EVANS-WENTZ, W. Y. "The Tibetan Book of the Dead/Yoga & Secret Doctrines" [1965]

EVANS-WENTZ, W. Y. The Tibetan Book of the Dead or The After-Death Experiences on the Bardo Plane, according to Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup’s English Rendering. Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines or Seven Books of Wisdom of the Great Path, according to the Late Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup’s English Rendering.

London: Oxford University Press, 1965 (third and second editions, respectively). Two volumes. Octavo. Illustrated with photographic plates and reproductions throughout, including mandalas and ritual imagery. Publisher’s green cloth, both in original dust jackets.

A well-matched pair of Evans-Wentz’s foundational presentations of Tibetan Buddhist texts in English, each based on Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup’s translations and accompanied by extensive editorial apparatus. The Tibetan Book of the Dead presents the Bardo text with psychological commentary (including C. G. Jung), while Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines expands into esoteric teachings of the “Great Path,” incorporating yogic practices and doctrinal interpretation. Together, the volumes represent one of the earliest and most influential introductions of Tibetan religious and philosophical material to a Western readership.

Both volumes retain their original dust jackets, which show toning, soiling, and edge wear with chipping at extremities; spines darkened. Some rippling to cloth on front of Yoga and rear of Book of the Dead. Bindings sound. Interiors generally clean with scattered foxing and occasional staining as shown. A solid, presentable pair. Very Good- in Good jackets.