The Bardo Thödol, often called the Tibetan Book of the Dead, is best understood as a religious text that is deeply suffused with philosophical meaning. It functions within Tibetan Buddhism as a sacred scripture and liturgical manual, intended to be read or recited for those who are dying or have recently died. Its primary aim is practical and soteriological: to guide consciousness through the intermediate state, or bardo, between death and rebirth, with the hope of liberation or at least a favorable rebirth. The text offers detailed ritual instructions, including mantras, prayers, and visualizations of buddhas and deities, and it assumes the authority of Buddhist cosmology, karma, and rebirth as its unquestioned framework.

At the same time, the work is permeated by a distinctly philosophical dimension, though this philosophy is not presented as abstract speculation. Its instructions rest upon profound teachings about the nature of mind, the emptiness of phenomena, luminosity, and the illusory character of appearances. Themes such as impermanence, the nature of consciousness, and the cycle of samsara are woven into the ritual guidance, so that the dying person is not only supported by religious practice but is also continually pointed back to the ultimate nature of reality as understood in Tibetan Buddhism. Rather than separating ritual from insight, the text embodies a fusion of devotional, liturgical practice with contemplative understanding.

For this reason, it is most accurate to regard the Bardo Thödol as a religious ritual and doctrinal text that simultaneously embodies Buddhist philosophical teachings, rather than as a purely philosophical treatise. Its authority and usage lie firmly within the religious life of Tibetan Buddhist communities, yet the path it outlines is inseparable from a vision of mind and reality that has been carefully articulated within Buddhist thought.