Download or read book The Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava written by and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-04-07 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This lucid translation of a rare Tibetan text makes available for the first time to Western readers the remarkable life story of Princess Madarava. As the principal consort of the eighth century Indian master Padmasambhava before he introduced tantric Buddhism to Tibet, Mandarava is the Indian counterpart of the Tibetan consort Yeshe Tsogyal. Lives and Liberation recounts her struggles and triumphs as a Buddhist adept throughout her many lives and is an authentic deliverance story of a female Buddhist master. Those who read this book will gain inspiration and encouragement on the path to liberation.
Download or read book Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava written by Yeshe Tsogyal and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This biography of Padmasambhava, the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, is a translation of the Padma bKa'i Thang recorded in the eighth century by his closest disciple and consort, Yeshe Tsogyal. The richly symbolic account in 108 cantos sets forth the stages of his life, which reveal the stages of the path to enlightenment. Vivid description of the establishment of the Dharma in Tibet. Translated by Kenneth Douglas and Gwendolyn Bays from Toussaint's French, corrected with the original Tibetan. Recommended for all students of the Vajrayana traditions. 58 color plates.
Download or read book The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation written by W. Y. Evans-Wentz and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2000-09-28 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation, which was unknown to the Western world until its first publication in 1954, speaks to the quintessence of the Supreme Path, or Mah=ay=ana, and fully reveals the yogic method of attaining Enlightenment. Such attainment can happen, as shown here, by means of knowing the One Mind, the cosmic All-Consciousness, without recourse to the postures, breathings, and other techniques associated with the lower yogas. The original text for this volume belongs to the Bardo Thödol series of treatises concerning various ways of achieving transcendence, a series that figures into the Tantric school of the Mah=ay=ana. Authorship of this particular volume is attributed to the legendary Padma-Sambhava, who journeyed from India to Tibet in the 8th century, as the story goes, at the invitation of a Tibetan king. Padma-Sambhava's text per se is preceded by an account of the great guru's own life and secret doctrines. It is followed by the testamentary teachings of the Guru Phadampa Sangay, which are meant to augment the thought of the other gurus discussed herein. Still more useful supplementary material will be found in the book's introductory remarks, by its editor Evans-Wentz and by the eminent psychoanalyst C. G. Jung. The former presents a 100-page General Introduction that explains several key names and notions (such as Nirv=ana, for starters) with the lucidity, ease, and sagacity that are this scholar's hallmark; the latter offers a Psychological Commentary that weighs the differences between Eastern and Western modes of thought before equating the "collective unconscious" with the Enlightened Mind of the Buddhist. As with the other three volumes in the late Evans-Wentz's critically acclaimed Tibetan series, all four of which are being published by Oxford in new editions, this book also features a new Foreword by Donald S. Lopez.
Download or read book Lady of the Lotus Born written by Gyalwa Changchub and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2002-02-12 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first Tibetan to attain complete enlightenment was in all probability the woman Yeshe Tsogyal, the closest disciple of Padmasambhava, the master who brought Buddhism to Tibet in the eighth century. This classical text is not only a biography but also an inspiring example of how the Buddha's teaching can be put into practice. Lady of the Lotus-Born interweaves profound Buddhist teachings with a colorful narrative that includes episodes of adventure, court intrigue, and personal searching. The book will appeal to students of Tibetan Buddhism and readers interested in the role of women in Buddhism and world religions.
Download or read book Perfect Conduct written by Pema Wangyi Gyalpo and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2015-01-30 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: All religions teach codes of ethical behavior. So too does Buddhism. This books is a translation of an indispensable exposition of the three sets of vows that are central to Tibetan Buddhist codes of discipline--the pratimoksa vows of individual liberation; the vows of the bodhisattva, who selflessly strives for the liberation of all beings; the vows of the esoteric path of tantra. Here, the late Dudjom Rinpoche provides his authoritative commentary on the role of ethics and morality in Buddhist practice, outlining in detail the meaning and scope of the vows, and giving practical advice on maintaining the vows as supportive tools in the journey toward enlightenment.
Download or read book Steps to the Great Perfection written by Jigme Lingpa and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2016-07-05 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The mind-training practices contained in the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism have never before been presented in the English language. The main text translated here, The Steps to Liberation, will be of great interest to Western practitioners, since its instructions are pithy and direct, and experiential rather than scholarly. The contemplations on core Buddhist principles like impermanence and karma, intended for beginning meditators, unfold as dramatic stories in which the meditator is to vividly imagine himself or herself as the main character who undergoes a sequence of experiences that result in transformative realizations. They distill the most essential teachings of the Buddha into a practical system that can be easily implemented in a daily meditation practice. At the same time, they bring together the most foundational Buddhist teachings with the profound methods of the Vajrayana (the esoteric teachings of Buddhist tantra). This is the hallmark of Dzogchen mind training and what sets it apart from other mind-training lineages.
Download or read book Living Is Dying written by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An insightful collection of teachings about death and dying to help face life's greatest mystery calmly and with equanimity. Lifetimes of effort go into organizing, designing, and structuring every aspect of our lives, but how many people are willing to contemplate the inevitability of death? Although dying is an essential part of life, it is an uncomfortable topic that most people avoid. With no idea what will happen when we die and a strong desire to sidestep the conversation, we make all kinds of assumptions. Living Is Dying collects teachings about death and the bardos that have been passed down through a long lineage of brilliant Buddhist masters, each of whom went to great lengths to examine the process in minute detail. Renowned author and teacher Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse responds to the most common questions he's been asked about death and dying--exploring how one prepares for death, what to say to a loved one who is dying, and prayers and practices to use as a handhold when approaching the unknown territory of death. Whether you are facing death today or decades from now, preparing for it can help to allay your worst fears and help you appreciate what it means to be truly alive.
Download or read book Ritual Journeys in South Asia written by Christoph Bergmann and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-08-09 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on the ritualized forms of mobility that constitute phenomena of pilgrimage in South Asia and establishes a new analytical framework for the study of ritual journeys. The book advances the conceptual scope of ‘classical’ Pilgrimage Studies and provides empirical depth through individual case studies. A key concern is the strategies of ritualization through which actors create, assemble and (re-)articulate certain modes of displacement to differentiate themselves from everyday forms of locomotion. Ritual journeys are understood as being both productive of and produced by South Asia’s socio-economically uneven, politically charged and culturally variegated landscapes. From various disciplinary angles, each chapter explores how spaces and movements in space are continually created, contested and transformed through ritual journeys. By focusing on this co-production of space and mobility, the book delivers a conceptually driven and empirically grounded engagement with the diverse and changing traditions of ritual journeying in South Asia. Interdisciplinary in its approach, the book is a must-have reference work for academics interested in South Asian Studies, Religious Studies, Anthropology and Human Geography with a focus on pilgrimage and the socio-spatial ideas and practices of ritualized movements in South Asia.
Download or read book The Epic of Gesar of Ling written by and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2013-07-09 with total page 681 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Gesar of Ling epic is the Tibetan equivalent of The Arabian Nights. For hundreds of years, versions of it have been known in oral and written form in Tibet, China, Central Asia, and across the eastern Silk Route. King Gesar, renowned throughout these areas, represents the ideal warrior. As a leader with his people's loyalty and trust, he conquers all their enemies and protects the peace. His life story, which is full of miracles and magic, is an inspiration and a spiritual example to the people of Tibet and Central Asia even today; Gesar's warrior mask can be seen in the town square and on the door of homes in towns and villages throughout this area. As a Buddhist teaching story, the example of King Gesar is also understood as a spiritual allegory. The "enemies" in the stories represent the emotional and psychological challenges that turn people's minds toward greed, aggression, and envy, and away from the true teachings of Buddhism. These enemies graphically represent the different manifestations of the untamed mind. The teaching is that genuine warriors are not aggressive, but that they subjugate negative emotions in order to put the concerns of others before their own. The ideal of warriorship that Gesar represents is that of a person who, by facing personal challenges with gentleness and intelligence, can attain spiritual realization. This book contains volumes one through three, which tell of Gesar's birth, his mischievous childhood, his youth spent in exile, and his rivalry for the throne with his treacherous uncle. The Gesar epic tells how the king, an enlightened warrior, in order to defend Tibet and the Buddhist religion from the attacks of surrounding demon kings, conquers his enemies one by one in a series of adventures and campaigns that take him all over the Eastern world. He is assisted in his adventures by a cast of heroes and magical characters who include the major deities of Tibetan Buddhism as well as the native religion of Tibet. Gesar fulfills the Silk Route ideal of a king by being both a warrior and a magician. As a magician he combines the powers of an enlightened Buddhist master with those of a shamanic sorcerer. In fact, at times the epic almost seems like a manual to train such a Buddhist warrior-magician. In the story, the people and nation of Ling represent the East Asian notion of an enlightened society. There, meditation, magic, and the oral folk wisdom of a communal nomadic society are synchronized in a lifestyle harmonious with the environment, but ambitious for growth and learning and refined literate culture. Filled with magic, adventure, and the triumphs of this great warrior-king, the stories will delight all—young and old alike. The Gesar epic is still sung by bards in Tibet. The words of the Gesar epic have never been translated into a Western language before.
Download or read book The Shambhala Principle written by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and published by Harmony. This book was released on 2013 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the principles of Shambhala to reveal the inherent goodness of humanity and explain how readers can rediscover inner peace through compatible practices of meditation.
Download or read book Himalayan Hermitess written by Kurtis R. Schaeffer and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2004 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Orgyan Chokyi (1675-1729) spent her life in Dolpo, the highest inhabited region of the Nepal Himalayas. Illiterate and expressly forbidden by her master to write her own life story, Orgyan Chokyi received divine inspiration to compose one of the most forthright and engaging spiritual autobiographies of the Tibetan literary tradition. Her life story is the oldest of only four Tibetan autobiographies authored by women. It is also a rare example of writing by a pre-modern Buddhist woman, and thus holds a unique place in Buddhist literature as a whole. Translator Kurtis Schaeffer prefaces the text with an illuminating study of the life and times of Orgyan Chokyi and an extended analysis of the hermitess's view of the relation between gender, suffering, and liberation. Based almost entirely on primary Tibetan documents never before translated, this fascinating book will be of interest to those studying Buddhism, gender and religion, and the culture of the Tibetan world.
Download or read book Apparitions of the Self written by Janet Gyatso and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2020-11-10 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Apparitions of the Self is a groundbreaking investigation into what is known in Tibet as "secret autobiography," an exceptional, rarely studied literary genre that presents a personal exploration of intimate religious experiences. In this volume, Janet Gyatso translates and studies the outstanding pair of secret autobiographies by the famed Tibetan Buddhist visionary, Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798), whose poetic and self-conscious writings are as much about the nature of his own identity, memory, and the undecidabilities of autobiographical truth as they are narrations of the actual content of his experiences. Their translation in this book marks the first time that works of this sort have been translated in a Western language. Gyatso is among the first to consider Tibetan literature from a comparative perspective, examining the surprising fit--as well as the misfit--of Western literary theory with Tibetan autobiography. She examines the intriguing questions of why Tibetan Buddhists produced so many autobiographies (far more than other Asian Buddhists) and how autobiographical self-assertion is possible even while Buddhists believe that the self is ultimately an illusion. Also explored are Jigme Lingpa's historical milieu, his revelatory visions of the ancient Tibetan dynasty, and his meditative practices of personal cultivation. The book concludes with a study of the subversive female figure of the "Dakini" in Jigme Lingpa's writings, and the implications of her gender, her sexuality, and her unsettling discourse for the autobiographical subject in Tibet.
Download or read book The Path of the Priestess written by Sharron Rose and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2003-01-08 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guide for personal exploration of the path to the divine feminine and the spiritual power of women. • Reveals the essential role of women in creating and maintaining the psychic/energetic/emotional landscape of society. • Explores feminine roles and the archetypal model of the Great Goddess from both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. • Includes exercises, meditations, and visualizations drawn from ancient techniques to assist women with their spiritual awakening and self-realization. The Path of the Priestess takes readers on a journey deep into the heart of the feminine experience. It describes the author's years of first-hand experience in the ancient arts of Tantra, Dzogchen, and Indian and Egyptian temple dance and healing, as well as her research into the feminine principle in the mystic teachings of the Alchemists, Hebrew Kabbalists, and Christian Gnostics. Beginning with an analysis of the basic issues and frustrations inherent in contemporary society's conditioning of and expectations for women, readers travel back in time to the age of the great temples, schools, and sacred societies in which women still held and transmitted the spiritual light that nourished all of civilization. Through its mythic and historic tales, descriptions of sacred ritual practices, and teachings on the Goddess traditions, The Path of the Priestess provides contemporary women with the means to enter this time-honored path. In keeping with the experientially based teaching methods of these traditions, it also offers exercises and visualizations designed to align women with the powerful, sensuous, and loving energies of the most profound feminine role model that shaped and preserved culture and society--the Great Goddess.
Download or read book Being a Buddhist Nun written by Kim Gutschow and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They may shave their heads, don simple robes, and renounce materialism and worldly desires. But the women seeking enlightenment in a Buddhist nunnery high in the folds of Himalayan Kashmir invariably find themselves subject to the tyrannies of subsistence, subordination, and sexuality. Ultimately, Buddhist monasticism reflects the very world it is supposed to renounce. Butter and barley prove to be as critical to monastic life as merit and meditation. Kim Gutschow lived for more than three years among these women, collecting their stories, observing their ways, studying their lives. Her book offers the first ethnography of Tibetan Buddhist society from the perspective of its nuns. Gutschow depicts a gender hierarchy where nuns serve and monks direct, where monks bless the fields and kitchens while nuns toil in them. Monasteries may retain historical endowments and significant political and social power, yet global flows of capitalism, tourism, and feminism have begun to erode the balance of power between monks and nuns. Despite the obstacles of being considered impure and inferior, nuns engage in everyday forms of resistance to pursue their ascetic and personal goals. A richly textured picture of the little known culture of a Buddhist nunnery, the book offers moving narratives of nuns struggling with the Buddhist discipline of detachment. Its analysis of the way in which gender and sexuality construct ritual and social power provides valuable insight into the relationship between women and religion in South Asia today.
Download or read book Courtesans and Tantric Consorts written by Serinity Young and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-03-01 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The wisest teachings of Buddhism say that, like all oppositions, one must move beyond gender. But as Serinity Young shows in this enlightening work, the rhetoric of Buddhist texts, the symbolism of its iconography, and the performative import of its rituals, tell different, and often contradictory, stories. In Courtesans and Tantric Consorts, Serinity Young takes the reader on a journey through more than 2000 years of biographical writings, iconographic depictions, and ritual practices revealing Buddhism's deep struggles with gender. Juxtaposing empowering images of women with their textual repudiation, beginning with the Buddha himself who abandoned his wife; tantric courtesans who are considered necessary to male enlightenment with fertility rituals designed to ensure male offspring; tales of gender-bending gods and goddesses with all male heavens; Serinity Young draws on a vast range of sources to reveal the colourful, and often troubling, mosaic of beliefs that inform Buddhist views about gender and sexuality.
Download or read book The Smile of Sun and Moon written by Palden Sherab ((Khenchen ;) and published by Sky Dancer Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 229 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Dakini Teachings written by Padmasambhava and published by Rangjung Yeshe Publications. This book was released on 2004-06 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The words of advice collected here are part of the ancient tradition of religious texts known as terma that were hidden in secret places during the first spread of Buddhism in Tibet in the ninth century.
