Teachers of Enlightenment: The Refuge Tree of the Western Buddhist Order

by Kulananda

The Refuge Tree is a symbol of the highest ideals of Buddhism, a traditional image in the Tibetan tradition that takes different forms in different schools. On the refuge tree are formal teachers and sages from Buddhism's history. Modern Buddhists might be regarded as heirs to the whole of the Buddhist tradition and the Refuge Tree of the Western Buddhist Order founded by Sangharakshita includes figures from India, Tibet, China and Japan as well as archetypal Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and the teachers whose guidance helped to shape Sangharakshita's understanding of Buddhism. Here a leading member of the Western Buddhist Order introduces each figure on this form of the Refuge Tree and explores their significance for Buddhists in the modern world.

Genres: Buddhism

296 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2001

Reviews

[Gemma Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well written introduction to the figures on the FWBO refuge tree- all 44 of them!It was interesting to get a bit of background, as there were several figures there I knew very little about. I found the figure of Jagdish Kashyap very engaging and I think it would be hard not to visualise him in a hammock snoozing happily should I take up this practice. There are some really interesting and inspiring stories here.