Initiations and Initiates in Tibet

By Alexandra David-Néel

Book Overview

Noted authority discusses mystic rites and doctrines, methods of psychic training, various kinds of initiations and their aims, spiritual exercises, "gymnastics" of respiration, many other topics. Invaluable insights into Tibetan Buddhism. 27 black-and-white illustrations.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486275795
• ISBN13: 9780486275796
• Release Date: November 2011
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

An excellent survey of Tibetan beliefs and practices

The author is forthright about the cultural differences between the west and Tibet and for that matter recognizes that no words can really even begin to express the actual experiences she had in Tibet. That said, she does an excellent job of explaining the spiritual culture of Tibet and the practices that involve initiation. This is a must read for anyone who wants to get an idea of the Tibet of yesterday and the Tibet that is currently occupied by china

Oldie but goodie!

David-Neel, Alexandra. Possibly the first European woman to do the three year+ retreat, died at the age of 102 in 1969. Her Initiates and Initiations, published in 1931 and translated from the original French Initiations Lamaiques is one of the earliest attempts to explain honestly to the much-obfuscated Western mind (viz. the term lamaique), the nature of the ongoing process that is the method employed by Vajrayana teachers. She understood how less educated Tibetans viewed certain teachings compared with the perceptions of the intellectuals. The chapter on the intelligentsia exists only in the English version, by the way.Her knowledge of the other Buddhist traditions and of the history of early Buddhism enabled her to attempt to trace the evolution of concepts such as that of Nirvana, for example. She clearly exposed the difference in interpretation by Buddhists of terms that may have had their origins in Hinduism. Her knowledge of Sanskrit and Tibetan enabled her to discuss the different connotations that an expression has even though it seems to refer to the same idea. She had a good grasp of the history of the Kagyu and the other lineages, and showed a surprisingly sophisticated view of the history of Tibet and its relations with its neighbours. Interesting, too, or should I say again, were her observations on the position of the young Dalai Lama in those early days. This edition was printed in 1973 by Ryder in London.