The Tibetan Book of the Dead

August 11, 2003 2:51 AM

The Tibetan Book of the Dead. Online exhibit.
Related :- Buddhist art and ritual from Nepal and Tibet; photos of Tibet in the 1940s; dissecting the mandala; mandala and temple sacred architecture in Tibet; mandala sand painting; early Tibetan mandalas; Buddhist sculpture and paintings; the Norbulingka Institute.
posted by plep (9 comments total)

As long as w're on the subject:
The Egyptian Book of the Dead,
The Hebrew Book of the Dead,
The American Book of the Dead,
William Gibson's Book of the Dead,
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (a book about the dead),
The Book of the (Grateful) Dead
and The Website of the Dead.

That's all. I'm dead.
posted by wendell at 3:32 AM on August 11, 2003

plep's FPPs are always a treat!
posted by gen at 3:53 AM on August 11, 2003

The making of the beautiful mandala is fascinating! What steady hands and patience that takes. Thanks, plep - wonderful as always.
posted by iconomy at 4:47 AM on August 11, 2003

Excellent. Fascinating material. Thanks plep (and wendell!)
posted by tr33hggr at 5:04 AM on August 11, 2003

Many thanks, plep. I'm fascinated by the intricate sand mandalas, and have seen a number of them being made, in the US and also in the Himalayas. In January 2000 I worked with the Museum at the University of Colorado, to web cam the construction of a sand mandala by the monks of Drepung Loseling. We set up the cam directly above the centre of the mandala, so you could see it growing outwards. The museum page is still up; you can follow the day-to-day progress of the mandala through the top set of links. There are also other links to other mandala pages (warning - this was an old job - I don't have access to the site any more - so some broken links). I also have some photos from Himalayan mandala construction here (warning/apology: self-link!).
posted by carter at 7:18 AM on August 11, 2003

Related post: The Lukhang Temple
posted by homunculus at 10:40 AM on August 11, 2003

The slideshow I linked in the Lukhang post isn't working for me, but this link seems to be okay.
posted by homunculus at 11:23 AM on August 11, 2003

Thanks homunculus!
posted by plep at 3:58 PM on August 11, 2003

I think they're more for people who know what they're looking at, but this german site has an extensive set of images of the disciples of Padmasambhava, the Shitro, and, most especially, the Rinchen Terdzod.
posted by mblandi at 6:32 PM on August 11, 2003