What are the funeral rites for Tibetan lay Buddhists? I am mostly interested in how a Tibetan Buddhist funeral is carried out in the West, i.e. in countries where Buddhism is not a leading religion. Are there any particular practices or ceremonies that family and friends should perform?
One thing that comes to mind is reading aloud the Tibetan Book of the Dead. When one of my Buddhist friends died I read it for him and I felt it helped both of us attain piece of mind.

For those who are not familiar with Tibetan Book of the Dead, it is meant to be recited for the deceased by a lama (or the most spiritual person available in the absence of real lama). The text addresses the deceased directly, walking him or her through various post-death experiences and relating them with Buddhist Teaching.

As Chogyam Trungpa tells in The Mishap Lineage, since its discovery by Karma Lingpa in 14th century, Tibetan Book of the Dead was preserved in Surmang Monastery and passed down the line of Trungpa Tulkus.