Seeing the Sacred in Samsara: An Illustrated Guide to the Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas

Description

Rare paintings set aside life stories of each of the eighty-four wild Buddhist saints of ancient India. This fresh and beautiful presentation of the lives of the eighty-four mahasiddhas, or "great accomplished ones," offers a unique glimpse into the world of the famous tantric Buddhist yogis of India. This book includes elegant four-color paintings of each of the mahasiddhas by a master painter from Tibet. The set of paintings is published here for the first time in its entirety and includes translated descriptions of the paintings along with the life stories of the mahasiddas based on traditional Tibetan Buddhist sources. Donald Lopez provides yet another magnificent contribution to our better understanding of Buddhist history and traditions. The lives of these tantric saints have captured the imaginations of Buddhists throughout the world for almost a millennia. The common theme among their stories is one of pursuing a spiritual path through uncommon and even subversive means. While some pursue their path of spiritual realization while maintaining their simple occupations as farmers or peasants, others leave behind their lives as householders, scholars, or even royalty, trading in worldly comfort for seclusion, danger, and transgression. These "saints" also include among them pimps, alcoholics, gamblers, and hunters. Many of these bad-boy yogis were known for fornicating in charnel grounds, wearing bone ornaments, and even eating human flesh. Every act, from crushing sesame seeds to meditating in high mountain retreats to drinking alcohol and fornicating, was performed in order to realize the Buddhist teachings of nonduality, compassion, and wisdom. In this context, there is no true difference between samsara and nirvana, thus what is profane is also sacred, the ultimate view of tantric Buddhism.

DONALD S. LOPEZ JR. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies and Chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan. He specializes in late Indian Mahayana Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism and is the author of numerous books, including A Study of Svatantrika, The Madman's Middle Way, and Prisoners of Shangri-La.

"Seeing the Sacred in Samsara is a gem that should adorn the library of every Tibetan Buddhist or that of anyone who has more than a passing interest in Tibetan Buddhism. This book brings to life the stories of the Indian mahasiddhas, hugely important figures in the imagination of the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition."-Thupten Jinpa, Principal English Translator to His Holiness the Dalai Lama "Commissioned from an artist in eastern Tibet by a senior member of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama's government but never displayed or published before, these remarkable paintings offer fresh insight into the workings of a master painter and the conversion of religious concepts into images. Written with his characteristic clarity and elegance, Professor Lopez has produced a book that will be a delight for admirers of Tibetan painting and a wonderful resource for students of Tibetan Buddhism."-Clare Harris, Professor of Visual Anthropology, University of Oxford "This book makes available for the first time a beautiful set of paintings of the Indian siddhas from early twentieth century Tibet. Lopez's introduction provides the reader with a marvelous overview of the siddhas, their social context, the tantric tradition to which they belonged, their doctrines, and their depiction in Tibetan art history. A feast for both the eye and the mind, Seeing the Sacred in Samsara is a superb primer on one of the most important and fascinating saintly confederations in all of Buddhist history."-Jose Cabezon, Dalai Lama Professor of Tibetan Buddhism and Cultural Studies, University of California Santa Barbara "Seeing the Sacred in Samsara is a wonder, a one-of-a-kind collection... It will serve as a timeless inspiration for all wisdom seekers for generations to come."-New York Journal of Books