The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat: The Life of Ra Lotsawa

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 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. Now readers in English have their first opportunity to encounter one of the most colorful and memorable figures in Tibetan Buddhist history.

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