Yoga of the Mahamudra: The Mystical Way of Balance
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"Johnson's book consists of vivid meditations on the mahamudra state of awareness, which even more orthodox practitioners of Buddhism might find helpful. All too often, Buddhist practitioners in the West fall prey to mentalizing their meditation practice. Yoga of the Mahamudra is a timely reminder that if the process toward enlightenment does not include the body, we are shortchanging ourselves."
Product Description
Mahamudra literally the great gesture is often looked upon as the highest manifestation of consciousness known within the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition. In YOGA OF THE MAHAMUDRA Will Johnson explains how it is possible to bring forth the condition of Mahamudra naturally by utilizing the mystical yoga of balance to create what he calls the embodied cross. He presents three simple yogic principles from Tilopa's Song of Mahamudra. The first principle - do nothing with the body but relax - forms the vertical axis of the embodied cross. It is an internal process that focuses on the upright structure of the body which opens up our relationship to the divine source. The second principle - Let the mind cling to nothing - allows the horizontal flow of energy to our mind. This horizontal axis represents our relationship to the world: what we see and hear and what our mind does with the objects we perceive. The establishment of these vertical and horizontal flows of energy allows us to embody the third principle - to become like a hollow bamboo. In this way the body and mind become extraordinarily fluid surrendering to the currents of the life forces that constantly flow through them like air through a flute. The author concludes with a number of somatic koans exercises that allow the direct experience of balance and lead to the creation of the embodied cross.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This man really knows what he is talking about. Every sentence is a gem in itself, so clear, so precise. If you are are a seeker on the path, you will not often find a guide who knows the territory as does this author. Highly recommended, if only for the beauty of the language.
Format:Paperback
Excellent book on yoga philosophy and the idea of the body as the embodied cross when it is in its upright position. By learning to relax in the standing posture and allowing the body to find its own balance against gravity in this vertical position the practitioner can tune into the energies of God. The author suggests that if we can but align ourselves on the vertical axis, relax and surrender we can move towards a condition of balance and peace. We need to tune into every sensation in the body and learn to feel the impulses through the body as signs of vitality and God's knocking on our door. If we can move our awareness through the body regularly noticing what is going on without judging we will attune ourselves to the dance of life by becoming like 'a hollow bamboo'.
There are a series of exercises in the book that put the practitioner in touch with his or her inner vitality. For example standing tall and allowing the body to move in any way it wishes in order to express its vitality. The author asks us: 'How much can you surrender to this divine impulse to move? How much can you allow God to dance your body?' Recommended for those yoga practitioners who want to enhance the spiritual side of posture work.
There are a series of exercises in the book that put the practitioner in touch with his or her inner vitality. For example standing tall and allowing the body to move in any way it wishes in order to express its vitality. The author asks us: 'How much can you surrender to this divine impulse to move? How much can you allow God to dance your body?' Recommended for those yoga practitioners who want to enhance the spiritual side of posture work.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Not much Mahamudra here
15 Jun 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
There are a number of good exercises (posture & breathing--though holding the breath for healing etc. is discounted) & wise observations (the value of balance & mindfulness meditation) in this book, but mostly it depicts the author's personal, impressionistic path. It includes Tilopa's famous & wonderful Mahamudra (MM) Song as an appendix, however, the book is not a commentary on it. The author uses only 3 lines of it to expound his personal views--heavily oriented towards the physical: bodywork, Hatha Yoga, dance, & the author's inventive "somatic koans." There's a Hindu bent to the book: the cover is a picture of the Hindu god Shiva, & the author advocates p. 144 "walk in Shiva's path." He repeatedly uses theistic terminology & Western mystical concepts--fine for comparison purposes, but not MM. Despite his rhetoric, Hinduism has nothing to do with MM, a Tibetan Buddhist wisdom teaching--the highest one of the Kagyu school (there's also a Gelugpa version--see the Dalai Lama's book). The author describes some Theravada Buddhist practices, but MM is a Vajrayana practice--a type of Mahayana, not Theravada--they don't practice MM. He also mentions Rinzai--a Japanese Mahayana but not Vajrayana sect (as is Japanese Shingon). While I agree with him that p. 144 "The practice is always one of personal exploration & personal discovery," his title is misleading; his teachings are not authentic MM. At best it's a low level, very loose, physically-oriented, New Age interpretation of a very high level, authentic, numinous, noetic path. In Hindu terms, it's a Hatha Yoga interpretation of Jnana Yoga. In Jungian/Myers-Briggs terms, it seems to be Extroverted, Sensate, Feeler, Perceptive. Since I'm far from that, (iNtuitive Thinker), I don't attune well with it--indeed, if I'd read this review before buying the book, I wouldn't have. Still, it's valuable to develop one's inferior function (Sensate for me), it's strong suit is my weak suit, & beauty is in the eye of the beholder--others may love it. It is easy to read.
But, it doesn't compare with other books I've read:
-- Osho's "Tantra-the Supreme Understanding," an enlightening/impressive interpretation of Tilopa's Song
-- Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now," a fine, new age oriented view of mindfulness
-- Traleg Kyabgon's "Mind at Ease," a terrific easy-to-read explanation of MM
-- Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche & Alexander Berzin's several translations/commentaries on volumes of the 9th Karmapa's wonderful MM trilogy
-- Takpo Tashi Namgyal's amazing "Mahamudra: The Quintessence of Mind and Meditation" (an English version of "Moonbeams of MM"), the "bible" of MM, if there is one
In addition to Tilopa's Song, Johnson quotes (p. 143) Niguma's wonderful MM stanza (with more MM than his book!)--Don't do anything whatsoever with the mind, Just abide in an authentic, natural state.
One's own mind, unwavering, is reality. The key is to meditate like this without wavering.
But, it doesn't compare with other books I've read:
-- Osho's "Tantra-the Supreme Understanding," an enlightening/impressive interpretation of Tilopa's Song
-- Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now," a fine, new age oriented view of mindfulness
-- Traleg Kyabgon's "Mind at Ease," a terrific easy-to-read explanation of MM
-- Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche & Alexander Berzin's several translations/commentaries on volumes of the 9th Karmapa's wonderful MM trilogy
-- Takpo Tashi Namgyal's amazing "Mahamudra: The Quintessence of Mind and Meditation" (an English version of "Moonbeams of MM"), the "bible" of MM, if there is one
In addition to Tilopa's Song, Johnson quotes (p. 143) Niguma's wonderful MM stanza (with more MM than his book!)--Don't do anything whatsoever with the mind, Just abide in an authentic, natural state.
One's own mind, unwavering, is reality. The key is to meditate like this without wavering.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Meditating with the Body-Mind: a Great Gesture
8 Nov 2007
Format:Paperback
I have been delighted with several of Will Johnson's books, and I have found this one to be the most profound and challenging of his works. Traditional students of Vajrayana Mahamudra teaching might take issue with his application of these teachings to ideas involving the body-mind in a method that has been variously described as somatic psychology or somatheraputic methodology. Tibetan Buddhism doesn't actually teach very much with regard to the nature of the physical body. Mostly the body is simply taken as the vehicle that allows one to experience karma in the form of physical sensations or emotional sensations. Meditation in this tradition mostly considers the body as an impediment to be transcended.
On the other hand if one practices the Chinese form of Yoga called Qigong or Taiji you can experience a vast range of meditative practices that take the body and its internal energies as their object. As a teacher of these Chinese practices I yearned for a meditative method that was as mentally deep and transformative as Tibetan Buddhist curricula while still taking the body as an object of focus. The first time that I read a translation of Tilopa's millennium old instructions for Mahamudra practice, I was taken by how much it sounded like the primary instruction that I give my taiji students. However, I was still at a loss for a practical method for implementing these mind instructions for a physical practice.
When I found this text I had at least one good approach to solving this dilemma. The second half of this book contains exercises that are physical embodiments of contemplating the philosophical explanations in the first half. Will Johnson terms these "Somatic Koans" in reference to the famous koan riddles of Zen Buddhism. If one practices these physical riddles the body will hopefully discover that the answers, or rather the un-answers to the problem of the body. I will give the "pith" description of the first Koan as and example. "Stand as tall as you possibly can while remaining as relaxed as you possibly can". These contemplations are as intellectually impenetrable as their famous purely mental progenitors, and if you give them the same time and diligence, they have the same potential to liberate your mind.
I would recommend this book highly to everyone, but especially anyone interested in body oriented or moving meditation. Dancers, runners and internal martial artist will find questions to the answers their body has been whispering with every wave of pleasure that occurs inside the magic moments when everything flows.
On the other hand if one practices the Chinese form of Yoga called Qigong or Taiji you can experience a vast range of meditative practices that take the body and its internal energies as their object. As a teacher of these Chinese practices I yearned for a meditative method that was as mentally deep and transformative as Tibetan Buddhist curricula while still taking the body as an object of focus. The first time that I read a translation of Tilopa's millennium old instructions for Mahamudra practice, I was taken by how much it sounded like the primary instruction that I give my taiji students. However, I was still at a loss for a practical method for implementing these mind instructions for a physical practice.
When I found this text I had at least one good approach to solving this dilemma. The second half of this book contains exercises that are physical embodiments of contemplating the philosophical explanations in the first half. Will Johnson terms these "Somatic Koans" in reference to the famous koan riddles of Zen Buddhism. If one practices these physical riddles the body will hopefully discover that the answers, or rather the un-answers to the problem of the body. I will give the "pith" description of the first Koan as and example. "Stand as tall as you possibly can while remaining as relaxed as you possibly can". These contemplations are as intellectually impenetrable as their famous purely mental progenitors, and if you give them the same time and diligence, they have the same potential to liberate your mind.
I would recommend this book highly to everyone, but especially anyone interested in body oriented or moving meditation. Dancers, runners and internal martial artist will find questions to the answers their body has been whispering with every wave of pleasure that occurs inside the magic moments when everything flows.
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful
A great foundation and starting point
5 May 2006
Format:Paperback
What a wonderful way to approach both meditation and living. So many writers, readers, and meditators fail to- shall I say?- glorify the miracle that is the human body's experience. It is our foundation, our temple, and our doorway to the phenomenally real and stupefyingly ordinary enlightenment that is the moment. This book is both food for thought and practice, and is a wonderful inspiration to truly and happily immersing oneself into the literally life-long experience of the body.
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