The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Biography Donald S. Lopez, Jr. is an English-language book that goes deeper into the history and meaning of the well-known Tibetan Buddhist scripture. This work is suitable for readers who want to explore the background and cultural impact of this text in depth.
The Tibetan Book of the Dead is the best-known Buddhist scripture in the West and has sold more than a million copies since the first English edition in 1927. The book tells the story of the remarkable creation of this collection of texts, which, despite their unknown origin, gained worldwide recognition. Donald Lopez outlines in this biography how Walter Evans-Wentz, without proficiency in the Tibetan language or having visited Tibet, assembled and published the work. The result is a Tibetan book steeped above all in an American spiritual interpretation.
This title aligns with topics such as Tibetan Buddhism, sacred texts, and religion, and is part of the series Lives of Great Religious Books.