This work opens up the subject of perhaps the most profound of Buddhist tantras, The Guhyasamajatantra by shedding light on its relation with previous literature including the Brahamical tradition and by revealing the elevated type of Yoga. It goes far toward replacing the previous supposition that this Tantra can be understood by mere reading by one oblivious of the extensive commentarial tradition that incorporates the precepts of the Gurus.

The author has used the edited Sanskrit texts, the Pradipoddyotana Ms,the relevant texts translated into Tibetan in the Kanjur & Tanjur, and thirteen Tibetan works on the Tantra by Tsong-kha-pa, founder of the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Author Alex Wayman, Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit, Columbia University, NY is in the forefront of Western Buddhist scholarship by his series of books in both tantric and non-tantric Buddhism based on over 40 years of researches.

Yoga of the Guhyasamajatantra, The Arcane Lore of Forty Verses, by Alex Wayman, 388 pages, $28.00.

Alex Wayman, pioneer in the field of Tibetology and Professor Emeritus of Sanskrit, died on Sept. 22, 2004, at the age of 83. Wayman joined Columbia in 1966 as a visiting associate professor of religion. In 1967, he was appointed professor of Sanskrit in the Department of Middle East and Asian Languages and Cultures, a position he held until his retirement in 1991. During his tenure, Wayman taught classes in classical Sanskrit, Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit, Indian and Tibetan Religions and the history of astrology. While at Columbia, he was a member of the administrative committee of the Southern Asian Institute. He also served as senior editor of The Buddhist Traditions Series (with 30 volumes to date) published by Motilal Banarsidass in Delhi, India.