Introduction to Tantra : The Transformation of Desire [Paperback]

Lama Thubten Yeshe (Author), Jonathan Landaw (Compiler), Philip Glass (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2001

According to Buddhism, every human being has the potential to achieve profound and lasting happiness. And according to the tantric teachings of Buddhism, this remarkable transformation can be realized very quickly if we utilize all aspects of our human energy, especially the energy of our desires. Introduction to Tantra is the best available clarification of a subject that is often misunderstood. This new edition of the classic text includes a new foreword by Philip Glass and new cover art, but leaves untouched Lama Yeshe's excellent original text, edited by Jonathan Landaw. Tantra recognizes that the powerful energy aroused by our desire is an indispensable resource for the spiritual path. It is precisely because our lives are so inseparably linked with desire that we must make use of desire's tremendous energy not just for pleasure, but to transform our lives. Lama Yeshe presents tantra as a practice leading to joy and self-discovery, with a vision of reality that is simple, clear, and extremely relevant to 21st-century life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...the best introductory work for undergraduate teaching on Tibetan Buddhist tantra available today...readily accessible to Western students." -- Janet Gyatso, Amherst College

"No one has summarized the essence of tantra as well as Thubten Yeshe does here." -- Religious Studies Review

"[A] lucid explanation of Buddhist tantra...a classic." -- Phillip Glass, composer

No one has ever talked about tantra with such clarity, coherence and simplicity. -- Religious Studies Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

What is tantra? Who is qualified to practice it? How should it be practiced? What are the results? According to Buddhism, every human being has the potential to achieve profound and lasting happiness. And according to the tantric teachings of Buddhism, this remarkable transformation can be realized very quickly if we utilize all aspects of our human energy - especially the energy of our desires.

Introduction to Tantra is the best available clarification of a subject that is often misunderstood. In this book, Lama Yeshe, who was a fully realized tantric meditator, scholar, and yogi, outlines the entire tantric path. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications; 3rd edition (June 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0861711629
• ISBN-13: 978-0861711628
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Eastern Religions

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

163 of 168 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing book and probably the best introduction to tantra available!, May 24, 2006

By 

Patrick D. Goonan "see profile for URL" (Livermore, CA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Introduction to Tantra : The Transformation of Desire (Paperback)

Tibetan Buddhism is a very complex and difficult topic to explain to anyone, especially people from the West. Lama Yeshe had a rare gift to take difficult concepts, present them logically and concisely, in a way that brings the essence of tantra to life.

What this book is not about, is "tantric sexual practices" as they are so often presented out of contex in the West. Rather, it is about the tantrayana (resultant) path of harnessing all of your energies and realizing your true nature in the present moment, which is love, compassion and wisdom. This is in contrast to the sutrayana (causal) path, which is the more gradual path of cleansing the mind and replacing conditioned responses in a slow and systematic way with more beneficial responses characterized by love and wisdom.

In a nutshell, tantrayana is the fast path. This book explains this complicated system very well in approximately 168 pages. For people looking for more in-depth explanations and lots of history, try "Secret of the Vajra World" by Reginald Ray. However, I would still get Lama Yeshe's book as a roadmap or excellent short summary presented in a different style.

Lastly, Lama Yeshe has a gift for words. While the many of the concepts of tantra are presented in other reputable works, there is something about Lama Yeshe's presentation that carries a combination of depth and simplicity that sinks in deeply and touches the heart.

102 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A real pleasure to read and explore..., May 15, 2000

By 

Jonathan Evatt "online at jonathanevatt . com" (Global) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Introduction to Tantra: A Vision of Totality (A Wisdom basic book) (Paperback)

<< Lama Yeshe >>
I feel that one of the primary gifts Lama Yeshe brought to the "western" world as a Tibetan Buddhist, was his ability to explore and describe Tantra in great depth and detail, yet from a culturally independent perspective.

Much of the really authentic, un-Americanized, non-newage etc. info and teachings on Tantra is, in my experience, essentially coming from various Tibetan Lamas, practitioners, and scholars. Many of them, in my experience, maintain a perspective on Tantra that is nearly always heavily over-toned by a great deal of cultural (Tibetan) views, beliefs, history, and dogma that are in actual fact quite independent from Tantra itself. These cultural elements have value and appeal, but they have little or nothing to do with Tantra. Which, in it's essence, is free from all cultural and social thought-forms.

Lama Yeshe has beautifully stepped right through all that; going directly into the essence of Tantra itself. Not Tibetan Tantra and not American tantra... but, for the most part, just the essence itself of Tantra perspective on Life.

<< Introduction to Tantra >>
As an introduction to Tantra, this book touches on a broad array of issues and elements of the world and spirituality that are all key aspects of Tantra and the Tantric perspective. For many in the "Western" world the word Tantra primarily invokes the notion of sex with a spiritual twist to it. This is, however, only one aspect of Tantra (Red Tantra, specifically), and by no means the most important nor most significant in its spiritual implications. Hence if you are not familiar with the other subtleties of what Tantra is really about then I feel wholeheartedly that this book will give you something you'll treasure for many years to come, and perhaps for the rest of your life.

In my experience Introduction to Tantra was a pleasure to read, and highly recommendable to those interested in this topic and spirituality in general.

I wish you well on your path,

- Jonathan Evatt
International lecturer, spiritual mentor, natural health expert, and award-winning author of Peace, Power, and Presence: A guide to Self Empowerment, Inner Peace, and Spiritual Enlightenment

UPDATE (Jan 31 2011):: Two people asked why I only gave this book three stars. 10 years after writing the review, I actually have no idea why!! So I have updated to 4 stars. I have not given it five, as I would have to reread it to justify that.

I also greatly enjoyed Yeshe's book, The Bliss of Inner Fire: Heart Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa. If you are looking for more from Yeshe, I suggest taking a look at this title too. It also includes various practices one can do... for those who wish to step into the practical application of the Tantric wisdom elucidated in this Introduction to Tantra.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lives up to its title, March 27, 2007

By 

A. Doyle (New Hartford, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Introduction to Tantra : The Transformation of Desire (Paperback)

This is a very good book for learning what Tantra is and what tantric practices and visualizations are, but it should be understood - and probably is by many or most - that this is not a substitute for real study under a qualified teacher. Lama Yeshe makes this clear from chapter to chapter. My only caution is that readers should not expect to read this book and feel as though they are completing some kind of introductory-level "training" in Tantra, or that they will accomplish "Transformation of Desire." It is an introduction and overview for outsiders looking in (taught by a highly qualified and respected insider), not a "manual" for beginning practitioners to achieve readiness for intermediate or advanced tantric instruction. Insofar as this is understood, Lama Yeshe does a very good job describing and explaining Tantra and its practices, and I learned quite a lot about it.