The Egyptian and Tibetan Books of the Dead
This is where the material gets genuinely harder, and it leans on the meditative grounding from Course 01 — the Tibetan text in particular assumes some familiarity with Buddhist thought. Two ancient, geographically unconnected civilisations independently produced detailed instructions for the passage of consciousness through death. Read side by side, the correspondences are striking.
The structure and purpose of the Papyrus of Ani (the Egyptian Book of the Dead) as a guide for the soul's judgement and passage; the Bardo Thödol (the Tibetan Book of the Dead) as a guide through the intermediate states between death and rebirth; and a direct comparison of how each culture pictured the soul's trials.
A guided contemplative exercise on impermanence and the passage of consciousness, handled with care, followed by a written comparison of the two texts' treatment of one specific stage or trial.
Some familiarity with Buddhist thought is assumed for the Tibetan text.
This is a deliberate step up in difficulty from the first two courses.
The course's core method is holding two independent traditions side by side.
Work through the short, curated reading list above at your own pace.
Follow the specific topics of investigation raised by each text.
Complete the course's practical activity and exercise.
Your exercise becomes the basis of a personal 1-to-1 tutorial with Benjamin.
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