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.

In Defense of the Guru Principle
In Defense of the Guru Principle

Author: Andrew Cohen

Publisher:

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781883929275

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In this time of confusion and cynicism about spiritual authority, Andrew Cohen speaks with unusual candour and passion about his own experience as a spiritual mentor and the rare challenge that this role presents when lived without compromise.

The Guru Principle
The Guru Principle

Author: Lama Shenpen Hookham

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2021-08-17

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0834843625

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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.

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.

The 4:8 Principle
The 4:8 Principle

Author: Tommy Newberry

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Published: 2010-09-30

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1414341695

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Tommy Newberry's message is simple, relevant, powerful, and timeless. In this New York Times bestseller, Newberry takes a single biblical principle and teaches us how one simple truth can magnify the joy we experience in our marriage, with our parenting, and in our life as a whole. Unfortunately, we live in a society bent on nursing old wounds and highlighting what is wrong with just about everything. As a result, we have grown accustomed to viewing the world, our lives, and ourselves through a lens of negativity—and that negativity stands in direct contrast to the passionate, purpose-filled people God wants us to be. This is where The 4:8 Principle grabs our attention. First, the author skillfully persuades us to acknowledge the link between the thoughts we choose to think and the joy we experience. Next, he shows us how we can grow our potential for joy by refusing to dwell upon the problems and pressures that are enduring and inevitable. Finally, he challenges us to pay the price of joy by becoming “extraordinarily picky” about what we read, watch, and listen to on a consistent basis. The strength of the book, though, is in Newberry's ability to clearly explain how to put this principle into daily practice through a series of quick, easy and even fun adjustments. The 4:8 Principle is loaded with specific suggestions and helpful advice for going beyond the ordinary and experiencing life as it was meant to be.

The Teacher-Student Relationship
The Teacher-Student Relationship

Author: Jamgon Kongtrul the Great

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2018-01-09

Total Pages: 349

ISBN-13: 0834841258

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It is crucial for students of Vajrayana Buddhism to find an authentic wisdom teacher and know how to properly rely upon that teacher in order to awaken to their buddha nature and thereby attain full enlightenment. Fortunately, the topic has been thoroughly explored by Jamgon Kongtrul in the tenth chapter of The Treasury of Knowledge. This essential text clearly lays out what credentials and qualities one should look for in a wisdom teacher, why a wisdom teacher is necessary, and how the relationship between this teacher and disciple best develops once it is established.

Yogacara Texts: Indo-Tibetan Sources of Dzogchen Mahamudra
Yogacara Texts: Indo-Tibetan Sources of Dzogchen Mahamudra

Author: Rodney Devenish

Publisher: Lulu.com

Published: 2013-09-24

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1304481921

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The Yogacara Doctrine teaches one fundamental truth, namely that all beings are Buddha-'sattva Buddha evam'-or, in other words, all beings are aspects of one all-embracing absolute awareness, were they but to know it. This book sets a context for the study and meditation on ten pivotal texts of Yogacara. The source texts, translated from a practice perspective, derive from the Indo-Tibetan mahasiddha tradition and are presented with an ecumenical approach. As this collection of pithy Yogacara works will readily prove to the reader, the ancient 'Practice Tradition of the Yogin' (rnal-bhyor-pa'i sgrub-brgyud) is based on a clearly active realization of the essential nature of mind and consciousness gained through years of intensive examination and reflection. Yogacara approach advocates a dynamic form of meditation that is neither suppressive nor lethargic. The guide to this attainment, the mechanism that sharpens the mind's penetrative and illuminative qualities, is metaphysical inquiry.

Principles of Buddhist Tantra
Principles of Buddhist Tantra

Author: Kirti Tsenshap

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2011-05-01

Total Pages: 498

ISBN-13: 0861716884

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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.

The Guru Looked Good
The Guru Looked Good

Author: Marta Szabo

Publisher:

Published: 2009-01

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 9780578006260

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This is the story of a spiritual quest that begins in fervent trust and hope and ultimately leads to heard-earned, clear-eyed wisdom. -- from back cover.

Into the Heart of Life
Into the Heart of Life

Author: Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2011-05-16

Total Pages: 193

ISBN-13: 1559397373

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A “down-to-earth, approachable, and deeply accessible” guide to applying Tibetan Buddhist practices to the everyday challenges of modern life—from one of the first Western Buddhist nuns (Huffington Post) The real test of our Buddhist practice happens not on the cushion or in the protected space of retreat, but moment-to-moment in daily life, particularly when we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations. How do we respond? In this book, one of the most respected Western figures of contemporary Buddhism, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, offers insights gleaned from more than forty years of engagement with Buddhist practice. Her perspective is vast, with a well-grounded understanding of how the timeless Buddhist teachings apply to the demands and challenges of modern life.