The Tibetan Book of the Dead is a must read for anyone to learn about the process that Tibetan Buddhists follow to send the core essence of consciousness that powered the body – the spirit – or the soul – (we can use many fancy names as we like), onto the sansaric journey as peacefully as possible. 

Like we cannot control much about our birth – we cannot control whether we are born Lankan, African, American, Chinese or any other. We cannot control if we are born to a family identifying as Jewish, Zorastian, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain or Atheist.

Likewise we cannot control when or how we die. We can only control our thoughts and actions each minute which adds up to each sansaric cycle. It is this that will steer the mind towards total liberation which is the cutting of the umbilical cords of attachment. 

This liberation is through the mind and mind alone. A life liberated from attachment leads to a death in this state. Lived un-liberated and attached to every delusion that life offers means a life of intense suffering in the unseen worlds which merit each human its due state.

The relevance of Buddhism