Synopses & Reviews
The dramatic practice of chöd, in which the yogin visualizes giving his or her own sacrificed body to the gods and demons as a way to cut the attachment to self and ordinary reality, offers an intense and direct confrontation with the central issues of the spiritual path. The chöd practices of the Bön tradition, a tradition that claims pre-Buddhist origins in the mysterious western lands of Zhang-zhung Tazig and Olmolungrig, are still almost entirely unknown.
Synopsis
A study of Chod, the method used by Tibetan Buddhists to face and dissolve fears, worries, and attachments, from the point of view of Bon, the most shamanistic of the Tibetan spiritual traditions. Chod is used in Tibet today to treat mental and physical illness and as a path to awareness.
About the Author
Alejandro Chaoul received a PhD focusing on Tibetan Religions from Rice University and has been teaching Tibetan meditation and mind-body techniques under the auspices of the Ligmincha Institute in various parts of the United States, Mexico, and Poland since 1995. He is now an Assistant Professor at the McGovern Center for Humanity and Ethics at the University of Texas, Houston, with an adjunct position at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he researches the use of Tibetan mind-body techniques for cancer patients.