The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat

The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat

The Life of Ra Lotsawa

Summary

The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat tells the story of Ra Lotsawa Dorjé 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 by some as a murderous villain and by 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. A classic account of one of the most colourful and memorable figures in Tibetan Buddhist history.

Reviews

  • There is no calculating the number of incorrigible people whom he vanquished, one and all, by killing, banishing, rendering, paralyzing and the like. All the lotsawas and learned scholars who turned the wheel of dharma had to resign before the mighty Ralo
    Taranatha, The Wondrous Faith

About the author

Ra Yeshe Senge

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