Download or read book Bla Ma Lnga Bcu Pa i Rnam Bshad Slob Ma i Re Ba Kun Skong written by Tsong-kha-pa Blo-bzang-grags-pa and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 1999 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Devoting oneself to a spiritual teacher is a practice much misunderstood in the West, yet fundamental to the tanctric Buddhism of Tibet.
Download or read book Ocean of Attainments written by Yael Bentor and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2024-04-16 with total page 835 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This commentary on Guhyasamaja tantra is the seminal guide to deity yoga and tantric visualization for the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism. The Guhyasamaja Tantra, called the king of all tantras, is revered in Tibet, especially by the Geluk school. Ocean of Attainments, a commentary on Guhyasamaja practice, was composed by Khedrup Jé Gelek Palsang (1385–1438), a key disciple of the Geluk school founder, Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa. It explores the creation stage, a quintessential Buddhist tantric meditation that together with the completion stage comprises the path of unexcelled tantra. In the creation stage, meditators visualize themselves as buddhas at the center of the celestial mandala, surrounded in all directions by male and female buddhas, bodhisattvas, and other enlightened beings. Yet creation-stage practice is not merely visualization but deity yoga—indivisibly uniting the meditation on emptiness with the visualization of the mandala. The creation stage uses the conceptualization in visualization to overcome conceptualization, thereby creating a nonconceptual and nonerroneous direct perception. Such a mind, profound and vast, can bring about a transformation that stops samsaric suffering. How can visions generated as mental constructs not be erroneous? To the awakened eye, the buddhas and other beings who dwell in the mandala are “reality,” and in a sense they are more than real. While the previously published Essence of the Ocean of Attainments is a concise exposition on the practice of the Guhyasamaja sadhana, Ocean of Attainments is far more detailed, providing extensive scriptural citations, clear explanation of the body maanala, arguments on points of contention, reference to other tantric systems, and critiques of misinterpretations. With its extensive and clear introduction, this volume is a vital contribution to the growing body of scholarship on Guhyasamaja and on Buddhist tantra in general.
Download or read book Stages of the Path and the Oral Transmission written by and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-12-20 with total page 939 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A major contribution to the literature on Buddhist practice according to the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism from its foremost interpreter. Although it was the last major school to emerge in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the Geluk school has left an indelible mark on Buddhist thought and practice. The intellectual and spiritual brilliance of its founder, the great Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), has inspired generations of scholars and tantric yogis to place him at the heart of their daily meditative practice. The Geluk tradition’s close ties to the Dalai Lamas have also afforded it an outsized influence in all aspects of Tibetan life for centuries. At its peak its combined monasteries boasted a population in the tens of thousands, and its sway encompassed the religious landscape of Mongolia and much of Central Asia. This widespread religious activity fostered a rich literary tradition, and fifteen seminal works are featured here representing four genres of that tradition. They include works on the stages of the path, or lamrim, the genre for which the Geluk is most renowned; works on guru yoga, centered around the core Geluk ritual Offering to the Guru (Lama Chöpa); teachings from the unique oral transmission of Geluk mahamudra, meditation on the nature of mind; and instructions on the three essential points—what to practice in life, at death, and in the bardo. Your guide to these riches, Thupten Jinpa, maps out their historical context and spiritual significance in his extensive introduction.
Download or read book Ornament of Stainless Light written by Khedrup Norsang Gyatso and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2016-03-08 with total page 733 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The premiere volume of Thupten Jinpa's thirty-two-volume Library of Tibetan Classics series, inaugurated to coincide with the Dalai Lama's conferral of the initiation rite of Kalacakra in Toronto in April 2004. The Kalacakra, or "wheel of time," tantra likely entered Indian Mahayana Buddhism around the tenth century. In expounding the root tantra, the Indian master Pundarika, one of the legendary Kalki kings of the land of Shambhala, wrote his influential Stainless Light.Ornament of Stainless Light is an authoritative Tibetan exposition of this important text, composed in the fifteenth century by Khedrup Norsang Gyatso, tutor to the Second Dalai Lama. One of the central projects of Kalacakra literature is a detailed correlation between the human body and the external universe. In working out this complex correspondence, the Kalacakra texts present an amazingly detailed theory of cosmology and astronomy, especially about the movements of the various celestial bodies. The Kalacakra tantra is also a highly complex system of Buddhist theory and practice that employs vital bodily energies, deep meditative mental states, and a penetrative focus on subtle points within the body's key energy conduits known as channels. Ornament of Stainless Light addresses all these topics, elaborating on the external universe, the inner world of the individual, the Kalacakra initiation rites, and the tantric stages of generation and completion, all in a highly readable English translation.
Download or read book The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems written by Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-nyi-ma (Thuʼu-bkwan III) and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2009-04 with total page 698 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems by Thuken Losang Chökyi Nyima (1737-1802) is probably the widest-ranging account of religious philosophies ever written in pre-modern Tibet. Thuken was a cosmopolitan Buddhist monk from Amdo, Mongol by heritage, Tibetan in education, and equally comfortable in a central Tibetan monastery or at the imperial court in Beijing. Like most texts on philosophical systems, his Crystal Mirror covers the major schools of India, both non-Buddhist and Buddhist, but then goes on to discuss in detail the entire range of Tibetan traditions as well, with separate chapters on the Nyingma, Kadam, Kagyü, Shijé, Sakya, Jonang, Geluk, and Bön. Not resting there, Thuken goes on to describe the major traditions of China-Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist-as well as those of Mongolia, Khotan, and Shambhala. The Crystal Mirror is unusual, too, in its concern not just to describe and analyze doctrines, but to trace the historical development of the various traditions. All this makes the Crystal Mirror an eloquent, erudite, and informative textbook on the religious history and philosophical systems of an array of Asian cultures-and provides evidence that serious and sympathetic study of the history of religions has not been a monopoly of Western scholarship.
Download or read book Wise Teacher Wise Student written by Alexander Berzin and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2010-06-16 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The relationship between a teacher and student can be a most rewarding and life-enhancing experience, yet it can also be fraught with problems and misunderstandings. For Westerners working with Eastern teachers, the difficulties can be compounded by cultural differences, language barriers, and divergent expectations. Wise Teacher, Wise Student examines the teacher-student relationship as it is understood in the Tibetan Buddhist context. The author surveys a wide spectrum of situations, exploring the causes of potential pitfalls. In illuminating the sources of misunderstandings, he offers methods to heal wounds and encourage healthy relationships.
Download or read book The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems written by Thuken Losang Chokyi Nyima and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-06-06 with total page 698 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems, by Thuken Losang Chokyi Nyima (1737-1802), is arguably the widest-ranging account of religious philosophies ever written in pre-modern Tibet. Like most Tibetan texts on philosophical systems, this work covers the major schools of India, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, but then goes on to discuss in detail the entire range of Tibetan traditions as well, with separate chapters on the Nyingma, Kadam, Kagyu, Shije, Sakya, Jonang, Geluk, and Bon schools. Not resting there, Thuken goes on to describe the major traditions of China--Confucian, Daoist, and the multiple varieties of Buddhist--as well as those of Mongolia, Khotan, and even Shambhala. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is unusual, too, in its concern not just to describe and analyze doctrines, but to trace the historical development of the various traditions. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is an eloquent and erudite presentation exploring the religious history and philosophical systems of an array of Asian Cultures--and offering evidence that the serious and sympathetic study of the history of religions has not been a monopoly of Western scholarship.
Download or read book Kadam Stages of the Path Mind Training and Esoteric Practice Part One written by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2024-04-02 with total page 1049 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive selection of texts central to the Kadam lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, including topics like Mind Training, Stages of the Path, and esoteric tantric instructions. The Treasury of Precious Instructions by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye, one of Tibet’s greatest Buddhist masters, is a shining jewel of Tibetan literature, presenting essential teachings from the entire spectrum of practice lineages that existed in Tibet. In its eighteen volumes, Kongtrul brings together some of the most important texts on key topics of Buddhist thought and practice as well as authoring significant new sections of his own. The Kadam lineage derives from the teachings and practices taught by the Indian master Atiśa and his Tibetan students. Atiśa spent twelve years in Tibet and left a scholarly and devotional lineage that would be significant to all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, but particularly the Geluk, the tradition of the Dalai Lamas, which fashioned themselves as the New Kadam tradition. Jamgön Kongtrul’s catalog to The Treasury of Precious Instructions classifies Kadam literature into five categories: treatise, instruction, esoteric practice, ancillary works, and associated works. The first two are the main topics covered in this volume: Lamrim, or Stages of the Path, and Lojong, or Mind Training. These two Kadam teachings continue to exert a significant influence on Tibetan Buddhism and therefore represent the legacy of the Kadam tradition. The first centers around “The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment,” written by the eleventh-century Indian master Atiśa who spent twelve years in Tibet, and this volume also includes stories of Atiśa’s life and travels. The second set of teachings consists of aphorisms known as the Seven-Point Mind Training, meant to be used as contemplative practices to develop compassion and transform the mind. These selections show not only the foundational texts of the Kadam tradition but also the widespread impact these teachings continued to have across traditions.
Download or read book Principles of Buddhist Tantra written by Kirti Tsenshap and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-05-01 with total page 498 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche was a renowned teacher of Tibetan Buddhism with students worldwide. Revered as a teacher by even the Dalai Lama, he was known especially as a master of Buddhist tantra, the powerful esoteric methods for attaining enlightenment swiftly. The teachings in this book are a singular record of his deep learning in that field. Originally delivered in California to a group of Western students, the teachings comment on a classic introduction to tantra by the nineteenth-century Mongolian lama Choje Ngawang Palden. The work, Illumination of the Tantric Tradition, is a staple even today of the curriculum for training young monastics. Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche explains the distinctive features of the four classes of tantra--action tantra, performance tantra, yoga tantra, and highest yoga tantra--by describing the way to progress through their paths and levels. He illuminates key issues in tantric practice that are still a matter for debate within the tradition. Finally, he gives a special treatment of the unique methods of Kalacakra tantra, which is regularly taught around the globe by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Download or read book Mind Training written by Thupten Jinpa and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-05-01 with total page 625 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Compiled in the fifteenth century, Mind Training: The Great Collection is the earliest anthology of a special genre of Tibetan literature known as "mind training," or lojong in Tibetan. The principal focus of these texts is the systematic cultivation of such altruistic thoughts and emotions as compassion, love, forbearance, and perseverance. The mind-training teachings are highly revered by the Tibetan people for their pragmatism and down-to-earth advice on coping with the various challenges and hardships that unavoidably characterize everyday human existence. The volume contains forty-four individual texts, including the most important works of the mind training cycle, such as Serlingpa's well-known Leveling Out All Preconceptions, Atisha's Bodhisattva's Jewel Garland, Langri Thangpa's Eight Verses on Training the Mind, and Chekawa's Seven-Point Mind Training together with the earliest commentaries on these seminal texts. An accurate and lyrical translation of these texts, many of which are in metered verse, marks an important contribution to the world's literary heritage, enriching its spiritual resources.
Download or read book Pu pik Tracing Ancient India Through Texts and Traditions written by Nina Mirnig and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2013-12-23 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is perhaps commonplace to say that India is one of the world's richest and most enticing cultures. One thousand years have passed since Albiruni, arguably the first "Indologist", wrote his outsider's account of the subcontinent and two hundred years have passed since the inception of Western Indology. And yet, what this monumental scholarship has achieved is still outweighed by the huge tracts of terra incognita: thousands of works lacking scholarly attention and even more manuscripts which still await careful study whilst decaying in the unforgiving Indian climate. In September 2009 young researchers and graduate students in this field came together to present their cutting-edge work at the first International Indology Graduate Research Symposium, which was held at Oxford University. This volume, the first in a new series which will publish the proceedings of the Symposium, will make important contributions to the study of the classical civilisation of the Indian sub-continent. The series, edited by Nina Mirnig, Péter-Dániel Szántó and Michael Williams, will strive to cover a wide range of subjects reaching from literature, religion, philosophy, ritual and grammar to social history, with the aim that the research published will not only enrich the field of classical Indology but eventually also contribute to the studies of history and anthropology of India and Indianised Central and South-East Asia.
Download or read book Puspika Tracing Ancient India Through Texts and Traditions written by Nina Mirnig and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2013-12-23 with total page 489 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is perhaps commonplace to say that India is one of the world's richest and most enticing cultures. One thousand years have passed since Albiruni, arguably the first "Indologist", wrote his outsider's account of the subcontinent and two hundred years have passed since the inception of Western Indology. And yet, what this monumental scholarship has achieved is still outweighed by the huge tracts of terra incognita: thousands of works lacking scholarly attention and even more manuscripts which still await careful study whilst decaying in the unforgiving Indian climate. In September 2009 young researchers and graduate students in this field came together to present their cutting-edge work at the first International Indology Graduate Research Symposium, which was held at Oxford University. This volume, the first in a new series which will publish the proceedings of the Symposium, will make important contributions to the study of the classical civilisation of the Indian sub-continent. The series, edited by Nina Mirnig, Péter-Dániel Szántó and Michael Williams, will strive to cover a wide range of subjects reaching from literature, religion, philosophy, ritual and grammar to social history, with the aim that the research published will not only enrich the field of classical Indology but eventually also contribute to the studies of history and anthropology of India and Indianised Central and South-East Asia.
Download or read book Vajrayogini written by Elizabeth English and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2002-06-15 with total page 607 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sixteen pages of stunning color plates not only enhance the study but bring the goddess Vajrayogini to life."--BOOK JACKET.
Download or read book Guhyasamaja Practice in the Arya Nagarjuna System Volume One written by Gyumé Khensur Lobsang Jampa and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2019-12-17 with total page 785 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Complete instructions on how to practice the generation stage of Guhyasamaja from a contemporary Tibetan Buddhist master, with a new English translation of the self-generation ritual. The Guhyasamāja Tantra is one of the Unexcelled Yoga Tantras of Vajrayana Buddhism. In the initial, generation-stage practice, one engages in a prescribed sequence of visualizations of oneself as an enlightened being in a purified environment in order to prepare one’s mind and body to engage in the second stage: the completion stage. The latter works directly with the subtle energies of one’s mind and body and transforms them into the enlightened mind and body of a buddha. In this book, Gyumé Khensur Lobsang Jampa, a former abbot of Gyumé Tantric College, provides complete instructions on how to practice the generation stage of Guhyasamāja, explaining the visualizations, offerings, and mantras involved, what they symbolize, and the purpose they serve. These instructions, which are usually imparted only orally from master to student after the student has been initiated into the Guhyasamāja mandala, are now being published in English for the first time and are supplemented by extracts from key written commentaries in the footnotes to support practitioners who have received the required transmissions from a holder of this lineage. The complete self-generation ritual is included in the second part of the book, with the Tibetan on facing pages, which can be used by those who read Tibetan and want to recite the ritual in Tibetan.
Download or read book Vajradhara in Human Form The Life and Times of Ngor chen Kun dga bzang po written by Jörg Heimbel and published by Jörg Heimbel. This book was released on 2017 with total page 708 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The present book presents a detailed study of the life and times of the tantric expert Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (Ngor chen Kun dga’ bzang po, 1382–1456), who was one of the most outstanding and influential Sakya masters of fifteenth-century Tibet. Among his many influential activities, Ngorchen is best remembered for his founding of the monastery of Ngor Ewam Choden (Ngor E waṃ chos ldan) in 1429. Withdrawing from the worldly distractions of the bustling town of Sakya (Sa skya) and sectarian conflicts, he left his traditional alma mater, the monastery of Sakya, and established his own monastic seat in the remote Ngor valley, some 30 kilometres southwest of modern Shigatse (gZhis ka rtse) in the central Tibetan province of Tsang (gTsang). There, based on the observance of a strict monastic discipline, Ngorchen hoped to return to traditional Sakya teaching and practice in a more supportive environment. Ngor immediately became a new centre for tantric training within the monastic circles of the Sakya school. As the leading tantric expert, Ngorchen trained a whole new generation of young students, producing some of the brightest minds of the Sakya school. At his monastic seat, Ngorchen and his abbatial successors established one of the most prominent subdivisions of the Sakya school, the Ngor tradition (ngor lugs), based on Ngorchen’s distinctive understanding of tantric ritual and practice. The religious influence of Ngor and its abbots extended to far-western Tibet (mNga’ ris), including Mustang (Glo bo), Purang (sPu hrang), Guge (Gu ge), Spiti (sPyi ti), and Ladakh (La dwags). In the following centuries, Ngor’s influence also extended eastwards to Khams, where the tradition became very influential in Derge (sDe dge), Lingtsang (Gling tshang), and Gapa (sGa pa). From the 17th century onward, the Ngorpa enjoyed the patronage of the ruling house of Derge, whose successive kings called upon retired abbots of Ngor to serve as their court chaplains (dbu bla).
Download or read book Catalogue of the Mongolian Manuscripts and Xylographs in the St Petersburg State University Library written by Tatsuo Nakami and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 746 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Catalogue of the Tibetan Manuscripts and Block Prints in the Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences written by Gergely Orosz and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 906 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
