Book Review – The Little Book of Tibetan Rites and Rituals by Judy Tsuei
Book Review
The Little Book of Tibetan Rites and Rituals
by Judy Tsuei
Publisher: Ulysses Press
Publication Date: March 22, 2022
144 pages
Tibetan Buddhism is a centuries old religion that many are running to find books, websites, videos, and anything else they can to learn how to incorporate into their daily lives.
“The goal of the Five Tibetan Rights, – and generally all Tibetan philosophy – is to live in a state of relaxation, a natural state in full presence of our potential.”
This book is perfect for anyone. There is a brief history on Tibetan Buddhism and the rites at the beginning which is nice as a lot of people don’t really know this information.
The Tibetan Rites are similar to the yoga rituals that originated in India but were dubbed “The Fountain of Youth”. No, not the one supposedly found in Florida by Ponce de Leon. These were called this because a British explorer named Colonel Bradford found a hidden sect of Lamas (Tibetan clerics) in a monastery in Tibet and said he learned “a simple exercise system thought to bring health and rejuvenation”.
The author made sure to be respectful of Tibetan traditions so as to honor this beautiful culture. She even included the Tibetan National Anthem:
“By the spread of Buddha’s teachings in the ten directions, may everyone throughout the world enjoy the glories of happiness and peace.”
This book also covers the culture of the Tibetan people, discusses the Tibetan calendar, Tibetan Medicine, and a lot more.
The author mentions in the Tibetan Medicine section this type of medicine “identifies three energies that come from various combinations of elements, that are similar to the Ayurvedic principles of vata, pitta, and kapha.
Ayurveda, which translates as “Knowledge of Life”, is a natural system of medicine that originated in India more than three thousand years ago.
“*Air + Space = Wind (lung or vata)
*Fire + Water = Bile (tripa or pitta)
*Water + Earth = Phlegm (beken or kapha)”
“Tibetan medicine also identifies 80 different emotions that can be impacted by these elements” being out of whack. However, these eighty can be broken down into five main negative emotions: Ego-pride, attachment, anger, jealousy, and ignorance. But! When they are balanced, they become: Devotion and Calmness, Altruism and Selflessness, Patience and Compassion, Appreciation and Love, AND Generosity and Equanimity.
The author also goes into movement practices which includes yoga, the seven chakras, three main energy pathways, and breathwork. She gives brief explanations of each and gives exercises for breathwork.
Chapter four dives into the Five Rites. She explains that each person should ‘fit the practice to your unique physical requirements”. Which is good because some people, especially when learning new exercise or meditation regimens, tend to think it has to be done exactly like the instructions say, instead of working around some of them so they don’t hurt themselves. She also includes helpful suggestions for modifications and when they should be considered seriously after/with certain medical issues and procedures. THIS is the type of thing I love in books like this. You cannot just give exercises to try and NOT explain what you should or shouldn’t do if you have certain medical issues.
The rest of the book covers diving a bit deeper into Tibetan history such as talking about His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the challenges with China, reincarnation, karma, Buddhist principles, and more practices for rejuvenation.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be reading it over and over again, as well as trying some of the exercises. I recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about Tibetan People and their culture.
Judy Tsuei does a lot of fun things, like traveling the world as a freelance writer & editor, teaching yoga on hotel rooftops and private islands, interviewing spiritual luminaries, and supporting women one-on-one to thrive. She’s even written a popular children’s book with her husband that was super successfully funded on Kickstarter, called Corrine Wants To Grow Up.
The best gig so far? Being mama to her daughter, Wilder Love Fox, who you can see on Instagram @awilderlove. For feel good affirmations every day, check out @meditationsformamas on Insta, too.
Judy is excited for what more she has in store for mamas everywhere. To stay in touch and see her nourishing offers, please visit www.meditationsformamas.com
Tibetan Rites and Rituals on Amazon
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About the Author:
Cyndi Snow-Pilcher is an urban faery just trying to make it in this insane world. English was her favorite subject and spent hours writing short stories and poems. She gave up writing when life got in the way with the military and family duties. Then, after meeting the love of her life in 2000 and the support of friends, she started writing again.
She co-owns Fae Corps Publishing, LLC, an indie author publishing company that she started with her best friend and partner Patti Harris. They published quite a few anthologies and single author books since they started in July of 2019.
She has been in a few of the anthologies: Through the Sunshine, Faery Footprints, Nightmare Whispers Vol I, and will be penning something for Fae Corps Halloween anthology, Fae Shivers which comes out around the middle to end of October, 2021.
Her first book was The Woodland Adventures: Nita and the Honeybees, published in 2015. Soon after, she published Keko and the Lost Bananas. Neither are available at the moment as she will be republishing them under Fae Corps Publishing, LLC sometime in 2022.
She is currently working on a mystery novel and her Faery world of Cassari.
You can find her on her blog at: RedBird’s Storytime
Or follow her on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/redsstorytime/