Description
Lama Anagarika Govinda, a member of the Kargyutpa Order, has spent over twenty years of his life at the feet of masters in Tibetan hermitages and monasteries, and his direct experience has given him a clear insight into much that has so far remained totally obscure to the outside world.
A brief summary cannot properly convey the magnitude of Lama Govinda’s subject-matter. All the technical terms of the Buddhist Tantra are elucidated. The esoteric principles of mantra are explained, with descriptions of the terrible deities evoked by certain practices. The differences between Hindu and Tibetan yoga are clarified. Further chapters are devoted to the system of germ syllables, the psychic centres, the wheel of life, the Buddha’s three bodies, and many other equally profound concepts.
The book also contains a selection of beautiful photographs—taken by Li Gotami—depicting eleventh-century statues in Western Tibet, together with many superb drawings and diagrams prepared by the author himself and clarifying still further the more complex aspects of Tibetan teaching.
The fact that Lama Govinda, who first wrote his book in the German language, has personally undertaken this translation into English—adding much fresh material in the process—is a further testimony to his scholarship, and an assurance that the true breadth and scope of this classic work remains unimpaired.
Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism, Lama Anagarika Govinda, Rider & Company, 1959
First edition. Hardback. Octavo. Bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering. Previous owners name inscribed on the fly-leaf. Text block is spotted. Dust jacket has a small tear at the front and is worn at the edges. Pages unmarked. Good condition.
