Presented to you through Paradigm Publishing Services
University of Chicago Press
Book
Licensed
Unlicensed
Requires Authentication
The Passion Book
A Tibetan Guide to Love and Sex
-
-
Translated by:
-
Afterword by:
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2018
About this book
The PassionBook is the most famous work of erotica in the vast literature of Tibetan Buddhism, written by the legendary scholar and poet Gendun Chopel (1903-1951). Soon after arriving in India in 1934, he discovered the Kama Sutra. Realizing that this genre of the erotic was unknown in Tibet, he set out to correct the situation. His sources were two: classical Sanskrit works and his own experiences with his lovers. Completed in 1939, his “treatise on passion” circulated in manuscript form in Tibet, scandalizing and arousing its readers.
Gendun Chopel here condemns the hypocrisy of both society and church, portraying sexual pleasure as a force of nature and a human right for all. On page after page, we find the exuberance of someone discovering the joys of sex, made all the more intense because they had been forbidden to him for so long: he had taken the monastic vow of celibacy in his youth and had only recently renounced it. He describes in ecstatic and graphic detail the wonders he discovered. In these poems, written in beautiful Tibetan verse, we hear a voice with tints of irony, self-deprecating wit, and a love of women not merely as sources of male pleasure but as full partners in the play of passion.
Gendun Chopel here condemns the hypocrisy of both society and church, portraying sexual pleasure as a force of nature and a human right for all. On page after page, we find the exuberance of someone discovering the joys of sex, made all the more intense because they had been forbidden to him for so long: he had taken the monastic vow of celibacy in his youth and had only recently renounced it. He describes in ecstatic and graphic detail the wonders he discovered. In these poems, written in beautiful Tibetan verse, we hear a voice with tints of irony, self-deprecating wit, and a love of women not merely as sources of male pleasure but as full partners in the play of passion.
Author / Editor information
Donald S. Lopez Jr. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan. His recent books include Strange Tales of an Oriental Idol: An Anthology of European Portrayals of the Buddha and Hyecho’s Journey: The World of Buddhism. Thupten Jinpa is adjunct professor of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy in the School of Religious Studies at McGill University. The author and translator of many books, he has been the principal English-language translator for the Dalai Lama since 1985.
Reviews
"Explicit, unabashed, detailed, and encyclopedic. . . some things in this book may offend you, others may charm you or secretly stimulate you, yet others may seem irrelevant and wrong, or deeply true and sincere. . . .Donald Lopez and Thupten Jinpa’s glorious translation is accompanied by a detailed biography and an extensive commentary that, rather than burdening the text and clouding Gendun Chopel’s essential message, make it even more scintillating and alive. . . a joyful book.”
— Tricycle"This masterful translation of Gendun Chopel's innovative verses on passion does justice to the Tibetan original by honoring the style of its metered verse and clearly conveying Gendun Chopel's words in a way that is in turn beautiful, erotic, and profound. Lopez and Jinpa have done what is so extremely difficult to do: they have translated not only the meaning of the words, but also the sentiments behind them, keeping this work poetic in both the literal and figurative senses."
— Sarah Jacoby, Northwestern University“An enchanting new translation . . . will delight contemporary readers. . . . Lopez and Jinpa have recreated the poetic form of the Tibetan ‘song,’ or stanza, which is based on cadence rather than rhyme. These direct, sometime curt claims meander, from nearly crass to sublime, from salacious to tender. . . . Chopel’s writing couldn’t be more timely—or timeless for that matter. He confronted the patriarchy, challenging those who dehumanized women or thought the poor deserved less. . . . I cannot think of a better reason to read.”
— Los Angeles Review of Books“Brief but sensual . . . a joyful—and explicit—guide to sex. . . . Gendun Chopel's insight runs deeper than just poetry. . . . He views sexual pleasure as a human right and stresses the importance of female consent and equality.”
— Ian Kerner, CNN"This excellent translation. . .admirably conveys the joy and beauty of the poetry as well as the underlying seriousness of Gendun Chopel’s work. . . . It is good to have this wonderful rendition of a modern Tibetan erotic classic in English; it broadens readers’ outlooks on the subject, and takes them beyond the concept, say, of what many people know about “Tantric sex” or the Kama Sutra. It’s to be hoped that this accessible version of Gendun Chopel’s book piques the curiosity of readers to look further into the life and work of this fascinating man."
Topics
-
Download PDFPublicly Available
Frontmatter
i -
Download PDFPublicly Available
Contents
v -
Download PDFPublicly Available
Preface
vii - A Treatise on Passion
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
1. The Sexual Practices of Women of Various Lands
3 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
2. Types of Embrace
45 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
3. Acts of Kissing
48 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
4. Types of Bites [and Scratches]
51 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
5. Describing the Modes of Pleasure
56 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
6. Playing with the Organ
61 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
7. Mounting and Thrusting
64 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
8. Moans
77 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
9. Acts of a Man [Done by a Woman]
80 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
10. Various Methods of Copulation
85 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
11. Uncertain Deeds
90 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
12. Various Helpful Methods
94 - Afterword: Background to A Treatise On Passion
-
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
The Life of Gendun Chopel
115 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Buddhist Sexuality
119 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
An Overview of the Text
141 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
A Treatise on Passion as a Work of Poetry
160 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
About the Translation
166 -
Download PDFRequires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Notes for “Background to A Treatise on Passion”
171
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
December 16, 2020
eBook ISBN:
9780226520209
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook ISBN:
9780226520209
Keywords for this book
love; sex; sexuality; passion; emotions; tibet; tibetan studies; buddhist; buddhism; buddha; religion; religious analysis; philosophy; erotica; gendun chopel; creative; controversial; 20th century; india; kama sutra; scandal; controversy; hypocrisy; sexual pleasure; society; church; vow of celibacy; poems; poetry; literature; literary study; kissing; bites; moans; intercourse; copulation
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
