En este libro Tenzin Wangyal Rímpoche, muy conocido maestro y practicante de las enseñanzas Dzogchen, nos habla de la antigua religión Bön del Tíbet al tiempo que nos narra pasajes de su vida, así como algunas de las reflexiones que sus experiencias le han provocado. Con estas enseñanzas Tenzin Wangyal brinda un retrato vívido y entrañable de la cultura Bön.
Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (བསྟན་འཛིན་དབང་རྒྱལ་ bstan 'dzin dbang rgyal) is a teacher (lama) of the Bön Tibetan religious tradition. He is presently based in the United States of America, where he founded the Ligmincha Institute in 1992 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, in order "to preserve the ancient teachings, transmissions and practices of the Bön Buddhist tradition."
The degree of "Geshe" is the highest academic achievement of traditional Tibetan culture, roughly equivalent to a Doctorate in Divinity; it's use in names is similar to that of the Western "Doctor." Similarly, "Rinpoche" is an honorific, meaning "Precious one," frequently bestowed on respected teachers.
I highly recommend this book as an excellent introduction to the Bon tradition of Tibet. In this book the author explains what the Bon tradition is and how it differs from Buddhist beliefs and practices. The author explores in depth the foundational beliefs and practices of the Bon tradition while also explaining how they can be meaningfully applied to the life of the practitioner. What I like is that its also clear that this tradition has its own perspective on emptiness, which I found useful for getting a new perspective on it. Overall, I recommend this book for anyone serious about doing internal work.
It would be interesting to try to untangle original Bon themes from later Buddhist encrustations. Fascinating stuff. Great poetry. The nine this the eighteen that. The wrathful deities. The Bardo state. Is any of it true. Who knows. Where’s the evidence. But still fascinating and fruitful traditions. As for the Buddhist layer. Yeah all is emptiness. Absolute reality is beyond words. Blah blah blah. Are there enlightened states beyond words? Maybe, who knows. All this yapping about it though is not a good sign.
Another of Tenzin Wangal's brilliant and authoritative works on Dzogchen. We've added this book to the required reading list at Western Buddhist University.