The Great Liberation Through Hearing in the Bardo, that’s an impressive title for a book if ever I heard one. Either the writers knew something about marketing or they weren’t interested in beating around the bush (or maybe both). When this book was translated into English from the Tibetan original it was given the more easily graspable name, The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Most Westerners know the book by this name and categorize it as an interesting cultural-historical artifact.

Yet, the fact is that books of the dead have appeared in many cultures and civilizations, spanning the entire history of mankind. Many cultures have shaped their knowledge of the mysteries into books of the dead, but these texts are also for the living. The key, as usual, is hidden in plain sight. It lies in the book’s title. One must hear these readings during the lifetime, letting the spoken words resonate with one’s being and awakening one to the true reality of the present situation.

Books of the dead are typically only useful for the inhabitants of the culture they originated from. That’s why the formulation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead seems so alien and otherworldly to us. Yet the teachings contained in these manuals are always the same; it’s only the culturally specific nature of the words that change.

Not until the appearance of the American Book of the Dead by E.J. Gold was there a book of the dead for the Western world. Not surprising considering our culture is based on the pursuit of instant gratification and the constant denial of the inevitable truth of death. (But enough ranting about the cultural milieu.)

The important thing is that the ancient technology that resonates in all books of the dead is real. Here is a code that quietly waits for the reader’s spoken word to ignite it with life and attention. It’s like music. The notes on the printed page are pretty to look at but they take on a completely different meaning and function when brought to life.