Rubin Museum of Art

Death

The end of this life marked by the cessation of bodily functions followed by decay. According to Buddhism, after death consciousness transitions to an intermediate state known as the bardo before embarking on another life.

Art 69 Spiral 25

Yama Dharmaraja with Consort Yami

Tibet, 18th century

Yama Dharmaraja

Mongolia, 19th century

Vajrabhairava with Consort Vajravetali

Central Tibet, late 18th century

Vajrabhairava with Consort Vajravetali

China, second half of the 15th century

Vajrabhairava with Consort Vajravetali

Mongolia, 18th - 19th century

Mongolia, ca. 19th century

Inner Mongolia, 19th century

Updating Yamantaka

2010

Text and Illuminations of the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Intermediate State (Bardo)

Tibet, ca. 15th century

Text and Illuminations of the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Intermediate State (Bardo)

Tibet, ca. 15th century

Smashana Adipati, Lords of the Charnel Ground

Tibet, 15th century

Nepal, ca. 18th century

Seven Ishvaris (Animal-Headed Yoginis); Text and Illuminations of the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Intermediate State (Bardo)

Tibet, ca. 15th century

Seven Ishvaris (Animal-Headed Yoginis); Text and Illuminations of the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Intermediate State (Bardo)

Tibet, ca. 15th century

Seven Ishvaris (Animal-Headed Yoginis); Text and Illuminations of the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Intermediate State (Bardo)

Tibet, ca. 15th century

Ritual Bone Apron

Tibet/Nepal, 18th - 19th century

Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Bardo

Tibet, 18th century

Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Bardo

Tibet, 18th - 19th century

Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Bardo

Tibet, 19th century

Mandala of Red Yamari

Tibet, ca. 1415-1435

Lords of the Charnel Ground, Smashana Adipati

Tibet, 18th century

Leg Bone Trumpet (Kang Ling)

Tibet, 18th-19th century

Illustrated Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

Four Male and Four Female Gatekeepers in Union; Text and Illuminations of the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Intermediate State (Bardo)

Tibet, ca. 15th century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

A Folio from a Manuscript of The Liberation Through Hearing in the Intermediate State (Bardo Thodrol)

Mongolia, 19th Century

Five Female Buddhas; Text and Illuminations of the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Intermediate State (Bardo)

Tibet, ca. 15th century

Five Cosmogenic Elements; Text and Illuminations of the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Intermediate State (Bardo)

Tibet, ca. 15th century

Five-Colored Silk; Text and Illuminations of the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Intermediate State (Bardo)

Tibet, ca. 15th century

Eight Female Bodhisattvas; Text and Illuminations of the Hundred Peaceful and Wrathful Deities of the Intermediate State (Bardo)

Tibet, ca. 15th century

It Matters How You Are Born; It Matters How You Die

A birth doula and a death doula share how support helps people through major life transitions

Interviews Personal Perspectives Magazine

Spiritual First Responder

Words and teachings for difficult transitions

Personal Perspectives Religious Perspectives Magazine

Presence in Death

In tukdam, clinically dead meditators are said to dwell in the luminosity of emptiness

Science Buddhism Magazine

A daughter documents her mother's decline and the Hindu rites around death and mourning

Personal Perspectives Photography Magazine

The Wheel of Life

A representation of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth

Buddhism Traditional Himalayan Art Art Up Close Magazine

Death, the Bardo, and Rebirth in Tibetan Buddhism

How the mind navigates the passage between death and rebirth

Buddhist Perspectives Buddhism Magazine

Illuminating the Afterlife

An unusual depiction of heaven reflects beliefs about life and death in medieval Europe

Scholarly Perspectives Magazine

Good Will Writing

An ethical will passes down wisdom through the generations

Personal Perspectives Religious Perspectives Relationships Magazine

Place, Loss, Adaptation

A Nepalese immigrant finds solace in faraway Vermont

Healing Personal Perspectives Contemporary Himalayan Life Magazine

Everything Is Life

How Conscious Dying Can Be a Form of Living

Healing Religious Perspectives Interviews Magazine

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

Remembering the legacy of Thich Nhat Hanh

Buddhism Magazine

Wake Up to Find Out

A short strange trip from chaos to enlightenment

Scholarly Perspectives Buddhism Traditional Himalayan Art Contemporary Art Forms Magazine

Lee Mingwei in Measure Your Existence

A series on the artists from the exhibition

Contemporary Art Forms

Meiro Koizumi in Measure Your Existence

A series on the artists from the exhibition

Contemporary Art Forms

The Way of the Cosmos

Finding your place in the universe. Literally.

Science Magazine

Impermanence Can Set Us Free

How Buddhism encourages us to embrace the instability of life

Scholarly Perspectives Buddhism Magazine

The Returned: When Death Is Not the End

In Tibetan tales and popular culture the dead have a way of coming back with a purpose

Pop Culture Buddhism Magazine

A Manual for the Momentary: DIY Rituals from Reimagine End of Life

Step-by-step instructions toward healing, resilience, and action

Environment Activism Healing How-tos Magazine

We Are All Steadily Heading Toward Death: Taryn Simon and Photography

An artist’s system for mapping blood, time, and narrative

Photography Contemporary Art Forms Magazine

Life, Interrupted

Early onset Alzheimer's forces an artist and teacher to distinguish between letting go and giving up

Personal Perspectives Magazine

Can technology help us on our spiritual quest, or are we just phoning it in?

Technology Mindfulness Magazine

Change and Continuity: Contemplating Impermanence

Balancing love and loss with music and meditation

Healing How-tos Creative Writing Music Magazine

The spiritual and secular afterlives of bodies

Environment Magazine

You Win or You Die: Death in Game of Thrones and Himalayan Religions

How wargs and tulkus master their consciousness

Scholarly Perspectives Buddhism Pop Culture Magazine

Winter Is Here: The End of the World in Game of Thrones and Himalayan Religions

White Walkers, the last battle of Shambhala, and other stories of apocalypse

Buddhism Scholarly Perspectives Pop Culture Magazine