Tulku Thondup has once again extracted the essence of traditional Buddhist techniques and made them accessible to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. For those who would like to attend one of Tulku Thondup's Workshops on Healing, here is his schedule:
1) Shambhala Center of Washington, DC: March 8 - 10th, 2002 (301) 949 0517
2)Ottawa Shambhala Center, CANADA: May 24 - 26, 2002
(613) 562 5800, poste 1783
3)Karme Choling, Vermont:May 3 - 5th, 2002
(802) 633-2384

Tulku Thondup captures the essence of compassion and healing in what can only be described as a subtle and outstanding book. The exercises in this book help calm both physical and emotional needs. In fact, these meditations are helpful to anyone who wants to increase their peace of mind and sense of personal well-being.

Although rooted in Buddhism, this book will appeal to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. Whoever you are, whatever problems you may face, Tulku Thondup simply wants you feel better...

There are not words to describe how wonderful this books is. It can help you heal the pain in your life. Just keep an open mind.

This book is a Godsend to anybody with psychological problems. How far have we come? Answer me that. Cognitive Thearapy and Drugs. Is that it? Self-help books?

This man is a doctor. He is not against drugs. And many of the exercises are similar to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). But CBT is primative. Simply stated, CBT believes that thoughts create negative emotions. For example, if I think "Oh what a rotten review this is", an episode of depression results. Then I must(oops!)will counter this negative thought with "rational thoughts". Have you ever thought of just letting it be? Not repress or analyze it. Make it into a dark blue cloud. Feel it. Feel all of it. Now imagine a beautiful white light. This may be your Higher Power (Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny). Still feel the blue cloud. Feel it completely. And BELIEVE TOTALLY that your Higher Power will send a white rain that will disperse the blue cloud. BELIEVE IT! Another exercise is to remember what good you have done in life. It is very hard to raise a child. Even badly. Did you do it? Think how much giving that involved! Did you work at a 9 to 5 job for 6 years. Now that is REAL giving. It is. And it is very hard. Monotonous and tedious. And YOU did it. It IS hard. How much have you accomplished? Did you ever help anybody? Well, look at it. A lot of people help nobody. See it as big as a movie screen. Stop getting in the gutter with negative thinking. When you clean your house, you are getting rid of all your negativities (depression, anger, anxiety). You are freeing yourself! If you BELIEVE THIS, it will be true. Are you scared about an upcoming event. Root canal? What an opportunity!. Just think. An opportunity to have REALLY good teeth! BUY this book. I am at the confusion level with this book. The techniques do work. You can "feel" a problem as a seperate obeject. Feel it. Then have your Higher Power rain and dissolve it. And the pain is gone! Weird. Auto-suggestion? Self-hypnosis? Tulku Thondup states that a "positive attitude" is necessary to get through life. Isn't he right?

I was lucky enough to run across this book in a small book store in Northampton, Massachusetts. Seeing its convenient size and wonderful content, I thought it would be a great starting place to learn meditation. Well, I was right! I think it would be a great start for anyone interested in meditation, or using their minds to heal and understand themselves.

Tulku Thondup is a Tibetan Buddhist who brings peace and clarity to his writing. This wonderful volume has insights into life, suffering, and healing that will bring a new understanding to your life.

An abridgement of Thondup's book, _The Healing Power of Mind_, _Healing Meditations_ is comprehensive and surprisingly well put together. It features an introduction about Thondup's background and how Eastern religion and philosophy can bring peace and understanding into one's life. After that, it introduces the essentials of meditation, how to get started, and how one can use meditation to bring inner peace. Most of the book deals with how meditation can be used to heal various mental afflictions such as grief, depression, fear, worry, self-criticism, a 'scattered mind,' bad dreams, bad memories, and alienation, to name a few, and even how to use it to help physical ailments. The book also introduces helpful Buddhist practices such as visualization and mindfulness, which is learning to live in and appreciate the present in every way possible. Additionally, the book details several other meditation techniques and uses, and helps provide a glimpse into the peaceful Buddhist philosophy.

Personally, this book has helped me come to terms with bad memories and actually has helped me to feel better when ill. Take note that this book does not do so through mystical concepts that are 'out there' or beyond reach, attributes which skeptics have placed upon meditation. It helps to heal through psychological and mental means, and through a self-awareness that provides new insight into life.

I promise you that you will truly enjoy this book and find it useful in everday life. Its small size makes it convenient to travel with, whether flying on an airplane or simply going to work or school. The insight into life and the simple, effective meditations described inside make this book a wonderful way to learn to live life more peacefully, healthfully, and happily.

I recommend this book for those seeking accurate and true information about Buddhist practice. As a Tulku, or reincarnated teacher, the author presents extremely serious topics in a clear and lucid way. The descriptions of the meditations, states of awareness and the bardo transition are powerful and awe-inspiring. The author has qualities of understanding and compassion, along with a clear embodiment of the subject, that provided me with immediate insights and recognitions of human spiritual experience.

This is just my own two cents but I believe that reserving this space stricly for book reviews may help in enhancing the integrity of this review section.

In my view, it may not be as helpful as intended to place Mr. Tulku Thondup's workshop schedule here, as sadly, it may have the unwanted result of reducing the author's credibility in the view of the readers such as myself : ). I have no doubt that the intentions of these reviewers were good in this case... Perhaps a more succesful approach would be to post these workshop schedules on non-associated website. Thank you for listening. Peace.

Good for both the newcomer and the experienced reader of buddhism. I have read this book three times, and every time is a new experience that creates an amazing aura of mindful positivity.
It is not a book of religion but it is the book about positivity.
I would reccomend it for everyone.
It has changed my life.

Tulku Thondup has once again extracted the essence of traditional Buddhist techniques and made them accessible to Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. For those who would like to attend one of Tulku Thondup's Workshops on Healing, here is his schedule:
1) Shambhala Center of Washington, DC: March 8 - 10th, 2002 (301) 949 0517
2)Ottawa Shambhala Center, CANADA: May 24 - 26, 2002
(613) 562 5800, poste 1783
3)Karme Choling, Vermont:May 3 - 5th, 2002
(802) 633-2384

~
Despite its unfortunate title, this is one of the most readable and informative books I've read about Tibetan Tantra. It's not a "first book" -- not one of those books that makes converts, like Walpola Rahula's "What the Buddha Taught," or the Dalai Lama's "Art of Living," or Suzuki Roshi's "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind." Those books distill the Buddhism into a single powerful, moving message, leaving behind everything distracting or extraneous -- they're basically the Four Noble Truths, told again, told new. If you want a simple introduction to Buddhism, read one of those, not this.

This is a completely different kind of book. It's full of details and byways. What's the difference between Nyingma, Gelugpa, Kagyu, and Sakya? What are the four different Ngondro practices? What's a Yidam? What's Tummo? What are all those Kayas, and how do they signify? How is Mahamudra different from Dzogchen?

If you're not already a Tibetan Buddhist, you probably don't want to know these things. If you just became one, don't mess with all that stuff yet: find a good teacher, listen to what he or she says, ask a lot of questions, and meditate a lot.

This is, however, a great book for a year or two down the road, when you've settled down to some practice and are starting to get irritated by all the terminology you still don't know, and all the references to persons, places, practices, and things that everyone seems to think you'd just magically already know about. This book is sort of like that trusted friend you sidle up to after puja to ask, "so just what *is* a Bhumi, anyway?"

Not that The Secret of the Vajra World doesn't have its inspiring moments. The story of the 16th Karmapa's death in a Western hospital is very moving, as are the stories of various Westerners on retreat. Ray's own commitment and inspiration come through very clearly. But the book's main virtues are accuracy and detail. There's simply a lot of information here, easy to find, easy to digest, about what people who practice Tibetan Buddhism actually do, how they do it, and why they do it.

Secret Of The Vajra World: The Tantric Buddhism Of Tibet by Reginald A. Ray (Professor of Buddhist Studies, Naropa University, Boulder, Colorado) is the second and final volume of "The World of Tantric Buddhism" series from Shambhala Publications. A straightforward presentation written in plain accessible terms for readers at all Buddhist studies and experience levels, Secret Of The Vajra World deftly explores the foundations of Vajrayana, the essence of Tantric Buddhist philosophies, and applications of Buddhist principles and insights to one's own personal life, bodhisattvas in the world, and a great deal more. Secret Of The Vajra Worlds is a very welcome, superbly presented, truly comprehensive introduction focusing upon a unique and profoundly important aspect of Buddhist spiritual practice.

Reginald Ray (or "Reggie," as his students call him) is a Professor of Buddhist Studies at Naropa University and at the University of Colorado here in Boulder. He was a student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and is now a senior teacher (or "acharya") in that lineage. He is also a frequent contributor to the "Shambhala Sun" magazine. Reggie recently led a weekend meditation retreat at Naropa, in which he demonstrated his ability as a teacher to give practical application to Tibetan Buddhism in the modern world. It is his same remarkable ability to give ordinary meaning to the otherwise esoteric teachings and practices of Tibetan Buddhism that makes Reggie's SECRET OF THE VAJRA WORLD such a compelling book.

This is the companion volume to Ray's previous book, INDESTRUCTIBLE TRUTH (2000). Whereas his earlier book examined the Hinayana (the "lesser vehicle") and Mahayana (the "great vehicle") traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, this book focuses on the Vajrayana ("adamantine") vehicle. In Buddhism, one's spiritual life is viewed as a progressive journey through these three "yanas," or stages. (p. 66). When read together, these two volumes provide us with a broad survey of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Hinayana vehicle consists of entering the path of Buddhism by taking refuge, and then training oneself in ethics, meditation, and wisdom. The Mahayana vehicle involves taking the bodhisattva vow to liberate all beings from suffering (p. 67). The "indestructible vehicle" of Vajrayana is a more advanced level of bodhisattva practice, in which the tantric practitioner works to fulfill his bodhisattva vow through yoga, meditation, and retreat practices (p. 68). The Vajrayana practice examines the nature of reality "beyond emptiness" (p. 87). The vajra practitioner, Trungpa Rinpoche taught, "is extremely sharp, intellectual, analytical" and relates with things precisely . . . "precisely open and clear, analytically cool, cold, possibly unfriendly, but always on the dot. Seeing all the highlights of things as they are" (p. 135).

Reggie's SECRET OF THE VAJRA WORLD is organized into four parts: the first, an overview of the history, philosophy, and training supporting Vajrayana Buddhism; the second, an examination of the special role of a teacher, "guru," or tantric mentor; the third, an exploration of the mahamudra and dzokchen culminating practices; and the fourth, a fascinating look at the tulku tradition surrounding reincarnation.

Whether he is teaching his students how to meditate in the ancient traditions of Tibetan Buddhism in the modern world, or giving everyday meaning to the esoteric teachings and practices of Tibetan Buddism in his books, Reggie Ray is a trusted teacher who knows his subject. And for anyone interested in exploring Tibetan Buddhism, the SECRET OF THE VAJRA WORLD and its earlier companion, INDESTRUCTIBLE TRUTH, are the books to read.

G. Merritt

If you are interested in Tibetan Buddhism, I've found that it's much more useful to start of with reading some biographies, rather than reading theoretical works. Buddhism is, by definition, a matter of practice and experience, not of letters and concepts. These are the lifestories of the masters of the Longchen Nyinthig. Some stories are amazing fairietales, full of symbolical and theatrical events. Some stories are very close to our own experience. All stories are valuable accounts of the lifes of people who were willing to look beyon their own gardengate, to the needs of others. Very, very inspiring.

But... I have two points of criticism: 1) the text is sometimes very sloppy, with alineas full of unrelated facts and remarks,which are not necessarily in chronological order. 2) The style is somewhat Tibetan, and not all jargon is explained. This may be an obstacle to new readers.

But anyway, this book is a definite must-have, especially for people with an interst in the Nyingma-tradition, or people who have done a Phowa-course with Lama Ole Nydahl (this Nyinthig-lineage is the Phowa-lineage).

Tulku Thondup's book is a great contribution to English language resources on Tibetan Buddhism. The background information in the introduction and footnotes is extensive and provides what scholars and neophytes alike would need to know about Vajrayana Buddhism in general, and the Nyingma tradition in particular, in order to better understand and appreciate the sacred biographies of great masters that are collected here. The life-stories themselves are redolent of the spirit of enlightenment, and as the title suggests, abound in descriptions of meditational experience and miraculous events. This is a good book for Buddhist practitioners, because it shows the true meaning of discipline and devotion, as exemplified by the lives of great masters.

Though the life-stories are not all told chronologically, as tends to be the case with Western sacred biographies, this also tends to be true of the original Tibetan biographies. Tulku Thondup, with the skillful editorship of Harold Talbot, has done a great service in navigating many difficult and rare primary sources in Tibetan language, and compiling and translating these stories from them.

A small word of caution regarding the first book review above, frank@philos.rug.nl from Groningen, Holland. Tulku Thondup's book has little if anything to do with Phowa. The Phowa or "transference of consciousness" taught by Ole Nydahl is a distinct practice of the Karma Kagyu tradition (though it is found in similar forms elsewhere, including the Nyingma traditions such as the Longchen Nyingthig). The Nyingthig tradition is much more than just Phowa, so the two should not be confused, as our Dutch friend suggests here. Those interested in the Kagyu tradition of Phowa can learn something of its transmission in another excellent example of Tibetan sacred biography in translation, _The Life of Marpa the Translator_, Shambhala (1995 et. al.).

Tulku Thondup presents here the biographies of 36 Tibetan Buddhist Masters. They belong to the Longchen Nyingthig tradition which is currently one of the most well known and practiced among Western followers of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Introduction and first chapters explain the setting of the Longchen Nyingthig tradition within Tibetan Buddhism and Buddhism as a whole, and give detailed lineage lists. Then follow the biographies, the heart of the book.

These life-stories vary greatly - some are brief and others run to many pages. Some of the masters lived over a thousand years ago while others are still alive now. But each story is told with simplicity and freshness that help the reader to connect with these masters. As Tulku Thondup says in his Preface, "If the lives are read in order to feel and unite with the experiences of the masters, the stories will certainly arouse spiritual realization, love, peace, openness, light, and healing in the reader's heart."

i recently ordered this book based upon reviews and was disappointed. i wasn't able to wade through the technical language and writing style of this book. i don't doubt the amount of information that is here, but if i can't access it, it is of little use to me. perhaps i'll find something else more useful to me.

The Practice Of Dzogchen is an eye-opening anthology of the writings on Dzogpa Chenpo, or Dzogchen, by Longchen Rabjam (1308-1363), a widely renowned adept of the Nyingmapa School of Tibetan Buddhism. Meticulously translated into English by Tulku Thondup, this classic 466-page text cogently explains the nature of the three outer and three inner tantras, presents excerpts from the lives of Dzogpa Chenpo masters, offers paths to meditation, and a great deal more. Simply put, The Practice Of Dzogchen is a "must-have" addition for Tibetan Buddhist reference shelves and a strongly recommended entry for the supplemental reading lists of dedicated students of Tibetan Studies.

10-Point Rating: (10.0)
I came to this book with a heavy background in western philosophy, specifically the analytic tradition. Never having studied eastern traditions directly, I had always bought into the marginalizations of eastern thought prevalent in our culture. This book literally slapped me awake. There is not a thinker in the entire history of western philosophy (and that includes all the greats) that can hold a candle to Longchen Rabjam and the tradition he represents. I am not going to lie to you, this book is not easy reading - the system/viewpoint expressed is completely alien to our western outlook. It thus carries with it a set of technical terms (just as our philosophers do - e.g. substance, person, free will) which must be understood prior to a serious reading. For this reason it is best not to breeze through the introductory material which, as in most books on dzogchen, makes up at least half the volume. Another difficulty is that the author (Longchenpa) is assuming familiarity with certain ideas (such as the twelvefold chain of interdependent causation) and so he only treats them in a cursory fashion - bear with it, re-read it, study it, it will eventually come to you.

The Hidden Teachings of Tibet serves as the core reference work for anyone interested in the terma, or hidden treasure, tradition of Tibet. Tulku Thondup, who has lived in the U.S. since 1980, provides a solid overview of the various types of treasures, how they are concealed and discovered, details on the so-called dakini script in which they are written, and insights into the tertons, or treasure discoverers, themselves. It is all organized in a format that makes for easy reference. Originally published in 1986, the book was issued in paperback in 1997. Tulku Thondup was also a key resource for another valuable book on the terma traditions, Apparitions of the Self by Prof. Janet Gyatso. Reviewer: Lawrence Pintak is a journalist and author who writes frequently on Buddhism and spirituality.

This book is recommended for those who want to get more knowhow on tibet buddhism termas. This book is not for beginners...