Course Reading Material
Course book: Buddhist Psychology by Geshe Tashi Tsering, published by Wisdom Publications.
Supplementary Reading: For those of you who have more time to explore this topic, there is a lot of detail to be found. The two books we know about that are really helpful are below. They are both quite technical, but not difficult to read, and full of great information:
- Mind in Tibetan Buddhism by Lati Rinbochay and Elizabeth Napper, published by Snow Lion
- The Mind and its Functions by Geshe Rabten, published by Editions Rabten Choeling (We’re not sure what the status is with this book, but it’s only available for hundreds of pounds from online booksellers. However, Editions Rabten Choeling do seem to be selling copies direct for €22, here: https://www.rabten.eu/xv303_en.htm.)
Additional Reading: Studying Buddhism in the 21st century comes with many technological advantages – just being on this course would be impossible twenty years ago. It does, however, bring its own disadvantages. The modern day assumptions and beliefs we bring to our study of Buddhism are not addressed by the masters we study, but they can easily hold us back. To put these assumptions in perspective, we strongly recommend a book by biologist Rupert Sheldrake, a fellow of the Zoological Society and the Cambridge Philosophical Society. His choice of title was Science Set Free, but it was published in the UK as The Science Delusion.
We can also recommend Return to Life, a book on westerners who have come into this life with past life experiences. Dr Jim Tucker has been very rigorous about verifying these, it is an excellent book to read alongside this module. This is the one we have read and can recommend, but if you search his name on Amazon, you will see he has written other books on this subject.
- The Science Delusion: Freeing the Spirit of Enquiry (U.K) 2020 edition by Rupert Sheldrake, published by Coronet
- Return to Life: Extraordinary Cases of Children Who Remember Past Lives. 2013 by Jim B Tucker MD, published by St Martin’s Press.
Course Prayers: Here are links to pdfs of the prayers for the beginning and end of class, and the Praises to 21 Taras.