Religions of Tibet in practice / Donald S. Lopez, Jr., editor.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Gesar of Ling -- The Royal Way of Supreme Compassion -- A Tribal History -- Bon Rescues Dharma -- The Guide to the Crystal Peak -- Guidebook to Lapchi -- The Life of Tilopa -- Atisa's Journey to Tibet -- The Journey to the Golden Mountain -- A Quest for "The Path and Result" -- The Yogin Lorepa's Retreat at Lake Namtso -- Memories of a Past Life -- A Rite of Empowerment -- The Horseback Consecration Ritual -- An Offering of Torma -- An Avalokitesvara Sadhana -- A Fasting Ritual -- Food, Clothes, Dreams, and Karmic Propensities -- The Elements, Insanity, and Lettered Subjectivity -- The Regulations of a Monastery -- The Sermon of an Itinerant Saint -- From the Autobiography of a Visionary -- A Prayer to the Lama -- A Prayer to the God of the Plain -- Invocations to Two Bon Deities -- A Smoke Purification Song -- Daily Prayers -- Mindfulness of Death -- A Prayer for Deliverance from Rebirth -- Dying, Death, and Other Opportunities -- Cards for the Dead -- Returning from Hell -- Exorcising Demons with a Buddhist Sutra -- Turning Back Gossip -- Hail Protection -- A Prayer Flag for Tara.

Religions of Tibet in Practice is a landmark work, the first major anthology on the topic ever produced. It presents a stunning array of works (hagiographies, pilgrimage guides, prayers, accounts of visits to hell, epics, consecration manuals, sermons, and exorcism texts) that together offer an unparalleled view of the realities of those who have inhabited the Tibetan cultural domain over the centuries. The volume provides a wealth of voices that together lead to a new and more nuanced understanding of the religions of Tibet. The thirty-six chapters are testimony to the vast scope of religious practice in the Tibetan world, past and present, offering works heretofore unknown. The chapters are organized thematically under five headings: Accounts of Time and Place, Remarkable Lives, Rites and Techniques, Prayers and Sermons, and Dealing with Death and Other Demons. They juxtapose materials from different sects, historical periods, and geographical regions in an attempt to broaden the range of what we understand the religious practices of Tibet to encompass. Each chapter contains a translation and a substantial yet accessible introduction by a leading scholar of Tibetan religions. Religions of Tibet in Practice represents the largest sourcebook on Tibetan religions ever assembled, a work of great value to scholars, students, and general readers.--Publisher description.