One of the most recognizable commercial products of modern theosophical Buddhism is, without a doubt, the so-called » vipassanā meditation «. To begin with, we must understand that meditation was not something recognizable in the real Buddhism of the mid-nineteenth century in the countries of South Asia. The only devotional practice were the songs of suttas in community,…
Etiqueta: theosophy
Revival (XI) Walter Evans-Wentz, the Tibetologist
Walter Yeeling Evans-Wentz (February 2, 1878, Trenton, New Jersey – July 17, 1965, Encinitas, California) was an American anthropologist, folklorist and writer who pioneered the study of Tibetan Buddhism and its transmission to the Western world. He was best known for publishing the first English translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead in 1927. He also published…
Revival (X). Frank Lee Woodward, the Translator
Frank Lee Woodward (1871-1952) was an English educator, Pali scholar, author and theosophist. Woodward studied and researched Theravada Buddhism and wrote numerous works based on them. He is admired among Pali scholars for compiling the great concordance of the Pali canon by translating eighteen of the forty-two volumes of the Pali texts into English. He also served as director…
Revival (IX). Yelena Blavatskaya, Mother of Current Buddhism
Helena Blavatsky, also known as Madame Blavatsky, whose maiden name was Helena von Hahn and then married Helena Petrovna Blavatskaya -Elena Petrvana Ballatska, in Russian-, (Yekaterinoslav, August 12, 1831 – London, May 8, 1891) , was a Russian writer, occultist and theosophist. She was also one of the founders of the Theosophical Society and contributed to…
Revival (VII). Olcott, the Father of Current Buddhism
Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (August 2, 1832 – February 17, 1907) was an American military officer, journalist, lawyer and co-founder and first president of the Theosophical Society. Olcott was the first American acquaintance of European descent to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. His later actions as president of the Theosophical Society helped to create a…