Luminous Emptiness

The <i>Tibetan Book of the Dead, </i> a best-seller for three decades, is one of the most widely read texts of Tibetan Buddhism. Over the years, it has been studied and cherished by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. <i>Luminous Emptiness </i>is a detailed guide to this classic work, elucidating its mysterious concepts, terms, and imagery. Fremantle relates the symbolic world of the <i>Tibetan Book of the Dead </i>to the experiences of everyday life, presenting the text not as a scripture for the dying, but as a guide for the living. <br><br>According to the Buddhist view, nothing is permanent or fixed. The entire world of our experience is constantly appearing and disappearing at every moment. Using vivid and dramatic imagery, the <i>Tibetan Book of the Dead </i>presents the notion that most of us are living in a dream that will continue from lifetime to lifetime until we truly awaken by becoming enlightened. Here, Fremantle, who worked closely with Chögyam Trungpa on the 1975 translation of the <i>Tibetan Book of the Dead </i>(Shambhala), brings the expertise of a lifetime of study to rendering this intriguing classic more accessible and meaningful to the living. <br><br> <i>Luminous Emptiness </i>features in-depth explanations of: <br><br>   •  The Tibetan Buddhist notions of death and rebirth <br>   •  The meaning of the five energies and the five elements in Tibetan Buddhism <br>   •  The mental and physical experience of dying, according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition