Tantric Mysticism of Tibet : A Practical Guide

by John Blofeld

A highly practical form of mysticism, Mahayana Buddhism offers precise techniques for attaining wisdom by negating the ego and entering the bliss of divinity. This book gives the background, techniques, purpose, and underlying theory of the Tantric forms of meditation, which have often been successful for those who have failed to make progress with more familiar methods.

Genres: Buddhism, Meditation, Spirituality, Philosophy, Nonfiction

257 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

John Eaton Calthorpe Blofeld (M.A., Literature, University of Cambridge, 1946) wrote on Asian thought and religion, especially Taoism and Chinese Buddhism. During WWII, he working in counterintelligence for the British Embassy in Chongqing (Chungking), China, as a cultural attaché. In the 1950s, he studied with Dudjom Rinpoche and other Nyingma teachers in Darjeeling, India. He later mentored Red Pine in his translation work.

Reviews

[Iniville]

If it were possible to rate it higher, I would.

[Soheil Alizadeh]

A great text for meditation if you want to skim through a lot of details about Tibetan ways to mysticism and yogic and psychic techniques, Unless you are a serious eastern philosophy enthusiast and want to load yourself up with a good deal of professional terminology on the path. If you have some familiarity with general non theist spiritual approaches (those looking into the Tao, Flow, or putting the power in the interconnection of the segments of the sentient universe), you will mostly come across a lot of familiar words.

I think instead of reading this book more times, I'd rather follow up with relevant books to the topic, so the repeated, popular terminology sink in the deeper mind. Wouldn't really want to memorize or deep study every single concept in it.

Contains solid reaffirmations for those looking to come across the skepticism blockages or investigate them as tools for a deeper understanding (certainly not suggesting that all texts need to be taken in as a belief right away but if you are aiming to implement a lot of the mental exercises, an experiential approach would be the best, and too much skepticism would lock you out).

Also contains a good number of evocative symbols and depictions of deities, mandalas, and traditional visuals.

[Alberto]

Really enjoyed this book. Gives a good introduction, is well explained and easy to read

[Lisa]

The book was very interesting. A slow read, as it was hard to grasp all the concepts.

[Chris]

All the info about Tibetan Mysticism you could ever need, unless your a practicing Tibetan Buddhist.

[Ig-88]

Molestias numquam occaecati provident alias. Autem distinctio molestiae sapiente expedita. Tempora quidem ratione ut sed similique quia. Voluptate autem esse labore nihil ut magnam voluptas.