Within the Tantra tradition, reliance upon and devotion to one’s Guru are of paramount importance — without them progress on the path to Enlightenment cannot be made. Thus, Guru Yoga is the foundation of Mahayana tantric practice, and gives vitality to the serious practitioner’s meditation. This edition of The Guru Puja and The Hundred Deities of the Land of Joy provides the students with two essential prayers for such practice, and the juxtaposition of the Tibetan transliteration and English translation of these prayers is intended to facilitate their use by non-Tibetan Buddhist practitioners.
From a review in BuddhaDharma magazine: The Heart of the Path is a lengthy teaching on guru yoga by a contemporary exemplar of the practice, Lama Thubten Zopa. A close disciple of Lama Thubten Yeshe for more than three decades, Lama Zopa has taught by word and example the importance and power of properly following a guru. The book is based on several decades of dharma talks organized by editor Ailsa Cameron into twenty-four chapters, beginning with the question of why one needs a teacher to progress along the path. The remaining chapters discuss in considerable detail how to cultivate and practice devotion, and generate the view of one’s own teacher as the Buddha. It concludes with several short guru yoga visualization practices. Throughout the book Lama Zopa offers personal reflections and stories to illustrate his message that guru yoga truly is the heart of the path to liberation. From a review in Tricycle magazine: For those interested in stepping beyond the realm of ideas into the world of practice, the latest book from Tibetan master Lama Zopa Rinpoche is a helpful guide to one important aspect of the spiritual path. The Heart of the Path explains the importance of guru devotion and Zopa's view of the proper way to develop a student-teacher bond. Lama Zopa has had many teachers, but his unwavering devotion to Lama Thubten Yeshe shines through on every page. Drawing on this experience and the Buddha's teachings, Zopa effectively conveys the value of relationships based on Buddhist ideals. From a review in Mandala magazine: Although guru devotion is a foundational concept within Tibetan Buddhist thought, for many it remains a bewildering and impenetrable topic. Fortunately for contemporary practitioners, Lama Zopa Rinpoche has spoken extensively on guru devotion, giving teachings and advice about what it really means to have devotion to one’s spiritual friend. Drawing from nearly fifty teachings, this treasure is the result of seven years of painstaking editing by Ven. Ailsa Cameron. Not only does it include teachings on the traditional sub-topics that fall under guru devotion found in Tsongkhapa’s lam-rim, but also a useful outline to guide your reading, several supplementary prayers and teachings from other renowned Tibetan masters, and inspiring images of Lama Zopa, Lama Yeshe and other amazing teachers peppered throughout. A perusal of this masterful work by Lama Zopa Rinpoche will assuage any doubts about the utility or possibility of “seeing the guru as Buddha.” This book is made possible by kind supporters of the Archive who, like you, appreciate how we make these teachings available in so many ways, including in our website for instant reading, listening or downloading, and as printed and electronic books. Our website offers immediate access to thousands of pages of teachings and hundreds of audio recordings by some of the greatest lamas of our time. Our photo gallery and our ever-popular books are also freely accessible there. Please help us increase our efforts to spread the Dharma for the happiness and benefit of all beings. You can find out more about becoming a supporter of the Archive and see all we have to offer by visiting our website. Thank you so much, and please enjoy this e-book.
LYWA director Nick Ribush writes: The story behind this book is that in the early Kopan Monastery courses, Lama Zopa Rinpoche would start his day’s teachings by quoting a verse from Shantideva’s or Khunu Lama Rinpoche’s seminal texts, giving a short teaching on it and then suggesting that students use it to generate a bodhicitta motivation for the day’s activities (mainly teachings, meditations and discussion groups but also ordinary activities such as eating, talking, walking around and so forth). Since those days I’ve always thought that a compilation of these short teachings would make a great book, and finally, here it is. Editor Gordon McDougall has assembled Rinpoche's teachings into two parts, sorted by author of the verses and arranged thematically. In Part One, Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaches on selected verses from Khunu Lama Rinpoche's Jewel Lamp, now published as Vast as the Heavens, Deep as the Sea. Lama Zopa Rinpoche advises, "Understanding and constantly reminding ourselves of the skies of benefits that bodhicitta brings is unbelievably worthwhile. This is the overall purpose of Khunu Lama Rinpoche’s book, to cause us to feel inspired and joyful that such a mind is possible." In Part Two, Rinpoche teaches on verses from the first chapter of Shantideva's Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life. These verses describe the amazing benefits of developing the precious mind of bodhicitta, the supreme cause of happiness for all sentient beings.
Composed by the great sage of Advaita Vedanta, Adi Sankara, this work gives an exposition of the symbols of puja (worship) in light of Nonduality. Written as a dialogue between a disciple and a Guru, the disciple first asks, “What manner of worship is prescribed for the One existing as undivided Being-Consciousness-Bliss with no second, without misconceptions, and of one nature?” He then asks similar questions about the details of such in the context of utmost Nonduality, and, starting with the ninth verse, the Guru replies in the light of the Knowledge of that utmost Nonduality.
Published in conjunction with a 2003 exhibition co-organized by the Columbus Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, this hefty, oversize (10x13 catalogue features approximately 160 powerful masterpieces of Indian, Nepalese, Tibetan, Chinese, and Mongolian art produced over the pa
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami (1927¿2001) sailed for Sri Lanka in 1947 to find his guru. After years of arduous training, he fell at the feet of the Tamil master, Siva Yogaswami. Following his guru¿s orders, the illumined yogi returned to America to teach the path of enlightenment. Ultimately, he was recognized and befriended by India¿s spiritual leaders as the first Hindu guru born in the West. Gurudeva, as he was affectionately known, founded the Saiva Siddhanta Yoga Order and established Kauai¿s Hindu Monastery in Hawaii. Hinduism¿s many guru lineages are the spiritual rivers that pass the power on through the ages. The lineage that he joined extends to his guru¿s guru, Chellappaswami, and before him to Kadaitswami, then a nameless rishi and countless others, back to Rishi Tirumular and his guru, Maharishi Nandinatha, some 2,200 years ago in the high Himalayas. These are the illustrated stories of Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, his guru Siva Yogaswami and five preceding masters, who all held truth in the palm of their hand and inspired slumbering souls to ¿Know thy Self.¿
