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The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying cover art

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Written by: Sogyal Rinpoche
Narrated by: John Cleese,Susan Skipper,Peri Eagleton,Sogyal Rinpoche
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Publisher's Summary

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is a contemporary spiritual masterpiece and source of sacred inspiration that interprets Tibetan Buddhism for the West.

Sogyal Rinpoche presents a radically new vision of living and dying. He shows how to go beyond our fear and denial of death to discover what it is in us that survives death and is changeless. Rinpoche explains simple yet powerful practices that listeners can use to transform their lives, prepare for death, and help the dying.

©1992 Rigpa Fellowship (P)1995 Random House Audiobooks

Critic Reviews

"A gentle, humane, and eloquent guide." ( Guardian)
"As a guide to the Tibetan tradition and its insights into life and death, Sogyal Rinpoche is without peer. . . .Sogyal Rinpoche. . .has delivered the Tibetan equivalent of The Divine Comedy." ( New York Times Book Review)

What listeners love about The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

Average Customer Ratings
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Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Nice spiritual read

great listening deep enlightening helps to understand life after life and next, life and whole process

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Must read

I loved every bit of this audible. Well narrated with different speakers. Wonderful Storyline.

Talking about death, which many refrain from and to prepare ourselves for it.

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  • HJ
  • 15-08-22

Must Listen

This book needs to be listened to over and over again and everytime you will find new depths of understanding and peace.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Mind altering. Life altering

Nothing left unsaid.
Reverence to Sogyal Rinpoche
Prayers for all humanity
Om Mane Padme Hum 🙏

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • A. Moreira Martin
  • 10-08-09

Great book, life changing brakin gpoint.

This is a book that I consider a life changing braking point, it guided me trough the death process of my son and is now guiding me through many aspects of my life. At the time I bought a hard copy, and I'm enjoying listening to it. This is a must read in this life. I thank Sagoyal for his great compassionate efforts to teach this knowledge.

The audio of this recording y s very good.This is a book that I consider a life changing braking point, it guided me trough the death process of my son and is now guiding me through many aspects of my life. At the time I bought a hard copy, and I'm enjoying listening to it. This is a must read in this life. I thank Sagoyal for his great compassionate efforts to teach this knowledge.

The audio of this recording y s very good.

5 people found this helpful

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  • Anonymous User
  • 10-02-19

Bad narration, different narrator for the sample

Heard a lot of great things about the book, and was highly disappointed to hear the narration.
The really annoying thing was that the sample narrator (which is great) didn't read the rest of the book..

3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Dan Nguyen
  • 21-11-20

This is not the whole book

Although the narrators have done an excellent job, this is just some excerpts of the book. It’s not a whole book.

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Sebastian
  • 16-04-19

very buddhist

This is a "preaching to the choir" kind of book. I'm sure it's good if you're really into buddhist teachings. I however who are only casually interrested found this boring. Kind of like litsening to christians talking about the grace of god. Just a heads up.

1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Amazon Customer
  • 01-05-23

Enlighten yourself

A book full of inspirations and insights. Gives you a all new perspective on death and life.

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Anonymous User
  • 20-02-23

Poor performance but great story

I didn't like this very aggressive narration. It could be more gentle but the performance was not really good. Anyway the book contains the right content.

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  • Anonymous User
  • 27-08-22

Deep dive

If you like to discover more about life & death this is a great starting book w profound tibetian buddist teachings. I appreciated the different narrators.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Jorge Willy
  • 17-10-21

Good reading if you are open and non judgmental.

If you are not a Bhudist like me, some parts of the book make no sense at all, but if you are open, non judgmental and respectful of different spirituals teachings some other parts are enlightened and helpful.
One of the narrators speaks English with a strong accent, almost difficult to understand, so it’s very distracting and I needed to go back and listen for a second or even third time.

Good read in general… at the end, death is the one thing all human berms are going to experience no matter our personal beliefs.

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  • j.a.e.rosenberg
  • 19-03-17

Not very helpfull for everyday life

What disappointed you about The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying?

It seems to be mostly about helping people who are dying, and does not offer a lot of insight in to how to deal with everyday life and the difficulties of dealing with ego, which is the main source of suffering.

Would you ever listen to anything by Sogyal Rinpoche again?

Maybe, what makes me hesitant is that I found out he rapes his female students, or at least uses his position as a master to have sex with him. Several times he was summoned to court for this. This shows that he is apparently not capable of being a good master and that makes his teachings less pure I would think.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I liked the performance.

What character would you cut from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying?

none, it's not applicable.

Any additional comments?

If you look for enlightenment, any book from Deepak Chopra, Byron Katie, Eckhart tolle or the Dalay Lama will do better.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Giggi
  • 24-02-13

Not the same text as the printer version

My TBOLD has 400+ pages but this audible text is completely different from my book. The picture of the front page is identical to the printed version though... I find it quite confusing and you should explain this to potential buyers. I did not check the total time so once I did, I realised that there is something wrong as there is no way to read 400+ pages in less than 7 hrs. Otherwise the text is interesting, I do like it but again - am not sure what I bought.

16 people found this helpful

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  • CaptKirk
  • 13-09-20

Not the full book

I read this profound book many years back and looked forward to listening to it om Audible but was very disappointed.
Firstly this is not thd full book so i feel the flow is broken and feels unfinished and jolting from chapter to chapter.
The narrotors are poor and too different. there is a small piece read by Sogyal himself which was nice to hear.
i recommend to not buy and i would jave returned it but wanted to review it to let people know it is not the book as bought in hardcopy and so do not buy audible version

14 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Stephen Dunn
  • 23-02-16

A fantastic book, but is not the full text

This is a wonderful book, and I have read it many times as a text.

I thought I would try the audiobook as it is narrated by the author, and John Cleese.

I think it would be helpful if audible highlighted more clearly that this is abridged, and so is not the full text. Having said that it was definitely worth the credits.

12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • jeremyshaw991
  • 06-04-11

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying

A beautiful book to listen to, as well as read. I read this book a while ago and felt a shift within myself, and in listening to this book, it was there again - I can recommend it to anyone who is looking for a deeper understanding to how this powerful illusion is working and who desires to live without FEAR.

12 people found this helpful

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  • SJRod
  • 27-07-17

Amazing

So much content. impossible to grasp it all in one reading. Another great lists. that I must listen to over and over to understand and get all the detail.

I loved the performance reading.

6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Nick payton
  • 27-11-20

Buddha talking though a master

love this book it shaped me and my knowledge of the Buddhist system, I would of never made this deep connection with my journey without it

4 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • rezwana
  • 14-07-13

some people wished they had lived,only when dead

What did you like most about The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying?

This book is for all,with an open mind looking for pathways to a meaningful existance

What other book might you compare The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying to, and why?

personal development,with an understanding of your soul

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favourite?

you are the focus ,you can choose to be happy or miserable

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

deep reflection ,i am responsible for my life ,my emotions,my reactions to others.
i created all the wonderful things in my life,i also created the mess,i need to clean up my own mess. healing the wounded part of me that creates it.

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Graham
  • 06-07-12

I dont know

I liked this book. And I enjoyed hearing it. It speaks about many aspects of Buddhism. Amongst many other areas, it mentions the relationship between the master and the disciple, and how important this is. And the Buddhist view of sex is clear, as part of the craving for sense pleasures.

And one would normally expect a teacher to practice what they teach?

So google Sogyal Rinpoche, and the various sex scandals which have been reported. And decide for yourself if you wish to hear this book.

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • David
  • 22-05-11

Transformative

This is the single most useful gift I was ever given. I rate it purely on the sections read by Soygal Rinpoche whose voice seems to resonate with the peace and compassion he is teaching. Some of the other sections can feel a bit long but all contain useful advice for living and dying. It has changed my life. Even if it doesn't change yours it's worth it just to hear John Cleese being serious

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Amazon Customer
  • 29-11-19

I could not access this book to listen even though

I could not listen to this book even though I paid for it and its downloaded it won't play, any suggestions?

2 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Janina quinn
  • 20-11-17

Started off good. ..

I was quite enjoying this until I googled Sogyal Rinpoche. After reading about author, I could not go on to finish the rest.

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Mr. S. P. Tinslay
  • 29-09-16

Perfect accompaniment to the book.

This is a great resource and adjunct to The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Great for listening to when commuting, walking, or for quiet periods of reflection and study. The audio book is read by Sogyal Rinpoche himself, as well as John Cleese of Monty Python fame, and some other suitable and appropriate voices. There is quite a lot of Tibetan Buddhist Wisdom presented here, so depending on where you are on your journey on the path, beginner, curious, student, non student, or for those wanting some wisdom to get them through some difficult life events, or the loss of a loved one, there is much wisdom and heart food to be had here. But don't take my advice at face value. Try it for yourself. As the Buddha always said, don't take what I say as the truth, try it out in your own life. I do highly recommended it though. :-)

6 people found this helpful

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  • Anesu Garande
  • 19-05-15

Wow.

No words to describe. Amazing book.

Makes me not fear the unknown anymore. A must read!!!

3 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Anonymous User
  • 15-10-22

Not the full text on audible

This is a very abridged version compared to the book. It loses a lot of what made it a good book.

1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • jane smith
  • 07-01-23

a must for humanity

I have had the pleasure of listening to this book a few times absolute treasure to be read by all. what a life and death lesson we have to learn. You will not regret the time you spend listening to this lesson as to remember time well spent is the time of your life.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Anonymous User
  • 10-01-22

Interesting content poor recording

If interested in these topics - the content and views are good. The recording is the worst I’ve ever heard on Audible.

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Anonymous User
  • 19-10-21

Such a quintessential book

This book is amazing, however the recording is a little hot (distorted), making listening for a long time a little taxing on the ears and head.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Anonymous User
  • 11-04-21

Highly recommended

Fascinating inside in the process of dying and beyond.
I highly recommend this for anyone questioning the meaning of Birth and Death of all walks of life.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Gas
  • 16-01-20

For those seeking a deeper spiritual practise

This book shares insights into what we can all do now to enrich our lives (spiritually) and prepare for death, as well as help those who are soon to pass, at their time of passing and in the afterlife.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Anonymous User
  • 19-10-19

classic

A spiritual classic. with some amazing take homes. One i liked was that Buddha taught 80,000 types of mediation