num_pages: 256
description: A richly illustrated collection of stories about the mahasiddhas spiritual adventurers who attained enlightenment and magical powers by disregarding convention  A modern translation of ancient legends that reveals the human qualities of the rebellious saints known as siddhas and the vital elements of their philosophy  Recounts stories of enlightened masters from all walks of life including a washerman a thief a conman a gambler and a whore and the magical and crazy deeds of each such as walking through walls flying talking with birds and turning people to stone  Richly illustrated with paintings of the tantric saints by artist Robert Beer Offering a modern translation of The Legends of the Eighty-four Mahasiddhas a 12th-century Tibetan text translator Keith Dowman shares stories of the spiritual adventurers rebellious saints and enlightened tantric masters of ancient India known as siddhas. He shows how the mahasiddhas arose from the grassroots of society and represented an entire spectrum of human experience. Counted among the greatest of the siddhas are a washerman a cowboy a thief a conman a gambler and a whore all extraordinary men and women who attained the goal of their meditations as well as enlightenment and magical powers by disregarding convention and penetrating to the core of life. Recounting the magical and crazy deeds of the mahasiddhas such as walking through walls flying talking with birds and turning people to stone Dowman reveals the human qualities of the tantric masters and the vital elements of the siddhas philosophy of nonduality and emptiness. Richly illustrated with paintings of the tantric saints by artist Robert Beer these stories of the mahasiddhas show us a way through human suffering into a spontaneous and free state of oneness with the divine.
language: English
title: Legends of the Mahasiddhas: Lives of the Tantric Masters
publisher: Inner Traditions