Customer Reviews

Peacock in the Poison Grove: Two Buddhist Texts on Training the Mind

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This book is unique in its kind, and I think it is one of the finest books published on the Kadam tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. It contains teachings "to become peacock-bodhisattvas, who can transmute the poisonous afflictions of lust, anger, ignorance, envy, and pride into the elixir of [compassion]."

Or, better, in the words of Atisha: "As copper when touched by mercury turns into pure gold, so the afflictions when touched by pure gnosis become true causes of virtue."

From the introduction: "The two teachings contained in this book, "The Wheel-Weapon" and "The Poison-Destroying Peacock" are early examples of the Tibetan religious genre known as lojong, or mind training. This class of literature developed within the Kadampa school, the earliest of the organized Tibetan Buddhist denominations, and was introduced to Tibet by Atisha Dipamkara, best known for his teachings on "The Seven Points of Mind Training". Atisha's arrival in western Tibet in 1042 is universally regarded as one of the great landmarks in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. (...) By the fifteenth century, the Kadampa evolved into the Gelukpa."

"In fact, lojong is not just a genre of religious literature, but the defining ideology of the Kadampa school itself, just as the Great Perfection (dzogchen) is for the Nyingmapas, the Great Seal (mahamudra) for the Kagyupas, the Paths and Fruits for the Sakyapas, and the Stages of the Path (lamrim) for the Gelukpas."

These teachings are the Kadampa alternative to what amounts to the same in for instance Severance (Chö): very powerful yogic methods for fighting the view of a real personal identity and the self-cherishing attitude.

The relevance of this knowledge was expressed, for instance, by Shantideva, when he said: "Whoever wants to save himself and others quickly should practice the holy secret of exchanging self and others."

The deity of the two practices in this book is Yamantaka, the wrathful form of Manjushri. Yamantaka means "he who brings an end to Yama," or "Yama's terminator". Yama, the lord of (spiritual) death, symbolizes all evil forces opposed to the Dharma and its practice.

These are advanced mahayana teachings, because it is said:

"The poison that nourishes the peacock
brings ruin to all others." - Tibetan proverb

An excellent book for everyone but especially for those who are seeking explanations for the karma that is ripening for them. Unfortunately it is written in very sophisticated and academic English which makes it a bit hard to read.