The Hevajra Tantra is a non-dual, Yogini tantra of the late Mantrayana tradition of Buddhism which was composed in north-eastern India during the 8th century A.D. This is an English translation of a principal root Tantra together with a translation of
In this groundbreaking work, the author presents a full translation of, and commentary on, the Hevajra tantra, providing not only deep insight into arguably the most important surviving tantric Buddhist text but also placing the entire corpus of such works into a more accurate context. Snellgrove presents the Hevajra tantra, and tantric texts of this class, not as degenerate products of a faith at the time in terminal decline in India-as has often been claimed by puritanical scholars-but rather as a wholly legitimate expression of esoteric ritual and meditative practice developed as a natural evolution within the madhyamika tradition. While based primarily on Nepalese manuscript editions of the text, Snellgrove makes extensive reference to the Tibetan translation as well as to extant Indian commentaries. The first half of the work comprises an introduction and the actual translation with detailed annotations, while the second consists of the Romanized original Sanskrit and Tibetan texts and an extensive glossary.
In Tibetan religious literature, Jamgön Kongtrül's Treasury of Knowledge in ten books stands out as a unique, encyclopedic masterpiece embodying the entire range of Buddhist teachings as they were preserved in Tibet. In his monumental Treasury of Knowledge, Jamgön Kongtrül presents a complete account of the major lines of thought and practice that comprise Tibetan Buddhism. This first book of The Treasury which serves as a prelude to Kongtrul's survey describes four major cosmological systems found in the Tibetan tradition—those associated with the Hinayana, Mahayana, Kalachakra, and Dzogchen teachings. Each of these cosmologies shows how the world arises from mind, whether through the accumulated results of past actions or from the constant striving of awareness to know itself.
This is the first complete, critical English translation of the Cakrasamvara Tantra, also known as the Sriherukabhidhana and Laghusamvara. This is the first complete, critical English translation of the Cakrasamvara Tantra. Composed in India during the eighth century, it is a foundational scripture of one of the most important Indian Buddhist tantric traditions. The translator’s introductory essay provides an analysis of the historical and intellectual contexts in which the Cakrasamvara Tantra was composed. The heavily annotated translation was made on the basis of the surviving Sanskrit manuscripts of the tantra and its commentaries, parallel passages in related explanatory tantras (vyakhyatantra), two different Tibetan translations of the root text, and several Tibetan commentaries. Includes a trilingual glossary and index. The author has also translated the commentary on this tantra by the great Tibetan scholar Tsong Khapa (1357–1419), Illumination of the Hidden Meaning, now published in two companion volumes. Taken together, these three volumes provide the reader with the first full study in English of this pivotal tantra. Composed in India during the late eighth or early ninth century, the Cakrasamvara Tantra is a foundational scripture of one of the most important Indian Buddhist tantric traditions, as evidenced by the vast number of commentaries and ritual literature associated with it. Along with the Hevajra Tantra, it is one of the earliest and most influential of the yogini tantras, a genre of tantric Buddhist scripture that emphasizes female deities, particularly the often fiercely depicted yoginis and ?akinis.
The overview of Buddhists Tantra, subtitled General Presentation of the Classes of Tantra, Captivating the Minds of the Fortunate Ones, is a scholarly exposition of the framework of Tantric practice presented by its author, Panchen Sonam Dragpa, in a methodical and accessible manner. Detailed explanations within this book include: the historical emergence of Buddhism in our world as interpreted by various Buddhists traditions; the differing tenets of the sects, and the differences between the vehicles(yanas); the doors to the path to liberation; and the classes of Tantric practice leading to that state of liberation.
In the classic bestseller, Introduction to Tantra, Lama Yeshe offered a profound and wonderfully clear glimpse into the sophisticated practices of Tibetan Buddhist tantra. This present book, the last major teachings of this great lama, opens up the world of advanced practices for Highest Yoga Tantra initiates in much the same way his earlier work opened up the world of tantra in general. Following Je Tsongkhapa's (1357-1419 C.E.) text Having the Three Convictions, Lama Yeshe introduces the renowned Six Yogas of Naropa, focusing mainly on the first of these six, the practice of inner fire (tummo). Mastery of inner fire quickly brings the mind to its most refined and penetrating state--the experience of clear light, an extra-ordinarily powerful state of mind that is unequaled in its ability to directly realize ultimate reality. Lama Yeshe felt that twentieth-century Westerners could easily grasp the often misunderstood ideas of this esoteric tradition: "We really need tantra these days because there is a tremendous explosion of delusion and distraction.and we need the atomic energy of inner fire to blast us out of our delusion." Lama Yeshe's aim was for his students to actually taste the experience of inner fire rather than merely gain an intellectual understanding. Lama's own realization of the transformative power of these practices comes through, inspiring his students to discover for themselves their own capacity for inexhaustible bliss.
The long awaited print version of the popular Buddhist mantra website: visiblemantra.org. This is a celebration of the visual forms of mantra and other varieties of sacred speech, drawing on Buddhist traditions from India, China, Japan, and Tibet. The book includes all the mantras from the website, plus a few more. Each is presented in four scripts: Siddhaṃ (Bonji 梵字), Lantsa (aka Rañjana), Devanāgarī, and Tibetan (dbu can). Plus seed-syllables, dhāraṇī and Pāli chants. All accompanied by Jayarava's meticulously researched notes and comments, and background reading drawn from Jayarava's blog. An invaluable resource for Buddhist artists, calligraphers and practitioners.
The Yogini’s Eye: Comprehensive Introduction to Buddhist Tantra, Volume I: Systemization and Interpretation introduces a new translation series, Classics of the Early Sakya, which will focus on the extensive literature of the Sakya Lamdre lineage of the Hevajra Tantra cycle of revelation. This first volume of introduction is the earliest book of its type and comprehensive treatment of the subject matter to have been written, and initiated the scholarly study of Tibetan Buddhist Tantra. Subsequent studies in all lineages were built on the foundation established by this book. The Yogini’s Eye has served as the introductory textbook for the study of Sakya Tantra continuously for over 800 years. Over the centuries, the textbook has been supplemented by a total of fifteen commentaries and study guides written by the most learned scholars of the Sakya tradition, including Lama Dampa Sonam Gyaltsen (1312–1375), Yeshe Gyaltsen (1300’s–1406), Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (1382–1450), Lowo Khenchen Sonam Lhundrup (1456–1532), Ngorchen Konchok Lhundrup (1497–1547), Amezhap Ngawang Kunga Sonam (1597–1659), and Dezhung Chopel Jamyang Kunga Namgyal (1880’s– mid-1950’s). This first English edition contains the translation of thirteen of these study guides, excluding all repetitive sections, inserted into the original book in the appropriate context.
Translated here for the first time into any language, Mountain Doctrine is a seminal fourteenth-century Tibetan text on the nature of reality. The author, Dol-bo-ba Shay-rap-gyel-tsen, was on of the most influential figures of that dynamic period of doctrinal formulation, and his text is a sustained argument about the buddha-nature, also called the matrix-of-one-gone-thus. Dol-bo-ba recognizes two important types of emptiness—self-emptiness and other-emptiness—and shows how other-emptiness is the actual ultimate truth. He justifies this controversial formulation by arguing that it was the favored system of all the early outstanding figures of the Great Vehicle. The translator's introduction includes a short biography of Dol-bo-ba and an exposition of nine focal topics in his religious philosophy. Note: The hardcover edition of Mountain Doctrine includes a "Detailed Outline in Tibetan" that is omitted in the eBook edition.
Illness and Immortality examines a medieval Sanskrit text, the Netra Tantra, which is devoted to health and healing through a yogic practice dedicated to the chanting of mantras, the building of mandalas, and meditation. Patricia Sauthoff examines the role of such ritual elements in rites to alleviate illness and death. She includes analysis of the various forms of the deity Amrtesa or Mrtyuñjaya (Conqueror of Death), the nature of mantra, and the relationship between the tantric practitioner and the patient. This work explores what is meant by immortality within the medieval context and how one goes about attaining it. It asks how ritual alleviates illness, what role the deity plays in health and healing, and finally who has access to the rites described within the text. Central to this study is the conception of a body vulnerable to demons and reliant on deities for continued existence, and how the three yogic bodies (sthula, suksma, and para) play a role in physical and spiritual well-being. Featuring new translations of large sections of the Netra Tantra, the book offers readers various points of entry into the text so that tantric practitioners and scholars alike can access the influential and important concepts and practices found within this long-revered but under-studied work.