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
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from Tuttle Publishing.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA WILL BE FOUND
AT THE END OF THIS BOOK.
Distributed by
USA
Tuttle Publishing
Distribution Center
Airport Industrial Park
364 Innovation Drive
North Clarendon, VT 05759-9436
Tel: (802) 773-8930
Tel: (800) 526-2778
Email: [email protected] Web site: www.tuttlepublishing.com
JAPAN
Tuttle Publishing
Yaekari Building 3rd Floor, 5-4-12
Osaki Shinagawa-ku,
Tokyo 141-0032
Tel 81 (03) 5437 017
Fax 81 (03) 5437 0755
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Berkeley Books Pte. Ltd.
61 Tai Seng Avenue, #02-12
Singapore 534167
Tel: (65) 280-1330
Fax: (65) 280-6290
First edition
06 05 04 03 02 01 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
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
