Reviews

Bon Master Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's Tibetan Yogas of Body, Speech, and Mind (230 pp., many photos and illustrations) shows readers a variety of teachings and practices related to these "three doors to enlightenment." Among highlights are: Dzogchen practices to achieve "the body of light," mantras that provide healing through sounds, and energy practices to enhance clarity of mind. some of the most compelling reading is provided by his discussion of sound. A chapter on speech includes teachings that range from the readily accessible ("When speech becomes more integrated with awareness, everything you say becomes a form of spiritual practice") to the esoteric ("you can also try to cultivate awareness of the subtle vibration underlying your speech and of how your speech manifests from there. Is your voice creating the right energy field?") while Tenzin Wangyal encourages the reader to be skillful when deciding which practices we should use--"choosing the right door"--he is also careful to remind us that body, speech, and mind are closely related. Unfortunately, the way we often sense their connection is through pain. "Whether physically, energetically, or psychologically, we experience ourselves mainly through our pain," Rinpoche writes. "And because it is so familiar, it becomes an important door through which we discover our bigger self--and through this discovery, release our pain." --Sam Mowe, Tricylce, "The Buddhist Review," Spring