# The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying *Sogyal Rinpoche, edited by Patrick Gaffney and Andrew Harvey. First published 1992 (HarperSanFrancisco in the US, Rider in the UK).* > **Read this first.** The author, Sogyal Lakar (Sogyal Rinpoche), was accused of physical, sexual and emotional abuse of students. An independent investigation commissioned by his own organization found, on the balance of probabilities, that some students were seriously abused by him. Section 3 and the fact-check set out what is established and what is not. This note was assembled from publisher pages, library records, the independent report and secondary sources. The book's full text was not read for this note, so chapter descriptions follow the published contents list and publisher description. ## 1. Book facts | | | |---|---| | Title | *The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying* | | Author | Sogyal Rinpoche (Sogyal Lakar); edited by Patrick Gaffney and Andrew Harvey | | First published | 1992 (HarperSanFrancisco, US, launched September 1992; Rider, UK) | | Edition summarized | HarperOne "Revised and Updated Edition", 13 October 2009, 464 pages, ISBN 978-0-06-180034-4 (edition details from the publisher's academic listing as returned by search; the page itself did not load for me). A 30th Anniversary Edition from Rider was published in 2024 (ISBN 978-1-84604-846-3). | | Language | English (the book has been translated widely) | **Where it came up.** - Video: [Sam Altman's coach destroys your limiting beliefs for 86 minutes straight](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi23y0x-MhA), *My First Million* (episode 863; coach Joe Hudson with hosts Shaan Puri and Sam Parr). - Mention: [about 18:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi23y0x-MhA&t=1093s). While Hudson describes visualizing the worst outcomes until they lose their charge, a host names the *Tibetan Book of Living and Dying* as an example of visualizing death. The host does not name the author; the video's description links the book. - Vault note: [[Video Summaries/My First Million/Sam Altman's coach destroys your limiting beliefs for 86 minutes straight]]. ## 2. Book resources **Reference pages** - Publisher (Rider, 30th Anniversary Edition): free sample with contents page, [PDF from Penguin](https://cdn.penguin.co.uk/dam-assets/books/9781846048463/9781846048463-sample.pdf) - Open Library: [work page](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3475649W) - Wikipedia: [The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tibetan_Book_of_Living_and_Dying) - WorldCat: [search by ISBN](https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=bn%3A9780061800344) (WorldCat blocks automated checks, so this link is unchecked) - Google Books: [ISBN lookup](https://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN9780061800344) (unchecked; the Google Books API was over quota) **Where to get it** - **Amazon (print and Kindle):** [Amazon page for the HarperOne edition](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0061800341). Whether a Kindle edition is sold on that page was not checked. - **Audible:** yes. [Audible listing](https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Tibetan-Book-of-Living-and-Dying-Audiobook/B0D9YZYYZZ): *The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying* (30th Anniversary edition with the Dalai Lama's foreword), narrated by Lorraine Velez, produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media. A search summary gave a length of 20 h 43 min and a release date of 29 July 2024; the listing page I opened did not show those figures. - **Libraries (free to members):** [Libby](https://libbyapp.com/search/query-tibetan%20book%20of%20living%20and%20dying), [OverDrive](https://www.overdrive.com/search?q=tibetan+book+of+living+and+dying) and [Hoopla](https://www.hoopladigital.com/search?q=tibetan%20book%20of%20living%20and%20dying). These are search links, and availability was not confirmed. - **Internet Archive:** scans exist ([Rider 1992 edition](https://archive.org/details/tibetanbookofliv0000sogy)), but the catalogue places it in the "printdisabled" collection, so it is not a general free copy. - **Open Library borrow:** the work page links to the same Internet Archive scans, with the same restriction. - **Free full text:** none from the publisher or author was found. The book is in copyright. PDFs of the full text circulate on the web without the publisher's permission, and this note does not link them. ## 3. Author biography Sogyal Rinpoche (born Sonam Gyaltsen Lakar, 1947, Trehor, Kham, eastern Tibet; died 28 August 2019, Bangkok) was a Tibetan Dzogchen teacher in the Nyingma tradition and the founder of Rigpa, an international network of Buddhist centres ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sogyal_Rinpoche); [Sogyal Rinpoche's expanded biography](https://sogyalrinpoche.org/about-sogyal-rinpoche/expanded-biography)). - He was recognized as the incarnation of the 19th/20th-century master Tertön Sogyal and, according to the sources Wikipedia cites, his education was supervised by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö. - He studied in India and in 1971 held a visiting place in comparative religion at Trinity College, Cambridge. He began teaching in London in 1974, named his work Rigpa in 1979, and founded the Lerab Ling retreat centre in the Hérault, France, in 1991 (Wikipedia). - In 1983 he met Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (Wikipedia). The book was written with help from the editors Patrick Gaffney and Andrew Harvey. - He died in Thailand at 72. Wikipedia reports a pulmonary embolism during treatment for colorectal cancer. **Allegations and findings (factual summary)** - 1994: a US civil suit was filed against him and Rigpa by a woman identified as "Janice Doe", alleging physical, sexual and mental abuse. The UK [Charity Commission report](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-inquiry-rigpa-fellowship/charity-inquiry-rigpa-fellowship) records the suit. Wikipedia says it was settled out of court. - 14 July 2017: eight current and former senior students signed a [letter to Sogyal Lakar](https://www.lionsroar.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Letter-to-Sogyal-Lakar-14-06-2017-.pdf) alleging physical, emotional and sexual abuse, a lavish lifestyle funded by students, and damage to their trust in the Dharma. It said his "wrathful compassion" and "crazy wisdom" explanations no longer convinced them. - 1 August 2017: the Dalai Lama said at a conference held in Ladakh, India, "Sogyal Rinpoche, my very good friend. Now he is disgraced", and urged students to make teachers' misconduct public ([Lion's Roar, 8 August 2017](https://www.lionsroar.com/dalai-lama-denounce-ethical-misconduct-by-buddhist-teachers/)). - 11 August 2017: Sogyal Rinpoche retired as spiritual director of all Rigpa organizations ([Lion's Roar](https://www.lionsroar.com/after-allegations-sogyal-rinpoche-retires-from-rigpa/)). - 22 August 2018: the report by Lewis Silkin LLP (investigator Karen Baxter) was delivered to Rigpa's trustees and published by Rigpa in early September 2018 ([full report as hosted by a third party](https://info-buddhism.com/PDF/Lewis-Silkin-report.pdf); [Rigpa UK safeguarding page](https://rigpa.org.uk/moving-forward/); [Buddhistdoor summary](https://www.buddhistdoor.net/news/rigpa-publishes-result-of-independent-investigation-into-alleged-misconduct-by-sogyal-rinpoche/)). It found that "some students of Sogyal Lakar (who were part of the 'inner circle') have been subjected to serious physical, sexual and emotional abuse by him", and that senior people in Rigpa knew of some of it and failed to act. It did not uphold every allegation: it found no evidence for the claim that students were made to photograph their own genitals, and it found insufficient proof of relationships with girls under 16. - Sogyal Lakar replied in general terms (letters of 18 July 2017 and 4 July 2018, per Wikipedia). Wikipedia quotes him as saying, "I am clear in my own mind that I have never, ever, acted towards anyone with a motive of selfish gain or harmful intent." - 20 November 2020: the Charity Commission closed its statutory inquiry into Rigpa Fellowship. It found mismanagement and misconduct in how former trustees handled safeguarding concerns, disqualified Patrick Gaffney (co-editor of this book) as a charity trustee for eight years, and removed trustee Susan Burrows. - I did not find any record of a criminal prosecution. That is a statement about my search, not a finding. ## 4. Author interviews and talks Few authoritative interviews could be verified, and the allegations above apply to everything in this list. - [Sogyal Rinpoche ~ Facing death is facing ourselves](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIsCK-T07Ds) — a talk on his official YouTube channel (a search summary dated the upload to 3 November 2017; the clip was not watched for this note). - [Just When You Think You're Enlightened (Lion's Roar)](https://www.lionsroar.com/just-when-you-think-youre-enlightened/) — an excerpt from his book *Glimpse After Glimpse*. Not an interview. - The BBC documentary *The Making of a Modern Mystic* (1993, Frank Cvitanovich) and Boris Penth's *Sogyal Rinpoche: Ancient Wisdom for the Modern World* are listed on Wikipedia. I did not find a working link to either, so they are unverified here. - A 2022 ARTE documentary on abuse by Buddhist teachers is cited on the French Wikipedia page; its title and link were not checked. ## 5. Summary **Thesis.** The book presents Tibetan Buddhist teaching on life and death for a general Western reader, and calls itself "a new Tibetan Book of the Dead and a Tibetan Book of Life" ([quoted on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tibetan_Book_of_Living_and_Dying)). It is not a translation of the *Bardo Thodol*. It starts from impermanence and the nature of mind, teaches basic meditation, explains the three "bardos" (living, dying and after death) and then turns to caring for the dying and the dead. **Outline.** From the contents page of the Rider 30th Anniversary Edition ([Penguin sample](https://cdn.penguin.co.uk/dam-assets/books/9781846048463/9781846048463-sample.pdf)); page numbers are for that edition. Glosses follow Wikipedia's summary. - **Foreword** by His Holiness the Dalai Lama; **Introduction**; **Preface** - **Part One: Living** 1. *In the Mirror of Death* (p. 3) 2. *Impermanence* (p. 15) 3. *Reflection and Change* (p. 28) 4. *The Nature of Mind* (p. 42) 5. *Bringing the Mind Home* (p. 57) — meditation practice 6. *Evolution, Karma, and Rebirth* (p. 86) 7. *Bardos and Other Realities* (p. 106) 8. *This Life: The Natural Bardo* (p. 115) 9. *The Spiritual Path* (p. 131) 10. *The Innermost Essence* (p. 154) — Dzogchen - **Part Two: Dying** 11. *Heart Advice on Helping the Dying* (p. 177) 12. *Compassion: The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel* (p. 191) 13. *Spiritual Help for the Dying* (p. 213) 14. *The Practices for Dying* (p. 227) 15. *The Process of Dying* (p. 248) - **Part Three: Death and Rebirth** 16. *The Ground* (p. 263) 17. *Intrinsic Radiance* (p. 278) 18. *The Bardo of Becoming* (p. 291) 19. *Helping After Death* (p. 303) 20. *The Near-Death Experience: A Staircase to Heaven?* (p. 323) - **Part Four: Conclusion** 21. *The Universal Process* (p. 343) 22. *Servants of Peace* (p. 360) - **Appendices:** My Teachers; Questions About Death; Two Stories; Two Mantras. Then Notes, Selected Bibliography, Acknowledgments, Index. **Key ideas** - Facing death makes life clearer; impermanence is the starting point. - The mind has an unchanging "nature" (*rigpa*), which meditation can reveal; the teaching draws on the Dzogchen tradition. - Life, dying, death and rebirth are described as a continuous series of "bardos", or in-between states. - How you treat the dying matters: the book gives practical and spiritual advice to carers. - Near-death experiences are discussed as partial, provisional glimpses, not as proof of the Tibetan account (as described in a [near-death-studies review](https://doi.org/10.17514/jnds-1994-13-2-p129-136)). ## 6. Fact-check Overall verdict: **mixed**. Most of what the book offers is religious teaching, which cannot be fact-checked. Its framing and its use of near-death research are open to scholarly criticism, and the author's conduct is documented separately. | Claim | Verdict | Evidence | |---|---|---| | The book is a translation or direct rendering of the *Tibetan Book of the Dead* | **Not accurate; the book does not claim this** | It is an interpretation. "The work is based closely on *The Tibetan Book of the Dead* but is not a translation" ([Brewminate](https://brewminate.com/bardo-thodol-the-medieval-tibetan-book-of-the-dead/)). | | "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" is an ancient Tibetan book with that title | **Disputed** (this is a background claim often attached to the book) | Donald Lopez writes that it "is not really Tibetan, it is not really a book, and it is not really about death" ([Princeton University Press](https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691134352/the-tibetan-book-of-the-dead)). The title comes from W. Y. Evans-Wentz's 1927 edition, which was shaped by Theosophy ([Int. J. of Transpersonal Studies, 2023](https://doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2023.42.2.47)). | | Near-death experiences broadly corroborate the Tibetan picture of dying | **Disputed** | The book draws on near-death research (the near-death-studies [review](https://doi.org/10.17514/jnds-1994-13-2-p129-136) notes its use of Sabom, Grey, Moody, Ring and Morse). [Nahm's paper in the Journal of Near-Death Studies](https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc461682/m2/1/high_res_d/29-3%20Nahm.pdf) finds some features consistent but others not, and advises scholars not to adopt the *Bardo Thodol*'s contents "without question". | | Rebirth, karma, the bardo states and the effects of the practices described | **Religious doctrine; not empirically testable** | Described as doctrine in the Wikipedia summary and the publisher text. This note does not rate them. | | The Dalai Lama wrote the foreword | **Supported** | It is in the contents of the [Rider edition](https://cdn.penguin.co.uk/dam-assets/books/9781846048463/9781846048463-sample.pdf). The Dalai Lama later called the author "disgraced" ([Lion's Roar](https://www.lionsroar.com/dalai-lama-denounce-ethical-misconduct-by-buddhist-teachers/)). | | Sogyal Lakar abused students physically, sexually and emotionally | **Supported on the balance of probabilities by the independent report; disputed by him in general terms** | [Lewis Silkin report](https://info-buddhism.com/PDF/Lewis-Silkin-report.pdf) and the [Charity Commission inquiry report](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-inquiry-rigpa-fellowship/charity-inquiry-rigpa-fellowship). The report did not uphold all allegations: no evidence for the genital-photograph claim; insufficient proof of relationships with girls under 16. | | The physical violence was a teaching method ("wrathful compassion") | **Disputed** | The investigator accepted that some of it "might be described as being part of a teaching" but concluded that on many occasions the reason "was Sogyal's own frustrations". | | The book has sold over two million copies in 30 languages | **Unverified** | Repeated on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sogyal_Rinpoche) from Rigpa sources; no independent sales figure found. | ## 7. Citations and references **Sources behind the book and the controversy** - Bryan J. Cuevas, *The Hidden History of the Tibetan Book of the Dead* (Oxford University Press, 2003), cited via Nahm's summary of its history. The book itself was not opened. - Donald S. Lopez Jr., *The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Biography* (Princeton University Press), [publisher page](https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691134352/the-tibetan-book-of-the-dead). - W. Y. Evans-Wentz (ed.), *The Tibetan Book of the Dead* (1927), as discussed in the [2023 translation-history article](https://doi.org/10.24972/ijts.2023.42.2.47). - Michael Nahm, ["The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Its History and Controversial Aspects of its Contents"](https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc461682/m2/1/high_res_d/29-3%20Nahm.pdf), *Journal of Near-Death Studies* 29(3). - Review of *The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying*, [*Journal of Near-Death Studies* 13(2), 1994, pp. 129–136](https://doi.org/10.17514/jnds-1994-13-2-p129-136) (the DOI resolver returned an error when checked; reviewer not identified here). - Press coverage cited by Wikipedia but not opened because of paywalls or blocks: Mick Brown, ["Sexual assaults and violent rages... Inside the dark world of Buddhist teacher Sogyal Rinpoche"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/21/sexual-assaults-violent-rages-inside-dark-world-buddhist-teacher/) (*The Telegraph*, 21 September 2017); Richard Sandomir's [New York Times obituary](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/01/world/asia/sogyal-rinpoche-dead.html) (1 September 2019). **Pages used for this note:** [Wikipedia on the author](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sogyal_Rinpoche), [Wikipedia on the book](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tibetan_Book_of_Living_and_Dying), [Sogyal Rinpoche's expanded biography](https://sogyalrinpoche.org/about-sogyal-rinpoche/expanded-biography), [Penguin sample](https://cdn.penguin.co.uk/dam-assets/books/9781846048463/9781846048463-sample.pdf), [Open Library](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL3475649W), [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0061800341), [Audible](https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Tibetan-Book-of-Living-and-Dying-Audiobook/B0D9YZYYZZ), [Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/tibetanbookofliv0000sogy), [Lion's Roar on the 2017 letter's aftermath](https://www.lionsroar.com/after-allegations-sogyal-rinpoche-retires-from-rigpa/), [Charity Commission](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charity-inquiry-rigpa-fellowship/charity-inquiry-rigpa-fellowship), [Lewis Silkin report](https://info-buddhism.com/PDF/Lewis-Silkin-report.pdf), [Rigpa UK](https://rigpa.org.uk/moving-forward/), the video [on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi23y0x-MhA). Anything marked **unverified** was not confirmed against a primary source.