The Lama, the book and Leonard Cohen

Leonard Cohen narrates a film on The Tibetan Book of the Dead,
featuring His Holiness the Dalai Lama (1994)

5 part video series, an hour in total.

English: Zhi-Khro mandala, a part of the Bardo... — Zhi-Khro mandala, a part of the Bardo Thodol’s collection, a text known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead, which comprises part of a group of bardo teachings held in the Nyingma (Tibetan tradition) originated with guru Padmasambhava in the 8th Century. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to Buddhist scholar and translator Robert Thurman (father of Uma), The Tibetan Book of the Dead, or Bardo Thodol, “organizes the experiences of the between—(Tibetan, bar-do) usually referring to the state between death and rebirth.”

Eastern mysticism meets Western artist, in the video above. It features the Dalai Lama with poet and troubadour Leonard Cohen narrating a two-part documentary series from 1994 that explores the ancient Tibetan teachings on death and dying.

– do read more of the intro at Open Culture

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