All-pervading melodious drumbeat (Penguin Books)

The story of Tibet's notorious master of Buddhist sorcery--available for the first time in English An essential sacred text of Tibetan Buddhism, "The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat "tells the story of Ra Lotsawa Dorje Drak. Though canonized as a saint and a fully enlightened buddha, the eleventh-century Ra Lotsawa's life story presents a darker path than those taken by Siddhartha Gautama or Milarepa. Viewed aby some as a murderous villain and aby others as a liberator of human suffering, Ra Lotsawa used his formidable power and magical abilities to defeat his rivals, gain a devoted following, and grow rich. Despite these deeds, his fame also rests on an illustrious career as a translator of Buddhist scriptures, through which he helped spark a renaissance of Buddhism in Tibet. Now readers in English have their first opportunity to encounter one of the most colorful and memorable figures in Tibetan Buddhist history.