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.
Jan Willis provides a wealth of information about six mahamudra masters from the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism and how they studied, practiced, meditated, and became enlightened beings in their lifetimes.
An important work for both scholars and practitioners, this annotated translation is supplemented with extensive support materials. A companion volume of the critically edited Tibetan text-annotated with the found quotes from Tengyur and Kangyur texts in Tibetan (and Sanskrit where available)-also will be published in a limited edition, and as an e-book. --Book Jacket.
In A Path of Practice: The Bodhi Path Program, K&ü nzig Shamar Rinpoche offers his vision of focused Dharma practice with the power to lead practitioners in today' s world toward achieving the state of awakening. His emphasis lies in general on Mahayana Buddhism as the essential support of such practice, and in particular on the path of Mahamudra as transmitted in the Kagy&ü tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. From these perspectives, he describes the various elements of meditation practice, that is, the path of Dharma to be walked consistently. In addition, he recommends the study of certain Buddhist topics which can help a meditator to navigate through the different layers of his or her spiritual practice and encourages practitioners to develop the right view which can then lead the meditation.
The first-ever extensive biography of Tibet's most famous nonsectarian Buddhist lama Known as the “king of renunciates,” Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye (1813–1899) forever changed the face of Buddhism through collecting, arranging, and disseminating the various lineage traditions of Tibet across sectarian lines. His extensive treasury collections of profound Buddhist teachings continue to be taught and transmitted throughout the Himalayas by all major traditions and represent the breadth and profundity of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practice. Jamgon Kongtrul was a polymath, dedicated retreatant, ritual expert, writer, and teacher from the eastern Tibetan kingdom of Derge. During the nineteenth century, while central Tibet experienced extreme sectarian divides, Jamgon Kongtrul, along with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Chokgyur Lingpa, set about collecting, teaching, and transmitting the major practice traditions found in Tibet. Their activity—much of which did not adhere to the traditional divides of the Tibetan “schools” and included both tantric lineages coming from India as well as Tibetan treasure (terma) lineages—is one of the finest examples of Tibetan ecumenism, or Rimay, and Jamgon Kongtrul is perhaps the most famous among Tibet’s Rimay masters. This is the most accessible work available on Jamgon Kongtrul’s life, writings, and influence, written as a truly engaging historical biography. Alexander Gardner provides an intimate glimpse into the life of one of the most important Tibetan Buddhist teachers to have ever lived.
Meditation techniques, including mindfulness, have become popular wellbeing practices and the scientific study of their effects has recently turned 50 years old. But how much do we know about them: what were they developed for and by whom? How similar or different are they, how effective can they be in changing our minds and biology, what are their social and ethical implications? The Oxford Handbook of Meditation is the most comprehensive volume published on meditation, written in accessible language by world-leading experts on the science and history of these techniques. It covers the development of meditation across the world and the varieties of its practices and experiences. It includes approaches from various disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience, history, anthropology, and sociology and it explores its potential for therapeutic and social change, as well as unusual or negative effects. Edited by practitioner-researchers, this book is the ultimate guide for all interested in meditation, including teachers, clinicians, therapists, researchers, or anyone who would like to learn more about this topic.
This is the extended and annotated edition including * an extensive annotation of more than 10.000 words about the history and basics of Buddhism, written by Thomas William Rhys Davids Contents: Part I: Seven Initiation Rituals Of The Tibetan Tantra Chapter One - The Initiation Ritual Of The Fierce Guru Chapter Two - The Initiation Ritual Of The Fierce Guru With Phurba Chapter Three - The Initiation Ritual Of The All-Merciful One Chapter Four - The Initiation Ritual Of Hayagriva Buddha. The Green Rta-Mgrin's Initiation Ceremony From The Treasury Of Percipience Chapter Five - The Initiation Ritual Of The Red Gshin-Rje Chapter Six - The Superb Initiation Ritual Of Ahm Gtsug Vajrapani Chapter Seven - A Compendium Of The Initiation Rituals Of Performance Or All-Accomplishing Wisdom Presided Over By Amoghasiddhi Part Ii - The Six Yogas Of Naropa [In Tsong-Kha-Pa's Commentary] Prologue Chapter One - Introduction Chapter Two - Special Preparations Chapter Three - The Arising And Perfecting Yoga Chapter Four - The Steps Of Practice In The Path Chapter Five - The Art Of Gtum-Mo Or Heat Yoga Chapter Six - The Practice Of The Illusory Body Or Dream Yoga, Depending On Foregoing Heat Yoga Chapter Seven - On The Bardo Realm Chapter Eight - The Yoga Of The Light Chapter Nine - The Transformation Yoga Chapter Ten - How To Improve The Practice In The Path Chapter Eleven - Tsong Khopa's Summary Of Sources Epilogue Appendix - The Vow Of Mahamudra Translator's Introduction Editor's Note The Vow Of Mahamudra