In ancient Tibetan traditions, it is said that the first king descended from the heavens by means of a rope. This rope is a symbol of the axis mundi for the Tibetan people. The Tibetan people also believe that the kings were able to ascend into heaven after death by means of this rope. Eliade suggest that this is an allusion to a time when the powers of a shaman were greater, but now those powers are limited.

Eliade goes on to explain that this also happens in Bon traditions, where dMu priests were able to ascend into heaven using either a rope or a ladder. These priest could also guide other people through death using this rope or ladder. Apparently, the dMu priests have lost this power as well.

Another interesting topic is the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The Tibetan Book of the Dead is a roadmap of the afterlife, which guides people through the spiritual worlds in order to reach heaven.

The Tibetan afterlife is of great interest, not much for its shamanistic qualities but rather for its interesting parallels with Western beliefs. Eliade explains that the Tibetan axis mundi contains three different sections, which he describes below:

. . . First of all the “Great Hell,” which lies 8,000 yajana underground and whose center is of blazing iron. “Within the house of iron, in hells of all descriptions, countless demons torment and afflict by burning, roasting, and cutting into pieces . . .” Hell, the world, and Mount Meru lie on the same axis, and the deceased is urged to make his way directly to Mount Merus, whose summit Indra and thirty-two ministers winnow the “transmigrants” (Eliade 438-439).

Eliade goes on to explain that an effigy, or name-card, is used to guide the deceased through the spiritual world. This name-card acts like a secret name. It is also known as contagious magic, where one thing controls another thing through the use of symbols or likeness. The shaman chants to this name-card during a funeral ritual, in order to guide the soul into heaven. There are six worlds that the soul most move through in order to reach the seventh, which is nirvana. The shaman places the name-card among lotus-petals and moves it around, symbolizing the souls journey to another area.

The journey of the soul and the shaman through the seven worlds is of particular interest to me, perhaps that is why I found it so important. In my personal religion, there are seven realms also, our physical existence being at the bottom of those seven. I can relate to the funeral ritual of the Tibetian very closely, perhaps making my interest here biased.