"Navajo and Tibetan Sacred Wisdom: The Circle of the Spirit" Paperback
by Peter Gold (Author)
Paperback: 350 pages
Publisher: Inner Traditions (October 1, 1994)
ISBN-10: 089281411X
http://www.amazon.com/Navajo-Tibetan-Sacred-Wisdom-Circle/dp/089281411X/
From Scientific American
This remarkable book coalesces the fruits of a personal odyssey that ranged back and forth between two continents over a period of many years. As an anthropologist, I am impressed by Peter Gold's sustained fieldwork among two peoples, so far apart in space, language, history. This is not a work of conventional social science or of comparative mythology; rather, it invites the reader to search beyond his or her cultural framework and enter onto a quest of spiritual anthropology.
5.0 out of 5 stars Small world, November 8, 2012
By JeffMulac
As a former Anthropology student, prison chaplain who worked with Navajo inmates in a Sweat lodge environment, and practicing Buddhist, this book was a fascinating goldmine. I relayed some of the comparisons between Navajo sand paintings and Tibetan mandalas to the Navajo inmates, and they were intrigued. The inmates explained some of the symbolic meaning of the sandpaintings from their personal practice on the reservation. This book was a great jumping off point for my professional practice of "practical anthropology." Already I admired Navajo religion for reasons that I barely understood, but my practice of Buddhist mandala offering took on new and deeper meaning in my personal life of puja and meditation. This book was truly an auspicious event in my life, and I am so grateful that I used the karma well.
Long on Fact, Short on Synthesis
By Eileen Corder on April 9, 2009
Anyone who has noted the curious similarity of symbols and the unique ritual of sand paintings practiced by both Tibetan Buddhists and the Navajo people will welcome this ambitious book by Peter Gold. Going into the "nuts and bolts" detail of both religious systems, Gold scoops up copious facts, quotes, maps, photos, diagrams and drawings from both cultures and loosely organizes them into four sections: Awakening, Balancing, Centering and Becoming. Not a dry academic study, nor a new age self-help book, The Circle of the Spirit hits home the non-dualistic nature of both systems.
By J. L. Sartain on June 2, 2013
Peter Gold's grasp of the subject matter is most impressive and I want to commend him for the years it must have taken to gather such knowledge. It's not a quick read but neither does it suffer from academic overload. It seems pretty evenly balanced between the two cultures and I would say it's layed out in a comprehensive and accessible manner while the heart and beauty of Golds first hand knowledge is apparent. This is a stellar work that I'll be going back to for years.
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All Our Relations.
KT
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