Magic and Mystery in Tibet

Book Details

Title	Magic and Mystery in Tibet
Author(s)	Alexandra David-Neel (Introduction by A. D'Arsonval)
Publisher	Book Tree
Year	2000
Edition	Book Tree Edition
Language	English
Pages	356
ISBN	9781585090976
Genre	Travel / Esotericism / Tibetan Buddhism
Series	Unknown
Size	603 KB
Extension	PDF

Summary

Magic and Mystery in Tibet is the English translation of Alexandra David-Neel's Mystiques et magiciens du Thibet, a work that remains one of the most extraordinary first-hand accounts of Tibetan esoteric practices ever written. First published in English in 1932 under the title With Mystics and Magicians in Tibet, the book was reissued by Book Tree in 2000 with an introduction by Dr. A. D'Arsonval, a French physician and close associate of the author [citation:1][citation:5]. David-Neel was no casual visitor: she spent fourteen years in Asia, including an extended stay in Tibet when the country was still closed to foreigners, and she studied directly with lamas, hermits, and yogis rather than observing them from a distance [citation:1][citation:9]. The result is a book that sits uneasily between travelogue, ethnographic study, and occult memoir—precisely because its author refused to treat the phenomena she describes as mere curiosities.

The book's structure follows David-Neel's own initiation into Tibetan religious life. Early chapters describe her arrival in Tibet and her reception by the lamas, followed by accounts of life in a famous monastery and the complex systems of monastic education she encountered [citation:1][citation:4]. From there, the narrative moves into the practices that have made the book famous: the tumo, or yoga of heat control, which allows practitioners to generate bodily warmth in freezing conditions; breathing exercises designed to alter states of consciousness; and the creation of tulpas, thought forms that can be projected as apparently autonomous entities [citation:9]. She also documents elaborate magical rites intended to obtain siddhis, or supernatural powers, as well as the necromantic practices attributed to the pre-Buddhist Bon tradition [citation:9]. The final chapters address psychic phenomena more broadly and examine how Tibetans themselves explain them, offering a rare insider's account of a worldview in which the boundary between mind and matter is understood very differently than in the West.

What distinguishes Magic and Mystery in Tibet from sensationalist literature on the occult is David-Neel's method. She describes what she saw and experienced with precision and a deliberate matter-of-factness, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions about the validity or psychological interpretation of the phenomena [citation:9]. She does not insist that her readers believe; she insists only that they understand what Tibetans believe and how those beliefs are enacted in practice. This combination of personal participation and analytical detachment gives the book its enduring value. For readers interested in the tumo practice, for example, she provides detailed instructions that remain among the most cited descriptions of the technique available in English [citation:9]. Her account of tulpa creation has similarly become a reference point for later writers on Tibetan mysticism, even as scholars continue to debate how literally such phenomena should be understood.

The book is intended for a general readership rather than specialists alone. David-Neel writes in an accessible, often vivid style, and her narrative is punctuated with anecdotes about the people she met—hermits living in caves, learned lamas, and wandering magicians—that bring the material to life. At the same time, the book has been used by scholars of religion and anthropology as a primary source on Tibetan practices during the early twentieth century, precisely because David-Neel had access to communities and teachings that were largely inaccessible to outside observers [citation:6]. Readers approaching the book today should keep in mind that it reflects the perspective of a European woman of her era, shaped by her own spiritual seeking and by the intellectual currents of theosophy and comparative religion that influenced her thinking. It is not a neutral ethnography, but it is an unusually rich and committed one.

Alexandra David-Neel's reputation has only grown since her death in 1969 at the age of 101. She was the first European woman to enter Lhasa, the first Western woman to interview the thirteenth Dalai Lama, and the author of more than thirty books on Buddhism and her travels [citation:2][citation:5]. Her work influenced figures as diverse as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Alan Watts, and Benjamin Creme [citation:5]. Magic and Mystery in Tibet remains the most widely read of her books, and for good reason: it is the work in which her unique combination of scholarship, adventure, and spiritual curiosity is most fully on display. For anyone seeking to understand Tibetan mysticism from the inside, or simply to read a remarkable account of a world that has since vanished, this book is essential.

Key Features

• The book is a first-hand account based on Alexandra David-Neel's fourteen-year residence in Asia, including extended periods in Tibet when it was closed to foreigners [citation:1].
• It provides detailed descriptions of the tumo practice, the yoga of heat control, which David-Neel both observed and reportedly experienced herself [citation:9].
• The text includes instructions and observations on the creation of tulpas, thought forms projected by trained practitioners [citation:9].
• It documents breathing exercises and meditation techniques used by Tibetan yogis to alter consciousness and control bodily processes [citation:9].
• The book examines shamanic magic, visions, and past-life recollection as understood and practiced within Tibetan religious traditions .
• It describes the monastic education system and the relationship between great teachers and their disciples in Tibetan Buddhism [citation:9].
• David-Neel includes accounts of magical rites intended to obtain siddhis, or supernatural powers [citation:9].
• The final chapters address how Tibetans themselves explain psychic phenomena, offering an insider's perspective on a non-Western ontology [citation:1].
• The introduction is by Dr. A. D'Arsonval, a French physician and scientist, lending the book a degree of scientific credibility for its original audience [citation:1].
• David-Neel writes with precision and restraint, describing extraordinary phenomena without insisting on their objective reality [citation:9].
• The book includes photographs from the original edition, though reprint editions vary in their inclusion of illustrations [citation:5].
• It remains a foundational text for Western understanding of Tibetan esoteric Buddhism and has influenced generations of writers and seekers [citation:5].

About the Author

Alexandra David-Neel (1868–1969) was born in Paris to a socially prominent family and demonstrated a rebellious, adventurous temperament from an early age [citation:7]. She studied Eastern religions in Paris, became an opera singer, and traveled extensively through India, Ceylon, and North Africa before settling for a time in Tunis, where she married Philippe François Neel in 1904. The marriage was short-lived in practical terms, but Philippe financed many of her later travels and the couple corresponded until his death in 1941 [citation:12]. In 1911, she left Paris for northern India, where she studied Buddhist teachings, spent a winter in a cave with her adopted son and traveling companion Yongden, and eventually graduated as a lama. She later spent three years in a Peking monastery before undertaking the journey that would make her famous: a trek of nearly 5,000 miles across China and into Tibet, disguised as a Tibetan pilgrim, to reach Lhasa in 1924 [citation:12].

David-Neel's achievement was not merely geographical. She was a serious scholar of Buddhism who learned Tibetan and Sanskrit, studied with renowned teachers, and engaged deeply with the philosophical and practical dimensions of the tradition. She was the first Western woman to interview the thirteenth Dalai Lama and the first European woman to enter Lhasa [citation:2][citation:5]. After returning to France in 1925, she became a celebrity and was awarded the Grande Médaille d'Or of the Société de Géographie. She continued to travel and write, returning to Asia with Yongden in 1936 for an eight-year stay. She died in 1969, just before her 101st birthday, having published more than thirty books on Buddhism and her adventures [citation:2][citation:12]. Her work influenced beat writers Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, philosopher Alan Watts, and esotericist Benjamin Creme, and her archives are preserved at the Alexandra David-Neel Foundation in Digne, France [citation:5][citation:7].

Related Books

• My Journey to Lhasa — Alexandra David-Neel
• Immortality and Reincarnation — Alexandra David-Neel
• Secret Oral Teachings in Tibetan Buddhist Sects — Alexandra David-Neel
• The Tibetan Book of the Dead — W.Y. Evans-Wentz (Editor)
• Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines — W.Y. Evans-Wentz (Editor)
• Journey to Lhasa and Central Tibet — Sarat Chandra Das
• The Way of the White Clouds — Lama Anagarika Govinda
• Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism — Lama Anagarika Govinda

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FAQ

Q : What is the ISBN of the Book Tree edition of Magic and Mystery in Tibet?

R : The 2000 Book Tree paperback edition carries ISBN 9781585090976 (ISBN-10: 1585090972) [citation:14]. A hardcover edition from the same publisher has a different ISBN, 9781585095650, and some listings cite 356 pages while others cite 287 or 320 depending on the edition. The original 1932 London edition was published under the title With Mystics and Magicians in Tibet by John Lane .

Q : Is this book a travelogue or a study of Tibetan religion?

R : It is neither purely one nor the other. David-Neel herself described it as a study of psychic discovery and a description of the occult and mystical theories and psychic training practices of Tibet [citation:9]. The book is structured around her experiences and the people she met, but its primary purpose is to document and analyze Tibetan esoteric practices. Readers seeking a conventional travel narrative may prefer her My Journey to Lhasa, while those interested in Tibetan Buddhism will find this book more substantive.

Q : What is tumo and why is it important in this book?

R : Tumo is the Tibetan yoga of heat control, a practice in which adepts generate bodily warmth through meditation and breathing exercises even in freezing conditions. David-Neel provides one of the most detailed English-language descriptions of the technique, based on her own observations and training [citation:9]. The tumo practice exemplifies the book's broader theme: that Tibetan practitioners cultivate abilities that Western science would consider extraordinary, and that these abilities are understood within a coherent philosophical and religious framework.

Q : Did Alexandra David-Neel actually practice the techniques she describes?

R : Yes, she did. David-Neel studied with lamas and hermits and participated in many of the practices she documents. She reportedly spent a winter in a cave in Sikkim with her companion Yongden, wearing only a cotton garment and studying tumo [citation:12]. She also experimented with tulpa creation and other techniques. This personal participation gives her account an authority that purely observational studies lack, though readers should keep in mind that she was also a committed seeker with her own spiritual agenda.

Q : Who was A. D'Arsonval and why is he mentioned on the cover?

R : Dr. Arsène d'Arsonval was a prominent French physician, physicist, and inventor who wrote the introduction to the original French edition. He was known for his work on high-frequency currents and his interest in biological effects of electricity. His introduction lent scientific credibility to David-Neel's account at a time when Western audiences were skeptical of Tibetan claims [citation:1]. The Book Tree edition retains his introduction.

Q : How does this edition differ from other available editions?

R : The Book Tree 2000 edition is a reprint of the 1932 New York edition and includes the original photographs, though print quality varies. Other editions include a Penguin paperback (ISBN 0140000682, 320 pages) and a 2014 reprint by Book Tree with a different ISBN [citation:5]. The original 1932 London edition under the title With Mystics and Magicians in Tibet is a collector's item. Readers should verify which edition they are purchasing, as pagination and supplementary material differ.

Q : Is the book suitable for readers new to Tibetan Buddhism?

R : The book is accessible to general readers and does not assume prior knowledge of Buddhist doctrine. David-Neel explains terms and concepts as she introduces them, and her narrative is engaging. However, readers should be aware that the book focuses on esoteric and magical practices rather than on Buddhist philosophy as such. For a more systematic introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, works by scholars like Donald Lopez or the Dalai Lama may be more suitable as a starting point.

Q : What did critics say about the book when it was first published?

R : The book was widely reviewed and generally received as a significant contribution to Western knowledge of Tibet, though some reviewers expressed skepticism about the phenomena David-Neel described. Her matter-of-fact presentation and her evident sincerity disarmed many critics, and the book sold well. Over time, it has come to be regarded as a classic of travel and esoteric literature, valued both for its content and for the window it opens onto a vanished Tibet [citation:5][citation:9].