Dzigar Kongtrul guides us through intelligent reasoning to identify our deluded perception of a truly existing self and shows us the key to awakening from this fundamental confusion. Rinpoche's brilliant commentary on the classical Indian Buddhist text, The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva is a testament to this inspiring teacher's compassionate and compelling style. Uncommon Happiness is saturated with advice from an adept practitioner of the Buddhist Path. By expounding the essential meaning of the engaged Buddhism and introducing skillful methods to utilize along the way, he reveals our innate wisdom mind and challenges us to meet and employ our intrinsic enlightened capacity.
In this extraordinary book, we have the unique opportunity to connect with a realized teacher, renown for his compassion and kindness, who skillfully teaches us how to reach that same level of conviction and certainty in our self. This clarification overflows with the genuine delight and humanity Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche embodies. These qualities transcend time, race, and place and are universal principles for all people to live by.
Here is a combination of primordial notions expounded in the 8th century and practiced throughout the world till the present time and a modern interpretation pertinent to contemporary audiences. These values include loving kindness, compassion, joy and impartiality as well as generosity, patience, discipline, morality, diligence, peaceful abiding and intelligence. Instructions to engage in these trainings are presented with clear and precise language, easy to comprehend and apply.

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche spent many years in retreat, assimilating the teachings within his experience. He spoke with humor and true understanding, expressing plainly and simply what he himself had undergone. Consequently, his teachings are uniquely accessible, with a powerfully beneficial impact on those who hear or read his words. This book, a selection of his oral and written teachings, spells out the essential points of spiritual practice and leads readers along the same path they would follow in the presence of a master. Through direct, pithy instructions, students are encouraged to question the master repeatedly, while at the same time processing their own experiences. Representing the heart of Rinpoche's teachings, "Repeating the Words of the Buddha" shows that the enlightened essence is present within the mind of any sentient being, and that it can be recognized by all who seek it.

Vajra Speech, by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, renowned for his
extra-ordinary experience and realization, is a wide ranging
collection of pith instructions for the Dzogchen yogi. This Tibetan
master's advice reduces negative emotions and naturally
enables loving kindness, compassion and wisdom to flourish.
"A swan can separate water and milk when drinking. The
yogi should be like the swan in sepa rating the milk of original
wakefulness from the water of ignorance."
--Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
"Compared to many years studying books and going through
analytical meditation, we found it more beneficial to ask questions
of Tulku Urgyen and listen to his answers."
--Orgyen Topgyal Rinpoche

A Buddhist Classic
A practical manual for both teacher and student alike, Clarifying the Natural State covers the path from mindfulness to complete enlightenment, simply and methodically. Presenting the profound and ultimate instructions of Mahamudra, it embodies the realization of India and Tibet's greatest masters.
The words of Dakpo Tashi Namgyal are unique. Adorned with plenty of pithy advice out of his personal experience, practitioners are greatly benefited by his instructions on how to remove hindrances and progress further. His methods for practicing Mahamudra are preeminent. This book is indispensable as it focuses exclusively on practice.
-Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Elevate your experience and remain wide open like the sky. Expand your mindfulness and remain pervasive like the earth. Steady your attention and remain unshakable like a mountain. Brighten your awareness and remain shining like a flame. Clear your thought free wakefulness and remain lucid like a crystal.
- Dakpo Tashi Namgyal
16th Century

Wellsprings of the Great Perfection presents the primary sources explaining how the Dzogchen teachings came into this world, who received them and through whom they passed. It is an impressive collection of original translations from a vast number of classical Tibetan documents, including songs of realization by the early masters of the lineage.
" The Dzogchen teachings of the Greatest Secret, also known as the Great Perfection, are the words of the compassionate Buddha, and among the causal and resultant vehicles, they are of the type that employ the fruition as the path, Wellsprings of the Great Perfection describes the origin, and gives both short and detailed historical accounts and teachings.
"I see a profound importance in studying, reflecting upon and practicing the authentic statements and explanations of the Dzogchen lineage masters- especially for people who aspire to realize the Great Perfection- the Through cut of primordial purity, the view of Trekcho. I therefore request readers to keep these scriptures in the center of their hearts."
- Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, author of Present Fresh Wakefulness
"The ultimate origin and absolute teachings of Dzogchen inscribed in this most sacred text and whispered by the greatest adepts of its lineage are finally available in this volume. Every serious student Dzogchen must study and enshrine it in their heart."
- Tulku Thondup, author of The Healing Power of Mind

At a time when the popularity of Buddhism is at a peak in the west, both inside and outside the university setting, scholars and students alike are searching for guidance: How should Buddhism, a religion which is ultimately 'foreign' to western experience, be taught? How should one teach central Buddhist doctrines and ideas? Should one teach Buddhist practise; if so how? Until now, those interested in these and other related matters have been left with little guidance. Despite the wealth of scholarly publications on Buddhist traditions and the plethora of books about meditation and enlightenment, a serious lacuna exists in the sphere of teaching Buddhism.
This book fills this lacuna, by providing a series of thematically arranged articles written by contemporary scholars of Buddhism throughout North America. Some of the major themes covered are the history of teaching Buddhism in Europe and North America (Reynolds, Prebish), the problem of representations of Buddhism in undergraduate teaching (Lewis), the problem of crossing cultural and historical divides (Jenkins), the place of the body and mind in the Buddhist classroom (Waterhouse), alternative pedagogical methods in teaching Buddhism (Wotypka, Jarow, Hori, Grimes) and the use of the Internet as a resource, and metaphor for teaching Buddhism (Fenn, Grieder).

The first complete translation into English of this Tibetan text, together with the informative commentary by the 8th century master Buddhaguhya. This text is of seminal importance for the history of Buddhist Tantra, especially as very little has been published concerning the origins of Tantra in India.

Why did people in North India from the 5th century BC choose to leave the world and join the sect of the Buddha? This is the first book to apply the insights of social psychology in order to understand the religious motivation of the people who constituted the early Buddhist community. It also addresses the more general and theoretically controversial question of how world religions come into being, by focusing on the conversion process of the individual believer.

A richly complex study of the Yogacara tradition of Buddhism, divided into five parts: the first on Buddhism and phenomenology, the second on the four basic models of Indian Buddhist thought, the third on karma, meditation and epistemology, the fourth on the Trimsika and its translations, and finally the fifth on the Ch'eng Wei-shih Lun and Yogacara in China.

Demonstrates that Buddhists appropriated the practice, vocabulary, and ideology of sacrifice from Vedic religion, and discusses the relationship of this sacrificial discourse to ideas of karma in the Pali canon and in early Buddhism.

This book explores the resonances between Deleuze's philosophy and a range of philosophical concepts in Buddhism. Focusing on this rarely examined relationship, this book gathers perspectives from scholars around the globe to explore the continuities and discontinuities between Deleuze's and Buddhist thought. They examine immanence, intensity, assemblages and desire, and the concepts of ethics and meditation. This volume will prove to be an important resource for readers and scholars interested in philosophy, critical theory and comparative studies. They will find this an engaging and invaluable examination of two different yet similar modes of thought.

Visual metaphors in a number of Mahayana sutras construct a discourse in which visual perception serves as a model for knowledge and enlightenment. In the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita) and other Mahayana literature, immediate access to reality is symbolized by vision and set in opposition to language and conceptual thinking, which are construed as obscuring reality. In addition to its philosophical manifestations, the tension between vision and language also functioned as a strategy of legitimation in the struggle of the early heterodox Mahayana movement for authority and legitimacy. This emphasis on vision also served as a resource for the abundant mythical imagery in Mahayana sutras, imagery that is ritualized in Vajrayana visualization practices. McMahan brings a wide range of literature to bear on this issue, Including a rare analysis of the lavish imagery of the Gandavyuha Sutra in its Indian context. He concludes with a discussion of Indian approaches to visuality in the light of some recent discussions of "ocularcentrism" in the west, inviting scholars to expand the current discussion of vision and its roles in constructing epistemic systems and cultural practices beyond its exclusively European and American focus.

Written as a companion to Eliot's 3-volume Hinduism and Buddhism this text begins with an overview of Buddhism as practiced in India and China before presenting an in depth account of the history of Buddhism in Japan. It follows the development of the Buddhist movement in Japan from its official introduction in AD 552, through the Nara, Heian and Tokugawa periods, detailing the rises of the various Buddhist sects in Japan, including Nichiren and Zen. Thoroughly researched and well-written, it was the last work published by Eliot, one of the great scholars of Eastern religion and philosophy at the time.

The study of the Chinese Buddhist Canon-the basic literature of Buddhism-does not have an eminent place in study either in China or in the Western World. For the contributors to this volume, their chapters are the result of decades of dedication to academic research, and they reveal many facets of the Buddhist Canon that were previously unstudied. This book originated in the first and second International Conferences on Chinese Buddhist Canon, and focuses on the communication of the Chinese Buddhist Canon through the medium of print. It enhances our knowledge of how the canon was collated, proofread and printed. This book was originally published as a special issue of Studies in Chinese Religions.

This is a subset of F. Max Mullers great collection The Sacred Books of the East which includes translations of all the most important works of the seven non-Christian religions which have exercised a profound influence on the civilizations of the continent of Asia. The works have been translated by leading authorities in their field.

This is a subset of the Sacred Books of the East Series which includes translations of all the most important works of the seven non-Christian religions which have exercised a profound influence on the civilizations of the continent of Asia. The works have been translated by leading authorities in their field.

This is a subset of F. Max Mullers great collection The Sacred Books of the East which includes translations of all the most important works of the seven non-Christian religions which have exercised a profound influence on the civilizations of the continent of Asia. The works have been translated by leading authorities in their field.

This is a subset of the Sacred Books of the East Series which includes translations of all the most important works of the seven non-Christian religions which have exercised a profound influence on the civilizations of the continent of Asia. The works have been translated by leading authorities in their field.

A thoughtful, down-to-earth look at helpful ways to lessen human suffering.

This book takes you on a lively, sometimes light-hearted, journey through nine Buddhist practices that can bring "blessed relief" to a wide range of human suffering and teaches you skills to reduce suffering in the long term for yourself and others.The practices help you: Loosen the grip of sufferingEngage and question limiting views, thoughts and opinionsDeconstruct ten common assumptionsBe present in each momentSurvive emotional stormsDevelop peaceful communication skillsDeepen communication with your partnerAppreciate mortality and the preciousness of lifeCultivate compassion

As you read the chapters and engage in each practice, you will work with your own stories of suffering stories in which you have felt abandoned, deprived, subjugated, defective, excluded or vulnerable and you will learn how to release yourself from suffering by investigating it with curiosity and kindness."

Two of DŌ gen's most esteemed translators provide key chapters form his Zen masterpiece, the Shō bō genzō , in English with annotations to guide the reader.

This is a subset of F. Max Mullers great collection The Sacred Books of the East which includes translations of all the most important works of the seven non-Christian religions which have exercised a profound influence on the civilizations of the continent of Asia. The works have been translated by leading authorities in their field.

This is a semiotic study of a corpus of texts that Kumârajîva (344-413 CE), Paramârtha (499~569 CE) and Xuanzang (599~664 CE) transmitted from India to China, featuring a critical reading of the Dazhidu Lun (T1509, Mahâ-Prajñâpâramitâ-upadeúa-Úâstra), San Wuxing Lun (T1617, Try-asvabhâva-prakara.na), and Guangbai Lun (T1571, Catu.húataka-úâstra-kârika). Focusing its attention on the Mahâyâna Buddhist notion of samatâ, it identifies a Buddhist semiotics which anticipates Derrida's invocation of the notion of the Same in his deconstruction of binary oppositions.

'This is a deep and intense book, written with empathy for everything involved, and is of vital global, social significance.' - Revd Mary Sellers, Church Times

'Gosling's work is clearly and passionately written, betraying careful scholarship in science and religious studies. It should help to clarify the role of religious traditions in increasing ecological awareness, and, it is to be hoped, in promoting some resolution of the social and environmental problems our world faces' - THES

'The book is a must in any serious library dealing with ecology in India and Southeast Asia' - G. Gispert-Sauch, VJTR

'... a book which should allow Hinduism and Buddhism, and activists from India and Thailand, to challenge those of us from "religions of the book".' - Andrew Wingate, Theology