The Mythic Dimension

The Mandala of the Five Buddhas

Vessantara

Beneath our everyday rational thoughts lies the mysterious world of our unconscious mind. In this strange land live figures and symbols that represent our highest ideals or our persistent demons: our hopes and fears given shape. To transform our mind and emotions we need to explore and communicate with this fascinating aspect of ourselves.

The Mandala of the Five Buddhas is a map to our unconscious world and a blueprint of what we could become. The five Buddhas are aspects of Enlightenment, a state of boundless compassion, energy and wisdom that we can choose to develop. Accompanied by Vessantara, we can take a vivid journey into the heart of the mandala to meet these five majestic figures and begin to awaken in ourselves the qualities that they embody.

ISBN 1 899579 16 8

Female Deities in Buddhism
A Concise Guide

Vessantara

Queens and old crones, Buddhas and goddesses, mothers and wild women. Female Deities in Buddhism take many forms to inspire, beguile, rouse and protect us. Enter the magical realm of gently compassionate Kuan Yin from China, meet the elusive golden goddess from India representing Perfect Wisdom, and tangle with the energetic embodiments of freedom, the fearless sky-dancing dakinis of Tibet.

Respected Western Buddhist teacher Vessantara invites us to learn more about ourselves as women and men by reflecting on these figures, for within us lie the seeds of love, wisdom and freedom that these figures symbolise in their fullness, qualities we can nurture through contemplating the beauty of these enlightened beings.

Engage not just with your head but with your heart. Follow your intuition ... enrich your life.

ISBN 1 899579 53 2

Meeting the Buddhas
A Guide to Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Tantric Deities

Vessantara

A mysterious, serene smile lights the face of the Buddha. Wild-haired women dance in the flames of freedom. Buddhism speaks not only to the rational mind, but to the emotions and the imagination through myths, symbols, colour and sound.

This best-selling book invites us on a vivid and inspiring journey to the magical heart of Buddhist visualisation and devotional practices. With Vessantara as our experienced guide we are introduced to the main Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Tantric deities we may be fortunate to meet in that miraculous realm.

ISBN 0 904766 53 5

The Creative Symbols of Tantric Buddhism

Sangharakshita

Tantric Buddhism is concerned with the direct experience of who we are and what we can become. Its sole aim is to help us realize our potential for profound wisdom and unbounded compassion by transforming the energy locked in by old habits, fears, and narrow views. For the Tantra this experience cannot be mediated by concepts; it is beyond words and thought, beyond the everyday mind and personality. But it can be evoked with the help of symbols.

Without the help of a reliable guide one could easily get lost or overwhelmed in this unfamiliar world of symbols. Sangharakshita is such a guide, having received initiations and teachings in India from some of the most important Tibetan teachers of the twentieth century.

ISBN 1 899579 47 8

Teachers of Enlightenment
The Refuge Tree of the Western Buddhist Order

Kulananda

The Refuge Tree is a symbol of the highest ideals of Buddhism, a traditional image in the Tibetan tradition that takes different forms in different schools. On the refuge tree are formal teachers and sages from Buddhism’s history. Modern Buddhists might be regarded as heirs to the whole of the Buddhist tradition and the Refuge Tree of the Western Buddhist Order founded by Sangharakshita includes figures from India, Tibet, China and Japan as well as archetypal Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and the teachers whose guidance helped to shape Sangharakshita’s understanding of Buddhism. Here a leading member of the Western Buddhist Order introduces each figure on this form of the Refuge Tree and explores their significance for Buddhists in the modern world.

ISBN 1 899579 25 7

Tibetan Buddhism
An Introduction

Sangharakshita

‘Karma’, ‘Nirvana’, ‘Dalai Lama’... Tibetan Buddhism is becoming increasingly common and fashionable in Western media — but this familiarity can cause its teachings and message to be misunderstood. If we are to truly learn from the rich and noble Tibetan tradition we must look beyond adverts and lifestyle magazines, exotic artifacts and spiritual sound-bites. Sangharakshita is ideally suited as our guide through the vast realm of Tibetan Buddhism, having spent many years in contact with Tibetan lamas of all schools, from whom he received several initiations. This down-to-earth account of the origin and history of Buddhism in Tibet explains the essentials of the tradition and can act as the starting point for our own noble journey.

ISBN 0 904766 86 1

Puja
The FWBO Book of Buddhist Devotional Texts

Dhammadinna & Suvajra (Editors)

Here in one beautiful, illustrated hardback edition are collected the devotional rituals and verses used by the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. The six-page introduction clearly explains the purpose of rituals in Buddhism, in particular the sevenfold puja. This poetic sequence of devotional moods found in Tibetan and Indian forms of Buddhism is used to encourage the arising of the Bodhicitta within us: the desire to seek Enlightenment for the sake of all living beings. Other rituals and verses include the shorter threefold puja, focused upon the Buddha, a dedication ceremony, mantras and traditional verses in Sanskrit and Pali with English translations. Although usually enacted communally, all the verses and rituals contained in this book can be performed alone.

ISBN 0 904766 96 9

Ritual and Devotion

Sangharakshita

Imagine a world without beauty, myth, celebration or ritual. It seems that to feel fully and vibrantly alive, these experiences are essential to us — helping us to feel in touch with all levels of our being by engaging our emotions, senses and imagination.

Devotional ritual also speaks this language of the heart and can bring us closer to our highest ideals, but it can be a confronting aspect of Buddhism for some people in the West. However, for the Buddha’s teachings to have a real impact on our lives we need to have a deep feeling for the Buddha’s teaching, a clear understanding is not usually enough.

Skilfully steering us through the difficulties we may encounter, Sangharakshita leads us through the sevenfold puja, a poetic sequence of devotional moods found in Tibetan and Indian forms of Buddhism. Within this he discusses the use of chanting, offerings, recitation and other activities in creating ritual space and moods. Engaging in this way can help us commit ourselves to the spiritual journey with all our heart.

ISBN 1 899579 33 8