SIMPLE
TIBETAN BUDDHISM
A Guide to Tantric Living
SIMPLE
TIBETAN BUDDHISM
A Guide to Tantric Living
C. Alexander Simpkins Ph.D. • Annellen Simpkins Ph.D.
Tuttle Publishing
Boston • Rutland, Vermont • Tokyo
First published in 2001 by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd, with editorial offices at 364 Innovation Drive, North Clarendon, VT 05759 U.S.A.
Copyright © 2001 C. Alexander Simpkins and Annellen Simpkins
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We dedicate this book to our parents, Carmen and Nathaniel Simpkins and Naomi and Herbert Minkin, and to our children, Alura L. Simpkins Aguilera and C. Alexander Simpkins Jr., and to all the true bodhisattvas whose compassionate actions have helped improve our world.
Carmen Z. Simpkins’s abstract expressionist paintings suggest mood, movement, and mysticism. Simpkins has been painting for seventy-five years. Her first solo show took place in Camden, Maine, in 1962 at the Broadlawn Gallery. She has exhibited throughout the world, and her works are in private collections in Europe and America. She continues to display her work at her galleries in Sebastian, Florida, and Clinton, South Carolina.
CONTENTS
PART I: TIBETAN BUDDHISM IN TIME
1: The Three Wheels of Buddhism: Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana
2: Buddhism Turns Toward Tibet
3: Spokes of the Wheel: The Four Tibetan Sects
PART II: TIBETAN BUDDHIST THEMES
5: Using Yoga and Tantra to Attain Enlightenment
6: Mantra: The Sound of Enlightenment
7: Mandala: Higher Consciousness by Visualization
8: Dakini: Wisdom from our Feminine Side
9: Birth, Death, and In-between
10: Enlightenment Brings Wisdom and Compassion
PART III: LIVING TIBETAN BUDDHISM
11: Meditating the Tantric Way
13: Martial Arts: Enlightened Patterns
16: Transformation Through the Great Symbol
INTRODUCTION
The Dalai Lama has been very much in the public eye in recent years, both as the winner of a Nobel Peace Prize and as a spokesman for freedom and compassion. Still, many people do not know about the long and colorful tradition he leads, Tibetan Buddhism.
Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism that, through a method of inner transformation, offers an active way of enhancing life. It is transformation that is accomplished through various methods and techniques that engage the mind, the senses, and one’s behavior. With these practices, a person learns to experience a vibrant life filled with color and beauty.
Modern culture has pushed to secularize life, to separate the spiritual from the material. But Tibetan Buddhism believes there is nothing that can’t be sanctified, nothing that can’t be a symbol of the spiritual,—that can’t awaken in us our deeper, spiritual natures. Everything we do, even the simplest daily routines, can be meaningful. And then, when life is over, we can learn how to face death with a clear, calm mind, even look upon death as an opportunity to transform consciousness.