Customer Reviews

Pilgrimage to Java: An Esoteric History

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I discovered Olivia-under her Buddhist name Tara-in the center of the old Indonesian religion in Solo. From the beginning, our encounter was that of soulmates. When I had to receive special initiations, she always knew the exact location of the sacred places, due to her long and intensive research of Javanese mysticism. She did not conduct the research in a western, scienctific manner but in an intuitive, personable female way of complete involvement. I remember visiting Boroboudour with her. As soon as we arrived, it started to rain so all the tourists disappeared and we stood all alone there at the top. Suddenly I heard a very low sound, becoming higher and higher until it transformed into pure light! I then experienced the manifestation of all the gods as transformed into One. Since that time, I stay in close contact with Indonesian mysticism.

Peter Trompetter - Initiate and founder of Foundation Ophraeis, an arcane school in Amsterdam

How wonderful that someone has taken the trouble to document the secret history of the remaining ethnic Javanese Buddhist tantrayana lineage holders who give credence to the fact that Islam is merely a recent cultural veneer and that the heart-essence of ancient Hindu-Buddhism continues to beat strongly in the secret heart of Central Indonesia. Western historians have documented Indonesia as taken over by Islam, are herewith proven wrong by the ethnic Javanists who continue to commune with their ancient rulers in the paranormal way which is natural to them. Buddhism, which has been predicted to reappear in this region, shows itself in an unfamiliar manner and the important opening of Borobodur in 1982 by H.H. The Dalai Lama may have been the signal of its rebirth. Borobodur is one of the most important archaeological sites, one of the most mysteriously beautiful sites, one of the most symbolic sites of Buddhist spirituality in the world. This is a fundamental manual that any student of South-East Asian studies or Javanese & Balinese who value their own religion should not be without.The book is rich in quotations from the original sources. Interestingly enough, as an aside, Ms de Haulleville is the daughter of the Belgian poet, Baron de Haulleville, the neice of Aldous Huxley, and her only son has entered a life-vocation as a Buddhist monk in the Tibetan tradition, having attained perfect fluency in the Tibetan language, living most of his life in Asian monasteries within the direct lineage of the Dalai Lama.

I found this book to be a fascinating source book in esoteric Javanese Buddhism. It quotes extensively from European esoteric scholars, theosophical thinkers, Buddhist scholars, as well as from Javanese sources. It attempts to undercover the underlying Buddhist culture of the country now called Indonesia, showing that the Islam overlay is a recent phenomena which has not eradicated the taproot of classical tantric Buddhism imported from India. It is also a personal spiritual voyage by the author, with great sincerity and humility. The central focus of the book is the great monument of Borobudur, which was visited and blessed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the 1980's. I think readers interested in South East Asian culture, in Java and Bali, and in Buddhism will find the book very interesting.

In this new book by Olivia de Haulliville, daughter of Baron de Haulliville, a new landscape has been uncovered & disclosed to the eye of the beholder. You will not believe some of the spiritual "facts" disclosed in this book, especially concerning the mysterious umbilicus of a spiritual nexus called Boroburdur, which is one of the greatest archaelogical sites in the world, rivalling the Gizeh pyramids and Machu Picchu in both beauty and spiritual importance. Beneath the surface of current manifestations of Islam in Indonesia, in Java and in Bali is a melange of Hinduism and Buddhism which is ancient, being a direct transfer from classical Buddhism of India at the time of Emperor Asoka. This book is about that hidden vein in the body of Java, that tradition of occult Buddhism and the mysterious aspects of it as it shows itself in Javanese life. It is a book that every library should have, whether institutional or private, giving a general guide through the fundamentals of Javanese Buddhism, a rarely examined topic. Here are shamans, mystics, landscapes from dreams, with copious quotations from the Europeans who first investigated Java as well as the scholars and mystics of Java themselves.

I gave this book three stars although overall it deserved four stars because of it's interesting topic, but I found some of the material poorly organized or hard to pull together, so I decided to give it three stars. In spite of this mild criticism, the author, Tara, did fulfill her spiritual obligation to her guru in presenting a textual background to Indonesian mysticism and the special tantric form of Buddhism existing in Indonesia. I really enjoyed the chapter on Borobudur and I hope one day the author does a book solely on that topic, which is incredibly fascinating. I think this is a book that anyone interested in Indonesia or in Buddhism should purchase and would certainly enjoy reading.