This “gem of a book” reveals how we can go beyond mindfulness to connect with the ultimate happiness within us and transform our lives (Rick Hanson, Buddha’s Brain) The true nature of our mind is brilliant, clear, and joyful. But we don’t experience this reality amid the swirl of stresses, thoughts, and emotions of day-to-day life. Our Pristine Mind is a practical guide to uncovering our naturally comfortable state of mind and reconnecting with the unconditional happiness that is already within us. Using straightforward, accessible language, Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche leads us through the path of Pristine Mind meditation, a practice from the profound teachings known as Dzogchen. This book presents the entire journey of meditation, from the very beginning all the way to the complete happiness of enlightenment. It is a realistic, natural process that can be practiced and experienced by anyone.
A fresh interpretation of the dakini—a Tibetan Buddhist symbol of the feminine—that will appeal to practitioners interested in goddess worship, female spirituality, and Tantric Buddhism The primary emblem of the feminine in Tibetan Buddhism is the dakini, or “sky-dancer,” a semi-wrathful spirit-woman who manifests in visions, dreams, and meditation experiences. Western scholars and interpreters of the dakini, influenced by Jungian psychology and feminist goddess theology, have shaped a contemporary critique of Tibetan Buddhism in which the dakini is seen as a psychological “shadow,” a feminine savior, or an objectified product of patriarchal fantasy. According to Judith Simmer-Brown—who writes from the point of view of an experienced practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism—such interpretations are inadequate. In the spiritual journey of the meditator, Simmer-Brown demonstrates, the dakini symbolizes levels of personal realization: the sacredness of the body, both female and male; the profound meeting point of body and mind in meditation; the visionary realm of ritual practice; and the empty, spacious qualities of mind itself. When the meditator encounters the dakini, living spiritual experience is activated in a nonconceptual manner by her direct gaze, her radiant body, and her compassionate revelation of reality. Grounded in the author's personal encounter with the dakini, this unique study will appeal to both male and female spiritual seekers interested in goddess worship, women's spirituality, and the tantric tradition.
"Leslene della-Madre’s book, She Who Spins Creation: Sacred Female Cosmology in the Electric PlasMA Universe, is essential medicine and a much-needed balm for the spirit in these perilous times of toxic masculinity, toxic capitalism, toxic patriarchy, and the perpetuation of the annihilation of women’s wisdom and power (also known as the Inquisition) in which female-embodied existence and wisdom continue to be silenced and every attempt to eradicate us, deny our culture, belittle and erase our knowledge continues to unfold. It is also a master class in how to excavate and reclaim female-embodied experience, wisdom, empowerment, and sovereignty. Della-Madre exposes the misogyny inherent in patriarchal myth and science—from physics to molecular biology—delving into the mysteries of matter, the mammalian egg, mythologies of female origins, the Electric Universe, plasMA cosmology, and much, much more. She invites us to awaken to the reality of a truly female cosmology that has always reflected “as above, so below”—and always will—but that has been denied and subjected to nearly complete erasure in numerous ways by male-dominated realities. In doing so, she invokes us to challenge the amnesia of the ages, question all we have been told about who we are, where we come from, and who we can become. She implores us to “feel our horns and wings again”, and reclaim a world in which we understand that we are all “electric plasMA beings”, intertwined and interconnected, “in tune with the cosmos, the greater organism.” This is the way to heal the violence that has been done to the Earth, Nature, and women by thousands of years of patriarchal colonization. This book is also a clarion call for action—for women to “re-member our magic and to seek guidance from the ancestral realms to help restore us to whole (holy)ness.” This profound book should be made into a documentary series." Mary Saracino, author, LAMBDA award finalist
Translated here for the first time, a collection of heartfelt and intimate advice for Buddhist practice from the modern female Buddhist teacher Sera Khandro Dewai Dorje (1892–1940), revealing her firsthand experiences as a mother, wife, consort, and spiritual teacher of the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Sera Khandro Dewai Dorje was a rare example of a well-known Tibetan woman renowned as a teacher in the modern era. While there are many notable female figures in Tibetan Buddhist history, very few left a collection of poetic, autobiographical, and devotional writings as extensive as Dewai Dorje. Both biographical and instructional, this is a collection of advice, prayers, dreams, prophecies, and treasures (terma) from within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of Dzogchen, a Buddhist practice on resting in the nature of mind. Typically seen as high level practices, these Dzogchen and other instructions are presented in Dewai Dorje’s highly personal and accessible voice. This collection of practice instructions is a window into the inner experience of a beautiful woman in love who single-pointedly pursued a life of Dharma. Born to a wealthy and powerful father in Lhasa, she left home and became a dedicated Dharma practitioner living as an unaccompanied female in the wilds of eastern Tibet in the early 1900s. She became a wife, mother, and then consort and wrote of both highly spiritual and highly personal experiences, from spiritual realization to grief.
An authoritative new translation of the complete Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, the teaching songs and stories from Tibet's most beloved Buddhist yogi, poet, and saint. Powerful and deeply inspiring, there is no book more beloved by Tibetans than The Hundred Thousand Songs, and no figure more revered than Milarepa, the great eleventh-century poet and saint. An ordinary man who, through sheer force of effort, faith, and perseverance, overcame nearly insurmountable obstacles on the spiritual path to achieve enlightenment in a single lifetime, he stands as an exemplar of what it is to lead a spiritual life. Milarepa, a cotton-clad yogi, wandered and taught the dharma, most famously through spontaneously composed songs, a colorful and down-to-earth way to convey the immediacy and depth of the Buddhist teachings. In this work, the songs are woven into a narrative that tells the stories of his most famous encounters with his students, including Gampopa and Rechungpa, and recount his victories over supernatural forces in the remote Himalayan mountains and caves where he meditated. In this authoritative new translation, prepared under the guidance of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Christopher Stagg brilliantly brings to life the teachings of this extraordinary man. This classic of world literature is important for its narrative alone but is also a key contribution for those who seek inspiration for the spiritual path.
A thorough and sparkling translation of an essential commentary on one of the most profound practices of Tibetan Buddhism. The Extremely Secret Dakini of Naropa has become the basis for almost every subsequent Vajrayogini commentary in the Gelug tradition. Kyabje Pabongkha’s commentary is both very thorough in its presentation and deeply inspiring, providing rich detail on essential elements of Vajrayogini practice: - all eleven yogas of the generation stage - the transference of consciousness - tsok offering - left-sided conduct - and many other auxiliary practices There is also a stunning explanation of the completion stage that provides many extraordinarily profound methods unique to the practice of Vajrayogini. The second half of the book contains several sadhanas for the practice of Vajrayogini, including six-session guru yoga as well as two sadhanas on the transference of consciousness. "This is a teaching that practitioners can use to transform themselves into a buddha, like the artists who shape beautiful images out of raw materials." —Gelek Rimpoche
An introduction the most well-known and important Buddhas, deities and other sacred figures of Buddhism. Each is imaginatively brought to life for the reader presenting their major characteristics along with illustrations, visualizations, symbols, mantras and myths.
The Collected Works of Chögyam Trungpa brings together in eight volumes the writings of the first and most influential and inspirational Tibetan teachers to present Buddhism in the West. Organized by theme, the collection includes full-length books as well as articles, seminar transcripts, poems, plays, and interviews, many of which have never before been available in book form. From memoirs of his escape from Chinese-occupied Tibet to insightful discussions of psychology, mind, and meditation; from original verse and calligraphy to the esoteric lore of tantric Buddhism—the impressive range of Trungpa's vision, talents, and teachings is showcased in this landmark series. Volume One contains Trungpa's early writings in Great Britain, including Born in Tibet (1966), the memoir of his youth and training; Meditation in Action (1969), a classic on the practice of meditation; and Mudra (1972), a collection of verse. Among the selected articles from the 1960s and '70s are early teachings on compassion and the bodhisattva path. Other articles contain unique information on the history of Buddhism in Tibet; an exposition of teachings of dzogchen with the earliest meditation instruction by Trungpa Rinpoche ever to appear in print; and an intriguing discussion of society and politics, which may be the first recorded germ of the Shambhala teachings.
This translation contains subtle and penetrating wisdom expressed through the age-old tradition of spiritual songs. Two songs by the great Indian master Naropa are explained in detail by Thrangu Rinpoche, a realized Tibetan Buddhist teacher of the present time. His approach is traditional, but his style is conversational and pragmatic. He includes refutations and limitations of other approaches, a comparison of Mahamudra vs. regular Shamatha, 5 wisdoms, as well as the 6 paramitas. Reading this book, one realizes that Mahamudra ultimately encourages turning the eye on the "I."
In Search of Milaʼs Collected Songs – Back to the Basics is a comparative study of Tibetan texts with stories and songs of the great yogin and poet Milarepa, written between the 12th and the 15th centuries. By comparing these texts, the evolution of the narratives and the songs related to the lineages in which the texts were transmitted comes to light. The research leads up to the m ost famous Tibetan text regarding Milarepa, Tsangnyön Herukaʼs Life and Songs – The Life of Milarepa and The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa. The analysis of the evolution in the life-and-song stories allows us to evaluate the iconic image of the great yogin as depicted by Tsangnyön Heruka. The book consists of two main parts. Part One assesses the available sources, classified according to the period and the lineages in which they were produced. In Chapter 1, the biographies before Tsangnyön are studied. In Chapter 2, the specific characteristics of Tsangnyönʼs work are highlighted as compared to the earlier works. Chapter 3 considers some doctrinal aspects and their evolutions in all these works. The first part ends with the conclusions drawn from the comparative study. Part Two consists of translations relative to the research. This part is divided into ten chapters. The first one (Chapter 4) is a translation of Milarepa's hitherto unstudied life story by one of his main disciples, Ngendzong Tonpa. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 are translations of specific topics as they appear in all the different texts: Milarepa's stay with his teacher Marpa, the encounter between Milarepa and Gampopa, and the teaching transmission of a specific meditation tradition from Milarepa to his disciple Rechungpa. Chapter 8 describes interesting details found in a text by Zhijé Ripa. Chapter 9 compares the episode of a dying Bönpo, in the different texts. In Chapter 10 three episodes from the biographical compendium ʽLife and Songs of the Glorious Laughing Vajraʼ are studied and compared with Tsangnyön Herukaʼs version. Chapter 11 gives an interesting interpretation of certain features of Milaʼs encounters with non-human beings due to the interconnections between inner winds and outer appearances. Chapter 12 analyses the colophons of the most ancient Chapters in the texts, regarding Milaʼs interactions with the Tseringma long-life sisters. Chapter 13 gives Milaʼs instructions on the intermediate states. Here two different texts explaining the same instructions are compared to each other. Then follows a bibliography and an appendix containing 8 Song Charts, in which the chapters and the songs in all these works are localised.
