Travels in the netherworld: Buddhist popular narratives of death and the afterlife in Tibet

In Travels in the Netherworld, Bryan J. Cuevas examines a fascinating but little-known genre of Tibetan narrative literature about the delok, ordinary men and women who claim to have died, traveled through hell, and then returned from the dead.

Providing a clear, detailed analysis of four vivid return-from-death tales, including the story of a Tibetan housewife, a lama, a young noble woman, and a Buddhist monk, Cuevas argues that these narratives express ideas about death and the afterlife that held wide currency among all classes of faithful Tibetan Buddhists.

Cuevas surveys a broad range of popular Tibetan Buddhist ideas about death and dying and offers innovative perspectives on popular religion in Tibet and fills a gap in an important field of Tibetan literature.