Customer Reviews

Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism (World of Tibetan Buddhism, Vol. 1)

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"By reconnecting with the wisdom, sanity and warmth that . . . characterize our most basic nature," Tibetan Buddhism offers us a way to address the suffering and alienation in our lives, Reginald Ray writes (p. 449). Professor Ray teaches Buddhism at both Naropa University and the University of Colorado in Boulder. Focusing on Tibetan Buddhism, his 495-page book is among the best introductions to Buddhist history, teachings, and meditation practice that I have ever read. Ray's goal is to demonstrate that Tibetan Buddhism offers us a "living truth" powerful enough to lead "us ever more deeply into the unknown territory of what our life is" (p. 1). "Beneath the surface of our modern speed, ambition, and self-importance," he writes, Tibetan Buddhism provides "an ancient path" and a "way back" to a more meaningful experience of human life than the scientific and materialistic one evolving today (pp. 2; 57).

Ray approaches his often esoteric subject matter in terms readily accessible to those of us without his scholarly background in Tibetan Buddhism. His book unfolds in four parts. Part One, "The Sacred Environment" (pp. 15-63), presents the traditional Tibetan view of "the sacred cosmos, with its living elements, forces, and beings and the critical role of ritual as a means for communicating with the unseen world" (pp. 3, 450). In Part Two, "Tibet's Story" (pp. 65-225), Ray travels to "wild and remote places" (p. 173) to describe the Buddhist history of Tibet beginning in India, and examines practitioners including Naropa (pp. 154-159), Marpa (pp. 159-164) and Milarepa (pp. 165-172), whose struggles enabled the lineage of Buddhist dharma to be transmitted from generation to generation (p. 450). In Part Three, "Core Teachings" (pp. 227-360), he describes the sophisticated teachings, practices, and results of the Buddhist path in nontechnical terms, frequently using personal anecdotes to illuminate his points. Part Four, "Buddhist Philosophy" (pp. 361-449) discusses Tibetan Buddhist perspectives of "the three turnings of the wheel of dharma" (pp. 450-51).

For anyone interested in Tibetan Buddhism, its history, culture, teachings or practices, or for anyone curious about how simply "sitting down to explore one's own mind" (p. 450)is relevant to our modern world "with its unprecedented levels of technology, information, and materialism" (p. 449), this book should not be missed.

G. Merritt

This engrossing book promises to be of enduring value to those with an interest in Tibetan Buddhism, or the history and culture of Tibet itself. Ray is a student of Chogyam Trunpa Rinpoche and an accomplished teacher in his own right, benefitting students at Naropa University and Rocky Mountain Shambhala Center, both in Colorado. His decades of experience and thoughfulness shine through in this text, reportedly the first of two volumes providing historical and cultural context to the practice of Tibetan Buddhism.

"Indestructible Truth" does not attempt to address every aspect of Buddhism as it has developed in various countries. Rather, it examines how Tibetans have traditionally viewed the teachings and the cosmos from within their own cultural framework. Ray skillfully blends objective data, personal experience, and teachings from accomplished masters to relay this perspective.

The book provides portraits of each of the four principal schools of Tibetan Buddhism and the great masters and teachers that founded each. The reader is left with a strong preliminary understanding of the differences between the lineages, which can sometimes seem overly subtle to the beginner. A recurring theme is the varying emphases placed on meditation versus study among the four schools. Ray cogently describes how the four lineages approach the Dharma differently, without diluting the power and importance of any. His careful attention to the Nyingma and Kagyu schools, typically downplayed in many introductions, is alone a valuable addition to the literature. In addition, he provides a short but insightful introduction into the Rime tradition that highlighted the value and usefulness of all the lineages.

Another section describes the principal views of the Buddhist paths of Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana, both in theory and practice. This is a useful outline of the practices and study points Buddhism makes available to interested students and practitioners. It shows how each is interrelated and yet can also stand alone, depending on the needs and inclinations of the practitioner.

One small caution. Ray's identification with the Kagyu tradition (one I admittedly share) is subtle, but noticeable in his selection of quotations from teachers to describe various Buddhist views. I personally found the approach interesting and the descriptions cogent, and certainly the teachers are themselves above reproach. Students of, for example, the Gelug view of emptiness, however, may prefer an explanation delivered from an adherent. On the other hand, this approach does provide a strong foundation for describing each of the three Turnings of the Wheel of the Dharma with continuity in the teachers' voices. The discussion of the "shentong," or empty-of-other view of buddhanature is as good an introduction as is possible for so profound a topic, and again, an unusual find in an introductory text.

I eagerly await the companion volume, "Secret of the Vajra World," which is to focus on the esoteric views and practices of Tantric Buddhism, due later this year.

Ray offers an accessible introduction to the origins, cosmos and cultural context of Tibetan Buddhism. Easier to follow than other intros (like Thurman's Essential Tibetan Buddhism), but doesn't ignore important details. Especially good delineation of the four principal schools. If Ray included a discussion of the important role of the indigenous Bon religion in shaping modern Tibetan Buddhism, I missed it. Focused more directly on the knowledge component of wisdom than on experience. Still Ray's explanations burned through the fog of my confusion

This is volume one of a two part work on Tibetan Buddhism by Reginald Ray. It is well-written, extremely comprehensive and thoroughly researched. There is an overwhelming amount of detail for most beginners, however.

If you are looking for a detailed scholarly work or a good reference to contextualize other reading, this will meet your needs. However, you may want to try an "Introduction to Tantra" by Lama Yeshe for a more accessible introduction to Vajrayana.

If you are completely new to Buddhism, then I would recommend Huston Smith's "The World's Religions" for an excellent, but short overview. If you purchase this book, you will have added the bonus of being able to read a similar introduction to Hinduism which I think is important for understanding Buddhist thought in a similar way that grasping the essentials of Judaism are important for a full understanding of the origin and development of Christianity.

It is very difficult to "get" Tibetan Buddhism without understanding the unfolding of the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. While this volume does an excellent job of doing this, it is also HUGE. The disadvantage of some of the short books on Tibetan Buddhism is that they sometimes don't do a great job of contextualizing the various Buddhist traditions and how they unfolded in time and/or geographically.

If you merely want a taste of Tibetan Buddhist thought, then you may want to look at the book "The Art of Happiness" by Howard Cutler and the Dalai Lama. This presents some Tibetan ideas on everyday issues along with some commentary by a western psychiatrist. This book is not an introduction to Tibetan Buddhism as such, however.

If you click on my name, you can read my reviews for the books I mentioned above or scroll down to them if you look up the books. There are also other books on these topics listed under my profile, but I haven't assembled a listmania list yet.

Ray does a good job providing the Tibetan context of the Buddha dharma in a way that is not pointedly obscure nor completely suger-coated and psychologized. The history of the schools and the acknowledgements of the political and social problems that those schools had in developing are very helpful to understanding Tibetan buddhism in a more complete way. His history of the Ri-me and the Gelugpa are particularly helpful in understand the modern context of Tibetan Buddhism just before the diaspora. Although, his Kaygu bais is acknowledge, it is subtle, but is most obvious when discussing the Gelugpa.

His discussions of the Tibetan view of Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana is very helpful to those who learned the concepts from differing schools of Buddhism.

Overall, particularly paired with the second volume on Vajrayana and Tantra, these are very helpful books. As Vajrayana grows in popularity in the West--particularly in its Tibetan as opposed to its Japanese (Shingon) form--such knowledge is very, very helpful.

If you are seriously interested in learning about Tibetan Buddhism, at more than a History or Travel Channel level, this book is a good place to start. Ray has a done good job boiling things down to essentials without sacrificing the breadth and depth of the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual dispensation. This is a "big picture" text, but much more than merely an outline or "Tibetan Buddhism For Dummies" kind of book. Clearly, Ray is in love with his subject, and obviously more than qualified to explain anything a beginner or even a moderately well acquainted devotee might need to know. Unfortunately, the author's love of his subject clouds his vision in places, and Ray neglects certain themes that don't fit his own sectarian preferences. For instance, mentioning the Panchen Lama only once in passing without explaining this central figure's signal importance for Tibetan polity and spirituality; also glossing over generally the dreadful mischief, intolerance, silliness, superstition, and outright cruelty (homicide and assassination) that often accompanied the practice of Buddhism in Tibet. Alas, Buddhism, like every other religion, comes with blood on its hands, and its long-term interests are not really served when those of us who were born west of Suez fail to acknowledge this sorry fact. I was also troubled to discover that Ray's bibliography was limited, leaving out other good introductory texts (like Hopkins and Thurman). Nonetheless, this is very good place to begin, a book that is easy to read and full of wonder and wisdom.

This two-volume introduction to Tibetan Buddhism was written primarily for the author's students at the University of Colorado and at Naropa University (North America's only accredited Buddhist university). Across both books professor Reginald A Ray provides a thorough modern grounding in the history, philosophy and practice of Tibetan Buddhism.

The first volume, Indestructible Truth, begins with a rather dry recitation of the principle names, dates, and trends in the history of Buddhism as it came from India to Tibet and as it developed in the latter over the past two millennia. A more lively middle section covers assumptions common to all schools of Buddhism, warmly and wittily illustrated with anecdotes from the lives of Buddhist saints as well as the author's personal and professional life. The book closes with a rushed overview of Buddhist philosophy that is often more confusing than enlightening. This is partly made up for in the second volume with more detailed explanations and examples.

Secrets of the Vajra World is much heavier reading than the first, if only because Ray has a wider canvas, including the minutiae of Mahamudra and Dzokchen, the two primary schools of Tibetan meditation. The volume concludes with chapters on the lives of tulkus, the reincarnated Buddhist masters, and a riveting recounting of the miraculous passing of one such master (the 16th Karmapa) in an American hospital.

Despite the title of the second volume, very few "secrets" are revealed. Besides being a well-read scholar, Ray is also a committed Buddhist and meditation instructor unwilling to disclose tantric methods. Unfortunately, he also seems unwilling to challenge assumptions. To his credit, Ray acknowledges the difficulties western practitioners and students have with ideas such as reincarnation, the worship of deities, the guru-student relationship, karma and free will. He often provides alternate conceptualizations, such as the Six Realms of Existence (in the Wheel of Life) as psychological states, but never once makes clear that he accepts anything but the orthodox teaching.

Read these books to know what has come before. To see where Buddhism is headed, including Tibetan Buddhism in North America, you might like to sample the three volumes of Shambala Sun's series, Best Buddhist Writing, or have a look at Stephen Batchelor's Buddhism Without Beliefs.

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Both books are verbose, repetitive and don't explain much. The little information they contain could be transmitted in 1/8 of their size.

This book was exactly what I was looking for to better understand the different lineages and beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism

Excellent book. Condition received in was better than advertised. Excellent price. Received the book sooner than I expected. Thank You!