--- In [email protected], Vaj <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > On Apr 10, 2006, at 1:48 PM, TurquoiseB wrote: > > > If anyone else has suggestions for really off the wall > > spiritual shit (you know what I'm like), post away. I > > really am looking for a summer's worth of cafe reading. > > Thanks in advance. > > > Sky Dancer : The Secret Life & Songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel > http://trawicry.notlong.com
yeshe tsogyal. apology accepted if you don't know of her. she is the consumate female yogi, and the events of her life-story, with its sweet and bitter struggles as a stunning village-beauty offerred in marriage to the king of tibet, to her tantric initiation and education and subsequent practice (under the guidance of her consort padmasambhava, the mystic yogi credited with bringing tantra to tibet), all serve to exemplify the triumph over ignorance and suffering. this book is heavy at times (she went through some tuff stuff) but you will be a better woman for reading it (males and females alike!) > The Divine Madman > http://jayhorat.notlong.com > also see: http://keithdowman.net/books/dm.htm I read this book via a borrowed first edition, in one mesmerized sitting. 2nd ed. should be same. Now I must own it as soon as re-published! A fabulous story of the Buddhist monk whose left-hand path will scandalize some and delight others. I visited Drukpa Kunley's monastery in Bhutan and received the resident head monk's blessing with both the wooden phallus and the ivory one. Kunley created Bhutan's national animal, the Takin, and spread both his generous organ's output and the Dharma over the Himalaya. Worshiped by all women he met, he conquered Bon magicians and otherwise gave Buddhism a full-bodied life. Must reading for all adults. > > Masters of Enchantment (on the 84 Mahasiddhas) > http://keithdowman.net/books/bme.htm > Have you read the Aghora trilogy by Robert Svoboda? The first book is > a must read. This book cuts through all of the west's romanticized notions about what is Tantra, & what is not. Full of humor,wit,& wisdom. This is a rollercaoster ride through the wold of Tantra which reads like fiction, while being completely factual. The best book I have read in my life ! First I would like to thank Svoboda for writing it ! Second, a word of advice:If you are not a true tantric and if you do not intend to be one,or if you do not know what tantra is,best to read something else on tantra first,because there are chances you will not like it so much if you read it first ! ( by the way,Tantra has actually very little to do with sex ) ... This valuable addition to author Robert Svoboda's outstanding Aghora trilogy makes a vivid and illuminatingly frank contribution to our understanding of what spiritual masters--and we--are and aren't. Principal among these is the apparent fact detailed extensively in this book that "enlightenment" comes in a wide variety of shades but, in any case, cannot erase, by far, every inclination of the human personality of the enlightened. The great aghori Vimilananda's ownership of racehorses and his adventures at the track are a case in point dramatically pertinent to this apparent anomaly. Following Svoboda's account of his teacher's response to his own karma and that of his track competitors, students and family is, ironically, a Vedantic lesson in detachment from attempting to understand the whys and hows of the way things happen. For the open-minded, this book does present many intriguing indicators as to how behavior and attitudes in this life may affect the cards dealt to us in future births. Readers who recall the basic premise of Advaita Vedanta (Vimilananda's spiritual orientation), however, may remind themselves as they read this book that, since "doing" is only apparent-doing, and it is Life that lives life, what the heck difference does the understanding of karma matter anyway? Dissecting the complexities of karma is not only impossible but an activity appropriate only for those still involved in the futile task of self re-creation. Own this book if only for the cover which has to be a "first": a truly spiritual book decorated with a color photo of racehorses pounding to the finish line in Bombay! We meet again Vimalananda, the Skotch-guzzling, chain-smoking, horse-racing, corpse-sitting tantrika of "Aghora: At The Left Hand of God" fame. Anyone remotely interested in tantra, yoga or Indian philosophy should read this book, if only for the marvelous allegorical interpretations of the Vedas and Vedangas that you may not find elsewhere. For example, Indra is the Lord of the Senses (Indrayi); and the esoteric Ramayana is a story of Hanuman/Prana's crossing the sea/chakras to the muladhara/Lanka where Sita/Kundalini lies captive, hostage to sense-deluded Ravana. Some stories are best taken with a pinch of salt--a pinch to make sure you're awake; salt to learn the alchemical lessons: for example, turning the sadhu's sandals to ash by mere touch (holy smoke!) or judging the jnana of a saint by the size of his feces (BS!). There is some question whether Vimalananda "really" existed or is only "imaginary" but, to me Vimalananda is as real and influential as Thrice-blessed Hermes, Hamlet, or don Juan de Mateo. Plus, the good doctor teaches how to raise shakti from Svadishthana to Anahata. I highly recommend this book for individuals interested in the esoteric significance of various Hindu/Indian rituals, including the inner ritual/sacrifice that takes place during a Kundalini awakening. In the book, the author relates his firsthand conversations with his guru Vimalananda, who is truly one of the most fascinating personages to ever be depicted in any medium. Some of the episodes are incredible - to the point where the reader must either conclude that the account is fictional or must completely redefine her subjective notion of what constitutes reality. It is hoped the author's assurances that Vimalananda did, in fact, exist will lead the reader to choose the latter, a conclusion which has far-reaching implications in providing one with a new perspective on life > Also: Women of Wisdom by Tsultrim Allione. This is a lovely collection of sacred biographies of Tibetan Buddhist yoginis. The author, a former Buddhist nun, provides an extensive introduction including an autobiographical account-virtually a 7th biography. She provides much valuable information about the Buddha families, biography vs. sacred biography or hagiography, and Tibetan traditions and terminology such as delogs (people who die and come back to life), Togdens (Tibetan yogis), etc. The six sacred biographies included here vary considerably in length (2 are quite long and 4 are rather short) and in nature (some include much more hyperbole and others are more historical). The author states on p. 54 that "Goodness is not necessarily truth." She also provides a prolog and extremely valuable endnotes for each chapter, suggesting that (p. 215) the reason for embedding teachings into a biography is to make them come to life. She also provides psychological explanations for a number of otherwise fantastic descriptions and activities, frequently based upon the writings of Jung's disciple Esther Harding: p. 147: "When we think of a demon, we generally think of an external spirit which attacks us, but Machig realized the true nature of demons is the internal functioning of the ego...all four demons are thought-processes which block a state of clear, unattached awareness." p. 195 note 62: "If we understand the serpentine underwater Nagas as a manifestation of Machig's unconscious, as part of her own mind, this assumption being based on the idea that our environment is a manifestation of our karma and our own projection." Other contemporary books support such a view: Loren Pederson's "Dark Hearts," George Weinberg's "Invisible Masters," & John Sanford's "Invisible Partners." Further, she also clears up the ambiguity about Tibetan Buddhist practitioners consuming meat: p. 194 note 54: "the Buddha did not teach strict vegetarianism, but rather that all meat one eats should have passed through at least three hands before a Buddhist should consume it...if a Tantric practitioner eats the meat of an animal with awareness and transcendent insight into the true nature of reality, this creates a connection between the animal and the yogi, and therefore the animal will have a much better chance of reaching a higher rebirth than if it had not been killed and offered to the yogi or yogini. Also...it symbolizes going beyond the limitations of vows and conventional `goodness,' and transformation of poison and dangerous substances into a means for enlightenment. Therefore a big piece of meant would be an appropriate offering for a Tantric initiation." Interestingly, this practice parallels that of Kabbalah where practitioners raise the spiritual level of animals by eating them with proper kavvanah (mystical intention). > To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
