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PRELIMINARY NOTES ON TIBETAN AFTER-DEATH RITES AND THEIR TEXTS IN MONGOLIAN BUDDHIST PRACTICE
a practicioner trained in it and owning the initiation for it) during dying, immedi¬
ately after death, or during te 49 days following death at given days.
— There are various texts or rituals aimed at guiding the consciousness of the de¬
ceased in the intermediate state to find a better rebirth or even attain liberation
from the cycle of existence. Examples are:
« The text of Toidol / Bardo toidol (sonsgéd) / Sonsgéd toidol, Tib. (bar do) thos
sgrol, ‘Liberation through hearing (in the intermediate state)’ / ‘Text which liber¬
ates through hearing (in the intermediate state)’, [known as the Tibetan Book of
the Dead]. The recitation of this text, accoring to the short descriptions" "saves
from sudden and premature death and from the dangers in the intermediate state
— it is enough only to hear it and one will find the virtuous way. Against stealing
and lies. The text should be recited within 49 days after the death, as it is for the
intermediate state (jawsarin térol)’. The text title Toidol lamrim, Tib. thos sgrol
lam rim, ‘The gradual path of liberation through hearing’ was also met, but it is
still unclear what this text is.
« the rituals with an effigy card or name card as a substitute for the dead
(Janéog / Canéog, Tib. byang chog). The following variation was also met:
Jigjidin Cancog / Jigjid jancog, Tib. jigs byed byang chog, ‘Ritual with
a name card, based on Jigjid (Tib. ‘jigs byed, S. Bhairava, ‘the ‘Terrifying’,
epithet of Yamantaka, one of the three main yellow sect tantras/deities, one of
the ten wrathful protector deities)’. The recitation of this text is recommended
“mainly for the deceased to save them from bad rebirths and to ensure a short
stay in the intermediate state for them and to ensure rebirth in the Sukhavatt
heaven (Diwajin) of Amitäbha”. In these kinds of rituals the lamas purify the
karmic seeds of the deceased that would cause rebirth in the six realms (Tib.
gnas ‘dren, ‘deliverance form the realms’). This ritual carried out with the effigy
(card) instead of the body is important, because the ceremony can be performed
in this way with an effigy (card) instead of the body (death rituals of similar kind
but performed in the presence of the dead body are called ‘corpse ritual’, Tib.
ro chog in the Tibetan traditions, to differentiate rituals with the dead body from
the general ‘death ritual’, Tib. gshin chog).
— Texts urging the deceased to be reborn in a special buddha-field, for example
that of Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light. This in Buddhist practice means
rather a state of the consciousness than a paradise as a phisical place. Beings gaining
rebirth in these paradises or pure lands listen to the teachings of the given buddha
till they are ready to enter nirvana. The most popular such rituals are based mainly
on the prayers and meditation on the Buddha of Infinite Light.
“I give the short description of what the certain text is recommended for, as included on the list of the
different temples for the information of devotees after each title in this article, where available.
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