The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple: Tantric Wall Paintings from Tibet [Hardcover]

Ian Baker (Author), Thomas Laird (Author), Dalai Lama (Introduction), Dalai Lama (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2000

Behind Tibet's Potala Palace -- seat of the Dalai Lamas since 1649 -- lies a sacred pond said to be inhabited by serpentlike deities called Lu. There, on a willow-covered island in the middle of the lake, is a pagoda roofed Khang, or temple. During the brief reign of the Sixth Dalai Lama, who built the temple in the eighteenth century, unknown artists created a series of mysterious paintings on the walls of the temple's private chapel. Comparable in quality and ambition to the Sistine Chapel in Rome, these master-pieces of Tibetan art are reproduced for the first time in this extraordinary publication.

The chapel was reserved exclusively for the Dalai Lamas as a place of meditation and spiritual retreat. For centuries the Lukhang murals, which illustrate the path to spiritual liberation, guided the Dalai Lamas in a form of mystical contemplation called Dzogchen -- the most secret practice in Tibet's Tantric tradition. Beyond their Tibetan origins, the murals display a universal spiritual vision. Merely to contemplate them, Tibetans believe, can open the mind to timeless spiritual truth.

At the heart of this book are more than 150 color photographs of the murals and their temple, taken in the most difficult conditions by the American explorer-photographer Thomas Laird. Ian Baker's text, which places these remarkable works within their historical and cultural perspective, is augmented by accounts from other Tibetan sources. A special feature of the book is an introduction and quotations by Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet, as well as additional drawings from Buddhist texts.

This treasure of Tibetan Buddhist spirituality is presented in a magnificent large-formatedition. The vivid detail, rich color, and awe-inspiring impact of this path to spiritual liberation can at last be experienced outside the Lukhang chapel.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Tibet's Lukhang temple, a private retreat for the Dalai Lama established in the late seventeenth century, contains what was, until the Chinese invaded, a secret meditation chamber covered with a set of extraordinary murals. These murals present a host of figures engaged in the basic cycles of life or practicing Tantric meditation techniques in pursuit of inner transformation. Instead of rejecting desire as other Buddhist practices do, Tantra harnesses this intrinsically human drive and turns it into "boundless compassion." So powerful and potentially dangerous is this path to spiritual awakening, only the most enlightened of Tibetan Buddhist monks are initiated into the tradition. Tibet expert Baker's decoding of the murals' images and history of the Tantric tradition are cogent and deeply moving. In his introduction, the Dalai Lama, who was unable to visit Lukhang before being forced into exile, writes that many believe that the very sight of these paintings opens the viewer's mind to spiritual truths, and, indeed, their effect is powerful. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

A timeless work, one for readers to dip into again and again over the years. -- Joi Eden, New Age Retailer, March/April 2001

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; 1St Edition edition (October 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500510032
• ISBN-13: 978-0500510032
• Product Dimensions: 13 x 9.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #856,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful coffee table photo book of rarely seen art, December 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple: Tantric Wall Paintings from Tibet (Hardcover)

This is a lovely book filled with fabulous images which have not been published before. The temple is like the Sistine Chapel of Tibet, intended, as the Sistine Chapel was, originally for the eyes of the spiritual leaders alone, but has now been opened.

Images are breathtakingly beautiful and quite unusual.

Another great book to get, if you like this kind of book, is the book Alchi, from a temple in Ladakh (published by Shambhala) which shows a temple from several centuries earlier than the Tibetan one. An interesting contrast.

Also recommended in the spiritual coffee table book genre is Richard Lannoy's Benares book, about the holiest of cities in India, where the Tibetans got their Tantric yogis from originally around the year 1000 or so.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressions of Esoteric Buddhist Art, November 10, 2002

By 

schiff (Tel-Aviv Israel) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple: Tantric Wall Paintings from Tibet (Hardcover)

In addition to being a meticulously executed illustrated art book, The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple: Tantric Wall Paintings from Tibet by Ian A. Baker, et al. guides the reader through some lesser known biographical details of Tibet's greatest Dalai Lamas and of the history of Tibetan Buddhist culture as a whole. The amazing drawings, many of which painted in an almost feverish surrealistic style, are accompanied by insights into the lore of the Dalai Lamas, with thoughtful excerpts from their writings. I am also much obliged as a book shopper to show my appreciation to the book's publisher, Thames & Hudson, for the excellent printing quality and overall layout and binding of this book, details which for me always work to enhance the message of a book and to demonstrate the seriousness and loving care with which the authors themselves have treated their creation.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars beautifully captured, June 2, 2001

By 

Jeffrey (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple: Tantric Wall Paintings from Tibet (Hardcover)

The Dala Lama's Secret Temple is a wonderful and insightful look into one of the most spectacular temples in Lhasa. Having just visited the Lukhang, I had the pleasure to personally view the murals. Many of which are unique to Tibetan paintings. And still very preserved. Better than I could have photographed myself, this book presents each of the walls paintings in the highest quality plates. Descriptions of the historical significance of the temple mirror the detail works of the painting. A nice addition to a library of Tibetan Art and Buddhism.