Luminous Emptiness: Understanding The Tibetan Book Of The Dead by Buddhist teacher and practitioner Francesca Fremantle, presents the classic and enduring "Tibetan Book of the Dead" as a sacred scripture for the living to follow in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Extensive writings on the foundations of this profound work combined with a meticulous translation of the work itself, make for an absorbing and strongly recommended addition to Buddhist Studies reading lists and reference collections.

This is still available new at a bargain price. The reproductions are beautifully done and the enlargements make his work even more enjoyable. The text is short, but gives a good overall understanding of the true uniqueness of Masaccio and the descriptions of each work found at the back give specific information. Grab a copy while you can!

This is one of the most powerful books I have ever read. Why?because I feel like I have "woken up" from a comma. Thisbook is extremely important because it lets you discover a new way of looking at death and life. It is a manual for the living as well as the dead. This book also gives us valuable information about the death process as well as beautiful prayers that can be read to the deceased. As a result of reading this book I have learned about the power of spirituality and the incredible opportunity to learn something that can actually change the course of my "being."

Dostoyevsky's GRAND INQUISITOR may be the most profound work of literature penned in any time, place or language.Found at the center of his masterwork, THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV,"The Legend of the Grand Inquistor" is dazzling, dangerous and terrifying exploration(approxiamtely 12 pp!)of deepest needs and fears of mankind. It's unparalled MYTH; and spiritual evisceration of CONSCIENCE--guardian and source of humanity's nature and freedom--wherein the individual soul WARS with God; the Devil;and himself for dignity and personal SALVATION(or existenital sanity).

The Inquisitor is THE ANTI-CHRIST. "The Legend" prophetically illuminates Biblical Mystery of THE THREE TEMPTATIONS with which Satan challenged Christ in the desert...to perpetually threaten, beguile and mock(?)mankind. It's impossible to more than hint the "fear and trembling" evoked by Dostoyevsky's TRIAL of TRUTH in defiance of Truth by Novus Ordo Seclorum "gods" man will worship (in their imagined self-apotheosis). Dostoyevsky is merciless allowing the voice of his arch-cynic,nihilist Ivan Karamazov to scorn humanity's struggle for survival in Goodness; over against would-be UBERMENSCHEN...like himself...agenda to pacify/enslave millions pretending to protect "the masses" from Freedom.To the power-hungry, Man's Freedom is cause of human misery(rather than signum and source of GREATNESS...love & goodness/will in choice)."WE SHALL ALLOW THEM EVEN SIN...THEY WILL ADORE US: Every sin will be expiated if...done with our permission..."

Staggering implications of these words profoundly stir with bitter truth and challenge.In our century we've witnessed CAPTIVE MINDS(so-called by Czeslaw Milosz)willingly slaughter...or consent to slaughter;enslave or inhumanly marginalize...millions. Nazi and Communist Totalitarians of our epoch are easy targets of rebuke. They had SUPREME COURTS proclaiming legal(physical; spiritual; psychological)massacre of millions,"if it is done with our permission." DOSTOYEVSKY is not for everyone. But for thinking men or women, he is a PROPHET as blessed and cursed as any who ever lived or "cried out in the desert."T.S. Eliot observed "men can truly bear only a little truth." Ray Bradbury noted GOODNESS IS A FEARFUL OCCUPATION."The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor"may be literature's greatest, if most painful examination of the Mystery of Man--made in God's Image--in Civilization's death stuggle against criminal intellectuals and power-driven, self-celebrated saviors who barter and betray Humanity for apotheosis in self-praise and others'blood.(10 Stars)

The Grand Inquisitor loves humanity but the question is: Is he misguided? The Grand Inquisitor is by no means a trivial person. According to Dostoyevsky most humans are by nature incapable of handling freedom, of taking care of their basic needs, of accepting the moral responsibility of conscience or of living with differences - we like to be sheep - apparently. "[...] Thee, what is to become of the millions and tens of thousands of millions of creatures who will not have the strength to forego the earthly bread for the sake of the heavenly? Or dost Thou care only for the tens of thousands of the great and strong, while the millions, numerous as the sands of the sea, who are weak but love Thee, must exist only for the sake of the great and strong? No, we care for the weak too. They are sinful and rebellious, but in the end they too will become obedient. They will marvel at us and look on us as gods, because we are ready to endure the freedom which they have found so dreadful and to rule over them- so awful it will seem to them to be free. But we shall tell them that we are Thy servants and rule them in Thy name. We shall deceive them again, for we will not let Thee come to us again. That deception will be our suffering, for we shall be forced to lie" (Dostoyevsky 8-9).

Dostoyevsky, in The Grand Inquisitor, arrives at this conclusion since his observations suggest that this has been the pattern of human behavior from the beginning of human history. Ti interpret the quote above, Dostoyevsky does believe there is a relatively small group (tens of thousands) of people who are different by nature and who can do for themselves, handle responsibility and conscience and not only live with difference, but even create it. Again, he appeals to experience, being able to cite these people in human history. When Jesus lands in Inquisition Spain, he is quickly arrested. He confronts Jesus for giving people inner freedom. Christianity proper was built for the few: only the minority go to Heaven because Christianity has very high standards: 'narrow is the way to Heaven' and 'it is easier for a candle to enter the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter Heaven' Yet, religion in general is catered to the masses, most of whom believe they are going to Heaven. There is a contradiction there, and Dostoyevsky zeroes in on that The Inquisitor proceeds to list three temptations that the Catholic Church has remedied. "From those questions alone, from the miracle of their statements, we can see that we have here to do not with the fleeting human intelligence, but with the absolute and eternal. For in those three questions the whole subsequent history of mankind is, as it were, brought together into one whole, and foretold, and in them are united all the unsolved historical contradictions of human nature" (Dostoyevsky 7).

To summarize the issues from the quote above: [1] First temptation: MIRACLE (Dostoyevsky 7). [2] Second temptation: MYSTERY (Dostoyevsky 10). [3] Third temptation: AUTHORITY (Dostoyevsky 14). According to the Inquisitor, the Church fills the people's need for a sense of unity. The Church has removed all temptations by being the conscience of the people. Do we really need the illusion or can and should we be able to think for ourselves? Where does Dostoyevsky REALLY stand on this issue? Read it and judge for yourself.

Miguel Llora

"The Grand Inquisitor" is a story embeded within THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV. However, the story is "self-contained." Nothing is lost by reading it as a complete short story. In my opinion, "The Grand Inquisitor" is the greatest single story ever written. It's an interesting look at humanity, spirituality, and the church. If you are only going to read one more thing before you die, you must read "The Grand Inquisitor."
*This particular edition, however, seems to have some typos that were not caught by the proof-reader, but they're nothing very serious.

This was my first exposure to the Tibetan book of the Dead. Basically this book is an instuctional guide for traveling thru the Bardo; the period or place in which we find ourselves after death, and before incarnating into our next life or form. The book gives a very detailed description of the deities and phenomena one can expect to encounter in the Bardo, and the actions one must take to facilitate an optimal incarnation. It also instructs on the practices that we should engage in while living, to prepare for the Bardo, and therefor have the best out come of that experience. In addition, this is a guide for facilitating and guiding another person thru death and the Bardo. This is a straight forward reading of the book by Gere, it is clear and easy to understand. He is easy to listen to. The descriptions of the various dieties get a bit long winded as he decribes at least a hundred of them. Some of it is gruesome and down right scarey sounding. But the basic thing to remember is, that it is all emenating from our own mind, and not to be overcome by fear. Exposure to this information, practice and meditation on these deities can help prepare us for this experience. Apparently, if we take the correct actions (or non actions) in the bardo, we may not have to continue in samsara but can go directly to the Buddha state, or at least an incarnation in one of the more pleasant realms. I am fairly new to Tibetan Buddhism, so my interpretations of what I heard may not be a perfect reflection of the actual teachings. But that is how I heard it.

Sadly, even amongst some practitioners of other sects and traditions of Buddhism not much is known about the mythology and philosophy of many of the sects and lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. The Venerable Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche released many of the teachings of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions of Buddhism (into which he had been trained and initiated) to the general public and as a result provided a wonderful source of information to the student, practitioner, and teacher of Buddhism.

Freemantle offers us a interesting look as if opening a time capsule of information in 1863. Freemantle enters Texas and his journey starts there. Soon he discovers how soldiers and civilians of the south live and handle the hardships of war. Freemantle meets many popular Southern leaders such as Johnston, Davis, Lee, Longstreet during his travels. He is very fortunate to give us interesting views of the people involved in hardships and conflicts in various cities of the south such as Jackson, Vicksburg, Richmond, Winchester and others. His information certainly documents the timeline. I was most interested in reading about his Gettysburg exploits as he has become more famous in modern times most likely due to the movie, "Gettysburg" in which he presented. I was curious to read about his opinion and eye witness accounts which helped support explanations regarding the Battle of Gettysburg. Freemantle doesn't involve himself in many details of battles or conflicts. He likes to write about people and share his opinion of them. After Gettysburg Freemantle travels north to board the ship China which will take him back home to England. In doing this we are offered more interesting commentary as he writes about northern views and how northerners are coping with the draft, slavery and the war. Overall this is a quick book to read although it is vital for any historian looking to understand people and places during the early summer of 1863. I recommend it!

Fremantle's diary offers an interesting and indeed first -hand view of the Confederacy during his brief tenure in the Southern states. The reader quickly realizes that Fremantle has become quite enamoured with the Southern spirit and elan. Once I finished this marvelous account, I did, though, wonder what his diary would have been like if he'd begun his journey in more Northern climes. It is most interesting to see his natural European bias show at times - his usual disdain for the Dutch and Germans of Pennsylvania, and of course, his affinity for the Southern aristocracy of which as a Brit he is well versed.Also of note is the fact that this account was published shortly after his travels - hence, we see no post-war agenda being served like many other after-the-fact memoirs and such. All said, a wonderful look at the times with a true "you are there" approach (don't miss his climbing in the trees to get a good glimpse of the battlefield at Gettysburg!)

Lieut. -Col. Arthur Fremantle has not given us in this work a tired and boring look at strategy and tactics. He has also not told us anything new about the leading men of the Confederacy. What the reader will get is an excellent look at day to day life in the Confederate army and in the southern nation itself.

The lack of tactical detail could result from the fact that Fremantle, although a career military man had never seen combat until Gettysburg. It could also result from his desire to avoid aiding the north by giving away secrets while the war was still in progress. There are, after all, instances in the book where Fremantle makes it clear that he is not writing about all he saw for that very reason. Whatever the reason, I'm happy he left out the tactics for it would have only slowed down a marvelous account of Fremantle's trip through the Confederacy.

It is obvious early on that Fremantle is very taken with the south and some of his stories about happy slaves might reflect a bit of propaganda. Overall however, his stories of individual behavior are more than credible and drive home the point that this war was affecting the lives of real people, not historical figures. The stories of hotel keepers in northern territory that were hesitant to let him have a room until he produced gold coin for payment, the slave of a Confederate officer leading a Yankee prisoner by a rope tied around the poor prisoner's neck, and the several stories of southern women being far more antagonistic toward the north than were the men, all help bring the human side of the civil war to life. Reading Fremantle's account of General Lee's behavior as his broken troops returned to Seminary Ridge after the disaster now called Pickett's charge almost makes the reader feel as if they were there.

Read this book with a small grain of salt, remembering that Fremantle is writing this book in England while the war is still in progress. His anti-Irish bias kept getting under my skin but as with the rest of the book, you must keep in mind who is writing the narrative and when it was written. Overall however, I think the reader will find that Fremantle's observations are both entertaining and enlightening.

This book's characters are shallow and the story line is convoluted and nearly impossible to follow. It is a great disappointment for readers who've enjoyed Freemantle's many other truly masterful works. If you are a Brian Freemantle fan, avoid this one; I can hardly believe he wrote it, even under a pseudonym.