Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture : An Investigation of the Nine Best-Known Groups of Symbols [Paperback]

Dagyab Rinpoche (Author), Robert A. F. Thurman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wisdom Advanced Book - Blue Series | Publication Date: November 1, 1995

In this fascinating study, Dagyab Rinpoche not only explains the nine best-known groups of Tibetan Buddhist symbols, but he also shows how they serve as bridges between our inner and outer worlds. Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture is a fascinating and fun book, offering us entry points into the layers of meaning that may be found in the common (and not-so-common), pointing the way to ultimate reality and transmitting a reservoir of deep knowledge formed over thousands of years.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A former spiritual and temporal head of Dragyab State, Khem, East Tibet, who has been a research fellow and lecturer in Tibetan Buddhism for nearly 30 years at the University of Bonn, Dagyab Rinpoche is excellently placed to analyze Buddhist symbols (tendrel) and symbolism in Tibetan culture from both Western and Tibetan perspectives. Unfortunately, an opportunity has been missed. Not only is the interesting concept of chu (or "essence-juice and vigor") which informs Tibetan symbolic perception and cultural spirit dropped after the introduction, but the introduction's thought-provoking discussion about methodological parameters for symbol-interpretation is not elaborated either. Indeed, the book is content to list and explicate symbols before trailing off into a wholly inadequate conclusion. This sketchiness is partly offset by the descriptions, many of which have a dictionary-like concision. The book ends with technical apparatus of use only to Tibetan scholars.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"As Dagyab Rinpoche defines each symbol, hew further illuminates the concepts inherent in Tibetan Buddhism which is, in its earthly manifestation, voluptuously visible." -- Booklist

"Dagyab Rinpoche is an extraordinary person who combines Western scholarship with the depth of the wisdom of being a Tibetan lama." -- Martin Kalff, founding member of the International Society for Sandplay Therapy

"Symbolism is the language of the human spirit and this book is the most systematic study of its Tibetan idiom that has yet appeared." -- Huston Smith, author of The Illustrated World's Religions

"This timely book preserves something very valuable-symbols as the visual manifestation of the psyche. The author deserves our thanks...Highly recommended." -- Herbert Guenther, author of Wholeness Lost and Wholeness Regained

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861710479
• ISBN-13: 978-0861710478
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #382,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful short introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, August 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture : An Investigation of the Nine Best-Known Groups of Symbols (Paperback)

I'm not a practicing Tibetan Buddhist, but I've acquired a fair amount of knowledge through osmosis: I do volunteer work for a Tibetan refugee relief organization. One slow afternoon in our shop, I picked up this book to improve my knowledge of the iconography in the graphics we sell, and was blown away. Not only has the author written a clear, readable explication of the symbolism, but the book is also a terrific introduction to fundamental Tibetan Buddhist beliefs. The average Tibetan may not be able to elucidate the intricacies of the sacred texts, or practice the stylized form of debate that forms an important part of a monk's training. But the book gives great insight into what this average Tibetan actually believes. Now I feel I have a better understanding of how the Tibetans' Buddhism has sustained them through persecution, exile, and attempts by the Chinese government to stamp out their culture. (And the Fur-Bearing Fish isn't a refugee from a Dr. Seuss book, but a symbol with profound meaning.) This is a great little book, and I recommend it enthusiastically.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars UNDERSTANDABLE, June 16, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture : An Investigation of the Nine Best-Known Groups of Symbols (Paperback)

I'm 52 years old and was fairly smug about what I had learned after 20 years or so of pretty serious reading. Then into my life, through the miracle of "amazon.comm" comes <Buddist Symbols> by Dagyab Rinpoche: hold on to your beliefs folks: get ready for a roller-coaster ride through Tibetan philosophy as translated from that philosophical language: German. And at the end there are instructions on how to take care of and treat the book and other books of similar nature. Scary

3.0 out of 5 stars wanted more, December 25, 2009

By 

David C. Huber (Vancouver, WA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture : An Investigation of the Nine Best-Known Groups of Symbols (Paperback)

I really was hoping for more with this book. Some background to the symbolism, but very light on the interesting stories. I have better information on my website.