Himalayan dialogue
Book Description
In the remote mountain valleys of Nepal, two profound spiritual traditions meet in an ongoing conversation that has shaped religious practice for centuries. Stan Mumford presents a groundbreaking exploration of how Tibetan Buddhism encounters and transforms through its dialogue with the ancient shamanic practices it found upon arrival in the Himalayas.
This comprehensive study reveals how Tibetan lamaism evolved not as a static doctrine, but as a living process of cultural exchange and adaptation. Through meticulous fieldwork and textual analysis, Mumford examines the rich ritual landscape of the Nyingma Buddhist tradition, including profound ceremonies for communicating with spiritual realms, honoring protective deities, banishing harmful forces, retrieving lost souls, and guiding consciousness through the death transition.
Rather than viewing these traditions as separate or competing systems, Mumford illuminates the dynamic interplay between lamaist and shamanic approaches to the sacred. This ongoing dialogue demonstrates how spiritual traditions grow and deepen through encounter with other wisdom paths, creating new possibilities for understanding the divine.
For readers interested in how authentic spirituality develops through cross-cultural exchange, this work offers invaluable insights into the fluid nature of religious practice. The book challenges assumptions about pure or unchanging traditions, revealing instead how the most profound spiritual systems emerge through respectful dialogue between different ways of knowing the sacred.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~8 hours)
📄 Length: 286 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Gurung (Nepalese people)
- ✓ Explore shamanic practices
- ✓ Explore Customs and practices
- ✓ Explore Nepal, history
- ✓ Explore Rñiṅ-ma-pa (Sect)
- ✓ Explore Nepal, social life and customs
- ✓ Explore Tibetans
- ✓ Explore Religion
