DIE KÖRPER-GEIST-BEZIEHUNG IM VAJRAYANA-BUDDHISMUS [THE BODY–MIND RELATIONSHIP IN VAJRAYANA BUDDHISM]. By Julia König. Religionen aktuell, 31. Baden-Baden: Tectum Verlag, 2021. Pp. xviii + 372. Paperback, €78.00.
摘要
This book is the unrevised version of König's doctoral thesis in Religious Studies that was submitted with the same title at the University of Jena in 2021. The book discusses the relationship between the body and mind in Vajrayāna Buddhism. König's aim is to bring together Vajrayāna and the natural sciences in order to facilitate dialog on the subject. König begins with an introduction to Indian traditions—from the Vedic religion, Brahmanism, and Buddhism to Tantra and the siddhis—with a special focus on the body–mind relationship. The next chapter is devoted to the Vajrayāna tradition. After a general introduction, König examines the body–mind relationship giving special attention to the meditational practice of Tummo (gtum-mo གཏུམ་མོ་). After a short exposition of two other meditation practices, the chapter closes with an outline of traditional Tibetan medicine. This is followed in the next chapter by an analysis of the scientific and the Vajrayāna discourses on the subject. Chapters Six and Seven are devoted to six interviews conducted with experts of Tibetan traditions, four of them Tibetan, one European, and one American. Curiously, König cites from appendices with interview transcripts; however, those were not included in the book. In addition to a simplification of the overall structure, the text would have also greatly benefitted from thorough editing in order to correct the numerous typing errors that, in many cases, result in faulty grammar. Despite the lax (or actually lack of) editing, this book is a relevant contribution, especially for scholars interested in an interdisciplinary approach to the study of religion.
