The Buddha Within

The Buddha Within

Author: S. K. Hookham

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1991-01-01

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 9780791403570

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Tathagatagarbha -- Buddha Nature -- is a central concept of Mahayana Buddhism crucial to all the living practice traditions of Tibetan and Zen Buddhism. Its relationship to the concept of emptiness has been a subject of controversy for seven hundred years. Dr. Hookam's work investigates the divergent interpretations of these concepts and the way the Tibetan tradition is resolving them. In particular she does this with reference to the only surviving Indian commentary on the Tathagatagarbha doctrine, the Ratnagotravibhaga. This text addresses itself directly to the issue of how to relate the doctrine of emptiness (the illusory nature of the world) to that of the truly existing, changeless Absolute (the Buddha Nature). This is the first work by a Western writer to present an analysis of the Shentong tradition based on previously untranslated sources. The Shentong view rests on meditative experience that is inaccessible to the conceptualizing mind. It is deeply rooted in the sutra tradition of Indian Buddhism and is central to an understanding of the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions and Tantric practice among Kagyupas and Hyingmapas.


Escape from the Land of Snows

Escape from the Land of Snows

Author: Stephan Talty

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2011-01-18

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0307460967

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The remarkable true story of the miraculous journey that made the Dalai Lama into the man he is today and sparked the fight for Tibetan freedom “A hair-raising tale of daring and escape.”—The Washington Post In the early weeks of 1959, a bloody uprising gripped the streets of the Tibetan capital of Lhasa as ragtag Tibetan rebels faced off against their Communist Chinese occupiers. Realizing that the impending battle would result in a bloodbath and his own capture, the young Dalai Lama began planning an audacious escape to India, a two-week journey that would involve numerous near-death encounters, a dangerous mountain crossing, and evading thousands of Chinese soldiers who were intent on hunting him down. The journey would transform this naïve young man into one of the world’s greatest statesmen . . . and create an enduring beacon of hope for a nation. Emotionally powerful and irresistibly page-turning, Escape from the Land of Snows is simultaneously a portrait of the inhabitants of a spiritual nation forced to take up arms in defense of their ideals, and the saga of a burgeoning leader who was ultimately transformed into the towering figure the world knows today—a charismatic champion of free thinking and universal compassion.


The Guru Principle

The Guru Principle

Author: Lama Shenpen Hookham

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2021-08-17

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1611809266

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A clear-headed and relatable guidebook for navigating the student-teacher relationship by one of the first female Buddhist teachers in the West. All major forms of Buddhism stress the need for a teacher. However, the importance of having a guide or guru is sometimes a source of cultural and spiritual confusion as Buddhism expands in the West. A clear understanding of the Buddhist view of the guru is essential for the student-teacher relationship to be beneficial for one's spiritual growth. Collecting over fifty years of personal experiences as both a student and a teacher, Shenpen Hookham writes candidly of the opportunities and challenges facing modern Dharma students in the West who wish to study with a teacher. Traditional texts often do not reflect how the student-teacher relationship manifests in practice, which leaves many pressing questions and a great deal of confusion in communities taking root in the West. With honesty and clarity, Hookham discusses the roles of the teacher, practices related to the guru, and commonly asked questions she receives as a teacher. This handbook is the first of its kind, breaking down in a pragmatic and relatable way everything you need to know to enter a student-teacher relationship with open eyes and an open heart.


Compassion and the Individual

Compassion and the Individual

Author: His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama

Publisher: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

Published: 2015-01-01

Total Pages: 15

ISBN-13: 9380359578

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His Holiness the Dalai Lama is loved and respected world-wide as a man of peace. As spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, he has consistently advocated policies of non-violence, even in the face of great aggression -an approach that in 1989 won him the coveted Nobel Peace Prize. In lectures and tours around the world he has touched people’s hearts, transcending religious, national and political barriers by the simplicity, profundity and great-heartedness of his message – that of universal responsibility and great compassion. In this small booklet he explains with utter clarity and reasoning why compassion is so inseparable from our human nature and how at any moment we can tap into and develop this birthright.


Luminous Emptiness

Luminous Emptiness

Author: Francesca Fremantle

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2003-03-11

Total Pages: 554

ISBN-13: 0834824787

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The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a best-seller for three decades, is one of the most widely read texts of Tibetan Buddhism. Over the years, it has been studied and cherished by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. Luminous Emptiness is a detailed guide to this classic work, elucidating its mysterious concepts, terms, and imagery. Fremantle relates the symbolic world of the Tibetan Book of the Dead to the experiences of everyday life, presenting the text not as a scripture for the dying, but as a guide for the living. According to the Buddhist view, nothing is permanent or fixed. The entire world of our experience is constantly appearing and disappearing at every moment. Using vivid and dramatic imagery, the Tibetan Book of the Dead presents the notion that most of us are living in a dream that will continue from lifetime to lifetime until we truly awaken by becoming enlightened. Here, Fremantle, who worked closely with Chögyam Trungpa on the 1975 translation of the Tibetan Book of the Dead (Shambhala), brings the expertise of a lifetime of study to rendering this intriguing classic more accessible and meaningful to the living. Luminous Emptiness features in-depth explanations of: • The Tibetan Buddhist notions of death and rebirth • The meaning of the five energies and the five elements in Tibetan Buddhism • The mental and physical experience of dying, according to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition


The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Inner Peace

The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Inner Peace

Author: Dalai Lama

Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing

Published: 2018-10-01

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 1612834329

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His Holiness the Dalai Lama offers powerful, profound advice on how to live a peaceful and fulfilling life amidst all the conflicts of the modern world. In this distillation of his life and teachings, the Dalai Lama paints a compelling portrait of his early life, reflecting on the personal and political struggles that have helped to shape his understanding of our world. Offering his wisdom and experience to interpret the timeless teachings of the Buddha, The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Inner Peace is fresh and relevant to our troubled times. He explains in a simple and accessible way how each of us can influence those around us by living with integrity. And he holds out hope that, through personal transformation, we can all contribute to a better world. Replaces ISBN 9781571746092


How to See Yourself As You Really Are

How to See Yourself As You Really Are

Author: Dalai Lama

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2012-03-31

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1448118379

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Full of insights and very practical, this important book by the Dalai Lama shows that self-knowledge is the key to personal development and creating positive relationships How to See Yourself As You Really Are is based on a fundamental Buddhist belief that love and insight work together to bring about enlightenment, like two wings of a bird. It provides a new perspective on the psychological problems of hurting ourselves through misguided, exaggerated notions of self, others, events and physical things. It shows how even our senses deceive us, drawing us into unwise attachments and negative actions that can only come back to haunt us in the future. Drawing on wisdom and techniques refined in Tibetan monasteries for more than a thousand years, and adopting as its structure traditional Buddhist steps of meditative reflection, How to See Yourself As You Really Are includes practical exercises and gives readers a clear path to assess their growth and personal development. The book is enlivened throughout with warm personal anecdotes and intimate accounts of the Dalai Lama's experiences as a life-long student, a meditator, a political leader and an international figure working with other Nobel Peace Laureates to address crises around the world. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of Tibet. Today, he lives in exile in Northern India and works tirelessly on behalf of the Tibetan people, as well as travelling the world to give spiritual teachings to sell-out audiences. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.


The Dalai Lama's Cat and the Four Paws of Spiritual Success

The Dalai Lama's Cat and the Four Paws of Spiritual Success

Author: David Michie

Publisher: Hay House, Inc

Published: 2019-11-19

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1401959466

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The Dalai Lama’s Cat is back! Latest title in the ever-popular and bestselling series. The Dalai Lama's Cat is back: irreverent, vain-and delightfully insightful as ever! When the Dalai Lama's inner circle is set the task of providing His Holiness with a book he can give his visitors, an unexpected volunteer stretches out her paws. The book is to summarise the four key elements of Tibetan Buddhism-and, importantly, to communicate how it feels to be in the profoundly reassuring presence of His Holiness. Who better to do this than his much-loved feline? Through encounters with celebrity visitors and her own intriguing adventures, the Dalai Lama's Cat explains all four key themes, not so much as ideas but as practices to be embodied. Along the way she even gets a new title: "Therapy Cat". If you have ever sought a summary of Tibetan Buddhist wisdom, albeit from an unusual and whiskery source, this may just be the book to get you purring!


The Dalai Lama, a Policy of Kindness

The Dalai Lama, a Policy of Kindness

Author: Sidney Piburn

Publisher: Snow Lion Publications, Incorporated

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13:

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Brought me gently and pleasantly into the life and mind of this extraordinary spiritual leader and assured the success of my interview with him.--Bill Moyers, PBS