RLB237 Tibetan Book of the Dead

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2011
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
doc. PhDr. Luboš Bělka, CSc. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
doc. PhDr. David Václavík, Ph.D.
Department for the Study of Religions – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Lucie Čelková
Timetable
each odd Tuesday 15:50–17:25 G01
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/30
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
Tibetan eschatological text Bardo Thedol, known in the West as The Tibetan Book of the Dead, beside others represents visions of a hundred of deities or figures of the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon. The figures may be divided into peaceful and wrathful, peaceful ones being forty-two (appearing in the forty-nine-day Bardo during the first days) and wrathful ones being fifty-eight (appearing in the following days).
At the end of this course, students should be able to understand the text of Bardo thodöl as well as be able to explain rituals connected with the text. Another outcome will be knowledge of the visuals connected with the text, i.e. peaceful and wrathful figures.
At the end of the course students should be able to:
define basic concepts about the bardo in Tibetan Buddhism
define basic forms of the bardos in Tibetan Buddhism
describe basic images of the bardo in Tibetan Buddhism
describe basic examples of the images of the bardo in Tibetan Buddhism (overview of the peaceful and wrathful figures).
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction - The Tibetan Book of the Death
  • 2. Life and the death in Buddhism, especially in the Tibetan tradition
  • 3. Bhavachakra, thanatology, funeral rituals and dealing with the remains
  • 4. Jama s trial
  • 5. The text and the context – West (history of the text exploration as an illustration of the discipline development: Academic Study of Religions)
  • 6. Ritual I. – presentation of a documentary movie: "The Tibetan Book of the Death" and its critical analyses
  • 7. "The Tibetan Book of the Death I.": textual critical analyses
  • 8. Ritual II. – presentation of a documentary movie: "Kailas" and its critical analyses
  • 9. "The Tibetan Book of the Death II.": commentary critical analyses
  • 10. Ritual III. – presentation of a documentary movie: "In The Circle of Reborn" and its critical analyses
  • 11. "The Tibetan Book of the Death III.": visuals critical analyses
  • 12. The text and the context – East (demystification)
  • 13. A Final Test – factual knowledge of "The Tibetan Book of the Death"
Literature
  • SLOBODNÍK, Martin. Tibet : krajina, dejiny, l'udia, kultúra (Přít.) : Tibetská kniha mŕtvych v obrazoch. Photo by Vít Fila. Bratislava: FiDaT, 1996, [78] s. :. info
  • Zab-čhos ži-khro dgongs-pa rang-grol (Orig.) : Tibetská kniha mrtvých : Bardo thödol : vysvobození v bardu skrze naslouchání [1991, Odeon] : Tibetská kniha mrtvých : Bardo thödol : vysvobození v bardu skrze naslouchání [1995, Odeon]. info
  • RINPOČHE, Sogjal. Tibetská kniha o životě a smrti. Edited by Patrick Gaffney - Andrew Harvey. Vyd. 1. V Praze: Pragma, 1996, 405 s. ISBN 8071763578. info
  • The Tibetan book of the dead : as popularly known in the West : known in Tibet as The great book of natural liberation through understanding in the between. Edited by Karma-gliṅ-pa - Padma Sambhava, Translated by Robert A. F. Thurman. New York: Bantam Books, 1994, xxii, 278. ISBN 0553370901. info
  • The Tibetan book of the dead, or, The after-death experiences on the Bardo Plane, according to lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup's English rendering. Edited by W. Y. Evans-Wentz - Anagarika Brahmacari Govinda - John George Woodrof. 3rd ed. London: Oxford University Press, 1960, lxxxiv, 24. ISBN 0195002237. info
Teaching methods
lectures, class discussions, reading of texts, homeworks
Assessment methods
Colloquim requirements:
(a) written essay;
(b) active attendance on the lectures.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught once in two years.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Zápis mimo religionistiku je podmíněn souhlasem vyučujícího.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2008, Spring 2013, Spring 2015, Spring 2017, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2011, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2011/RLB237