The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat: The Life of Ra Lotsawa

This spirited new translation gives readers in English their first opportunity to encounter one of the most colorful and memorable figure in Tibetan Buddhist history.

The All-Pervading Melodious Drumbeat tells the story of Ra Lotsawa Dorje Drak. Though canonized as a saint and a fully enlightened buddha, the eleventh-century Ra Lotsawa’s life story presents a darker path than those taken by Siddhartha Gautama or Milarepa.
Viewed by some as a murderous villain and by others as a liberator of human suffering, Ra Lotsawa used his formidable power and magical abilities to defeat his rivals, gain a devoted following, and grow rich. Despite these deeds, his fame also rests on an illustrious career as a translator of Buddhist scriptures, through which he helped spark a renaissance of Buddhism in Tibet. A classic account of one of the most colourful and memorable figures in Tibetan Buddhist history.