The Tibetan Book Of the Dead, Part 1: The Way Of Life

The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a two-part co-production of Japan, Canada, and France, opens with a brief description of the history of the book which is read aloud to the dead and dying in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition as they pass from this life into the next one. Rather than dwell on the history and philosophy of the book (a.k.a. the Bardo Thodol, however, the program quickly shifts to a back and forth narrative of two actual cases where the book is being used. In the first, Ladakhi spiritual leaders read to a recently deceased elder, while astrological charts are consulted to determine the day of his cremation. In the second, Dale Borglum, a member of the Living/Dying Project in San Francisco comforts a dying man with passages from the book, including some "into the light" mysticism that is presented in a matter-of-fact way (but certainly won't convince or assure everyone. Narrated in a melancholy voice by Leonard Cohen, the program succeeds in making Eastern religion look awkward in a Western context (which, I suspect, was not the filmmakers' intentions), but it also offers a ringside seat to the actual rites and liturgies used in preparing the dead for the next life, without being exploitative. Part 2: The Great Liberation was not seen. The perennial popularity of Eastern religion makes this a good choice for larger collections, despite the abovementioned reservations. Recommended. (R. Pitman)