The Third Eye, by Lobsang Rampa

I was a teenager when first reading The Third Eye on my father’s recommendation, and I wasn’t disappointed. It had all the elements I was interested in knowing more about – clairvoyance, the aura, astral projection, and similar subjects. Since then I have re-read it a number of times, including just recently, and as always I just didn’t want it to end!

The book is set at the beginning of the twentieth century in what was the famously forbidden land of Tibet. It’s an autobiographical account of Lobsang Rampa, the son of a Tibetan government minister. After his horoscope is cast by lamas from the State Oracle it is decided to send him, at the age of seven, to the Chakpori monastery – the temple of Tibetan medicine in Lhasa. Receiving guidance from his mentor, the Lama Mingyar Dondup, he is trained as a medical lama, with special instruction in the esoteric arts.

The writing has a lively, entertaining style, allowing us to follow Lobsang through the interesting and often amusing incidents that make up his training. These include sitting in with telepathic lamas guiding a departing soul as it moves from this life into another; a flight in a man-lifting kite; a herb-gathering expedition to a remote part of Tibet; plus other nuggets of information about Tibetan culture, customs and beliefs.

The third eye of the title refers to an extra-sensory facility that endows the owner with clairvoyant powers. An operation is made upon Lobsang’s forehead, being thought at that time to speed up the opening of the eye. [Do not try this at home!]

The Tibetan spiritual and political leader (the Great 13th Dalai Lama) takes an interest in him, occasionally asking him to read the auras of foreign diplomats in order to assess their true intentions. But Lobsang is destined to leave the land he loves, suffering imprisonment and torture at the hands of the enemy before reaching the West, where it will be his job to pass on the knowledge and wisdom of the ancients before it is lost forever.

What the critics thought

The Third Eye was first published in 1956, not long after the Communist invasion of 1950, becoming a huge bestseller and receiving favourable reviews. The highly respected Times Literary Supplement called it ‘almost a masterpiece’.

Other reviewers weren’t so generous, eventually employing a private investigator and discovering that Losang Rampa was an alias of Cyril Hoskin, an Englishman who had never been to Tibet. Mr Rampa’s response was that he, the lama, had transmigrated into the body of Cyril Hoskin, who had willingly given way. [My opinion of this is that transmigration or a variation upon this phenomenon is entirely possible, and would allow memories of the lama’s life to be recalled.]

Other criticisms of The Third Eye are that its subjects are not part of Buddhism. Heinrich Harrer, the author of Seven Years in Tibet also said there were errors about Tibetan language, manners and customs, and no such thing as an operation opening a so-called ‘third eye’.

Finally, the current ( 14th ) Dalai Lama’s deputy secretary released a statement which said: “We do not place credence in the books written by Dr T. Lobsang Rampa. His works are highly imaginative and fictional in nature.” [The Dalai Lama had previously admitted that although the books were fictitious, they had created good publicity for Tibet.]

The author himself died in Calgary, Canada in 1981. Today he is considered by many to have been a charlatan. But not by everyone, for I have come across others in the know who find his depiction of Tibet at that time and the description of his esoteric training to have the ring of authenticity. Even some professional Tibetan scholars say it was a fascination with the world Rampa described that first inspired them to pursue their calling.

My view

I would like to give my take on the above criticisms, point by point:

• I have already stated my opinion on transmigration of souls and related phenomena, having personally encountered such cases.
• The beliefs and practices that Rampa describes are not meant to be part of orthodox Buddhism, belonging as they do to Lamaism (Tibetan Buddhism) which of itself has many branches. As it is said, ‘A thousand monks, a thousand religions!’
• I enjoyed Heinrich Harrer’s book on Tibet, which I read many years ago. Despite him living there during the 1940s, I do not believe that makes him an expert on all aspects of Tibetan life, especially of a generation before. His cynicism regarding the third eye, with or without an operation, shows he has a closed mind, much the same as members of orthodoxy that automatically deny the existence of anything they have not been taught to believe in.
• The present (14th) Dalai Lama is said to be a reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama. He may well be, I have no argument with that. But the Dalai Lama that Rampa knew, the Great 13th, was renowned as a mystic. It seems perfectly reasonable that he would encourage esoteric traditions and disciplines that only a select few lamas were privy to: clairvoyance, psychic abilities, secret oral teachings.  This is in direct contrast to his successor who appears far more mainstream.

Summary

By making these points in support of Lobsang Rampa’s claims, I appear to be writing as an apologist. But I’m only suggesting that we as individuals maintain an open mind. It’s too easy to dismiss these things out of hand, throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We must of course use discernment, for there are subtleties to observe. And after many years of training with Gladys Franklin, and many more years of personal experience and investigation, I find I am not in agreement with all that Lobsang Rampa says, not on the finer points anyway.

For example, take the operation to stimulate the third eye: one can develop clairvoyance and the ability to see auras without any type of operation on the matter body. And regarding astral travel, it’s not clear from the book that travels can take place on different levels of consciousness, the levels near to the earth not always good to be in.

Of course we must remember that Rampa was writing about a different era and a different culture. Today, although recognising psychic manifestations as a natural part of life, we know too that there is no true spiritual merit without the enlargement of the soul through harmonisation of our feelings.

My closing advice is, read this book with an open mind, enjoy it, realise that these things are possible, but focus more on building up the light of the soul – which Rampa covers in less detail. Was he a fake? I’m not one hundred percent sure, but it doesn’t really matter to me. That’s because I’m grateful to Lobsang Rampa, for it is after reading his books that my father became engaged in conversation with someone who suggested we enrol for classes with Gladys Franklin. We did, and we never looked back. So I say, a thousand thanks to you, Tuesday Lobsang Rampa.

C.E.J.