We live in a time when our relationship to power has become a critical concern, both personally and collectively. Even in the Buddhist world, the nature of power often goes unaddressed -- despite the power dynamic embedded within the authority of the traditions and in teacher-student relationships. When we deny, ignore or fear our power, it can become hidden in the shadow and then manifest in destructive ways. How then do we discover a healthy relationship to its presence? To a bodhisattva, the power of the awakened mind is the capacity to be effective and beneficial in the service of others.

The deity Vajrapani gives us a means to clarify, awaken and transform our innate potential to skilfully embody the power to be effective in our lives. His wrathful appearance provides a channel of transformation for the destructive energy often buried within our anger and rage. At this crucial time, Rob Preece brings both Buddhist and Jungian understanding to clarify a healthy relationship to power as an innate potential in our nature.

Vajrapani: Clarifying Our Relationship to Power, Rob Preece, Mudra Publications, Paperback, 155 pages, $16.95

Rob Preece is a contemplative psychotherapist who's been practicing analysis for twenty years and Buddhism for around thirty. His work focuses on the interface between Buddhism and transpersonal psychology. A former faculty member of Sharpham College, he spent 1980 through 1985 on retreat in the Himalayas, and he's also an accomplished thangka painter. He leads meditation retreats and workshops that compare Jungian and Buddhist views of psychology. He has published four previous books with Snow Lion.