A closer look
Some authors fear their books won't age well; others bury them in a mountain for six centuries to build hype. The *Bardo Thodol*, famously known in the West as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, wasn't just written and published. It belongs to a tradition of 'terma' (hidden treasures) supposedly authored in the 8th century by Buddhist master Padmasambhava, who allegedly hid the texts inside caves, rocks, and lakes because the world 'wasn't ready' for them yet. It was conveniently 'discovered' in the 14th century by a mystic, which is arguably the greatest marketing rollout in theological history.
