- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Free Press (Feb 1 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0743257626
- ISBN-13: 978-0743257626
- Product Dimensions: 22.2 x 14.8 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #905,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Based on Thurman's six-lesson retreat on Tibetan Buddhism, this accessible book guides readers through the process of enlightenment. Throughout, Thurman (Inner Revolutions) draws from the Fourth Panchen Lama's text Mentor Devotion to ground his teachings, a surprising choice given that it's an advanced dharma that he concedes is "semiesoteric." Thurman successfully spins the text's interpretation so that it becomes more transparent to a Western audience. He describes Buddhist karma, for example, as "Darwinian evolution with an individual twist," and also cautions readers not to adopt some blissed-out, mind-emptying idea of Buddhism just because they imagine that it's Eastern and therefore superior. "When we seek to enter the path of enlightenment, we have to engage with society." On the other hand, he notes, we also need to embrace ascetics like monks and nuns, and invest generously in their work toward liberation. The book has some truly beautiful moments, as when Thurman encourages readers to meditate on the loving-kindness of their mothers (even the bad mothers, he says, made sacrifices to keep their children alive and fed), or when he offers 11 steps to compassion, love and happiness. Although there are a few hiccups - moments when it becomes obvious that the "root text" of Mentor Devotion is a tricky one indeed - this is a fine tool on the road to enlightenment.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Thurman has been a key figure in bringing Buddhist thought to Western culture as a translator of Tibetan texts, a writer, and a teacher. In his newest treatise, he adapts his popular audio "retreat" series, Sounds True (2001), to book form. Here, Thurman presents the Tibetan jewel tree as a powerful image that can help individuals see the infinity of life and the interconnectedness of all things. Seeking enlightenment is the process of inward revolution, which should, eventually, make us realize that we must share our discoveries, and work toward the happiness of all beings. Clearly, this is Thurman's own life mission, which he accomplishes by making his books accessible to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike through clarity of expression and economy of ideas. Although more useful as a counterpart to the audiotapes than on its own, The Jewel Tree of Tibet offers readers a great deal of material that they can incorporate into their daily lives, include in meditative practice, or simply think deeply about, which has its own rewards. Janet St. John
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Let's begin by reading the very first verse of this work that we are going to learn to practicewhat the Tibetans would call the root text, the backbone of our time together, the Mentor Devotion. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Let's begin by reading the very first verse of this work that we are going to learn to practicewhat the Tibetans would call the root text, the backbone of our time together, the Mentor Devotion. Read the first page
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Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An American Buddhist speaks from his heart,
By Nancy MacLachlan (Upper St. Clair, PA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism (Audio Cassette)
This is a six cassette, nine hour designed-for-publication recording of a retreat conducted by renowned American Buddhist Tibet-o-phile, Robert Thurman, whose many credentials are too numerous to mention. The recurrent theme of the recording is a relatively simple visualization excercise, whereby the meditator draws inspiration and compassion from revered beings--the Buddha and his lineage descendents of enlightened teachers, for example, (although according to Thurman, a non-Buddhist might draw equivalent inspiration from the likes of Christ, Moses, etc.)--and then extends such heartfelt loving kindness to others. Thurman guides the listener through this meditation several times through the tape, making it familair and workable. However, in my estimation, the brilliance of the tape rests in everything else Thurman wraps around this meditation, which turns out to be a condensed discussion about the history of Buddhism, its contrast to much of Western scientific, materialistic, philosophical and psychological thought, and how the major tenants of Buddhism, in a very practical sense, can become believable and workable for your everyday common-man Western-raised student.Thurman, by anyone's estimation, is a compelling speaker, who somehow blends passion, eloquence, intellectual challenge and humor in trying in discussing the most complex of subjects, and he largely succeeds on this tape. His mission, seemingly, is simply to make Buddhism more understandable by interpreting it into a more American/Western idiom, without changing the 2500 year message. Nevetheless, in accordance with the subject, much of the material discussed is mature and intellectually and emotionally challenging. These talks are almost the antithesis of typical "new-age", feel-good type Jacuzzi-Buddhism relaxation tapes, (although I believe Thurman intends these talks to be accessible to the beginning--but serious--Buddhist). Some of this material, but not the visualization, is contained within his recent book "Inner Revolution, Life , Liberty and the Pursuit of Real Happiness", although the tapes gladly spare the listener of all the political commentary of that book. I can imagine many future listeners, much as myself, revisiting these tapes repeatedly because of their authentic message delivered through a delightful human voice. Robert MacLachlan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deep and profound, but a little hard to understand in places,
By
This review is from: The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism (Paperback)
Based on the Fourth Panchen Lama's text Mentor Devotion, Thurman uses Tibet's beautiful wish-fulfilling jewel-tree imagery to help the reader to generate bliss and enlightenment. The core of this book are the visualization exercises where you draw inspiration and compassion from a revered being and then extend their heartfelt loving kindness to others. Thurman says it's up to you who you perceive to be such a revered being. It could be the Buddha or the Dalai Lama, or Christ, Moses, your mother, etc. Thurman also discusses the history of Buddhism, its contrast to much of Western thought, and how the major tenants of Buddhism can work for people from the West."Through the great bliss state, I myself become the mentor deity. From my luminous body, Light rays shine all around, Massively blessing beings and things, Making the universe pure and fabulous, Perfection in its every quality." I found this book to be deep and profound, but a little hard to understand in places. I especially liked the section where Thurman encourages us to meditate on the loving-kindness of our mothers.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 58 of 62 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An American Buddhist speaks from his heart,
By Nancy MacLachlan - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism (Audio Cassette)
This is a six cassette, nine hour designed-for-publication recording of a retreat conducted by renowned American Buddhist Tibet-o-phile, Robert Thurman, whose many credentials are too numerous to mention. The recurrent theme of the recording is a relatively simple visualization excercise, whereby the meditator draws inspiration and compassion from revered beings--the Buddha and his lineage descendents of enlightened teachers, for example, (although according to Thurman, a non-Buddhist might draw equivalent inspiration from the likes of Christ, Moses, etc.)--and then extends such heartfelt loving kindness to others. Thurman guides the listener through this meditation several times through the tape, making it familair and workable. However, in my estimation, the brilliance of the tape rests in everything else Thurman wraps around this meditation, which turns out to be a condensed discussion about the history of Buddhism, its contrast to much of Western scientific, materialistic, philosophical and psychological thought, and how the major tenants of Buddhism, in a very practical sense, can become believable and workable for your everyday common-man Western-raised student.Thurman, by anyone's estimation, is a compelling speaker, who somehow blends passion, eloquence, intellectual challenge and humor in trying in discussing the most complex of subjects, and he largely succeeds on this tape. His mission, seemingly, is simply to make Buddhism more understandable by interpreting it into a more American/Western idiom, without changing the 2500 year message. Nevetheless, in accordance with the subject, much of the material discussed is mature and intellectually and emotionally challenging. These talks are almost the antithesis of typical "new-age", feel-good type Jacuzzi-Buddhism relaxation tapes, (although I believe Thurman intends these talks to be accessible to the beginning--but serious--Buddhist). Some of this material, but not the visualization, is contained within his recent book "Inner Revolution, Life , Liberty and the Pursuit of Real Happiness", although the tapes gladly spare the listener of all the political commentary of that book. I can imagine many future listeners, much as myself, revisiting these tapes repeatedly because of their authentic message delivered through a delightful human voice. Robert MacLachlan 16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Introductory Overview of Tibetan Buddhism,
By Christopher J. Murphy "christopher3393" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism (Paperback)
This book is a modified retreat transcript, so it has the strengths of an experiential emphasis. But it also is intelligent and quite readable. Thurman covers the entire scope of the Buddhist path from a Tibetan perspective, and he does this in the order that one would learn and practice these teachings developmentally. The reader is invited regularly to participate in the meditations along the way and to adapt them to his or her own religious background. But the book is also a lively guided tour with a number of brief visits to important teachings.So it progressively maps and highlights a path that actually takes years to experience. This is a classic approach, called Lam-Rim in Tibetan, that Bob Thurman makes accessible, even for beginners.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deep and profound, but a little hard to understand in places,
By Jerome Ryan - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism (Paperback)
Based on the Fourth Panchen Lama's text Mentor Devotion, Thurman uses Tibet's beautiful wish-fulfilling jewel-tree imagery to help the reader to generate bliss and enlightenment. The core of this book are the visualization exercises where you draw inspiration and compassion from a revered being and then extend their heartfelt loving kindness to others. Thurman says it's up to you who you perceive to be such a revered being. It could be the Buddha or the Dalai Lama, or Christ, Moses, your mother, etc. Thurman also discusses the history of Buddhism, its contrast to much of Western thought, and how the major tenants of Buddhism can work for people from the West."Through the great bliss state, I myself become the mentor deity. From my luminous body, Light rays shine all around, Massively blessing beings and things, Making the universe pure and fabulous, Perfection in its every quality." I found this book to be deep and profound, but a little hard to understand in places. I especially liked the section where Thurman encourages us to meditate on the loving-kindness of our mothers. |
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