Historical Traditions; Dying Maps

Most Near Death experiences are very recent—over the last 30-40 years.  Until the advent of modern medicine most people who had a near death experience, died.  There was no advanced resuscitation technology available until fairly recent times. More recent research shows almost 5% of the US population has had a near death experience.

The philosopher Plato, who was one of the greatest thinkers of all time, lived in Athens from 428 to 348 B.C.  Plato’s writings are full of descriptions of death; in his writings is one of the earliest references to an actual near death experience.  His story is about Er, a Greek soldier who went to battle in which many Greeks were killed.  When his countrymen went to collect the bodies his body was laid, along with the others, upon a funeral pyre to be burned.  After he awoke on top of the pyre Er described what he had seen on his journey to the realms beyond and was told that he must go back to inform men in the physical world what this other world was like.

We can’t rely on the individual experiences of individuals who have died and been resuscitated because they have usually had such a short journey.  We must look to the earth traditions for the details.  These traditions include Native Americans, Tibetans, and Buddhists.  These ancient traditions offer us maps from those who have journeyed to the realms of spirit and offer the best references for the death experience.

The maps from many ancient traditions regarding dying reflect universal themes that transcend culture and spirituality. The struggles, fears and concerns at the end of life are essentially unchanging in all societies: fear of the unknown, reluctance to leave behind loved ones, and a desire to cling to life.  Richard F. Groves and Henriette Ann Klauser, in their book, The American Book of Dying, Lessons in Healing Spiritual Pain, address many of these concerns through lessons of history found in the ancient books of the dying. They draw from the lessons found in these great spiritual traditions and offer answers to many of the universal questions regarding death.

The Egyptian Book of the Dead

The Egyptian Book of the Dead formed a map to negotiate the perils when passing from life through death. The maps were most often found as papyrus rolls that were placed in the coffin beside the mummy so it would be at hand when the deceased began his journey into the afterworld. Excerpts from The Book of the Dead are also found on tomb walls, mummy bandages, heart scarabs and in other contexts in order to assist people by accompanying them on their passage into “the Great Light.”

The Egyptian Book of the Dead was written as inspiring poem-like prayers, bearing an incredible resemblance to the psalms of the Hebrew Scriptures. The texts were composed during the same time period as Moses and the Hebrew exodus from Egypt, acknowledging that the cultures of these times borrowed and adapted both language and theology from one another. These poems were a psychological code to provide a guide for living as well—to learn how to die, before you died.

The Egyptians understood that death to the ego and their own identity was necessary before they could face the final Great Death.  Therefore, little distinction was offered between the instructions for living and dying; placing the highest value on the goal of personal integrity. Without an exemplary and moral existence, there was no hope for a successful afterlife; one would be judged in the afterlife on the basis of his or her deeds while alive. Written over three thousand years ago, the book contains incredible insights still relevant today:

"For if I remain truthful, I am guaranteed possession over my Body and Soul. And if I live and die in integrity, my Spirit-Soul can never be destroyed.”

The Egyptian Book of the Dead can be divided into four major sections, focusing primarily on speculation about what happens after death. The first section describes how the deceased enters the tomb and descends to the underworld. The corpse of the deceased regains the physical capabilities it had on earth, which may explain why corpses were left intact throughout Egyptian history.  In the second section the origin of most of the important places and gods of the beyond is explained; in this section, the deceased is reborn and made to live again. In the third section the deceased travels across the sky in the underworld and appears before the judges of the dead. Having been vindicated in judgment, in the final section, the deceased assumes his power in the universe as of one of the gods.

This Egyptian version, however, unlike later books of the dead, offers little practical advice for the physical well-being of the dying person or the bereaved family.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

The Bardo Thotrol, the Tibetan title for the Tibetan Book of the Dead, teaches how one can attain heavenly realms by recognizing the enlightened realm as opposed to being drawn into the realms of suffering. This eighth-century A.D. Buddhist scripture was traditionally read aloud to the dying to help them attain liberation, guiding a person to use the moment of death to recognize the nature of the mind and attain liberation in what was referred to as the “life-to-life transition.”

A number of passages from the Tibetan Book of the Dead bear an uncanny resemblance to the Chinese text, Tao Te Ching. In both cases, powerful images are given to help neutralize the anxiety and fear that often precede death. After we stop breathing, the true nature of the mind arises and we go through what is called by Tibetan Buddhists as the arising or passage of the ultimate, or “Buddha” nature. This opportunity arises at the moment just preceding death. If one is able to remember their true nature in that moment, there is an opportunity to transport their consciousness, to Dewachen—The Pure Lands; a place where one’s Soul may abide and learn its remaining lessons without needing to return to a physical body.

The purpose of reading the Tibetan Book of the Dead to a dying person was to remind that person of what he or she had practiced in life. Tibetan Buddhists, spend their lifetime preparing for this moment of death and have been trained and have studied extensively in the practices of Tonglen, a method of connecting and overcoming fear of suffering, awakening inherent compassion; and Phowa (pronounced “po-wa”), which transports one’s consciousness by training the mind not to become seduced by lower-dimensional thinking. The teacher or deathbed guide, reads to the dying person as a reminder of “Who We Are,” and guides them through a meditative practice that can free the dying person to achieve liberation at the moment of death even when enlightenment was not achieved in his lifetime.

If a person does not hear or heed the reminders and leaves the body without transporting their consciousness, they have several days in which to remember their practice from a proceeding lifetime. However, it becomes increasingly difficult to remember, because one is seduced by images of solace and comfort as well as images that induce terror and revulsion. These images are witnessed in the transition passage known as the Bardo. In the bardo there are a series of realms which correspond to all of the psychological states that keep us attached to the illusion of separation. In each of these realms there is an opportunity to make a choice and abandon interaction with illusion and seek the land of the Buddha, of love and compassion.

Until one can clear the deeply-rooted habits that one harbors, one will go around in a cycle without end. The ideal was to repeat these teachings for a full forty days following a person’s death; reminding the soul to realize that nothing negative is real and that nothing which appears to offer comfort or solace is required; offering the soul a chance to step out of the illusion of the Bardo.

Celtic Books of the Dead

The Celtic Books of the Dead are a series of hands-on practices rather than a book; these practices have been passed on through centuries of oral communication. These teachings were passed down by an end-of-life midwife called an anamcara, or soul friend.

The practices, considered an art, sought to relieve both physical and spiritual pain at the end of life.  The Celts recognized the inter-relationship of physical and spiritual suffering and taught the dying patient to “lean into” pain at the end of life on all levels. The anamcara would do whatever it took to magnify the very issue that caused suffering and help the person to face the cause of their pain directly, thus leaving no unfinished business.

The Celtic model provided unique elements of soothing medicine. Harp music, poetry and a wide range of complementary healing modalities were utilized; addressing everything from regulating a person’s breath and diet to the content of their dreams. The Celtic style of end-of-life care influenced much of the Mediterranean world and influenced monastic infirmaries as far away as Spain, France and Switzerland. This medicine influenced and became the first to bear the name hospice at the turn of Europe’s first millennium.

Gnostic Books for the Living and Dying: Bridge between the East and West

The Middle Eastern perspective, the third- and fourth-century monastic communities from Syria to Egypt produced the Gnostic Scriptures. These Scriptures, which never became part of the Bible, possess remarkable similarities with Asian spiritual teachings, especially when describing how to alleviate suffering at the end of life.

An early text fragment from the Gospel according to Mary Magdalene has parallels to the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Inside this Gospel are the stages of dying and the predictable challenges faced during the life-to-death transition. In this tradition the spiritual companion’s role was to help the dying person negotiate universal perils that show up at the end of life – ignorance and doubt in the essential goodness of one’s nature.

Stories of contemporary near-death experiences corroborate what our ancestors realized: the dying person faces fierce spiritual obstacles before being able to release their spirit. Parts of Gnostic the scriptures read like an ancient map for finding peace at the end of life. Consistent advice is given to face one’s mortality and embrace the indestructible nature of spirit as well as to rest in the power of the present and embrace the moment.

Monastic Books of the Dying

The Monastic Books of the Dying are not as much a distinct textbook as they are a larger library called customaries. These records preserve the daily life or customs of the same monasteries that housed Europe’s earliest hospices. Written a thousand years ago, they detail and amazing range of holistic modalities for treating the sick and dying, including the use of music and ritual, morphine, acupressure and aromatherapy.

The Monastic Books described a unique plan of care tailored to the specific needs of a person. Nothing took priority over supporting someone through his or her spiritual pain. The Monotheistic customaries included texts and sentiments common to all three monotheistic traditions since the Jews, Christians and Muslims of the time often lived and died side by side in peaceful coexistence.  The nature of the scriptures encourage the terminally ill to express a full range of emotions—despair, anger with God, perhaps even cursing—under the rubric of prayer.

 

Similarities

Anthropologist Chris Kar indicates there are five elements common to modern day documentation such as Dr. Raymond Moody’s work on near-death and the Tibetan near-death literature.

These elements are:

1. Feeling a great wind or roar early on.

2. Sensing themselves as different and separate from their bodies or not confined to the body.

3. Seeing a golden sun or white clear light.

4. Emerging into the light or into the oneness.

5. Experiencing a detailed but panoramic view of life or life review process.