Essential Tibetan Buddhism

by Robert A.F. Thurman

An accessible introduction to this rich spiritual tradition through its own vibrant literature, much of it only recently available in the West. Here are teachings about the Buddha, subsequent Buddhas, and our Buddhist nature; prayer texts and meditation techniques; the stories of hermits and yogis; the lessons of ancient monks and modern nuns—all centered around profoundly practical instructions for training the mind on the path to enlightenment. Clarifying but never simplifying the complexity of Tibetan Buddhism, this collection is the essential companion to anyone exploring the diamond path.

Genres: Buddhism, Religion, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Spirituality, Eastern Philosophy, Reference

317 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Tenzin 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.

Reviews

[Chris Lemig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Thurman is the preeminent American authority on Tibetan Buddhism. He was the first westerner to ever be officially ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk and looks to the Dalai Lama as his personal mentor. (He's also Uma Thurman's dad!)

I've seen a couple of lecture videos by him and I just love his enthusiasm and passion for the subject of Tibetan Buddhism. He's also super-funny in a very geeky sort of way.

I didn't read through this entire book. It's a collection of ancient Tibetan writings (translated by Thurman) and a lot of the subject matter is way over my head. Still, the beauty of the language and the imagery is inescapable.

There is a wonderful story of the life of the Buddha. It follows the canonical account that all Buddhist tradtions tell, but adds layer after layer of supernatural imagery. Wish-fulfilling gems, five-hundred-mile-high trees, hosts of deities, demons and angles, miracles and prophesies all combine to illustrate a vibrant view of the nature of reality.

This is a book that I'm going to keep handy and read bits and pieces of as I learn more about this wonderful tradition.

[Wayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really dense read, esp. since I had zero experience with Buddhism prior to reading this book. Probably not the best place to start for someone curious about Buddhism. Otherwise, interesting stuff.

[Anmol · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent introduction to some of the important texts of the Tibetan tradition - but definitely not for beginners. Some of the sections here are just the mantras themselves in transliterated Sanskritised Tibetan, and it's difficult to get anything out of them if you don't speak the language (I could only make out some of the Sanskrit mantras, but even they are so different from the usual Indian Sanskrit that it was a difficult task). But maybe Thurman thought that you don't need to know the meaning of the mantras to get into the mood of the Tibetans - their tradition is, after all, Mantrayana (the wheel of mantras). This is most clearly seen in the Heart Sutra itself, which after explaining shunyata, ends with the mantra (gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha), and represents that as the highest teaching, beyond the limitations of the rational mind. Pretty mystic stuff, which nonetheless remains grounded in a rational philosophy which constantly seeks to critique itself and find its own limitations - that's Mahayana for you!

[Eric Villalobos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I will have to agree with another review that I read on this book: the book is way too dense at some points. A little past the halfway point, there's just this huge block of texts that you have to muddle through and at the end, you ask yourself "What did I learn?" and you can't really pinpoint an answer (which would be okay if it allowed you to experience Tibetan Buddhist culture or something of that sort, but I feel as if that could have been expressed with texts that are less dense). There's a portion in that massive block that is just page after page of the descriptions of various deities: they all have three faces and six arms, and it proceeds to just list the colors of the three faces and what each arm is holding, one by one by one for each and every deity and their individual consort. If this were a commentary or translation of a specific text, I'd understand, but since this is supposed to be *Essential* Tibetan Buddhism, I have to critique the book for the equivalent of making an "Essential Bible" and then filling the chapters with page after page of "And so-and-so begot so-and-so".

Other than that portion of the book, Thurnman provides a broad survey of Tibetan Buddhist literature. The introduction was very useful and informative, and I particularly liked the version of the Birth Story of the Buddha which Thurnman includes. The other prayers, treatises, and lectures which Thurnman included are also very colorful and informative, and merit a reading.

[Brett C · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author does a superb job on delving into Tibetan Buddhism. There's a lengthy introduction into this spiritual system, various excerpts from various esoteric materials, and various scriptures/prayers. I had a hard time with all the names as it confusing at times. Full of dense information.

[Erica Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Putting the notes before the readings rather than at the end like footnotes would have made for a much better read. There was little explication of the primary sources which meant the material was poorly contextualized. There were also many things which were dated, particularly his attitude toward the abuse in the western Tibetan Buddhist community.

[Inge Minkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very brief history of Tibet and its interconnection with Buddhism, followed by ¾ of a book of excerpts from various translated passages that oftentimes makes you feel like you’re missing something critical by not being adequately prepared ahead of time. A tremendous amount of Essential Tibetan Buddhism focuses on this odd relationship between mentor and forthcoming monk protege. The experience given from a mentor is considered more important than even scripture, and turns into a form of worship of this person - that you come begging for the mentor to allow you to be instructed by them. That the protege is hoping to die a million times over, just so they can help those who are less fortunate - which is the element of the Bodhisattva - the enlightened person who rejects nirvana in favor of coming back to Earth to help those still in need. Shakyamuni (The Buddha) is said to be with everyone always, but I find it noteworthy that he didn’t require the skills of a mentor to reach Buddhahood - which then makes me wonder about this protege and whether they’ll just end up following the same path as those instructing them, so i guess choose wisely. One requires a certain insight into the operation of their own minds, but this seems to be less paramount than just following your role model and their instruction to help you forge your path to accepting compassion. We of course need the help of someone knowledgeable in life to get us through whatever suffering we currently possess - and having a therapist is a sort of Buddhist mentor - with roughly the same goal: health, wellness, and love for oneself and others. We run into the same problems of finding the positive therapist for our own needs - which makes me wonder about how a Buddhist chooses their mentor and whether they have similar problems with clashing personalities, but I suppose that’s less important than letting go of your identity. There’s this highly similar element here of finding compassion and being filled with love - and even love of self is incredibly important in Tibetan Buddhism (it’s one of the practices for The Great Perfect Stage - of reaching enlightenment). So it’s interesting to see that we have such kindred systems for training the mind and reaching that ultimate goal of life, regardless of religion: unfettered happiness.


There’s quite a bit written in the excerpts about the joy of being a human - that you have the best opportunity to escape cyclic life and be beneficial to the world. That we should celebrate existence, because we have the opportunity to do good, and to bring compassion to others. This is often counterbalanced with some oddities that range from intriguing to outright shitty. That “those born with imperfect faculties cannot grasp the Truth, and so befriend vice” is a rather powerful statement that still rings true to this day, but makes me wonder about the trauma that comes from people who supposedly knew the Truth to them, yet inflicted it on others in a terrible way. This leads into the question of cults - of people who claim to be Buddhas or bodhisattvas, yet are actually just terribly manipulative and destructive people (and there are quite a few Tibetan Buddhist cults out there). These people claimed to know the Truth, perhaps just as someone who took mushrooms for the first time, or for someone in psychosis who understands the true nature of reality - that it doesn’t exist. Where does one draw this line, and where does one make the differentiation?


There’s also a great deal of weird exclusionary elements going on - like saying ‘mannish women’, hermaphrodites, albinos and ‘people from North Kuru’ cannot become monks”. This comes across as bizarre as yes, this was the 18th century, yet why target these people who have done no wrong? It goes back to the ways Tibetan Buddhism mixed with the local spiritual beliefs (Bon), and how certain people are cursed with their appearance or mannerisms because of some past misdeed they did in life and thus they deserve to be shunned. All in the way of trying to get people to become compassionate to everyone - it doesn’t exactly add up, except for the peculiarities that have crept into Tibetan Buddhism, one that still alienates queer folks for no reason other than Dharma from the 12th century (which of course ‘cannot be changed’), it’s obnoxious.


Anyway, what promises to be a guide to Tibetan Buddhism for both beginners and the well-seasoned, ends up being more of a “Best of Robert Thurman (Uma Thurman’s Dad btw) translations,” as the actual background, history and information on Tibetan Buddhism takes up less than a quarter of this book. The rest of the 200 pages is filled out with an onslaught of often impenetrable excerpts from a litany of classic Tibetan scriptures (Dharma). This wouldn’t be so bad except you get next to no introductory notes or commentary on what you’re reading other than a token few sentences explaining that “you shouldn’t perform this ceremony unless you’re already formally trained,” or “this is a vital work to Tibetan Buddhism”. You might think that fine, but when you’re shoulder deep into color descriptions of every deity (cough, chapter 7), you start to wonder why this was chosen. I know it isn’t my place to judge what is Essential to Tibetans, but it would’ve been tremendously easy to add just a bit more commentary to what you’re reading and be of some benefit to those who aren’t Robert Thurman - as I often felt that I was missing something, despite double checking his notes. I also am incredibly annoyed that all of the notes are in the back of the book. I know this might let the passages “flow” better, but I didn’t even realize that there were important descriptions of terms and deities until I was well into the 2nd chapter, as there’s zero indication that these terms (that I was having to lookup myself) were at least covered gently in the rear of the book. There’s no highlighting / asterisk / indication as to which words are described for you, making it more a game of Where’s Waldo than any actual benefit to the reader. As it stands, this is decidedly not a good book for anyone who might consider themselves a beginner, not only to Buddhism but specifically Tibetan Buddhism - as the disparate passages that make up the vast majority of the book never make you feel like you’ve gained all that much actual insight into their beliefs and practices, which feels like it missed the point of the book in the first place. I do appreciate that we got these texts at all and that this wasn’t just another dry cultural history book (other than the first 60 pages), but if you’re going to throw this intensity and degree of excerpts at us, at least give us some better commentary or at least describe where it’s leading towards (+put the notes inline instead of at the back). It’s still fascinating to read many of these excerpts, to see what is being memorized or what counts as scripture to followers of Tibetan Buddhists - that this is part of the key to enlightenment (though secondary to a mentor). I like what Thurman was attempting here - and I do feel like I got an interesting experience out of it, but I don’t feel anymore prepared for Tibetan Buddhism, but maybe I just need to read one of the many other translated books by Thurman that he promotes. I therefore can’t recommend this book, unless you’re well-prepared in advance, and in case you’d rather pull quotes to add to your tumblr.

O compassion on these suffering conscious beings
Who wander in the life-cycle, darkened with delusions
Not knowing their own minds as the infinite Truth Body -
May all of them attain the Body of Truth
-Padma Sambhava

[Josh Axelrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thurman's 50-page condensed introductory history of Buddhism in Tibet is what I bought this for, in retrospect. That man can write a condensed introductory history of Buddhism in Tibet. The bulk of the remainder is texts (poems, narrative, commentary) from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, which as a note to myself comes off rather religiously, when you look at it.

Noteworthy: Tse Chokling Yongdzin Yeshe Gyaltsen's telling of the story of the Buddha's life and Enlightenment is ornate, gothically beatific, a little nuts, reminiscent thematically of Christian myth. Neat.

[Malcolm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but rather heavy going in places. Sadly No index but contains a wealth of information about this subject.

[Tristan · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Great primal wisdom of unblocked orgasmic bliss,
Inseparable from the unfabricated natural realm,
Spontaneous, beyond theory, thought, and expression,
This supreme spirit of enlightenment -
I offer it to you!”

“Subjectless clarity-voidness-self-awareness!
Primal, spontaneous true face of Samantabhadra!
Nonartificial, innate Great Seal!
Freedom from assertions beyond something and nothing!

I thus honor our Mother the Void!
My unproduced, inexpressible old Mother
Cradles gently the tiny infant of intellect;
With the banquet of her perfectly good expressions,
May she lead all beings to true happiness!”

A really great selection of some essential texts of Tibetan Buddhism. In the introduction, Robert Thurman gives a good overview of the historical contexts of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and culture - it is very interesting, and offers a brief chronology of the development of Tibetan Buddhism. He also gives some brief notes to each chapter at the back of the book, but other than these contributions the book is made up of original Tibetan texts or selections from texts, most of which are hundreds of years old. These texts are extremely readable, with brilliant and beautiful writing throughout - although chapters 2 and 7 were a bit challenging to get through as these religious texts can be very repetitive and tedious, the latter being visualization instructions for tantric practice (which is an extremely intriguing spiritual practice, but the text could have a whole book’s worth of commentary on its purposes and meanings, and without that it just reads like an endless list of names and descriptions of buddhas and various mantras without much context to understand their importance). Regardless, the texts go deep into topics such as loving-kindness and voidness/no-self, and the pages are overflowing with wisdom.

“O compassion on these suffering conscious beings
Who wander in the life-cycle, darkened with delusions,
Not knowing their own minds as the infinite Truth Body -
May all of them attain the Body of Truth!”

“As for this egoistic life-cycle unbearable as a prison,
Ceasing the delusion that it’s a garden of delight,
Bless me to hold high the victory banner of liberation.

This chronic disease of cherishing myself,
Seeing it as the cause creating unwanted suffering,
Resenting it and holding it responsible,
Bless me to conquer this great devil of self-addiction!”

“By giving up all, sorrow is transcended.
It is best that I now give all to all beings
In the same way as I shall at death.”

“Just as a lamp in a vase might be bright
But cannot illuminate, blocked by the vase,
So the essential Truth Body abides within
Yet does not show, blocked by the vase of obscuration.
But it does show when the vase is broken,
Just as the world lamp illumines all the lands,
When all obscurations are removed.”

[Dmitri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't have any authority over Tibetan Buddhism as my own spiritual path is rooted in Yoga and Hinduism. I have been studying other religions and philosophy to gain more tolerance. It's important that there was an emphasis in this books of avoiding mixing religion. Pick one and see it through otherwise you may end up split in half between contradictory philosophies. Still it's important to know a little about everything to encourage the release of judgement of other faiths than your own. The author in addition to encouraging this concept of sticking with one practice also elucidated the general outlook of Tibetan Buddhism, without making the book long and complicated so people can easily access a somewhat obscure spiritual practice. I have been fascinated with Tibetan Buddhism for a long time but have no desire to abandon my own faith. With that said if I was searching for one, Buddhism would be high on the list of choices. It's refreshing because it lacks the stupendous pageantry of some major religions that humans can't possibly relate to. Anyways this book is great for someone new to Tibetan Buddhism but may be too simple for an advanced practitioner. Many thanks and blessings to the author and all who read this book.

[Bill W · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a way, if you’ve read the “Atisha’s Pith Saying” on pages 99-100, you’ve read the book. I think it is enough.

In the same way a Gideon bible in a hotel room is unlikely to speak to an uninitiated person, this compendium of source texts also does not communicate the practical meaning of Vajrayana Buddhism in people’s lives. That understanding is more prerequisite than something to be obtained from reading this book. Even the lengthy introduction is oddly inaccessible, to my mind. It doesn’t explain why one should keep reading.

I’ve enjoyed listening to many of Professor Thurman’s recorded talks over the years. I attended one in person. I would be interested to learn where his enthusiasm for Tibetan Buddhism comes from—how it has impacted his personal life and views. I understand that his book has larger goals but I wish it had started there.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried to use this book for my daily practice but it just didn’t resonate with me. The history of Tibet was very interesting, but the story of the life of the Buddha was traditional Tibetan and the highly religious imagery was intended for that audience. So it didn’t work so well for me though I understand it’s purpose.

[Jake Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very dense book of Tibetan Buddhist knowledge and not recommended at all for a quick, fun read. It’s complicated, poetic, and filled with so much information. I’ll probably spend the rest of my life picking through the tid bits of wisdom. If you have the patience and desire to learn more about Buddhism, I’d say this is a great place to start.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

It only gets 2 stars because it’s a collection of excerpts with no explanation or commentary. You already have to be well versed in Tibetan Buddhist thought. I find it quite dangerous, as a practitioner myself, to put these writings out there for people without offering commentary.

[Fred Dameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have learned a lot about myself by incorporating the Buddhist meditative practices and world view that I learned from this work and translation.

[Luis Eduardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complete manual of introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, written by one of the most outstanding scholars specialized in the field.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this read and the depth it provided me on Tibetan Buddhism.

[Willow Redd · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book took a long time to get through. Several times I had to stop and take a brief hiatus from reading it because the text was a bit dense and required some time to consider before moving on. One reason for this is the author's call to leave his explanations of the selected writings for the Notes section at the very end. While I understand wanting the selected writings to speak for themselves, for someone who is looking to understand Tibetan Buddhism (like the majority of readers who find this book, because it is clearly not for scholars who will immediately know what is going on) it made reading very tedious and a little confusing at times.

Had it been me, I would have organized the book in which the notes would appear either before or after each selected writing, giving a full explanation as to its purpose and origins as the reader was introduced to it. In this way, the reader would have a much richer understanding of each selected writing and the structure the author was going for.

Not sure if this is one I'd really recommend, as I'm sure there are other books that do a much better job of introducing the concepts of Tibetan Buddhism, but overall I did find it enjoyable if structurally lacking.

[Patrick]

A good overview of the fundamental beliefs of the Mahayana traditions emanating from Tibet. Whilst setting out the 'mythology' of Buddhism which is not unlike that of the Christian tradition, not for a moment is there any expectation that the reader will be expected to accept the mythology in a literal sense. Rather these stories are presented in a rich tapestry of symbolism. So far I am enjoying this work immensely.

[Jim Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me forever to read but this book is no lightweight. The notes at the end of the book are invaluable. The content is at times very difficult reading but this book is essential for anyone from the west who wants to be even a semi-serious student of Tibetan Buddhism. When not just presenting translations of classic text, Robert Thurman is extremely accessible, his understanding of Tibetan Buddhism opens the doors to understanding.

[Cy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The introduction and first few chapters were highly informative, they provided the history of Buddhism in Tibet, and the story of the Buddha himself. the second half of the book is primarily prose depicting the various deities, and there's little context provided for it. While beautiful, I didn't get too much out of this part. The notes section in the back does provide some context, but not enough to understand what it's about.

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, but tough going. A lot of the texts are presented without any explanation, which can be difficult for someone not oriented in the Tibetan cosmology to understand (and often Thurman leaves off further explication for the sake of brevity). Still, there is a lot to recommend this, such as the excerpts from Milarepa, Shantideva and the 14th Dalai Lama.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning is great in that it explains the history of how Tibetan Buddhism came about, but the rest of the book is not what I was expecting at all. It's incredibly dense, and definitely not for beginners. Given the title, I thought it would be more of an intro-style book, but it is not. I think it will be well worth coming back to later, when I have more knowledge/understanding.

[Kristen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another fabulous book that I will never truly be "done" with. A lot of history in a short amount of space, my only complaint was that the typeface was so tiny. I loved reading about the history of the traditions I practice, and I strongly recommend this book to any Buddhist to help them understand the difference between Tibetan Buddhism and other traditions.

[Steven Monrad · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not a religion.
Uma's dad is slightly academic.

[Mary Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband and I watched the video version of his lectures about Tibet, and I am re-reading his terrific book again.

http://www.amazon.com/Robert-F-Thurma...

[David Melbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a source book for all things Tibetan Buddhism. . . very useful. --From A Reader's Journal, by d r melbie.

[Kathryn Drennan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, it did grow tiring in a few points. It was a useful reference while traveling in Bhutan.

[foodagtivista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thurman is an authority on Buddhism.