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Title: Cult of Tara: Magic and Ritual in Tibet by Stephan Beyer, Thomas R., Jr. Beyer, Stephen Beyer, Kees W. Bolle ISBN: 0-520-03635-2 Publisher: University of California Press Pub. Date: July, 1978 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)
Rating: 5
Summary: Ian Myles Slater on: A Major Contribution
Comment: This is book is a richly detailed exposition of the major rituals and supporting belief systems of Tibetan Buddhist monastic communities. Beyer uses as his case study the wide-spread devotion to Tara (the Sanskrit form; in Tibetan, Dolma), the (paradoxically) female Boddhisattva who is regarded as one of the special patrons of Tibet. Basic and advanced forms of ritual and meditation are described, and there are attractive line drawings of many of the implements (as well as some not-so-clear, but interesting, black-and-white photograph).
There is an enormous amount of detail about basic and advanced ritual practices, from those known to lay-people to relatively advanced meditation techniques, very much including the use of permament objects and material and symbolic offerings. Of course, in a world-view in which the material world is itself an illusion, the differences between the tangible and the symbolic tend to fade away.
Beyer's exposition makes clear that the reported association with magic of Vajrayana Buddhism in particular, and the larger categories of Tantric Buddhism and Hinduism in general, is not a complete misrepresentation, but the natural result of a world-view in which magic is a real possibility. In Tibet, at least, the preferred solution has been to try to make sure that those who develop supernatural powers are also indoctrinated with strong ethical teachings; in other words, the specialists in religion.
This is not, as a whole, easy reading, although the introductory chapters should present few obstacles. Beyer is enormously respectful of the religion and those who practice it, but his approach is analytical and, to some extent, critical / historical. Those interested mainly in devotional readings, including many of the texts Beyer cites or excerpts, might try Martin Willson's "In Praise of Tara: Songs to the Saviouress: Source Texts from India and Tibet on Buddhism's Great Goddess," which will also be of great interest to those who appreciate Beyer's handling of the material.
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Title: In Praise of Tara: Songs to the Saviouress: Source Texts from India and Tibet on Buddhism's Great Goddess by Martin Willson, Martin Wilson ISBN: 0861711092 Publisher: Wisdom Publications Pub. Date: May, 1996 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Tara The Feminine Divine by Bokar Rinpoche ISBN: 1930164009 Publisher: ClearPoint Press Pub. Date: 24 December, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Female Buddhas: Women of Enlightenment in Tibetan Mystical Art by Glenn H. Mullin ISBN: 1574160680 Publisher: Clear Light Pub Pub. Date: October, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Vajrayogini: Her Visualization, Rituals, & Forms (Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism) by Elizabeth English ISBN: 086171329X Publisher: Wisdom Publications Pub. Date: November, 2002 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Deep Trance Shamanic Journey; Volume One: Pachamama's Child by Jessie E. Ayani, Richard Shulman ISBN: 0964876361 Publisher: Heart of the Sun Pub. Date: 01 May, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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