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The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism
Few teachers in the West possess both the spiritual training and the scholarship to lead us along the path to enlightenment. Robert Thurman is one such teacher. Now, in his first experiential course on the essentials of Tibetan Buddhism, adapted and expanded from a popular retreat he led, Thurman -- the first Westerner ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama himself -- shares the centuries-old wisdom of a highly valued method of insight used by the great Tibetan masters.
Tibetans think of their cherished tradition of Buddhism as a "wish-fulfilling jewel tree" for its power to generate bliss and enlightenment within all who absorb its teachings. Happiness, in fact, is the true goal of Tibetan spirituality, and the wish-fulfilling jewel tree will enable you to reach that goal. Using a revered, once-secret text of a seventeenth-century Tibetan master, with thorough explanations for contemporary Westerners, The Jewel Tree of Tibet immerses you fully in the mysteries of Tibetan spiritual wisdom. A retreat in book form as well as a spiritual and philosophical teaching, The Jewel Tree of Tibet offers a practical system of understanding yourself and the world, of developing your learning and thought processes, and of gaining deep, transforming insight.
One of the most explicit teachings of the steps on the path of enlightenment available, explained by a skilled Western teacher, The Jewel Tree of Tibet will enable you to honor the full subtlety and hidden depths of the Tibetan Buddhist path and realize at last its deeper rewards -- for yourself and others.
Tibetans think of their cherished tradition of Buddhism as a "wish-fulfilling jewel tree" for its power to generate bliss and enlightenment within all who absorb its teachings. Happiness, in fact, is the true goal of Tibetan spirituality, and the wish-fulfilling jewel tree will enable you to reach that goal. Using a revered, once-secret text of a seventeenth-century Tibetan master, with thorough explanations for contemporary Westerners, The Jewel Tree of Tibet immerses you fully in the mysteries of Tibetan spiritual wisdom. A retreat in book form as well as a spiritual and philosophical teaching, The Jewel Tree of Tibet offers a practical system of understanding yourself and the world, of developing your learning and thought processes, and of gaining deep, transforming insight.
One of the most explicit teachings of the steps on the path of enlightenment available, explained by a skilled Western teacher, The Jewel Tree of Tibet will enable you to honor the full subtlety and hidden depths of the Tibetan Buddhist path and realize at last its deeper rewards -- for yourself and others.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
67 people are currently reading
511 people want to read
About the author
Robert A.F. Thurman
72 books188 followersTenzin Robert Thurman is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, holding the first endowed chair of Buddhist Studies in the United States. He is the author of the bestseller Inner Revolution, as well as Anger, Infinite Life, and other popular books. He is also a translator of Tibetan texts. He serves as co-founder and president of Tibet House US, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the endangered culture of Tibet.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
August 22, 2021
Very, very repetitive but a few good takeaways, and a good introduction to Buddhism.
[Buddhism] is simply the response of enlightened beings to help the unenlightened.
-p.25
We create a kind of figure eight of positive energy, positive reinforcement between us and the jewel tree and all the beings around us.
-p.45
So, whenever you do anything or accomplish anything or gain a vision or have a little sparkle in your mind, don't appropriate it and think, How great, I've got this sparkle in my own mind. Dedicate it to others. Immediately share it with them.
-p.61
The human being develops to be human by generosity, by sensitivity to others, ethical sensitivity. This human, humane sensitivity expresses itself as tolerance, patience, and the ability not to react lethally to injury from others but to tolerate that, and then to sort of work it out with the others rather than just chomping them down.
-p.67
You gain insight and say, "Okay, I'm going to put my whole life toward transforming my soul, and as much as my soul transforms, it will resonate with yours and everybody's soul. And when I become fully transformed as a buddha, I even will be able to intervene directly in the confusions of others, and help them become more aware." You can proclaim that, and walk into the street, and people will knock each other out to be the first to give you lunch. They wouldn't feel you had conned them, or you weren't pulling your weight, or you weren't justifying your existence. They would feel honored to support you.
p.94
A being that is unhappy is not beautiful. Even if objectively a person has certain alluring endowments, high cheekbones, or abundant hair, unhappiness makes him or her dull and downcast and keeps that person from being beautiful. When angry, even the most well-proportioned person looks ugly. The beauty in a being is the being's happiness, and so, when I look at the mother beings' happiness, they look beautiful.
-p.127
But when we're really in love with others, we want only their happiness. We forget about our happiness, and then, therefore, ironically, we get very happy, because we temporarily stop worrying about how happy we are. When we forget about how happy we are, we become happy. That's why people like to be in love, because when they're in love, they focus only on the beauty and the happiness of the beloved other.
p.127
It is the very desire for you own happiness that produces your ceaseless unhappiness.
-p.129
...you could never be patient if there weren't others who made you irritated, who injure you and harm you. Therefore, people who bug you are also like wish-granting gems.
-p.131
So they created the Protestant ethic, as Max Weber, the sociologist, called it, and the Protestant atmosphere, which is what we are suffering from still in America. It's the ethic that everyone has to work all the time to justify his or her individual existence, and that no one should be supported to pursue some sort of inner creative prompting, or vision, or happiness.
-p.179
[Buddhism] is simply the response of enlightened beings to help the unenlightened.
-p.25
We create a kind of figure eight of positive energy, positive reinforcement between us and the jewel tree and all the beings around us.
-p.45
So, whenever you do anything or accomplish anything or gain a vision or have a little sparkle in your mind, don't appropriate it and think, How great, I've got this sparkle in my own mind. Dedicate it to others. Immediately share it with them.
-p.61
The human being develops to be human by generosity, by sensitivity to others, ethical sensitivity. This human, humane sensitivity expresses itself as tolerance, patience, and the ability not to react lethally to injury from others but to tolerate that, and then to sort of work it out with the others rather than just chomping them down.
-p.67
You gain insight and say, "Okay, I'm going to put my whole life toward transforming my soul, and as much as my soul transforms, it will resonate with yours and everybody's soul. And when I become fully transformed as a buddha, I even will be able to intervene directly in the confusions of others, and help them become more aware." You can proclaim that, and walk into the street, and people will knock each other out to be the first to give you lunch. They wouldn't feel you had conned them, or you weren't pulling your weight, or you weren't justifying your existence. They would feel honored to support you.
p.94
A being that is unhappy is not beautiful. Even if objectively a person has certain alluring endowments, high cheekbones, or abundant hair, unhappiness makes him or her dull and downcast and keeps that person from being beautiful. When angry, even the most well-proportioned person looks ugly. The beauty in a being is the being's happiness, and so, when I look at the mother beings' happiness, they look beautiful.
-p.127
But when we're really in love with others, we want only their happiness. We forget about our happiness, and then, therefore, ironically, we get very happy, because we temporarily stop worrying about how happy we are. When we forget about how happy we are, we become happy. That's why people like to be in love, because when they're in love, they focus only on the beauty and the happiness of the beloved other.
p.127
It is the very desire for you own happiness that produces your ceaseless unhappiness.
-p.129
...you could never be patient if there weren't others who made you irritated, who injure you and harm you. Therefore, people who bug you are also like wish-granting gems.
-p.131
So they created the Protestant ethic, as Max Weber, the sociologist, called it, and the Protestant atmosphere, which is what we are suffering from still in America. It's the ethic that everyone has to work all the time to justify his or her individual existence, and that no one should be supported to pursue some sort of inner creative prompting, or vision, or happiness.
-p.179
November 11, 2014
The most accessible explanation of Tibetan Buddhism I have encountered. Robert Thurman has a brilliant mind but hasn't lost the ability to explain things in an accessible way. That being said, these are deep waters for an audio book. I'm going to have to get a print copy and start from the beginning!
August 15, 2009
The history of Tibet as an extraordinarily successful warring nation who becomes willing to embrace a profoundly different (peaceful) way is relevant- oh so relevant, today- now. This book has been a pleasure to pour over slowly, going back to ideas that grab my mind, and beginning all over again. These complex ideas that, with exposure, time and effort, become a joy to practice, can benefit each of us with effort.
October 7, 2018
This was undeniably the most openly mystical book (or series of lectures, I suppose) I've come across yet when it comes to Buddhism. But, as time goes by, I've grown more open to that kind of thing. Thurman highlights the Tibetan Buddhists' desire to create a sort of hyperdrive ride to enlightenment with the jewel tree system, and while I've yet to attain anything close to that, it's hard to believe the world would be worse off if more people started regularly meditating on the themes discussed here. The more I read about Buddhism, the more I've come to appreciate the religion for really being humanity's first stab at understanding psychology—and, for that matter, it remains truly impressive how well many, if not all, of its pragmatic precepts hold up. Who knows? Maybe there really are boddhisatvas and we're all due for reincarnation. All I know is that, whether there are or not, learning about this religion has been fascinating and applying its precepts has been tremendously helpful.
July 31, 2011
This fantastic presentation is not something I am capable of judging. I can just say that it is fantastic and listening to it is thrilling. This was my introduction to Robert Thurman who speaks clearly and simply about a subject not too many people in the West know too well, but which is well worth one's efforts to explore. For me this teaching/lecture? IS a jewel! Of course you know by now that the subject here is
teachings of the Buddha and Buddhism. It is a trip. Treat yourself and enjoy!
teachings of the Buddha and Buddhism. It is a trip. Treat yourself and enjoy!
November 25, 2020
The „Jewel Tree of Tibet“ is a wonderful and truly inspiring book, heart opening and mind expanding. Thurman teaches the art of living from an open heart space: Being Here Now with wisdom, love and compassion. The symbol of the glorious wish-fulfilling gem tree contains the distillation of the entire path to enlightenment, the sacred geometry of the Bodhisattva's Way of Life. Through this meditation we can recreate our life and the entire universe as a mandala of perfect harmony, beauty and bliss. The secret is: by transforming our minds, we can transform the world. The world is a reflection of our Minds. Training and transforming the mind is the key to freedom, happiness and any lasting and truly positive change in the world. Thurman motivates the reader to be a conscious creator of his or her own spiritual evolution and infinite soul destiny. I feel reminded of the poem „Invictus” by William Ernest Henley:
“It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.“
The message of the Jewel Tree is very empowering and enlightening: we can become masters of our own fate. We can realize our potential for spiritual awakening and express our highest, deepest, truest being, the Divine Self within us. It is the birthright of every human being to live and enjoy an awakened life. The irony is that the highest truth cannot be put into words (the age-old problem of the saints and sages, poets and prophets of all times). True „Gnosis“ arises from the silent and deep knowing in the innermost heart.
“Silence is the Buddha‘s greatest expression. It‘s the Buddha‘s great teaching, what the Hindus call „You are That“ in the Upanishads. „You are the ultimate reality. You are God!“ the Hindus boldly declare. But the Buddha‘s way of affirming that fact is by being silent, because if you are that, after all, if you are what the theists think is God, you already know it yourself. (p. 15)” ― Robert A.F. Thurman, The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism
The Buddha invites us to the joyful participation in the divine play of life, the interdependent web of oneness. What happens when we begin to live this truth? The light of the Infinite shines its gentle, radiant being on every moment of our life. The nightmare of suffering ends and life is transformed more and more into a happy dream, filled with real magic and miracles. The true nature of reality is miraculous: majestic beauty, grace and light upon light.
“We have the assurance of the enlightened beings that reality is goodness, that reality is freedom from suffering, that reality is bliss. So we should never fear to open ourselves to reality, to cast aside our preconceptions and biases, and to open more and more to whatever turns out to be real. You can have faith in enlightenment, faith in evolutionary potential, faith in infinity, faith in your Infinite Self. (p. 222)” ― Robert A.F. Thurman, The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism
“It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.“
The message of the Jewel Tree is very empowering and enlightening: we can become masters of our own fate. We can realize our potential for spiritual awakening and express our highest, deepest, truest being, the Divine Self within us. It is the birthright of every human being to live and enjoy an awakened life. The irony is that the highest truth cannot be put into words (the age-old problem of the saints and sages, poets and prophets of all times). True „Gnosis“ arises from the silent and deep knowing in the innermost heart.
“Silence is the Buddha‘s greatest expression. It‘s the Buddha‘s great teaching, what the Hindus call „You are That“ in the Upanishads. „You are the ultimate reality. You are God!“ the Hindus boldly declare. But the Buddha‘s way of affirming that fact is by being silent, because if you are that, after all, if you are what the theists think is God, you already know it yourself. (p. 15)” ― Robert A.F. Thurman, The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism
The Buddha invites us to the joyful participation in the divine play of life, the interdependent web of oneness. What happens when we begin to live this truth? The light of the Infinite shines its gentle, radiant being on every moment of our life. The nightmare of suffering ends and life is transformed more and more into a happy dream, filled with real magic and miracles. The true nature of reality is miraculous: majestic beauty, grace and light upon light.
“We have the assurance of the enlightened beings that reality is goodness, that reality is freedom from suffering, that reality is bliss. So we should never fear to open ourselves to reality, to cast aside our preconceptions and biases, and to open more and more to whatever turns out to be real. You can have faith in enlightenment, faith in evolutionary potential, faith in infinity, faith in your Infinite Self. (p. 222)” ― Robert A.F. Thurman, The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism
June 30, 2022
This book served as a refuge for when I needed one, and I enjoyed reading it in short and slow chunks.
I found this difficult to read at first because of the relentless high energy writing style. But once I listened to some audio of Thurman speaking, l realized it needs to be read like you’re at his retreat and that this book is basically a transcript of what you would get in that setting.
Having access to such an experience is such a gift, and Thurman is a great teacher who skillfully curates the most relevant facets of Tibetan Buddhist teachings for a contemporary Western audience.
I found this difficult to read at first because of the relentless high energy writing style. But once I listened to some audio of Thurman speaking, l realized it needs to be read like you’re at his retreat and that this book is basically a transcript of what you would get in that setting.
Having access to such an experience is such a gift, and Thurman is a great teacher who skillfully curates the most relevant facets of Tibetan Buddhist teachings for a contemporary Western audience.
March 23, 2021
Such an important book. I highly recommend it to anyone regardless of your spiritual affiliation. It can be applied to any belief structure and the author uses examples of Christ, Krishna, Mohammed etc in his different meditation techniques. It is essential for anyone trying to cultivate an attitude of compassion, patience and gratitude. I will be referencing it again and again over my life.
July 14, 2019
I enjoyed this audiobook. Thurman shares a side of Buddhism that I haven’t yet learned much about and he does it in a way that it ties my basic understanding of modern practice older tradition. His humor and wit come together to both entertain and inform in a style that’s easily captivating.
June 7, 2017
Superb book for understanding Buddhist cosmology and the conclusions that follow; assumptions and straw men both become clear ;-)
July 18, 2017
selflessness, selflessness, selflessness...OK, OK, OK we understood, to me it was boring, nothing new or revelatory
April 26, 2018
Although I've read this, I need to read it again. This book is so rich and full of wisdom you could probably read it a dozen times and still gain new insight with each pass and still have more that can be mined from the content. Highly recommend!
August 25, 2018
It's a beautiful, historically informative read.
October 10, 2018
Amazing. Now I've finished it I immediately started it at the beginning again.
January 26, 2019
Not what I expected, but fascinating.
April 1, 2019
Thoughtful, meditative engagement with Tibetan Buddhism—the image of the wish granting jewel tree as it worked out in relation to the path is particularly striking and inclusive.
April 3, 2019
Loved this book like all others by Robert Thurman. His mastery in explaining complex things in simple language, his sense of humor - all of these make it a wonderful reading.
June 8, 2019
Good but a little on the new age-y side.
July 8, 2019
DENSE, but those Thurman does a good job making the thicc topic text florid and readable.
February 8, 2020
There is a lot to take in in this book, I listened to the audiobook however just bought the ebook so I can take in more through the text while I give it another listen.
December 28, 2020
Of of the best books I've listened to.
July 11, 2021
An interesting read, explaining Buddhism from a Tibetan point of view. I found it interesting, especially the concepts of reincarnation, karma and drama.
July 14, 2023
Thurman is a Master great book
June 3, 2025
💎👏
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2008
Having previously read and heard Robert Thurman, he tends to be prosaic yet at the same time invites you to share his Buddhist knowledge, experience and focus, providing you with a guided imagery path toward a deeper realization and oneness with ourselves, friends, family, mentors, and enemies. Being that there is such breadth and depth to Buddhist studies, Thurman's comments and closeness with Tibetan Buddhism is especially interesting and helpful for those akin to Tibetan Buddhist topics.
August 6, 2007
Woould like to shout out the Vimalakirti Sutra translation over this one. But it is still dope.
November 12, 2013
I've read just a tiny bit of it, but currently I'm reading other stuff. I'm real excited to read the rest when I get to it.
March 26, 2009
I have been doing a lot of reading on spirituality this past year and listened to this on tape. It was very good.
September 26, 2010
I'm always hoping that these books will actually have the Dali lama more than quoted in them.. disappointing but a good read.
October 4, 2010
Wanted to love it, but found this a slow read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews