Those who are familiar with the Tibetan pronunciation will notice some small changes here.
Mantras not associated with Buddhist figures
Sabbe satta sukhi hontu
Om shanti shanti shanti
Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha
Mantras associated with Buddhist figures
Avalokitesvara
Manjughosa
Vajrapani
Green Tara
Amitabha
White Tara
Shakyamuni
Padmasambhava

Om Mani Padme Huum
Avalokiteshvara is a Bodhisattva who represents compassion, and his mantra also symbolizes that quality. Avalokiteshvara means "The Lord Who Looks Down (in compassion)" There are various forms of Avalokitesvara (Chenrezig in Tibetan). The four-armed form is shown here. There is also a 1000-armed form -- the many arms symbolizing compassion in action. And in the far east, Avalokiteshvara turned into the female Bodhisattva, Kuan Yin.

Om, as I've explained before, has only a mystical meaning -- suggesting primordial reality. Mani means jewel, while Padme means lotus. Hum, like Om, has no conceptual meaning. Overall, the mantra is suggestive of the bringing together of the qualities of wisdom (the jewel) and compassion (the lotus). Wisdom, like a jewel, is clear and can cut through delusion. Compassion, like the lotus, is something that unfolds. And just as the lotus can exist in muddy water without being soiled, so compassion, when it is combined with wisdom, can exist in an impure world without becoming contaminated.
This is probably the best known Buddhist mantra. I remember hearing it chanted on an episode of the BBC Sci-fi series, Dr Who, when I was a young kid back in the 1960s
This mantra is very widely chanted in Tibet, and not only chanted but carved onto stones, printed onto flags, and embossed onto prayer wheels.