alanbwt on Nostr: Review of The Secret Oral Teachings in Tibetan Buddhist Sects by Alexandra David-Neel ...

Review of The Secret Oral Teachings in Tibetan Buddhist Sects by Alexandra David-Neel (1967)

This is said to be Alan Watts’ favorite book. Or at least, the one he praised most during his lifetime. He calls it the ‘I told you so’ book:

“If you want to know what Buddhists really teach on this matter, put in a very simple way, you get a book by Alexandra David-Neel called, ‘The Secret Oral Teachings.’ […] I call it the ‘I told you so’ book because I’ve often been accused of inventing my own unique brand of Buddhism and foisting it off on the public as being the real thing. I just have to point them to this book and say, ‘You see?’” — Alan Watts, The Power of Space

This book draws from the author’s years living among Tibetan lamas and monks in the 1910s and 1920s, gaining their trust and collecting their oral teachings firsthand.

It is perhaps the most direct, no-nonsense explanation of Mahayana Buddhism that has been written other than Watts’ own work. It is short, enjoyable, and has a style of lighthearted curiosity and clarity.