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Post by Gregory Peters on Dec 25, 2015 23:02:03 GMT
"Whatever is sacred, Whatever is to remain sacred, Must be clothed in mystery" Stephane Mallarme, Art for All (1862) Quoted in The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple
"The world we see is a painting Born from the brush of discursive thought, And within or upon it nothing truly existend can be found. All things in Samsara and Nirvana are but mental labels and projections. Knowing this one knows reality; seeing this one sees what is true" - The Second Dalai Lama For those wanting to get a clearer view of just how Tibetan Buddhism fits in to the Typhonian Tradition, I highly recommend The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple. This is an exploration of the tantrik paintings used to instruct the Dalai Lama and his close retinue on the practices of Ati yoga, the highest tantrik practices, including the practice of Dzogchen or the Great Perfection. These murals were painted on the walls of Lukhang, a small meditation chamber near the Potala Palace in Tibet With over 150 illustrations and photographs, the book goes into lovely visual detail of these important teachings. The supporting text does a good job of giving a summary view of Tantra and Dzogchen in context. Reading through it I was reminded of countless passages throughout the Typhonian Trilogies. The only negative comment I have for the book is that it is very poorly produced, and the binding is starting to fall apart after merely spending a few hours reading through it and taking copious notes. Otherwise, the book is a gem and a great addition for both people very new to the ideas of Tantra and Dzogchen, or non-duality via Advaida - as well, its a great volume for people already well versed in the subject matter. There happens to be an exhibition of the work currently going on in London: wellcomecollection.org/secrettemple
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Post by Gregory Peters on Mar 1, 2016 16:39:38 GMT
Had an opportunity to visit the collection while I was in London, and was not disappointed. On a somewhat related note, this is a wonderful short documentary on the Bardo Thodal or "Tibetan Book of the Dead", narrated by Leonard Cohen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOs8s5zTGnA
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