The Seven Instruction Lineages
The Seven Instruction Lineages

Author: Jo Nang Taranatha

Publisher: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 8186470654

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In the present work, Taranatha paints a miraculous picture of the great Siddhas of India their lives and the lineages which sprang from their teachings. In all, the lives of some 59 Siddhas are related some well known, others more obscure, but all linked by their various lineages and by the instructions handed down from Siddha to disciple. Taranatha’s account of these remarkable lives is especially valuable as he had as his gurus, and as the sources of these accounts, three Indians from the very traditions about which he wrote with such conviction. The lineage accounts are very important for a clear understanding of the Tantric upadesas themselves. In several places Taranatha makes quite sure that his own lineage is irrefutably established so that there is no doubt that he is a participator in the upadesas themselves, not merely a hander down of legends. The accounts were evidently passed on and, due to the special factors involved in the tantric oral tradition, we cannot but understand them as being accurate and reliable.

The Six Yogas of Naropa
The Six Yogas of Naropa

Author: Glenn H. Mullin

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2014-05-13

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1559399066

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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.

Taranatha's History of Buddhism in India
Taranatha's History of Buddhism in India

Author: Alaka Chattopadhyaya

Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass

Published: 2018-01-01

Total Pages: 525

ISBN-13: 8120834704

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Born in A.D. 1575, Lama Taranatha wrote this book in 1608. V. Vasil'ev of St. Petersburg translated it from Tibetan into Russian in April 1869 followed by the German translation of the text by Schiefner also published from St. Peterburg in October of the same Year. In view of the profound importance of the work for understanding Indian history in general and of the history of Buddhism in particular. modern scholars have extensively using specially Schiefner's German translation of the History for decades and this for varied purposes.

Secret of the Vajra World
Secret of the Vajra World

Author: Reginald A. Ray

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2002-07-23

Total Pages: 545

ISBN-13: 157062917X

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An entrée into the world of Tantric Buddhism—a unique collection of texts, concepts, and meditation practices presented by Tibetan masters teaching in the West The “Vajra World” (vajradhatu in Sanskrit) is a realm of indestructibility, the level of reality beyond all thought and imagination, all impermanence and change, which a fully realized person knows and inhabits. Used metaphorically, “Vajra World” refers to the traditional culture of Tibet and the unique spirituality that is its secret strength. Secret of the Vajra World is the companion volume to the author’s earlier book, Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. While that book focuses on the history, cosmology, philosophy, and practice of the more public, exoteric side of Tibetan Buddhism, this work treats its more hidden and esoteric aspects as they take shape in Vajrayana. Together, the two volumes provide a broad introduction to the major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Topics include: • The tantric view of human nature and the external world • The special role of the guru, or tantric mentor • The preliminary practices that prepare the student for full initiation • The major dimensions of Vajrayana practice, including visualizations, liturgies, and inner yogas • The tradition of the tulku, or incarnate lama • The lore surrounding the death of ordinary people and of saints • The practice of solitary retreat, the epitome of traditional Tibetan Buddhism

The Life of Marpa the Translator
The Life of Marpa the Translator

Author: Tsangnyön Heruka

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2018-03-27

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0834840987

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Marpa the Translator, the eleventh-century farmer, scholar, and teacher, is one of the most renowned saints in Tibetan Buddhist history. In the West, Marpa is best known through his teacher, the Indian yogin Nâropa, and through his closest disciple, Milarepa. This lucid and moving translation of a text composed by the author of The Life of Milarepa and The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa documents the fascinating life of Marpa, who, unlike many other Tibetan masters, was a layman, a skillful businessman who raised a family while training his disciples. As a youth, Marpa was inspired to travel to India to study the Buddhist teachings, for at that time in Tibet, Buddhism had waned considerably through ruthless suppression by an evil king. The author paints a vivid picture of Marpa's three journeys to India: precarious mountain passes, desolate plains teeming with bandits, greedy customs-tax collectors. Marpa endured many hardships, but nothing to compare with the trials that ensued with his guru Nâropa and other teachers. Yet Marpa succeeded in mastering the tantric teachings, translating and bringing them to Tibet, and establishing the Practice Lineage of the Kagyüs, which continues to this day.

Buddhist Goddesses of India
Buddhist Goddesses of India

Author: Miranda Shaw

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2015-08-25

Total Pages: 586

ISBN-13: 0691168547

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"The Indian Buddhist world abounds with goddesses--voluptuous tree spirits, maternal nurturers, potent healers and protectors, transcendent wisdom figures, cosmic mothers of liberation, and dancing female Buddhas. Despite their importance in Buddhist thought and practice, these female deities have received relatively little scholarly attention, and no comprehensive study of the female pantheon has been available. Buddhist Goddesses of India is the essential and definitive guide to divinities that, as Miranda Shaw writes, "operate from transcendent planes of bliss and awareness for as long as their presence may benefit living beings." Beautifully illustrated, the book chronicles the histories, legends, and artistic portrayals of nineteen goddesses and several related human figures and texts. Drawing on a sweeping range of material, from devotional poetry and meditation manuals to rituals and artistic images, Shaw reveals the character, powers, and practice traditions of the female divinities. Interpretations of intriguing traits such as body color, stance, hairstyle, clothing, jewelry, hand gestures, and handheld objects lend deep insight into the symbolism and roles of each goddess. In addition to being a comprehensive reference, this book traces the fascinating history of these goddesses as they evolved through the early, Mahayana, and Tantric movements in India and found a place in the pantheons of Tibet and Nepal."--Publisher's website.

The Buddhist Philosophy of the Middle
The Buddhist Philosophy of the Middle

Author: David Seyfort Ruegg

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2010-04-10

Total Pages: 474

ISBN-13: 0861719360

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Madhyamaka, the "philosophy of the middle," systematized the Buddha's fundamental teaching on no-self with its profound non-essentialist reading of reality. Founded in India by Nagarjuna in about the second century CE, Madhyamaka philosophy went on to become the dominant strain of Buddhist thought in Tibet and exerted a profound influence on all the cultures of East Asia. Within the extensive Western scholarship inspired by this school of thought, David Seyfort Ruegg's work is unparalleled in its incisiveness, diligence, and scope. The Buddhist Philosophy of the Middle brings together Ruegg's greatest essays on Madhyamaka, expert writings which have and will continue to contribute to our progressing understanding of this rich tradition.

Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia
Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Traditions of South and Southeast Asia

Author: Juliane Schober

Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Publ.

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 9788120818125

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This interdisciplinary collection of essays explores the biographical genre of the Buddhist traditions of South and Southeast Asia. Scholars in the history of religions, anthropology, literature and art history present a broad range of explorations into sacred biography as an interpretive genre. Easch essay makes unique contributions and the collection as a whole engages methodological and interpretive approaches that are central to scholars of Buddhism and those specializing in the study of south and Southeast Asia.