A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism

by John Powers

Lucid and economical, this introductory text delivers a brisk, fast-moving survey of Tibetan Buddhism. For many years Powers's nearly 600-page Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism has served as the field's most authoritative and comprehensive overview of Tibet's distinctive Buddhist tradition. A Concise Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism explains the core Buddhist doctrines and the practices of meditation and tantra and provides a survey of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Genres: Buddhism, Religion, Spirituality, Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2008

Reviews

[Todd Mayville · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this overview of Tibetan Buddhism. My full review of it is here: http://www.elephantjournal.com/2009/0...

[Riobhcah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite a good basic introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. He defines in some detail many terms with which one should be familiar in order to understand Tibetan Buddhist teachings.

[Magnus Lidbom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book on Tibetan Buddhism that I've read that is written from an academic point of view rather than from the point of view of a practitioner. Anyone that is starting or considering starting to practice Tibetan Buddhism would be wise to read this book or a similar book ASAP. The books targeted at westerners tend to (skillfully?) "forget" to mention beliefs and practices that westerners are apt to find questionable. Beliefs and practices that, unlike teachings targeted at westerners, are both extremely supernatural in nature as well as shock full of deities and/or likely to be considered ethically questionable at best.
(Obviously Tibetan Buddhists feel that there are good explanations for all of these practices and beliefs. I am profoundly skeptical to say the least. )

* Expect plenty of surprises such as those below or worse along the path since the real stuff is strictly secret on pain of suffering in hell:

"Aspirants who are judged to be suitable receptacles for tantric initiations are sworn to secrecy. Initiates are required to take a series of vows (dam tshig, samaya), one of which is not to reveal tantric teachings openly. The promised retributions for breaking the vows include painful suffering in “vajra hells” reserved for those who transgress their tantric promises."

* Do not expect significant progress without Tantra:

"highest yoga tantra texts maintain that practitioners can complete the path in one human lifetime instead of the three countless eons required for bodhisattvas of the Perfection Vehicle."

"Many tantrists even claim that it is only possible to become a buddha through practice of highest yoga tantra. The Dalai Lama, for instance, asserts that “one must finally engage in Mantra [another name for tantric practice] in order to become a Buddha.”"

"this claim runs counter to the popular biographies of Śākyamuni, which make no mention of tantra. This discrepancy is explained away by stating that although Śākyamuni appeared to take rebirth in India and attain awakening, in reality he had become awakened in the distant past. His birth, life in the palace, pursuit of awakening, etc. were really only a display put on for the benefit of people of limited intellect. Like all buddhas, he attained buddhahood through the special practices of highest yoga tantra."

* Be prepared to blindly believe and obey your Lama/Guru. Any perceived fault of his is really yours:

"Successful Vajrayāna practice requires the ability to see the guru as a buddha and to understand that any apparent faults the guru might have are only reflections of one’s own inadequacies. The guru is a reflection of one’s own mind, and a meditator who perceives the guru as having faults develops corresponding flaws."

"Guru yoga purifies one’s awareness through practices that involve visualizing the teacher as an embodiment of the pure, exalted wisdom of buddhahood."

"most importantly, an intense and unwavering faith in the lama."

"One must also cultivate pure devotion to the lama; this is said to be essential to successful meditation."

"Initiation is crucial for all tantric practice, since it forges the necessary connections to tantric deities."

(Surely the continuous torrent of scandals involving Buddhists leader's abuse of power and sexual abuse has nothing to do with this. Right?)

* Gods are real and Buddha is more powerful than they are:

"According to Tibetan Buddhism, from this point he was fully omniscient and possessed supernatural powers well beyond those of gods."

* Be prepared for seemingly infinite repetition of many degrading practices such as prostrations:

"It requires a complete physical abasement of the individual before symbols of deities—who are viewed as completely surpassing the meditator in good qualifies—and so it is a counteragent to false pride."

"When used as a preparatory practice for tantra, it is customary to perform one hundred thousand prostrations, but Tibetans commonly do many more."

* Forget using your own wisdom or learning on your own. Real progress is only possible through the magic transmission from your guru and the texts are intentionally unclear or misleading:

"Vajrayāna is not transmitted primarily through texts and scriptures, but from mind to mind, from teacher to student."

"oral transmission is essential for newly initiated students to enter into the system at all, since many tantric texts are deliberately cryptic. Tantric teachings are secret, and the texts assume that their words will be explained by a qualified master who has studied and internalized Vajrayāna lore from his or her own teachers and whose meditation has led to advanced states of spiritual development."

* How would you like to imagine being trod upon by your guru 100 000 times?
"He is seated in the half-lotus posture, and the toe of his right foot rests on the head of the meditator. He has one face and two arms. This mental image is often connected with guru yoga, and the meditator is instructed to imagine that Vajrasattva is his or her guru manifesting in a pure form."

* The primary practices for achieving enlightenment is not cultivation of virtues, compassion etc but rather by various versions of visualizing mythical Buddhas and then trying to turn yourself into that Buddha through means of magical winds:

"In highest yoga tantra one develops a profound awareness of one’s body as being composed of subtle energies called winds (rlung, prāna) and drops (thig le, bindu) which move through a network of seventy-two thousand channels (rtsa, nāḍī). One then generates oneself as a fully awakened buddha composed entirely of these subtle energies and possessing a buddha’s wisdom consciousness."

* You likely must perform sex yoga to become enlightened and the Buddha actually did:

"In the Compendium of the Truth of All Tathāgatas, it is related that as Siddhārtha Gautama sat under the Tree of Awakening he was roused from his meditation by the buddhas of the ten directions, who informed him that it is impossible to attain buddhahood without engaging in the sexual yogas of highest yoga tantra. Realizing that this was the case, he left his physical body under the tree and traveled to a transcendent tantric realm, where he received consecrations and engaged in sexual yogas with a consort named Tilottama. He then returned to Bodh Gaya and resumed his display"

"while some orders contend that the practice of sexual yogas with a physical consort is not necessary for the attainment of buddhahood and that one may do so through visualizations alone, Gélukpa masters from the time of Tsong Khapa have contended that the subtle physiology of the winds, drops, and channels can only be transmuted into that of an awakened being through yogas involving an actual consort."

* The origins of the holy scriptures is doubtful to say the least and were supposedly preserved through supernatural means in other worlds:

"Distinctively Mahāyāna works apparently began to appear during the first or second centuries C.E., several hundred years after the death of Śākyamuni. Some of these were referred to as “sūtras,” implying that they had been spoken by the Buddha, even though he had been dead for centuries"

"early Mahāyānists, who explained that Sakyamuni gave these teachings to a select few followers during his lifetime but that most of his disciples (referred to as “hearers”) were unprepared for these advanced doctrines, and so the texts were hidden in the realm of nȃgas (beings with serpentlike bodies and human heads who live under the water) until people appeared in the world who were able to understand and explain them"

"Most tantras claim to have been spoken by Sākyamuni Buddha, or sometimes by other buddhas. This assertion is accepted by most Tibetan Buddhists but is generally rejected by contemporary historically oriented scholars, because no reliable evidence supports the appearance of tantras for at least a millennium after the death of Sākyamuni."

"There are no records from the Buddha’s time that suggest he gave teachings resembling developed Vajrayana. The tantras only began to appear in India toward the end of the seventh century—over a millennium after the Buddha’s passing—and new ones continued to be composed until the twelfth century, and possibly later."

* Buddha is no longer human and did not die:

"he becomes a cosmic figure whose understanding surpasses that of all humans and gods, and his power allows him to transcend the ordinary laws of time and space. No longer a mortal human teacher, he generates bodies that pervade all of space, is omniscient (an attribute that Buddha denies in the Pali canon), and, perhaps most strikingly, he declares that he never truly dies or enters a final nirvana. Rather, he only appeared to pass away for the benefit of his hearer disciples, who needed this graphic lesson in impermanence so that they would make greater effort in religious practice. Although they believed that Sakyamuni died and entered a final nirvana, he continues to live in a “pure land,” where advanced practitioners still visit him and receive his teachings."

Keep in mind that these quotes are only a small selection of examples from a short introductory book. This, to my mind, is most definitely not the rational logical Buddhism that continuously strives to abolish delusions that I thought it was. This is a huge non-stop torrent of delusions to my mind. Count me out.

[Ej · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an abridged version of Power's more expansive Intro to Tibetan Buddhism.
Quick read, but spartan and dry. Had I known this was an abridgment, I would have purchased the full edition.

Biggest takeaway from this book is that generally speaking, the Western concept of Tibetan Buddhism is grossly oversimplified. The "Concise Intro" gives what feels like the outline of the tip of an iceberg - a walkthrough of the history of Buddhism's arrival in Tibet, the key tenants and practices, an overview of four main orders. It's was like reading the start of the start, so I suppose I'll have to find some more books on the subject (thankfully, there's a dense bibliography).

[Phil Calandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a summary of the religious beliefs of Tibetan Buddhism but does not address the actual practice. This book is clearly for the advanced student.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative and dense.

[Mat J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, a concise introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, I guess. Solid point of departure. Simple language.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being an on again, off again novice at the practice of Tibetan Buddhism, John Powers does a superb job of covering an immense amount of territory in this relatively short work. Many complicated subjects are broken down, explaining where they evolved from, differing sects and beliefs, into simple terms that any lay person can understand. After reading this, I met with new resolved to get better involved with the Tibetan Buddhist community in my area

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to Tibetan Buddhism! Powers covered many topics about the Buddha, the teachings of the Buddha, and the different schools within Tibetan Buddhism. I wish he talked more about Buddhist monks and nuns and their relationship with the lay people, and rituals, but I bet he talks about that in the other edition of the book. I recommend this book if you want to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism.

[BoBandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's beyond me how an introduction to Tibetan Buddhism would not explain what a dalai lama is and how one is selected. The early summaries of Mahayana Buddhism are good, but they are available in a thousand other books. When the author gets to Vajrayana, over halfway into the book, he skims through the information at a fast pace, mentioning concepts without introducing and explaining them first. A failed introduction.

[A.B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just as the title says. It is not so well written in that it has a goal and a wrap up at the end, but the author got the main ideas across from a scholarly perspective. Though it seemed he also carried biases.

[Bubba · Rating 2 out of 5]

The more I study Buddhism the less I understand it. This was written more from a doctrinal point of view. I would've appreciated more discussion of ritual.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short introduction to many concepts and teachings within this complicated subject. Really good primer for those curious about what Tibetan Buddhism and its workings.

[Liriel Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book and got a lot of info out of it.

[Jessica Zu · Rating 4 out of 5]

good for undergrad's reading

[WH · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unbelievable amount of information in a very dense volume. I had a hard time distinguishing what information was really important. I also had a hard time finishing this book, even though it was relatively short. Not a fun read at all.