Feminist theory and psychoanalysis combine in this unusual study of Tibetan Buddhism by a Scottish woman with a unique experience of the tradition. Since Campbell became a Buddhist in 1967, she has lived in a Himalayan nunnery, studied at Tibetan monasteries in India, and traveled throughout Europe and North America as an interpreter to the late Kalu Rimpoche, who had spent 14 years in solitary retreat and was at that time one of the most senior Tibetan lamas in exile. Campbell tells us that for several years she was the tantric consort of Kalu, despite the fact that he was a high-ranking abbot with vows of celibacy. She believes that the Tibetan use of sexuality as part of the mystical path is flawed, because the insistence on secrecy denies the integrity of the woman as an individual capable of relationships in which mutuality is the key factor. Drawing on Robert Paul's Freudian analysis of Tibetan Buddhism, she targets the 13th-century creation of the Tulku, whereby lamas are believed to reincarnate themselves generation by generation, as a way of sidestepping the mother, and the feminine, with the implied identification of the sacred with the masculine. She argues that women stand for the mysterious ``other'' from a male perspective and, as such, serve merely as objects through which men have access to wholeness. Campbell gives us a succinct account of Buddhism and its Tibetan ``heterodox'' form. Campbell believes that a basis for a more authentic role for women can be found in the cult of the dakini, female spirits, and she pleads for diversity as well as oneness in the spiritual quest. In spite of occasional obscurity, essential reading for anyone concerned with a creative encounter between Tibetan Buddhism and the West.
Pub Date: April 16, 1996
ISBN: 0-8076-1406-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Braziller
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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