PUBLISHER'S NOTE This book, "A Manual of Key Buddhist Terms," by an 8th century Tibetan translator, Lotsawa Kaba Paltseg, provides a lists of key Buddhist terms with useful commentaries. The text precisely deals with such topics as the nature of the person; discussion on the method by which the individual relates to the world and the consequences that follow from that; the law of dependent origination; the nature of emptiness; the path to Buddhahood from two different angles, and various qualities of beings not yet freed from cyclic existence (samsara ), etc. Prepared in an easily comprehendable way, this handy booklet will be of immense use to students and scholars of Buddhism as a ready reference. Ven. Thupten Rikey and Andrew Ruskin are to be complemented for their efforts in translating this valuable text. Gyatsho Tshering Director January 1992
Manual of Key Buddhist Terms LOTSAWA KAWA PALTSEG In order to understand Buddhism clearly, we need to have a good knowledge of Buddhist terminology. This text, written by an 8th century Tibetan translator named Kawa Paltseg, introduces us to a world of definitive Buddhist terminology. In addition to clearly categorizing many key Buddhist terms, the author provides comprehensive lists with commentaries of the terms through which the reader can learn about the world of Buddhism: its psychology, cosmology, philosophical outlook and other aspects.
The Chinese Invasion And Occupation Of Tibet Has Been One Of The Great Tragedies. More Than A Million People Have Died As A Result. An Ancient Culture With Its Buildings, Literature, And Artifacts Has Been Largely Destroyed. In Kham, Eastern Tibet, In Particular, Where People Retained The Warrior-Like Qualities Of Old, Groups Of Men Banded Together To Oppose The Chinese By Force&. And I Am Glad That Mikel Dunham Has Been Able To Tell These Brave Men S Story In This Book, Much As They Told It To Him. His Holiness The Dalai Lama, From The Foreword In The Last Sixty Years, Tibet Has Been So Mythologized And Politicized That The Outside World Remains Confused About What Really Happened When Mao Tse-Tung Invaded In 1950. Buddha S Warriors Is The Story Of The Tens Of Thousands Of Tibetans Who Violently Resisted The Bloody Occupation Of Their Country And The Desecration Of All That Was Holy To Them. From The Farthest Reaches Of Tibet Kham, Amdo And Golok The Most Feared Tribes In Asia Mounted Their Warhorses And Rode Together For The First Time In History. By Their Side Were Thousands Of Buddhist Monks Who Renounced Their Vows Of Nonviolence, Grabbed Swords, And In The Name Of Freedom Charged Into Enemy Lines. Tibet S Only Source Of Outside Help Came From A Small Group Of Cia Agents, Who Secretly Trained And Armed The Freedom Fighters. Author Mikel Dunham Spent Seven Years Interviewing The Warriors Who Fought The Chinese, Collecting Stories That Otherwise Would Have Been Lost To History. He Also Befriended The Cia Officers Who Trained The Young Tibetans. These Firsthand Accounts Bring Faces And Deeply Personal Emotions To The Forefront Of The Ongoing Tragedy Of Tibet. Buddha S Warriors Is A Sweeping History Of A Nation And An Ancient Culture Under Siege. The Saga Of The Tibetan Resistance Movement Is One Of Brave Soldiers And Cowardly Traitors, Courage Against Repression, Buddhism Against Atheism, And, Ultimately, Of What Happens To An Isolated Civilization When It Is Thrust Almost Overnight Into The Horrors Of Modern-Day Warfare.
This book presents an English translation of the Samten Migdron (Lamp for the Eye of Contemplation) by Nubchen Sangye Yeshe, a seminal 10th-century Tibetan Buddhist work on contemplation. This treatise is one of the most important sources for the study of the various meditative currents that were transmitted to Tibet from India and China during the early dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet. Written from the vantage point of the Great Completeness (Dzogchen) and its vehicle of effortless spontaneity, it discusses, in the manner of a doxography, both sutra-based-including Chan-and tantric approaches to meditation. The unabridged, annotated English translation of this Tibetan treatise is preceded by a general introduction situating the author-a pivotal figure in what would become the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism-and their work in historical and doctrinal context. The detailed annotations provide elucidating comments as well as crucial references to the numerous texts quoted by the Tibetan author. This book makes this groundbreaking Tibetan work on meditation accessible in English and opens fascinating windows on early forms of contemplative practice in Tibet.
Dzogchen, or the Great Perfection, is considered by both the Bonpos and the followers of the Nyigma school in Tibet to be the culmination of all spiritual teachings. The philosophical view of the Great Perfection introduces the individual to the knowledge of reality, which is one with the enlightened state of all beings. In this book the Dzogchen view is presented in two Bonpo texts belonging to the revered terma (treasure) and oral traditions, here for the first time translated and critically edited in their entirety.
The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism is one of the first publications to include scholarship on both the mainstream Tibetan canons of translated Buddhist classics, and the alternative canons of literature of the Nyingma sectarian traditions.
Subject of The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism are both the mainstream Tibetan canons of translated Buddhist classics (known as the Bka' 'gyur & Bstan 'gyur), and the alternative canons of literature of the Nyingma sectarian traditions (known as the Rnying ma rgyud 'bum). The first section discusses the formation and transmission of Tibetan "canonical" texts, but also includes important works of reference, such as a Bka' gdams pa handbook and several unique catalogues. It also features a first report on Tibetan textual transmission in Mongolia. The second section not only presents interpretative analysis of one of the most important alternative canons in Tibet, the Rnying ma rgyud 'bum, but also discusses essential issues of legitimacy, authority and lineage during the "gray" period of the tenth to twelfth centuries which laid the foundation for the formation of all ensuing Tibetan canons. The volume thus develops fresh perspectives on the nature, plurality and contents of canons in Tibetan Buddhism.
Culture, Religion, and Ethnomedicine discusses various interdependencies between culture, religion, and health with a concentration on Tibetan culture. Igor Pietkiewicz uses an example of the Tibetans in exile to explain how culture affects illness behavior, including perception of sickness and treatment methods, as well as the choice of an appropriate cure. The book also touches upon the problem of migration and various risk factors associated with adjustment of ethnic minorities in a host country. It elaborates on the issues not limited to a single refugee community, but universal in a world that is becoming a global village. Students planning to do qualitative research in social sciences will find this book valuable. Students can learn how to select data and get information about data sources, analysis, and management from the chapter on qualitative research methodology. This book will also be helpful to health practitioners who treat individuals representing other cultures as well those interested in health issues in multi-cultural settings. A free companion website with extensive supplementary material including full-color photographs is available at www.cultureandmedicine.com.
