The Seven Instruction Lineages
The Seven Instruction Lineages

Author: Jo Nang Taranatha

Publisher: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 8186470654

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In the present work, Taranatha paints a miraculous picture of the great Siddhas of India their lives and the lineages which sprang from their teachings. In all, the lives of some 59 Siddhas are related some well known, others more obscure, but all linked by their various lineages and by the instructions handed down from Siddha to disciple. Taranatha’s account of these remarkable lives is especially valuable as he had as his gurus, and as the sources of these accounts, three Indians from the very traditions about which he wrote with such conviction. The lineage accounts are very important for a clear understanding of the Tantric upadesas themselves. In several places Taranatha makes quite sure that his own lineage is irrefutably established so that there is no doubt that he is a participator in the upadesas themselves, not merely a hander down of legends. The accounts were evidently passed on and, due to the special factors involved in the tantric oral tradition, we cannot but understand them as being accurate and reliable.

The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems
The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems

Author: Blo-bzang-chos-kyi-nyi-ma (Thuʼu-bkwan III)

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2009-04

Total Pages: 698

ISBN-13: 0861714644

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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.

The Six Yogas of Naropa
The Six Yogas of Naropa

Author: Glenn H. Mullin

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2014-05-13

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1559399066

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Tsongkhapa's commentary entitled A Book of Three Inspirations: A Treatise on the Stages of Training in the Profound Path of Naro's Six Dharmas is commonly referred to as The Three Inspirations. Anyone who has read more than a few books on Tibetan Buddhism will have encountered references to the Six Yogas of Naropa, a preeminent yogic technology system. The six practices—inner heat, illusory body, clear light, consciousness transference, forceful projection, and bardo yoga—gradually came to pervade thousands of monasteries, nunneries, and hermitages throughout Central Asia over the past five and a half centuries.

Saraha
Saraha

Author: Roger R. Jackson

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2024-11-05

Total Pages: 589

ISBN-13: 0834845822

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The life and works of the mysterious Indian yogin, Saraha, who has inspired Buddhist practitioners for over a thousand years. Saraha, “the Archer,” was a mysterious but influential tenth-century Indian Buddhist tantric adept who expressed his spiritual realization in mystic songs (dohās) that are enlightening, shocking, and confounding by turns. Saraha’s poetic verses made the esoteric ideas and practices of Vajrayāna accessible to a wide audience on the Indian subcontinent and served as a basis for the exposition, in Tibet, of mahāmudrā, the great-seal meditation on the nature of mind that permeates every tradition of Buddhism on the Tibetan plateau. This is the first book to attempt a thorough treatment of the context, life, works, poetics, and teachings of Saraha. It features a search for the “historical” Saraha through evidence provided by our knowledge of the medieval Indian context in which he likely lived, the biographical legends that grew up around him in Tibet, and the works attributed to him in Indic and Tibetan text collections; a consideration of the various guises in which Saraha appears in his writings (as poet, social and religious critic, radical gnostic thinker, and more); an overview of Saraha’s poetic and religious legacy in South Asia and beyond; and complete or partial translations, from Tibetan, of over two dozen works attributed to Saraha. These include nearly all his spiritual songs, from his well-known Dohā Trilogy to obscure but important expositions of mahāmudrā, as well as several previously untranslated works.

The Human Body of Light
The Human Body of Light

Author: Mitchell Earl Gibson MD

Publisher: XinXii

Published: 2014-03-22

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 3957030072

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According to legend, a number of ancient spiritual masters have dissolved their physical bodies into pure energy. Most used special exercises and techniques that had to be applied over a period of years, the results of which were the total transformation of the physical form into a form of self sustaining light energy. The new light form was immortal and indestructible. Somehow, these legends have not made it into our Western lexicon. The Body of Light represents a complete and total and radical transformation of one’s status of being, a rediscovery of what was primordially present, and this condition is permanent. It is Awareness itself and is dependent on nothing else. This may be compared to the various Christian notions of transfiguration, resurrection, and ascension. There exists in history many examples of the successful completion of this process. Even in recent years there have been a number of Tibetan Lamas, both Buddhist and Bon-po, who attained realization of the Rainbow Body (‘ja-lus-pa) at the end of their lives and some of these occurrences were witnessed by Chinese Communist officials. In this book The Human Body of Light, board-certified psychiatrist and author Dr. Mitchell Earl Gibson explores this fascinating arena of human potential. This book is designed to explore one question; is it possible for the human body to evolve into pure energy? Through meticulous research and one-of-a-kind insightful observations, The Human Body of Light explores the real phenomenon of an extraordinary type of human evolution. The realizations that accompany this knowledge has the potential to change our understanding of what it means to be human.

Niguma, Lady of Illusion
Niguma, Lady of Illusion

Author: Sarah Harding

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2011-01-16

Total Pages: 543

ISBN-13: 1559397403

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Providing a rare glimpse of feminine Buddhist history, Niguma, Lady of Illusion brings to the forefront the life and teachings of a mysterious eleventh-century Kashmiri woman who became the source of a major Tibetan Buddhist practice lineage. The circumstances of her life and extraordinary qualities ascribed to her are analyzed in the greater context of spiritual biography and Buddhist doctrine. More than a historical presentation, Niguma's story raises the question of women as real spiritual leaders versus male images of feminine principle and other related contemporary issues. This volume includes the thirteen works that have been attributed to Niguma in the Tibetan Buddhist canon. These collected works form the basis of an ancient lineage Shangpa, which continues to be actively studied and practiced today. These works include the source verses for such esoteric practices as the Six Yogas, the Great Seal, and the Chakrasamvara and Hevajra tantric practices that are widespread in Tibetan traditions. Also included is the only extant biography, which is enhanced by the few other sources of information on her life and work.

Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the IATS, 2000. Volume 2: Religion and Secular Culture in Tibet
Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the IATS, 2000. Volume 2: Religion and Secular Culture in Tibet

Author: Henk Blezer

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-10-01

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 900448308X

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The proceedings of the seminars of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (IATS) have developed into the most representative world-wide cross-section of Tibetan Studies. They are an indispensable reference-work for anyone interested in Tibet and capture the cutting edge of Tibet-related research. This volume is the second of three volumes of general proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the IATS. It presents a careful selection of scholarly and academic articles on Tibetan Buddhist and Bon religious culture, including a sizeable section of anthropological contributions. The complete series covers ten volumes. The other seven volumes are the outcome of expert panels. Of special interest to readers of this book are the edited volumes by Katia Buffetrille & Hildegard Diemberger (anthropology: territory and identity), Helmut Eimer & David Germano (Buddhist canon), Toni Huber (anthropology: Amdo cultural revival), Christiaan Klieger (anthropology: presentation of self & identity), and Deborah Klimburg-Salter and Eva Allinger (art history).