Customer Reviews

Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism

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This is a fine book by a 20th century practitioner, a German who became a Buddhist monk in a SE Asia monastery and traveled through Tibet with his wife Li Gotami (who published a book of fascinating photographs). The author is probably best known for both this work, which is probably a modern classic, and for "The Way of the White Clouds" a more personal description of Buddhism. He also wrote "A Living Buddhism for the West." The latter two books reflect his personal approach making them more easily comprehended and accessible than many texts from Tibetan Buddhist masters. This book, however, is far less accessible, but its topic may preclude a more personal approach. It covers a lot of territory though it is quite technical in many places. It provides an extensive and detailed description of the five Dyani (meditation) Buddhas and their families-the best I've seen. Many modern texts merely allude to these or mention one or two of them (e.g. Akshoba or Amitabha). It's not an easy read.

Lama Anagarika Govinda, a German who spent over twenty years studying at the feet of masters in Tibetan hermitages and monasteries, a member of the Kargyutpa order, brings to us much of Tibetan Esotericism in this book. In this book, Lam Anagarika Govinda clarifies many misconceptions regarding Tibetan Buddhism, mantra and more specifically, the mantra `Om Mani Padme Om'.

Essentially this book is a breakdown of the mantra `Om Mani Padme Hum' or rather `Om Mani Peme hum' according to the phonetic laws of the Tibetan language I.e. Part One `Om' The Path of Universality. Part Two `Mani' The Path of Unification and of Inner Equality. Part Three `Padma' The Path of Creative Vision. Part Four `Hum' The Path of Integration. Part Five `Om Mani Padme Hum' The Path of the Great Mantra.

The author discusses many topics such as mantra, the history of mantra and the power of the verb, the five skandhas the doctrine of consciousness, the psychic centres of the kundalini-yoga and their physiological counterparts, the chakras, physical and psychic functions of prana and the principle of motion (vayu) as starting-point of meditation, transversing the Bardo, the three currents of force and their channels in the human body i.e. Ida, pingala and susumna, the Tantras, the yoga of the inner fire in the Tibetan system of meditation (Tapas & Gtum-mo) and the Tibetan wheel of life etc. I can only recall one practice given in this book and this is a description as given in the `Tractate of the six doctrines'; see page 170-178. This practice deals with Mantra visualisation and raising the Kundalini, I make note of this here for those of you who are interested and for my benefit when I look for these pages again for when I might attempt this practice myself.

I especially enjoyed the latter part of this book which provided excellent information on thousand armed Avalokitesvara (the embodiment of active compassion) and Avalokitesvara's descent into the six realms of this world. This then followed on with information regarding the path of the Bodhisattvas I.e. the path of renunciation and sacrifice for humanity. The book ends with information on the fifth Dhyani-Buddha, the Lord of the all-encompassing wisdom, this essentially deals with `Ah', The Path of Action, "the fact that the Buddha's teachings is not some nebulous idealism, a chasing after eternal but unattainable ideals, but a doctrine of self realisation, of action, a practical doctrine, a path that can be trodden by all who are seriously bent on its aim."

This book also clarifies the differences between Hindu and Tibetan yoga. "A comparison of the Hindu Tantras with those of Buddhism (which are mostly preserved in Tibet and which therefore have long remained unnoticed by Indologists) not only shows an astonishing divergence of methods and aims, in spite of external similarities, but proves the spiritual and historical priority and originality of the Buddhist Tantras." Pg 94

As a student of Gnosis, this book filled in some blanks for me. I plan to continue reading other books on Tibetan Buddhism and especially those books made reference to by Lama Anagarika Govinda in this book I.e. `Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa', `Tibetan Yoga & Secret Doctrines', `The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation' (Evans-Wentz) and also `The Serpent Power' (Avalon, Arthur).

If you wish to explore the word and symbol, this profoundly spiritual volume leads one there. Om, universal consciousness, and all the dhyana Buddhas are presented with clarity and understanding. What's more, the poetry in which Lama Govinda moves and winds this classic work is a tribute to the man's artistry in painting wisdom as something within everyone's reach.

I have read a few books about Tibetan mysticism. This is a book which gives a detailed view about the mantra "Om Mani Padme (Tibetan: Peme) Hum". It also mentions the misconceptions by western writers such as L. Austine Waddell about Tibetan Buddhism. In my opinion, one should also read Waddell's book to have a balanced, unbiased view.

All in all, I find the writing clear and the knowledge impressive. Anyone truly interested to find out what Tibetan mysticism is about should read this book. Not to be missed!

Beautifully written, scholarly and quite dense in parts, I would thoroughly recommend it, even if only to read the Preface and the first chapter. If you are interested in the Logos, the relationship between spirit and the word, then this book is a must. I have been profoundly influenced by this work since I first read it as a boy at school, more than 15 years ago. This book is both brilliant scholarship, and a masterful work of art.

1 explains theesoteric principles of Mantra and clarifies thedifferences between Hindu and Tibetan yoga, andis our direct link to the spiritual achievementsof the past and their relationship to a futurehigher civilization of humanity.

I first read this book twenty years ago, and it is still
a constant companion. Provides an initiation into the power
of an ancient mantra. This book guides you into deeper and
deeper meditation states, and provides the basis for
some of the Tibetan Visualization Techniques. Really a
great book.

While I spent many years studying the Western Path and it's "Twilight Language", I later turned to Eastern traditions (Vajrayana) and re-visited Lama Govindas amazing book. New students or shallow meditators may think the book difficult, but I assure you it is extremely well thought out, and more than worth the effort. While East and West seem to use similar symbols for many of their esoteric thoughts, Lama Govinda strips away a great deal of the "smoke and mirrors" in Eastern lore. The book is an amazing look at the simplest of all teachings, the mantra OM MANI PEME HUM" (or PADME--skt). He provides useful insight into the 5 Buddha family concepts as well as many other areas of esoteric Buddhist thought. Don't expect this to be a fast read or a casual study. It goes deep.

I have read many books on Buddism and by far this is one of the best. There is a lot of information to digest in this book, but I had great joy reading it.

This advanced book is designed for a passionate reader. The text contains sanscrit and tibetan terms with english translation and multiple comparisons with various buddhist systems. This is simply a masterpiece created by a sharp mind and a pure soul.