- Paperback: 240 pages
- Publisher: Llewellyn Publications (April 8 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0738700673
- ISBN-13: 978-0738700670
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #935,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Intimations of esoteric spiritual practices swirl around Tibet like clouds over Everest. True to form, this book features alluring and moving images of enduring profound cold by raising body temperatures (tumo), extending the dying process into rich realms of visions and reincarnations and lucid dreaming (wherein the dreamer recognizes the dream state and actively manipulates it). These are just a few of the metaphysical realms explored by the well-seasoned Irish author Brennan (The Magical I Ching, Magick for Beginners and Time Travel). He takes pains to give Western parallel documentation to the fantastic forms he describes, but most interested readers will not need this support to explore these topics. The reason for this is Brennan's sound reliance on Tibetan energy theories, such as the chakras and their rtsa (energy courses), rlung (energies themselves) and thig-li (pervading essences). He claims, probably rightly, that "it is the manipulation of the energy system that underlies almost every spiritual and magical marvel Tibet has ever produced." Brennan repeatedly points to the rigorous exercises of breathing, poses, chants and physical challenges that may give rise to such feats in highly disciplined people, but perhaps only over years or lifetimes of study. For adepts of mystical practices or the legions of readers fascinated with all things Tibetan, Brennan provides a highly interesting, accessible, even somewhat practical guide to elusive aspects of a unique culture arising out of a high place of thin, cold air.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
Today, as Tibetan spirituality spreads across the world, the practices of Tibetan magic have scarcely been investigated by Western occultists. Occult Tibet presents this body of techniques, based partly on Buddhist practice and partly on shamanic Bon (the aboriginal religion of Tibet). With many of its aspects linking seamlessly with Tibetan mysticism, Tibetan magic has a great deal to teach the esoteric community of the West.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
I thought David-Néel was DEAD,
By
This review is from: Occult Tibet: Secret Practices of Himalayan Magic (Paperback)
Okay. So I get this book. I read it.I'm stupider when I finish than when I start. As a student of Bon & Buddhism and of the languages and cultures related to it, I can confidently say that this book is a load of rehashed Orientalist crap. What is the point of this idiotic, new age crap? There is nothing in it that has value. It's regurgitated old mumbo-jumbo by 19th century spiritualists and a good third of it has NOTHING TO DO WITH TIBET. If you want to learn something about "occult" Tibet, read Tibetan books. The ones that aren't classed as "spiritually dangerous" are available in translation. But don't use the recommended translations from the book. Like most fundies, the author thinks aged translations (i.e. like the supposed superiority of the King James Version of the Bible) are intrinsically better. Skip Evans-Wentz and read the "Life of Milarepa" translated by Lobsang Lhalungpa. Ooh, let's take an archaic, outdated translation by an Orientalist occultist over the widely accepted and long-standing translation by a native speaker with actual Buddhist and linguistic training. Yeah, right. Kinda sums up the book in general. My advice? Find a TEACHER. It's not rocket science.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Entertaining Read, Not a Book for Practising Magic,
By Brian Cheong (Singapore) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Occult Tibet: Secret Practices of Himalayan Magic (Paperback)
The information provided is rather skimpy but the "light" treatment makes it an entertaining read for those who have no idea at all of Tibetan magic. If you want a better exposure of the practices, look for books on the Six Yogas of Naropa and also books written by Alexandra David-Neel.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but uneven in its accessibility.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Occult Tibet: Secret Practices of Himalayan Magic (Paperback)
I must first state that I have only completed an initial reading of this book, and I have not yet attempted to practice any of the exercises. At times, I found this work to be profoundly informative and engrossing. However, it seemed to me that the author did not keep a steady focus on the identity of his audience. Too many of the relatively few pages of this book were written in an effort to convince a skeptic of the powers of, say, visualization or the existence of past lives. I think these were wasted pages as Mr. Brennan could have easily assumed that his reader needed no convincing. Further, a few too many pages strayed from the Tibetan systems of mystical practice to detail Western techniques and practices, which are widely available elsewhere and detracted from the focus of the book. My final criticism is that a lot of the material is somewhat inaccessible. While Tibetan mysticism may well lay largely beyond the grasp of the Western mind, there are simple things the author could have done to ameliorate this somewhat. For example, in the section about Tumo, he could have suggested a course of study similar stating when you should move on from one exercise to another. I have no idea whether I should complete all of the preliminary exercises in one sitting or seperately, and whether they need to be practiced in conjunction with the remaining exercises each time, or whether they can be perfected and then replaced with the advanced exercises. In addition, perhaps he could suggest alternatives to visualizing complex Tibetan letters, which I doubt have any inherent power other than the cultural significance attributed to them over time, which most Western readers will lack. I plan to draw the letters over and over while meditating on their alleged significance before attempting any of these visualizations. The value of this book would have been augmented had Mr. Brennan suggested similar techniques for making the visualizations meaningful and accessible.That said, this book contained very interesting information about karma, Tibetan mystical practice, and the history of Tibet. The segments on sound and the Tibeten understanding of the body's subtle energy systems and chakras were particularly informative. I also found the summation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead to be succinct and informative. In all, I was not dazzled by this book, but it contains a lot of potentially useful information, provided you have the skill, time, and perseverence to find ways to make it accessible to you personally.
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