Five Tibetan Rites

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The Five Tibetan Rites is a system of exercises first publicized by Peter Kelder, an orphan from the Midwestern United States^[1]. In his booklet "The Eye of Revelation", published 1939, Kelder claims to relay the travel stories of a retired British army colonel he met in southern California^[2]. Although the rites are unsupported by Tibetan scholars and religious leaders, some westerners believe it to be a form of yoga similar to the more well-known forms of yoga that originated in India, even though Tibet already has its own traditional yoga with well-known teachers. Traditional Tibetan yoga emphasizes "a continuous sequence of movement" whereas Indian forms focus on "static positions". Although the Five Rites are practiced and promoted extensively in Western countries, Tibetan Buddhist and Bon practitioners in Tibet and India opt to engage in the already well-established traditional forms of Tibetan yoga.

The Five Tibetan Rites are also referred to as The Five Rites, The Five Tibetans and The Five Rites of Rejuvenation.

Contents 1 The booklet 2 Questionable origins 3 Performing the exercises 3.1 Claimed benefits of performing the rites 4 References 5 References supporting the Five Rites 6 References contradicting or unsupportive of the Five Rites 7 External links to The Five Rites

[edit] The booklet

Kelder's booklet states, while stationed in India, British army officer Colonel Bradford (a pseudonym) heard a story about a group of Lamas who had apparently discovered a "Fountain of Youth". The "wandering natives", as he called them, told him of old men who inexplicably became healthy, strong and full of "vigor and virility" after entering a particular lamasery. After retiring, Kelder's Colonel Bradford went on to discover the lamasery and lived with the monks where they taught him five exercises, which they called "Rites". According to the booklet, the Lamas describe 7 spinning vortices (chakras) within the body. As we grow older, the spin rate of the chakras diminish resulting in "ill-health". The spin rate of these vortices can be restored resulting in improved health by performing the Five Rites on a daily basis. Bradford was also instructed in how to perform a Sixth Rite (an abdominal breathing exercise), which the Lamas only recommended for those willing to choose a lifestyle of celibacy. Additionally, Bradford reveals information on the importance of what foods one should eat, proper food combinations and the correct method of eating.

[edit] Questionable origins

There is little historical or cultural evidence to support Kelder's booklet. Most scholars of Tibet and authentic lineage holders state his publications are works of fiction (in the same vein as Lobsang Rampa). Kelder's writing is notably discordant with the five traditional Lamaits schools in many ways, and indeed there is no lineage holder, of either high or lower stature, from any tradition in Tibet, that acknowledges anything to do with The Five Rites.

1. There are five chakras in Tibetan medicine, not seven chakras.
2. Tibetan medicine considers health to be a balance of five elements, not the speeding up of seven vortices.
3. Yoga in Tibet never included whirling.
4. Buddhist Lamas teach to transcend attachment to the body, including ideas of being young, thin or beautiful. Tibetan master Milarepa taught that illness and signs of aging were a wonderful blessing for cutting though our ego and attachment.
5. Authentic Tibetan yoga includes over a 100 movements and involves a variety of exercises.
6. Tibetan yoga also includes several breathing practices, hundreds of complex visualisations and many meditation practices that a practitioner will take years to perfect under strict guidance from their personal Lama.
7. An authentic Tibetan practitioner will always reveal the name and lineage of their teacher, usually accompanied by long dedicational verses. Similarly, authentic practitioners of any Tibetan system will make frequent citation and indeed veneration of any practice from an authentic ancient text. Generally said, any authentic Tibetan practice will have numerous references to lineage and provenance, and will contain countless safeguards against invasive foreign interpolations.
8. Tibetan monks did not teach secret yoga practices or share anything but minor spiritual practices with Westerners or laypersons generally in 1939.

Chris Kilham, whose 1994 book 'The Five Tibetans' resparked the 'The Five Rites' current popularity says, "Perhaps they come from Nepal or northern India...As the story has it, they were shared by Tibetan lamas; beyond that I know nothing of their history. Personally, I think these exercises are most likely Tibetan in origin." ^[3]

[edit] Performing the exercises

1. First Rite (Clockwise Whirling)
2. Second Rite (Head and Leg Raises)
3. Third Rite (Camel)
4. Fourth Rite (Tabletop)
5. Fifth Rite (Up and Down Dog)
6. Sixth Rite (Uddyana Bandha Abdominal Breathing Exercise)

Variations in performing the rites exist between schools, with many adding their own variations. For additional details, instructions, information and photographic representations, see #External links to The Five Rites below.

[edit] Claimed benefits of performing the rites

Schools that teach the rites often claim they yield positive medical effects, which range from improved eyesight, memory, potency, hair growth, restoring full color to completely grey hair, and anti-aging. While the five-rites may improve health because of the increased stimulation to the body, there is currently no sound scientific evidence to support the more controversial 'miracles'.

[edit] References

1. ^ Brief biography of Kelder as an orphan
2. ^ Kelder claimed to have met a yogi colonel in southern California
3. ^ Yoga Journal:The Tang of Tibet

[edit] References supporting the Five Rites

• Kelder, Peter: The Eye of Revelation. Peter Kelder; (1939), Borderland Sciences Research Foundation; (1975).
• Kelder, Peter: Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth. Harbor Press; (1985,1989) Revised, modernized and expanded edition of The Eye of Revelation, copyright 1939 by Peter Kelder.
• Kelder, Peter: Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth: Book 1. Doubleday; (January 20, 1998) Further revised, modernized and expanded edition of The Eye of Revelation, copyright 1939 by Peter Kelder.
• Kelder, Peter & Bernie S. Siegel, M.D.: Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth: Book 2. DoubleDay; (January 19, 1999)
• Kilham, Christopher S.: The Five Tibetans: Five Dynamic Exercises for Health, Energy and Personal Power. Healing Arts Press; (April 1, 1994)
• Witt, Carolinda: T5T: The Five Tibetan Exercise Rites. Penguin Books (Sept 2005).
• Co, Stephen & Eric B. Robins, M.D.: Your Hands Can Heal You: Pranic Healing Energy Remedies to Boost Vitality and Speed Recovery from Common Health Problems. Free Press; Reprint edition (January 5, 2004).

[edit] References contradicting or unsupportive of the Five Rites

• Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, 2003. Yantra Yoga: The Tibetan Yoga of Movement. ISBN 1-55939-192-8.
• Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, 1988. Yantra Yoga: The Yoga of Movement. ISBN 3-900890-01-3.
• Padampa Sangye, 11th Century. The Hundred Verses of Advice. Traditional text. Modern translation with foreword by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.
• Patrul Rinpoche, 1860. The Words of my Perfect Teacher. Traditional text. Modern translation with foreword by the Dalai Lama and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. ISBN 1-57062-412-7.
• Sogyal Rinpoche, 1992. The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. ISBN 0-7126-7139-0. On how to prepare spiritually for aging, illness, and death.
• Dalai Lama, 2001. How to Practice : The Way to a Meaningful Life. ISBN 0-7434-2708-4.
• Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, 1855, The Excellent Path to Enlightenment Ngondro. Traditional text. Many modern translations.
• Stephan Beyer, 1978. The Cult of Tara: Magic and ritual in Tibet. ISBN 0-520-03635-2.
• Ian Baker, 2000. The Dalai Lama's Secret Temple. ISBN 0-500-51003-2. Paintings made in 1670 in the Dalai Lama's traditional temple, depicting a different form of yoga to the five rites.
• Garma C.C. Chang, 1999. The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. ISBN 1-57062-476-3. Traditional songs urging beings to give up clinging to the body and youth.
• Nyingma Institute, 2002. How to Follow a Spiritual Master. Traditional texts compilation on history and lineages of Tibetan practices.
• Milarepa, on aging and sickness
• Namkhai Norbu's course in traditional Tibetan Yoga
• Lama lobsang traditional Tibetan yoga
• Lama Surya Das traditional Tibetan retreat and lineage practices
• Snowlion publishing article on Tibetan Yoga
• Ligmincha institute Trul khor training
• Tapeworm studio, 2003. Yogis of Tibet. ASIN B00064MWJW. Documentary film on traditional Tibetan yoga practices.

[edit] External links to The Five Rites

• Tibetan Yoga and Meditation
• The Five Tibetan Rites: Exercises for Healing, Rejuvenation, and Longevity
• Five Secret Tibetan Rejuvenation Rites Programme
• The Five Tibetan Rites
• Five Tibetan Rejuvenation Energy Rites
• Tibetan Rites