CHOD PRACTICE IN THE BON TRADITION , by Alejandro Chaoul, foreword by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

CHOD PRACTICE IN THE BON TRADITION

by Alejandro Chaoul, foreword by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

This book is the first to trace the history of Chöd practice in Tibet's indigenous Bön tradition. Chod ("cutting through") is a meditative practice in which the practitioner imagines offering his or her body in sacrifice through elaborate contemplative visualization. Although a meditative practice, Chod is not done sitting comfortably on a cushion in a shrine room, but instead is often practiced in terrifying places like cemeteries or charnal grounds. The feelings of fear that result are used by the Chod practitioner to "cut through" his or her own ego. Chod contains elements of early shamanism, of sutric and tantric teachings also found in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, and of the Tibetan highest school of Dzogchen.

"In the last few years the interest in chod has suddenly re-emerged, and a few books have been written about it from the Buddhist perspective. Chaoul's work on chod from the Bon's perspective could not be more timely. His thorough analysis of this syncretic and fascinating religious practice and the use of the metaphor of cutting as a way to go beyond assumed boundaries, provides a broader picture of chod and sheds light on the interrelation of Buddhism and Bön."—Giacomella Orofino, University of Naples

Alejandro Chaoul obtained his Ph.D. at Rice University and has also completed the seven-year program at the Ligmincha Institute for the study of the Bon-Buddhist tradition of Tibet. He is Assistant Professor at the John McGovern Center for Health, Humanities and the Human Spirit in University of Texas Medical School at Houston, where he teaches meditation and yoga to patients.

1559392924, 9781559392921