Customer Reviews

Circling the Sacred Mountain: A Spiritual Adventure Through the Himalayas

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A terrific book! Thurman's lectures on Tantric Buddhism are fascinating, and they are counterpointed well by Wise's narration of the trek to Kalias, his own failings and fears, and his relationship to his teacher. Thurman is (as always) enlightening and impressive, and Wise's story is wonderful in that he is "only" human, too-- it makes the path toward enlightenment seem possible for the rest of us! Also, it's a great book about an exciting trek to the backcountry of Tibet. A wonderful book!!

If Tantra is the union of opposites, this book works pretty well. Tad Wise seems likeable enough, except for the fact that he has 3 kids by 3 Moms, and leaves Mom #3 behind with a newborn to go off on this spiritual adventure. So I'm rooting for him to get it right this time and go home and help with the laundry. And Robert Thurman seems to use Tad as a whipping boy, teasing and taunting him, which doesn't make Thurman exactly shine in my eyes either. The other members of the trek are more or less invisible, though they are mentioned from time to time.

The mountain captures my attention starting from the picture on the cover. It looks extraordinary. I love Tibet, and this is deepest darkest Tibet for sure. The monasteries have all been trashed and recently rebuilt to attract tourists for China's benefit. Young Tibetans are as likely to smoke and play pool as they are to chant mantras. So all the tragedy of Tibet are here to see.

The dharma presented here is very Tibetan. Yamantaka, the fierce deity of death is invoked to stomp on and anhiliate one's self-obsession (the false self). The teaching is called the Blade Wheel of the Mind, and it is meant to work like a buzz-saw, turning all that is self-oriented into dust and all negative experiences into potential gold. To be there, exhausted and suffering from the high elevation, and to listen to these teachings, would probably be an extraordinary retreat experience. I don't know that it is particularly effective in absentia. Thurman does come off as a gas-bag. Maybe it was very unselfish of him, also worn out from trekking all day, to sit down and teach. Or maybe it was just pedantic of him. His close friendship with the Dalai Lama is name-dropped several times. I suppose it's relevant, but it also does not really endear him to me.

Since I will in all likelihood never even get to Tibet, much less to this remote corner, I enjoyed the vicarious trek. But I'm just as glad I wasn't part of this particular group of trekkers.

Thurman and Wise took me on a journey to Mt. Kalish in Tibet which I will never forget. I was amazed at Thurman's crystal clear description of Tibetian Buddhist Dharma. I couldn't wait until I could get to my book each evening. This is a page turner par excellance!

This book was an exhilarating reading experience. With Tad Wise's descriptions of the scenery and Robert Thurman's vivid teachings, I felt as if I was there with them learning and experiencing everything. Their journey was long and storied and well presented. Seeing the experience from two sides, the teacher (Thurman) and the student (Wise) give a wide view of this country and its religion. Wise's antidotes add the human side to the experience. It shows how even you can achieve these great things. I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates journeys, religion, or even just a good true story. Thurman and Wise's account make the trek memorable.

This is really three books in one. The first is a great travel guide of the 1995 journey to Mount Kailash, its history and significance to Hindus and Buddhists. In the second, Robert Thurman teaches Buddhist basics, and the Blade Wheel of Mind Reform. In the third, Tad Wise reflects on his life and develops his spirituality through Thurman's teachings and the Kailash experience.

This is a spiritual travelogue in which Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman and his backsliding sidekick Tad Wise lead a group of pilgrims to circumambulate Tibet's sacred Mount Kailish, believed by Tibetans to be the Home of the Gods and the Center of the World.

As a travelogue and introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, it works pretty well, with the narrative shifting back and forth between the scholarly pontifications of the hyper-serious Thurman and the more laid-back reflections of the slacker Wise. Whereas Thurman sees the journey as a spiritual quest, Wise tends to look upon it more as an adventure.

As the book progressed, I became intrigued how an educated Westerner like Thurman could so thoroughly immerse himself in an alien worldview such as that of Tibetan Buddhism. Here is a man who has no doubt dissected (and rejected) Christianity from a standpoint of strict rationalism, but who then does an about face and accepts an alien religion thoroughly steeped in a complex psycho-spiritual mythology. Thus we find the crusty old Thurman performing in all seriousnes acts which would strike some as rank superstition, e.g., performing a complex fire ritual to an assortment of Buddhist and Vedic deities, circumambulating the "Great Freedom Pole," and prostrating on the shores of the "holy" Lake Manasarovar.

This I found this book interesting both for the "right" reasons - as an introduction to Tibetan Buddhist beliefs and practices - and for the "wrong" reasons, i.e., my musings about the psychological quirks which draw some educated Westerners to Buddhism. Perhaps, as Rudyard Kiping once wrote, it's simply a yearning for a spirituality shorn of the negative associations of childhood, guilt, and repression: "Ship me somewhere east of Suez, where the best is like the worst, where there ain't no Ten Commandments, an' a man can raise a thirst."

When I purchased this book, i was trepiditious about Mr wises particpation. After all.Mr thurman is an acknowledged authority on tibetan buddhism,a friend of hh dalai lama,and wise is a alcoholic,trying to come to grips with his life. well, thank God for mr wises input in this Book1 It made it readable, and somewaht enjoyable.Mr Thurman comes off as a bullying professor,another self important gasbag who has spent too much time in academia.I have no doubt that he is a sincere buddhist,though what comes off here is a longwinded,pedantic bore.The cloak and dagger bit is a little much,though I am sure his fans will eat it up[will the chinese catch me at the border,etc.]The chinese come off rather brutally ,especially in regard to the compassion esposed throughout this book. For the truest of true believers,though Mr wises is entertaining, engaging and I'd travel with him anytime. Just leave Mr thurman home with a mirror and tape recorder.please.

This book is a miracle. It joins the opposites of the deepest teachings with human weaknesses, the highest revelations with guides to daily practices, all in a setting of great natural majesty. The bravery of the Tibetan people as they live under Chinese oppression shines through. I am reading the book for a second time now.

This book, I suppose, could be read by one of two groups of people. First: it could be read by the New Age Hippie traveller types looking for an intreguing story about a man travelling. I more approve of this kind of reading..... Tad Wise part of the story is told with humor and warm feeling.... The second, more Buddhafied group, looking to Prof. Thruman as a kind of guru, is not going to get enough here. Bad Dharma. Too little.

Perhaps, if one was going to read his sermons with a couple of other books, one could get a good understanding of something. It when accompanied by Wise's prose is fairly... um, enlightening....

I'm afraid that lots of people are going to miss that though.... If the two journeys are disconnected, the book goes to become mediocre..... keep that in mind!!!

I would not classify the book as totally "boring". I was able to jot down several thought-provoking, enlightening comments from the read. Chad Wise offered an entertaining perspective and I would rate him as a good writer. However Thurman, while I respect his wealth of knowledge on Tibetan Buddhism, came across as demanding and overbearing. I just couldn't relate to him. I purchased the book because I am soon making a spiritual pilgrimage to Mt. Kailash, and hoped to read more about the spiritual experiences of the two writers than was offered. Maybe that is not translatable into words. The book did give me more knowledge on Tibetan Buddhism, and that I do appreciate.