UNBOUNDED WHOLENESS: Bon, Dzogchen, and the Logic of the Nonconceptual, by Anne C. Klein and Tenzin Wangyal

UNBOUNDED WHOLENESS: Bon, Dzogchen, and the Logic of the Nonconceptual

by Anne C. Klein and Tenzin Wangyal

In this book, Anne Carolyn Klein, an American scholar and teacher of Buddhism, and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, a rigorously trained Tibetan Lama who was among the first to bring Bon Dzogchen teaching to the West, provide a study and translation of the Authenticity of Open Awareness, a foundational text of the Bon Dzogchen tradition. This is the first time a Bon philosophical text of this scope has been translated into any Western language, and it is thus a significant addition to the study of Tibetan religion and Eastern thought. The authors provide extensive introductory, explanatory, and historical material that situates the text in the context of Tibetan thought and culture, making it accessible to nonspecialists. This is an essential reference for scholars and practitioners alike.

"I have always been interested in how different systems understand the way that the intellect interweaves with other kinds of knowing, especially contemplative knowing, in the process of meditation. I feel this is one way to get a richer picture of the way contemplative practice can serve to integrate all our human capacity for different kinds of knowing. This book is interested in the limits of the intellect while at the same time engaging it vigorously in the course of its own debates."--Anne Klein

"This volume is a major contribution to our understanding of the Tibetan philosophical and religious tradition. The study opens difficult literature to the Western reader, and the translation is lucid and accessible. This is a fine example of the fruits of close collaboration between an eminent Tibetan scholar and an eminent Western Tibetologist."--Jay L. Garfield, co-translator of Ocean of Reasoning: A Great Commentary on Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika

"Unbounded Wholeness offers an original and compelling study of the Dzogchen contemplative traditions of Bon, the indigenous Tibetan religion. In this well-researched and beautifully written book, Anne Carolyn Klein and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche chart new terrain, revealing in Bon a dynamic way of spiritual self-cultivation and thought. This is an outstanding contribution to our knowledge of Asian religions and philosophies."--Matthew Kapstein, author of The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism, Conversion, Contestation and Memory

Anne Carolyn Klein is Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University and founding co-director of Dawn Mountain, a Tibetan Temple, community center, and research institute. She is the author of several books, including Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists and the Art of the Self.

Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche is President of the Ligmincha Institute, which he founded in 1992 to preserve Tibetan Bon culture and teachings. His most recent book is Healing with Form, Energy and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen.