In Luminous Emptiness, Francesca Fremantle presents the classic Tibetan Book of the Dead not as a scripture to be read to the dying but a guide to the living. [...]
By guiding the reader through the concepts upon which the text is based, the terms it uses, and the imagery it contains, Fremantle relates its world of symbols to our everyday mental and emotional experiences. The five deities of different colors that represent the five styles of wisdom and confusion, the symbolic sexual union of deities, the peaceful and wrathful deities that represent different states of mind -- all are encountered in the process of dying. By looking closely at these vivid and extraordinary images of Tibetan Buddhism, Fremantle guides us toward an understanding of that mysterious tradition.
Luminous Emptiness, Francesca Fremantle, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 240 pp, $39.95
Francesca Fremantle received her doctorate from the School of Asian and African Studies at London University. She is a scholar and translator of Sanskrit and Tibetan works and was a student of Chogyam Trungpa for many years.
CONTENTS: Luminous Emptiness
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Illustrations
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ix
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Preface
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xi
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Acknowledgments
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xxi
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Part One
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FOUNDATIONS
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Homage
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3
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Chapter One
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A Book of the Living
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5
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Chapter Two
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Liberation: Uncoiling in Space
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21
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Chapter Three
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Hearing: The Power of Transmission
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43
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Chapter Four
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Bardo: The Experience of Nowness
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53
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Chapter Five
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The Rainbow of Elements
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71
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Chapter Six
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The Five-Step Process of Ego
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91
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Chapter Seven
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The Display of the Awakened State
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111
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Chapter Eight
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Six Styles of Imprisonment
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141
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Chapter Nine
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The Threefold Pattern of the Path
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173
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Chapter Ten
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The Great Perfection
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195
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Part Two
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THE TEXT
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Chapter Eleven
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Luminosity of Death
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217
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Chapter Twelve
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Invincible Peace
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249
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Chapter Thirteen
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Crazy Wisdom
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289
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Chapter Fourteen
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Wrathful Compassion
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307
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Chapter Fifteen
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At the Womb Door
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345
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Aspiration
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369
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Notes
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371
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Illustration Credits
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383
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Index
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385
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