(By Tsem Rinpoche and Pastor Shin) As one of the oldest civilisations in the world, Ancient Egypt boasts an academic field of its own called Egyptology, which is the study of its history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art, with prestigious universities in the United States and United Kingdom offering degrees and courses on this subject matter. The beliefs in the divine and afterlife were central to ancient Egyptians, and life on earth was seen as a small segment of an eternal Journey. The general belief held that the deceased’s soul would go on a journey in the underworld, passing through a series of caverns and gates guarded by fearsome beasts to finally arrive in the Hall of Truth for judgement. There, the deceased’s heart would be weighed against the feather of truth and justice to determine whether the deceased qualified to live again in the Field of Reeds for eternity. In order to assist the deceased to navigate their passage safely on this dangerous journey, spells were carved on the tombs and graves. “The intimate connection between the secret doctrine of Egypt’s most venerated books, and the secret significance of her most venerable monument, seems impossible to separate, and […]