Living in the Face of Death: Advice from the Tibetan Masters

In his sterling foreword to this collection, comparative religion professor Huston Smith remarks that death is to contemporary American culture what sex was to Victorian British culture, a subject to be whispered about behind closed doors. Westerners fear death and have created new technologies to deny death for as long as possible, primarily because they view life and death as two distinct stages. Tibetan Buddhists do not distinguish between life and death in such a rigid way, as Mullin demonstrates in this collection of Tibetan Buddhist texts about death. Mullin, who conducts workshops and lectures on Tibetan Buddhism, gathers nine important Tibetan Buddhist texts from the 15th century to the 20th century. The topics covered range from a hagiographic account of the death of a bodhisattva and ""self-liberation by knowing the signs of death"" to ""Tibetan traditions of death meditation"" and rituals for caring for the dead. Each selection emphasizes the Tibetan Buddhist belief that awareness of our transitory state can contribute to our happiness and well-being. Mullin's introduction provides a detailed examination of Tibetan Buddhist history and doctrine, and the translations of the nine texts sparkle with such clarity that the multi-faceted gems of Tibetan Buddhist belief shine boldly. (Jan.)