Dzogchen Foremost Instructions, a Garland of Views
Dzogchen Foremost Instructions, a Garland of Views

Author: Tony Duff

Publisher:

Published: 2015-07-16

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 9789937572842

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The text Foremost Instructions called "A Garland of Views" by Padmasambhava is regarded as one of the very important texts of the Nyingma tradition. It is an explanation of the thirteenth chapter of the root tantra of Mahayoga, the Guhyagarbha Tantra, the chapter on how the view of Dzogchen applies to the deity practices of Mahayoga. Padmasambhava's teaching is short, so further explanation is needed. For this we have provided a partial translation of the thirteenth chapter with explanations, Mipham's commentary which is the one most commonly used these days to explain Padmasambhava's teaching, and a translation of the relevant section of Longchen Rabjam's major commentary to the tantra Dispelling the Darkness of the Ten Directions. A very long introduction filled with explanations to make all of those items clearer has been provided. It is very important to understand that the teachings on Dzogchen in this book are not limited to instructions on the development stage of Mahayoga. They provide a complete explanation of what Dzogchen is at all levels and are regarded in the Nyingma tradition as required reading for all Dzogchen practitioners. Through this book you will gain an excellent grounding in what Dzogchen is and how it fits into the teachings of the nine vehicles. This book is truly an amazing collection of material that is regarded as crucial for Nyingma practitioners, but has not been available till now in English with all the commentaries needed to unravel the meaning of Padmasambhava's text. The Western Lama Richard Roth, who has been well-trained in the Dzogchen system, has said what an important and well-presented book this is.

A Garland of Views
A Garland of Views

Author: Padmasambhava

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2016-04-05

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 0834840065

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A Garland of Views presents both a concise commentary by the eighth-century Indian Buddhist master Padmasambhava on a chapter from the Guhyagarbha Tantra on the different Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophical views, including the Great Perfection (Dzogchen), and an explicative commentary on Padmasambhava’s text by the nineteenth-century scholar Jamgön Mipham (1846–1912). Padmasambhava’s text is a core text of the Nyingma tradition because it provides the basis for the system of nine vehicles (three sutra vehicles and six tantra vehicles) that subsequently became the accepted way of classifying the different Buddhist paths in the Nyingma tradition. Mipham’s commentary is the one most commonly used to explain Padmasambhava’s teaching. Mipham is well known for his prolific, lucid, and original writings on many subjects, including science, medicine, and philosophy, in addition to Tibetan Buddhist practice and theory.

Steps to the Great Perfection
Steps to the Great Perfection

Author: Jigme Lingpa

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2016-07-05

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 0834840316

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The mind-training practices contained in the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism have never before been presented in the English language. The main text translated here, The Steps to Liberation, will be of great interest to Western practitioners, since its instructions are pithy and direct, and experiential rather than scholarly. The contemplations on core Buddhist principles like impermanence and karma, intended for beginning meditators, unfold as dramatic stories in which the meditator is to vividly imagine himself or herself as the main character who undergoes a sequence of experiences that result in transformative realizations. They distill the most essential teachings of the Buddha into a practical system that can be easily implemented in a daily meditation practice. At the same time, they bring together the most foundational Buddhist teachings with the profound methods of the Vajrayana (the esoteric teachings of Buddhist tantra). This is the hallmark of Dzogchen mind training and what sets it apart from other mind-training lineages.

Omniscience and the Rhetoric of Reason
Omniscience and the Rhetoric of Reason

Author: Sara L. McClintock

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2010-05-10

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 086171931X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The great Buddhist scholars Santaraksita (725 - 88 CE.) and his disciple Kamalasila were among the most influential thinkers in classical India. They debated ideas not only within the Buddhist tradition but also with exegetes of other Indian religions, and they both traveled to Tibet during Buddhism's infancy there. Their views, however, have been notoriously hard to classify. The present volume examines Santaraksita's Tattvasamgraha and Kamalasila's extensive commentary on it, works that cover all conceivable problems in Buddhist thought and portray Buddhism as a supremely rational faith. One hotly debated topic of their time was omniscience - whether it is possible and whether a rational person may justifiably claim it as a quality of the Buddha. Santaraksita and Kamalasila affirm both claims, but in their argumentation they employ divergent rhetorical strategies in different passages, advancing what appear to be contradictory positions. McClintock's investigation of the complex strategies these authors use in defense of omniscience sheds light on the rhetorical nature of their enterprise, one that shadows their own personal views as they advance the arguments they deem most effective to convince the audiences at hand.

Unbounded Wholeness
Unbounded Wholeness

Author: Anne C. Klein

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 9780195178500

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Explaining Dzogchen teachings for the Western audience, this text provides a study and translation of the 'Authenticity of Open Awareness', a foundational text of the Bon Dzogchen tradition. This book provides an introductory and explanatory material that situates it in the context of Tibetan thought.

Great Perfection
Great Perfection

Author: Dzogchen Rinpoche

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2008-01-15

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 155939823X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, the Great Perfection is considered the most profound and direct path to enlightenment. The instructions of this tradition present a spiritual shortcut—a radically direct approach that cuts through confusion and lays bare the mind's true nature of luminous purity. For centuries, these teachings have been taught and practiced in secret by some of the greatest adepts of the Buddhist tradition. Great Perfection: Outer and Inner Preliminaries contains detailed instructions on the foundational practices of this tradition, from "The Excellent Chariot," a practice manual compiled by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche. Distilling the teachings of the Heart Essence of the Dakinis into an accessible, easy-to-practice format, The Excellent Chariot leads the reader through the entire Buddhist path, starting with basic Buddhist contemplations that work to dislodge deeply ingrained patterns of thinking and behaving, and continuing on to the most advanced and secret meditative practices of the Great Perfection. The teachings in this volume are drawn largely from the writings of the great Nyingma master Longchenpa and the root texts of the Heart Essence of the Dakinis itself. The Third Dzogchen Rinpoche begins by discussing the correct way to study and practice the Great Perfection teachings before presenting an overview of the Great Perfection lineage and an explanation on the meaning and importance of empowerment. In the chapters that follow, he presents practical instructions on the outer and inner preliminaries, the so-called "ngöndro" practices. These practices enable the practitioner to transform and purify the mind, preparing it for the advanced Great Perfection meditation of Trekchö and Tögal, the breakthrough and direct leap. In addition to the translation mentioned above, Great Perfection: Outer and Inner Preliminaries contains a beautiful introduction by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, a contemporary Great Perfection master, and an extensive glossary of key Great Perfection terminology.

Golden Letters
Golden Letters

Author: Garab Dorje

Publisher: Snow Lion

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In many ways the best guide to Dzogchen teachings. Includes explanations that were previously thought too secret to publish.' Tricycle: The Buddhist Review

Deity, Mantra, and Wisdom
Deity, Mantra, and Wisdom

Author: Patrul Rinpoche

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2020-02-25

Total Pages: 265

ISBN-13: 1559394978

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This collection contains four of the most cherished Tibetan Buddhist commentaries on the practices of visualization, mantra recitation, and meditative absorption—elements that form the core of development stage meditation, one of the most important practices of Buddhist Tantra. The texts within this volume—Ladder to Akaniṣṭha, Clarifying the Difficult Points in the Development Stage, The Four Stakes That Bind the Life-Force, and Husks of Unity—are among the most widely studied commentaries on this topic and have formed the basis for spiritual study and practice for centuries. In these eloquent and inspiring translations, Jigme Lingpa, Patrul Rinpoche, and Getse Mahāpaṇḍita explain the fundamental philosophy of the development stage, illuminating its profound insights into the nature of reality and how to utilize these insights through the practice of meditation.

Introduction to the Middle Way
Introduction to the Middle Way

Author: Chandrakirti

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2005-02-08

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 0834824485

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

An adventure into the heart of Buddhist wisdom through the Madhyamika—or Middle Way—teachings This book includes a verse translation of the Madhyamakavatara by the renowned seventh-century Indian master Chandrakirti, an extremely influential text of Mahayana Buddhism, followed by an exhaustive logical explanation of its meaning by the modern Tibetan master Jamgön Mipham, composed approximately twelve centuries later. Chandrakirti's work is an introduction to the Madhyamika teachings of Nagarjuna, which are themselves a systematization of the Prajnaparamita, or “Perfection of Wisdom” literature, the sutras on the crucial but elusive concept of emptiness. Chandrakirti's work has been accepted throughout Tibetan Buddhism as the highest expression of the Buddhist view on the sutra level. With Jamgön Mipham's commentary, it is a definitive presentation of the wisdom of emptiness, a central theme of Buddhist teachings. This book is a core study text for both academic students and practitioners of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.

Treasures from Juniper Ridge
Treasures from Juniper Ridge

Author: Padma Sambhava

Publisher: North Atlantic Books

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 9789627341628

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche (1921—1996) was widely acknowledged as one of the great meditation masters of modern times. Erik Pema Kunsang and Marcia Schmidt, founders of Rangjung Publications, live in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Albion, CA.Treasures from Juniper Ridgeis a collection of “hidden” ortermateachings given by Padmasambhava, the Tantric master who brought Vajrayana Buddhism to Tibet. According to Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Padmasambhava hid many teachings to be uncovered later by “revealers of hidden treasures.” The special quality of thetermateachings is that they provide guidance appropriate for each period of time and individual person. By working with Padmasambhava, Yeshe Tsogyal, his mystic spiritual consort, was able to compile and codify these precious insights and hide them for use by future generations. Treasures from Juniper Ridgepresents a variety of significant revelations for seekers on the advanced path of the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition, as well as in-depth explanations of assorted aspects of practice: deity-focused meditation, nonconceptual meditation, death and dying, and recognizing the nature of mind. The book outlines ways for the modern student to apply these teachings while remaining true to Vajrayana Buddhism’s traditional principles