Magic and Mystery in Tibet

By: Alexandra David-Neel

Narrated by: Clay Lomakayu

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

For centuries Tibet has been known as the last home of mystery, the hidden, sealed land, where ancient mysteries still survive that have perished in the rest of the Orient. Many men have written about Tibet and its secret lore, but few have actually penetrated it to learn its ancient wisdom. Among those few was Madame Alexandra David-Neel, a French orientalist. A practicing Buddhist, a profound historian of religion, and linguist, she actually lived in Tibet for more than 14 years. She had the great honor of being received by the Dalai Lama; she studied philosophical Buddhism and Tibetan Tantra at the great centers; she meditated in lonely caves and on wind-swept winter mountains with yogi hermits; and she even witnessed forbidden corpse-magic in the forests. Her experiences have been unique.

Magic and Mystery in Tibet tells the story of her experiences in Tibet, among lamas and magicians. It is neither a travel book nor an autobiography but a study of psychic discovery, a description of the occult and mystical theories and psychic training practices of Tibet. She tells of great sages and sorcerers that she met; of the system of monastic education; the great teachers and their disciples; Tibetan folklore about their spiritual athletes; reincarnation and memory from previous lives; elaborate magical rites to obtain siddhis; the horrible necromantic magic of the pre-Buddhist Bonpa shamas; mental visualization exercises to create disembodied thought forms (tulpas); visions; phenomena of physical yoga, control of the body heat mechanism; breathing exercises; sending “messages on the wind”; and much similar material.

An unusual aspect of Madame David-Neel’s book is that she herself experienced many of the phenomena she describes, yet she describes them with precision and in a matter-of-fact manner, permitting the listener to draw his own conclusions about validity, interpretation in terms of psychology, and value. Particularly interesting for the modern experiencer are her detailed instructions for tumo (the yoga of heat control) and creation of thought projections.

©2012 Apollo Press (P)2019 Apollo Press, LLC

Ever dreampt you could visit Tibet?

This is an extraordinary account by one of the first westerners to travel to Tibet and respectfully explore the spirituality as well as the daily life of the Tibetians. It is so well written that it verges on a fairytale. I found it spellbinding.

Narrator terribly unsuited to the task

Any female narrator would be far more appealing; this man has a unpleasantly theatrical delivery and makes the text sound overwrought. It's hard to appreciate David-Neel's narrative, which is maddening.

Couldn’t stick with it

I’m not sure why a male narrator read this book written by a woman, but it was a poor choice. It didn’t help that he sounded like a Mafia hit man. It was like listening to Robert DeNiro read Lao Tze friggin Tu. If you want to get swept away into the fabled Tibetan plateau, I recommend “The Way of the White Clouds”.