Liberation Upon Hearing in the Between

Living with the Tibetan Book of the Dead

By: Robert Thurman

Narrated by: Robert Thurman

Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the 25 most influential people in America according to Time magazine, and "the leading American expert on Tibetan Buddhism" ( The New York Times), Robert Thurman illuminates the Tibetan Book of the Dead with up-to-date insights for modern audiences. For centuries, this text has been read aloud to the dying, who Buddhist masters say are capable of hearing up to three days after clinical death, as a guide through the tumultuous and often terrifying process of dissolution. Now, in Liberation Upon Hearing in the Between, Professor Robert Thurman demystifies this esoteric teaching and reveals the Tibetan view of dying: it is not an ending to be feared, but a wondrous and liberating culmination of our life's journey, potentially opening into glorious new beginnings. Entering the bardo, the in-between state in which one reality dissolves and the next has not yet formed, we need not become prey to our fears and hopes. Instead, we can relax into our natural clarity and stabilize the journey. And this treasured teaching is for much more than just changing our understanding of death. Whether we have lost a dear relationship, awoken from a dream, or face the loss of our bodied life, simply hearing these teachings steadies our minds and hearts so that the journey from one state to the next changes from a tragic voyage into a clear adventure through the brilliant sky of great liberation.

©2005 Robert Thurman (P)2005 Sounds True

Enjoy this immensely

I love this talk. Robert Thurman provides such a great overview with so many interesting tidbits that stick with me and further practice.

the perfect adjunct to the book

read this before and after reading the awesome translation. you will be that much better prepared for the culmination of your life between .

Death is Important

Bob Thurman is one of my most cherished teachers and Death is a subject that holds great interest for me. I will be listening to this class many times in the future to help prepare myself for this life’s ultimate transition. Thank you Bob.

wonderfully and compassionately over top!

Aside from a few statements denigrating Theravada Buddhism ( yes I am ) which I found inaccurate about it being selfish in nature ( framing is everthing - a driver could acuse the person he ran over as getting blood on his bumper).. I Love his enthusiasm, his completely off script rantings and teaching in all their wisdom. As we all share death in common I strongly advise listening and remember it's not real it's just manifestations of you own mind and can't hurt You. And go for the strong blue light no matter how painful and do not seek the soft lighting. Thank you for this!

Absolutely wonderful and rich

I am delighted to have listened to this book, and from the author himself. Maybe the best audiobook I have listened ever. I knew Robert Thurman but never had listened to a whole lecture of him, and he is wonderful. He is as serious and deep as he is simple and funny. And the content is so essential to our lives that deserved such a master. I am so grateful for Tibetans to have kept this precious wisdom and for Robert Thurman to exist and have recorded this. May all beings be helped for such a golden knowledge.

At Long last

Would you listen to Liberation Upon Hearing in the Between again? Why?

Not only would I listen to this again, I listen to it daily!

What other book might you compare Liberation Upon Hearing in the Between to and why?

This generic question needs to read the question and look at this book. The title should give you a clue. But I will say that even Sogyal Rinpoche's Tibetan book of Living and Dying is the only book in the ball park for any sort of comparison. This translation and most especially Bob Thurman's delivery is quintessentially American . Yes , Bob is a real American Buddhist teacher amongst a growing handful.

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

I have listened to Bob Thurman before. First at the San Francisco Zen Center. He is a delight. Totally insightful and yet not too

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

My extreme reaction to this is : This is by far the best most easily accessed translation of the teaching to date.

Any additional comments?

After practicing Tibetan Buddhism beginning in Scotland in 1970 to this date, I have found Bob's manner and insight into the teachings perfectly suited to this moment in human history. Thank you my friend for persevering...

WOW. WHAT THEATER IS THIS?

The problem when older people appear before a younger audience is that they react to, as if seeking acceptance, initial feedback from their audience. Then, the behavior of that senior, revered speaker then becomes that of a new performer, whose delivery or even prepared content may become subject to interactive influences of a live performance.

The hallmarks of this phenomena may appear when disciplined intellectuals, e.g., "experts" used to delivering logical, simplified explanations of new or complicated theories to individuals seeking a better understanding, are unconsciously seduced into pandering for audience approval as a prior requirement to create a more open minded, communicative environment.

In this performance, one hears traces of that condescending humor so obviously borrowed from the late night comedy shows on American TV; you know the style, snarky comedians repeating headline news, adding sarcasm they hope the audience appreciates, or spitting out the “F” word for shock value, then using sounds of audience laughter to punctuate their incoherent, stream-of-conscious spew of Ad Hominem attacks.

At times I wondered if portions if this audible book were actually tryouts for a spot on a comedy channel, and pasted into this recording by mistake.

This speaker is obviously a learned man whose literary style, cohesive composition, and ability to break down complex, intuitively abstract mental constructs is a remarkable achievement to be shared. Anyone who reads his work knows this.
So if you are looking for meaningful, serious, or thought provoking insights you have not found in other texts on Tibetan Buddhism, this is not it.
It is however, a rambling, sometimes humorous, sometimes entertainingly disjointed performance of under enunciated, discombobulated, word groupings so lacking of connective syntax that if printed verbatim, any effort to understand the subsequent reading of the text of this performance would be taxing.

On the other hand, if you are a fan of this speaker, his style, humor, especially enthusiasm with respect to this topic is impossible to deny.

Bob Thurman teaching the Tibetan Book of the Dead

It's a very difficult book about the death process and reincarnation explained in easily digestible modern speech. The Bardo, the in-between life and death. Explaining the nature of our subtle mind, which, according to Buddhism, does not die. Bob explains how the belief in a final poof, death, gone forever leads us to be a bit psychotic while we're here, because we disregard karma.

Great performance and material, audio loud sometim

Great information / subject material. I really enjoyed how the author presented the material. You are essentially sitting in on one of his seminars. The only fault I will point out is the audio is too dynamic, it kept hurting my ears when he would speak up for effect...needs some audio compression. *I listen in the car*

Excellent teaching.

Would you consider the audio edition of Liberation Upon Hearing in the Between to be better than the print version?

Hearing Robert Thurman teach this in his own style is remarkable.

What does Robert Thurman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

These are teachings we reflect on regularly on the Buddhist path, but the ways he teaches them and leads meditation truly connect me with the intensity of the practices and inspire me.