Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen [Paperback]

Tenzin W. Rinpoche (Author), Mark Dahlby (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2002

In the shamanic world-view of Tibet, the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space are accessed through the raw powers of nature and through non-physical beings associated with the natural world. In the Tibetan tantric view, the elements are recognized as five kinds of energy in the body and are balanced with a program of yogic movements, breathing exercises, and visualizations. In these Dzogchen teachings, the elements are understood to be the radiance of being and are accessed through pure awareness. Healing with Form, Energy, and Light offers the reader healing meditations and yogic practices on each of these levels.

Tenzin Rinpoche's purpose is to strengthen our connection to the sacred aspect of the natural world and to present a guide that explains why certain practices are necessary and in what situations practices are effective or a hindrance. This is a manual for replacing an anxious, narrow, uncomfortable identity with one that is expansive, peaceful, and capable. And the world too is transformed from dead matter and blind processes into a sacred landscape filled with an infinite variety of living forces and beings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There is more detailed and at the same time easily understood and useful information about the body and meditative practice than any other book I have seen. Spoken with an elegance that melts into your mind."—Anne C. Klein, Professor, Dept of Religious Studies, Founding Director, Dawn Mountain Tibetan Temple, Houston, author of Knowledge and Liberation, Meeting the Great Bliss Queen, Path to the Middle

"The secrets freely given in this volume can help us lay sound foundations for whatever yogic practice we may adopt. Tenzin Rinpoche has rendered all a great service."—Yoga Studies newsletter

About the Author

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is one of the few Bon masters now living in the West. His skill as a teacher reflects his more than 15 years in guiding Western practitioners. Geshe is the founder and director of the Ligmincha Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia, and is the author of The Tibetan Yogas of Dream and Sleep and Wonders of the Natural Mind.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Snow Lion Publications (April 24, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559391766
• ISBN-13: 978-1559391764
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #62 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, user-friendly healing techniques, October 31, 2002

By 

art mangold - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen (Paperback)

This book really pleased several lamas I know, who were astonished to see these usually hidden healing techniques made so available and so user-friendly. These are simple but powerful visualizations for "soul retrieval" and physical and mental healing. They're written by a Tibetan healing master who gives the authentic Tibetan material in terms that Westerners can easily grasp.

51 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on the subject available, June 7, 2006

By 

Roy "Roy" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen (Paperback)

The title is not a put-down of books like "Rainbow of Liberated Energy" or "The Five Wisdom Energies". They do particular justice to the subject of the five 'elements'. The point that I want to make is that I liked this one best, not just because of the friendly and precise writing style, but because this one goes to the roots of the system - the primordial basis of Tibetan metaphysics.

Rinpoche, rather that relying on abstraction and theoretical discourse, covers the subject in a way that is so jam-packed with teaching I had to stop every few pages to make sure I hadn't read a hundred. For me, that is real praise, because I tend to skim for the interesting points and ignore repitition and redundancy etc. I couldn't find anything to ignore in this book.

This is not a treatment of the jungwa as a topic - it is a workbook; a training manual on approaching meditation/tantra/shamanic practice from the standpoint of balancing and harmonizing the workings of the five elements in the physical body. It's a field guide to working with the Panchamahabhutas, or five great states, in a simple and practical way. I would recommend it to anyone interested in Tibetan mystical practices, Yoga, Asian spirituality, Tantra, or Alchemy - it's a good way to get started on a path that will take you where you want to go.

140 of 151 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book from a Wonderful Teacher, June 17, 2002

By 

K. Briggs "yeshe-lhamo" (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen (Paperback)

Before I begin, I must admit limited objectivity in reviewing Bon Lama Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's latest book "Healing with Form, Energy and Light" (Snow Lion). Because Lama Tenzin has been my gracious teacher for more than two years now, it is tempting to dispense with a certain critical distance. Much of the material in the text is taken from Rinpoche's teachings and small-scale textual resources. Yet as I paged through my new copy, it was like I was experiencing this transcendent wisdom for the first time. Thus, I am happy to announce that this work, his third major effort, is geared toward practitioners on all levels of practice, and from diverse spiritual backgrounds.
In the book's introduction, Tenzin Rinpoche gives a brief but helpful outline of the Bon tradition, an early Tibetan religion that has gradually incorporated, and also influenced, Buddhist practice. Among other interesting observations, Rinpoche explains that his tradition "suffered the fate of many indigenous religions, a fate similar to that of the religions of Europe and the Americans when Christianity was introduced." While such claims are not the central focus of this book, they definitely enrich it.
This book is a heartfelt, meaningful and well-written offering of sorts to whatever powers guide the exchange between East and West. Rinpoche, who founded the Ligmincha Institute in 1992, explains "as I spent more time in the West I began to see that there was a need to teach about the teaching, to explain how to develop experience and how to apply the teaching and practices to situations in everyday life." Rinpoche's humble yet beautiful book thus succeeds with practical hints that are a joy to read.
This book is about the healing traditions in Bon Buddhist shamanism, tantra and dzogchen ("the great perfection"). Western-style psychology is one of Rinpoche's interests, and he has participated in annual panels on East-West psychology. Thus, he discusses Tibetan traditions in light of certain western psychological theory. Plus, if you read this book you will gain insight into "Tibetan yoga": the tsa lung movements that open up the energy so that the breath flows freely in the body. The book's discussion of psychology alone is worth taking the time to read.
The sky blue volume focuses clearly and insightfully on the elements, and how elemental qualities manifest themselves in our lives. Through an increased awareness of the flow of these qualities, we can see a way to increased balance and peace.