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Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism
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$ 19.96
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119102 |
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Item Description...
Indestructible Truth is one of the most thorough introductions to the Tibetan Buddhist world view ever published; at the same time it is also one of the most accessible. The author presents complex and sophisticated teachings and practices in nontechnical language, using engaging stories and personal anecdotes to illustrate his points. Indestructible Truth presents Tibetan Buddhism in its traditional form but also shows how the Tibetan traditions are applicable to the problems and challenges of modern life in the West.
In Indestructible Truth, Tibetan Buddhism is introduced not as an exotic religion, but rather as an expression of human spirituality that is having a profound impact on the modern world. In addition, it presents the point of view of meditation and the practice of the spiritual life, paying special attention to contemplative practice and meditation as taught in the Kagyu and Nyingma schools.
"Ray presents the material so that Westerners can assimilate and use it. He doesn't shy away from explaining difficult concepts, offering an approachable text that doesn't talk down to the reader."— Library Journal
"A rich and rewarding read."— The Middle Way
Reginald A. Ray, PhD, is a faculty member at Naropa University and is President and Spiritual Director of the Dharma Ocean Foundation, which is dedicated to the practice, study, and preservation of the teachings of Chögyam Trungpa. He is also the author of many books, including Indestructible Truth and In the Presence of Masters. |
Item Specifications...
Pages 512
Dimensions: Length: 1.25" Width: 6" Height: 9"
Weight: 1.55 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Release Date Jul 23, 2002
Publisher Shambhala
ISBN 1570629102
EAN 9781570629105
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Availability 6 units.
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About this Author/Artist Reginald A. Ray is Professor of Buddhist Studies at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, and a member of the graduate faculty of the Religious Studies Department at the University of Colorado. An acharya (senior teacher) in the lineage of Ch"gyam Trungpa, he is also Teacher in Residence at Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado. He has written extensively on the history, philosophy, and practice of Indian and Tibetan Buddhism.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | Clear and concise Dec 29, 2008 |
| This book was exactly what I was looking for to better understand the different lineages and beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism | | |  | Everything you wanted to know about Tibetan Buddhism - without taking vows Apr 8, 2007 |
This two-volume introduction to Tibetan Buddhism was written primarily for the author's students at the University of Colorado and at Naropa University (North America's only accredited Buddhist university). Across both books professor Reginald A Ray provides a thorough modern grounding in the history, philosophy and practice of Tibetan Buddhism.
The first volume, Indestructible Truth, begins with a rather dry recitation of the principle names, dates, and trends in the history of Buddhism as it came from India to Tibet and as it developed in the latter over the past two millennia. A more lively middle section covers assumptions common to all schools of Buddhism, warmly and wittily illustrated with anecdotes from the lives of Buddhist saints as well as the author's personal and professional life. The book closes with a rushed overview of Buddhist philosophy that is often more confusing than enlightening. This is partly made up for in the second volume with more detailed explanations and examples.
Secrets of the Vajra World is much heavier reading than the first, if only because Ray has a wider canvas, including the minutiae of Mahamudra and Dzokchen, the two primary schools of Tibetan meditation. The volume concludes with chapters on the lives of tulkus, the reincarnated Buddhist masters, and a riveting recounting of the miraculous passing of one such master (the 16th Karmapa) in an American hospital.
Despite the title of the second volume, very few "secrets" are revealed. Besides being a well-read scholar, Ray is also a committed Buddhist and meditation instructor unwilling to disclose tantric methods. Unfortunately, he also seems unwilling to challenge assumptions. To his credit, Ray acknowledges the difficulties western practitioners and students have with ideas such as reincarnation, the worship of deities, the guru-student relationship, karma and free will. He often provides alternate conceptualizations, such as the Six Realms of Existence (in the Wheel of Life) as psychological states, but never once makes clear that he accepts anything but the orthodox teaching.
Read these books to know what has come before. To see where Buddhism is headed, including Tibetan Buddhism in North America, you might like to sample the three volumes of Shambala Sun's series, Best Buddhist Writing, or have a look at Stephen Batchelor's Buddhism Without Beliefs.
# | | | | Scholarly work and reference, not good for beginners May 24, 2006 |
This is volume one of a two part work on Tibetan Buddhism by Reginald Ray. It is well-written, extremely comprehensive and thoroughly researched. There is an overwhelming amount of detail for most beginners, however.
If you are looking for a detailed scholarly work or a good reference to contextualize other reading, this will meet your needs. However, you may want to try an "Introduction to Tantra" by Lama Yeshe for a more accessible introduction to Vajrayana.
If you are completely new to Buddhism, then I would recommend Huston Smith's "The World's Religions" for an excellent, but short overview. If you purchase this book, you will have added the bonus of being able to read a similar introduction to Hinduism which I think is important for understanding Buddhist thought in a similar way that grasping the essentials of Judaism are important for a full understanding of the origin and development of Christianity.
It is very difficult to "get" Tibetan Buddhism without understanding the unfolding of the Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. While this volume does an excellent job of doing this, it is also HUGE. The disadvantage of some of the short books on Tibetan Buddhism is that they sometimes don't do a great job of contextualizing the various Buddhist traditions and how they unfolded in time and/or geographically.
If you merely want a taste of Tibetan Buddhist thought, then you may want to look at the book "The Art of Happiness" by Howard Cutler and the Dalai Lama. This presents some Tibetan ideas on everyday issues along with some commentary by a western psychiatrist. This book is not an introduction to Tibetan Buddhism as such, however.
If you click on my name, you can read my reviews for the books I mentioned above or scroll down to them if you look up the books. There are also other books on these topics listed under my profile, but I haven't assembled a listmania list yet.
| | | | An accessible, but not suger-coated introduction May 2, 2005 |
Ray does a good job providing the Tibetan context of the Buddha dharma in a way that is not pointedly obscure nor completely suger-coated and psychologized. The history of the schools and the acknowledgements of the political and social problems that those schools had in developing are very helpful to understanding Tibetan buddhism in a more complete way. His history of the Ri-me and the Gelugpa are particularly helpful in understand the modern context of Tibetan Buddhism just before the diaspora. Although, his Kaygu bais is acknowledge, it is subtle, but is most obvious when discussing the Gelugpa.
His discussions of the Tibetan view of Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana is very helpful to those who learned the concepts from differing schools of Buddhism.
Overall, particularly paired with the second volume on Vajrayana and Tantra, these are very helpful books. As Vajrayana grows in popularity in the West--particularly in its Tibetan as opposed to its Japanese (Shingon) form--such knowledge is very, very helpful. | | | | Solid place to start serious study Jun 15, 2001 |
| Ray offers an accessible introduction to the origins, cosmos and cultural context of Tibetan Buddhism. Easier to follow than other intros (like Thurman's Essential Tibetan Buddhism), but doesn't ignore important details. Especially good delineation of the four principal schools. If Ray included a discussion of the important role of the indigenous Bon religion in shaping modern Tibetan Buddhism, I missed it. Focused more directly on the knowledge component of wisdom than on experience. Still Ray's explanations burned through the fog of my confusion | | | Write your own review about Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism
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