The Tibetan Book of the Dead is a unique monument of Buddhist thought, which from the perspective of modern psychology can be described as a detailed map of altered states of consciousness. The book describes three stages of Bardo: the moment of death (Chigai Bardo), the realization of reality (Chenid Bardo), and the aspiration for new birth (Sidpa Bardo). The work of Carl Gustav Jung adds particular value to the publication. The founder of analytical psychology saw in the 'Bardo Thodol' not so much a religious ritual as a universal description of the processes occurring in the psyche during the fading of ego consciousness. The vivid visions of deities, according to Jung, are archetypes of the collective unconscious, and the entire path of the deceased symbolizes the stages of individuation and liberation from false attachments. The book will be useful for psychologists, philosophers, and anyone interested in the deep mechanisms of the psyche.
