Rebirth: The Tibetan game of liberation

241 Pages·1977·20.714 MB·English

by  Jody Tatz, Mark & Kent

Rebirth
TheTi betan Game

REBIRTH

The Tibetan Game of Liberation
by
M A R K T A T Z
and
JODY KENT
ANCHOR BOOKS
Anchor Press / Doubleday, Garden City, New York
The Anchor Press edition is the first publication of
Rebirth: The Tibetan Game of Liberation.
Anchor Press edition: 1977
COPYRIGHT © 1977 BY JODY KENT
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FIRST EDITION
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Tatz, Mark.
Rebirth.
1. Rebirth (Game) 2. Eschatology, Buddhist.
3. Spiritual life (Lamaism) 4. Cosmology, Buddhist.
I. Kent, Jody, joint author. II. Title.
BQ7566.5.T37 294.3'4'23
isbn 0-385-11421-4
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 76-2845
To the Dezhung Rinpoche, learned and accomplished,
who has given his gracious blessing to the publication of
this game (“It will bring great benefit”), to Lama
Trinlay Drubpa and others who have favored it with ad­
vice and helped in its presentation, and of course to the
understanding Lady of Enlightenment.
May any merit deriving from this work be dedicated
to the welfare of all living beings.

C O N T E N T S
Illustrations viii
Preface 1
INTRODUCTION 3
I. Buddhism in Tibet 3
II. Sakya Pandita and the Invention of the Game 6
III. The Game of Rebirth: Origins and Development 10
IV. Karma and Rebirth: The Philosophic Basis 19
The Wheel of Life 20
V. Outline of the Game Board 32
a. The Three Realms 33
B. The Mount Meru World System 36
c. The Religious Traditions 40
d. Signposts on the Road to Awakening 44
VI. The Painting 47
NOTES TO THE INTRODUCTION 52
RULES OF PLAY 61
COMMENTARIES TO THE SQUARES 65
NOTES TO THE COMMENTARIES 203
GLOSSARY 216
APPENDIX: THE ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO REACH
EACH SQUARE 222
ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE
A. Sakya Pandita. From A New Tibeto-Mongol Pantheon, by Lokesh
Candra, by permission of the author.
B. The original game of Rebirth by Sakya Pandita. Wood-block print.
Courtesy of Sakya Jigdal Dag-chen Rinpoche, resident in Seattle,
Washington.
C. A modern Bhutanese game of Rebirth. Hand-painted on heavy
paper. Courtesy of Lama Trinlay Drubpa, Vancouver, B.C.
D. A modern Nepalese game of Rebirth. Scroll painting courtesy of
the Indian Museum, Calcutta.
E. Modern Tibetan scroll painting of the Wheel of Life. Courtesy of
Karma Kunkhyab Choling, Vancouver, B.C.
F. Map of the game board.
G. The Three Realms.
H. Tibetan scroll painting of the Mount Meru World System. Courtesy
of Kalu Rinpoche, Darjeeling, India, (photo by barry Roche­
fort.)
I. Chart of the Mount Meru World System, diagrammatic outline
by Joan Girard. Courtesy of Judith Hanson, Vancouver, B.C.
J. Translation and moves of Rebirth.