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Books > Humanities > Religion & beliefs > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism > Tibetan Buddhism
An innovative and compelling presentation of world-class Tibetan
Buddhist art, elucidating its esoteric themes through visual
storytelling Encouraging personal engagement with Tibetan Buddhism,
this dynamic book presents spectacular Himalayan art and explores
the philosophical tenets encoded in its imagery. Taking as its
theme the universally accessible experience of Awakening, the
book's main text leads readers along an immersive journey of
self-discovery, aided by a virtual guide, or lama, and traditional
art meant to support meditative practice. Complementary essays
examine Tibetan Buddhism's ritual tools, paintings, symbolic
imagery, and artistic traditions. Beautiful color images of all
artworks, including three by contemporary Nepalese-American artist
Tsherin Sherpa, and selected important details enhance our
understanding of their complex iconography. Distributed for the
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Exhibition Schedule: Virginia Museum
of Fine Arts, Richmond (04/27/19-08/18/19) Asian Art Museum of San
Francisco (01/17/20-04/19/20)
If you take just a moment to explore sacred texts, spiritual
teachings, novels, poetry, another cultural, essays from great
historians, or travel somewhere because you just felt the need to
go or exercise your faith, follow your dream or do something that
fires your imagination, stirs your soul, and expands your circle of
compassion, you first must believe in yourself and that everything
is possible. You want change, look around you, look at every day as
a gift. You and only you create your every day world. Everything
that happens to you in your life is because of you. Cause and
Effect, its real, and is happening now, but you need to recognize
its happening. A journey can start for a reason not associated to
the"why" factor, its synchronicity. It is like a spiritual practice
to live everyday in happiness. And everybody can have this, the
only condition is your 100% true decision to want change in your
life for happiness. Whenever we give attention to something, this
creative energy flows through us and expands, enlivens and charges
the object of our attention. The tool we use to focus attention is
the mind. Mind itself isn't the creator of well being, but it is
the focus, the conduit, the medium through which unlimited creative
energy, love, abundance, all that is, can flow through. We use mind
power to create everything in our lives, including well being,
whether we do it consciously or unconsciously. I hope that after
reading this book, you will find a new insight, no matter how
small, of understand that change is and always up to you.
SEARCHING FOR THE HEART OF SACRED SPACE is about Landscape,
Buddhism and Awakening - spoken in the same breath. The author
personally explores ways of being in sacred landscapes, foundations
for designing the contemplative garden. The book candidly reveals a
path of transformation. Discovering the riches of the woods in
Finland, the author investigates the natural environment for local
government in Upstate New York and USAID in Nepal. He begins to
taste the meaning of a spiritual home. Mentored by Tom Johnson at
Cornell University, he designs a Tibetan Buddhist meditation
centre, one of the first in North America. During a private
audience, H. H. the Dalai Lama questions the basis for the design.
Firmly linking the design of landscape to a spiritual path, the
author questions, - "What is the truth of design? How deep would I
go to draw inspiration? How deeply am I willing to know myself in
order to design sacred landscape?" His search for the heart of
sacred space points to an astounding historical connection between
Kyoto's temple gardens and Pretapuri in Western Tibet, one of
Buddhism's twenty-four sacred tantric sites. Guided by Zasep Tulku
Rinpoche, he dissects the reference, an old Japanese garden-making
text designating the first stones set upright in the landscape -
8,631 stones on the Tibetan Plateau guarded by the Eight Naga
Kings. He makes a pilgrimage to Pretapuri, a landscape charged with
the power of spiritual agreement between pilgrims and deities,
revealed as three layers of discourse. External explanations enrich
physical descriptions with tales told by rivers and terraces about
the meaning of life. Internal explanations relate stories and
legends investing a place with subtle attributes accorded to a
sacred landscape. Secret explanations present a landscape produced
by the power of the Six Perfections, graced by the purity and
wisdom of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, corresponding to a structured
pattern of focal points of energy and subtle channels. As a
landscape architect and Buddhist, the author personally speaks with
these provocative landscapes and the historical characters who
previously addressed their mysteries, calling extensive textual
references into the discussion. By disarming the feral conditions
left by others, and awakening to the perfection and beauty of
sacred landscapes, he uncovers profound tools for designing gardens
for contemplation. Discovering layers of subtlety enhanced with
hand-drawn maps and sketches in this book, you may never look at
landscape the same way again; instead, seeing the world unbound
wonder and reverence - naked - in silence ... and the unbearable
lightness of space.
The ancient Tibetans devised a unique system to prove, logically,
if something is true or not. Learn how to form a correct argument,
how to determine whether an argument is true, and what are the
follow up strategies on a line of argument. Applications for their
techniques extend into every aspect of one's life: job, family,
health. The ability to process information and arrive at a correct,
logical conclusion is something we can all benefit from
"If you recite this when you arise, then you will accomplish all of
your wholesome aims for the day. If you recite it when you go to
sleep, then you will have nourishing dreams. If you recite it
before you go to into action, you will be virtuous and successful.
If you recite it when you begin an activity, then the good that you
aspire to will increase. If you recite it daily, then health,
longevity, glory, prosperity, auspiciousness, happiness and virtue
will accompany you according to your thoughts and actions. All
harmful actions and obscurations will be purified. Both the higher
realms and the resplendent Buddhahood - all aims will be
accomplished. This was said by the Supreme Victor - Jamgon Ju
Mipham."
Tsultrim Allione brings an eleventh-century Tibetan woman's
practice to the West for the first time with FEEDING YOUR DEMONS,
an accessible and effective approach for dealing with negative
emotions, fears, illness, and self-defeating patterns. Allione-one
of only a few female Buddhist leaders in this country and
comparable in American religious life to Pema Chodron-bridges this
ancient Eastern practice with today's Western psyche. She explains
that if we fight our demons, they only grow stronger. But if we
feed them, nurture them, we can free ourselves from the battle.
Through the clearly articulated practice outlined in FEEDING YOUR
DEMONS, we can learn to overcome any obstacle and achieve freedom
and inner peace.
Buddhism is in many ways a visual tradition, with its well-known
practices of visualization, its visual arts, its epistemological
writings that discuss the act of seeing, and its literature filled
with images and metaphors of light. Some Buddhist traditions are
also visionary, advocating practices by which meditators seek
visions that arise before their eyes. Naked Seeing investigates
such practices in the context of two major esoteric traditions, the
Wheel of Time (Kalacakra) and the Great Perfection (Dzogchen). Both
of these experimented with sensory deprivation, and developed yogas
involving long periods of dwelling in dark rooms or gazing at the
open sky. These produced unusual experiences of seeing, which were
used to pursue some of the classic Buddhist questions about
appearances, emptiness, and the nature of reality. Along the way,
these practices gave rise to provocative ideas and suggested that,
rather than being apprehended through internal insight, religious
truths might also be seen in the exterior world-realized through
the gateway of the eyes. Christopher Hatchell presents the
intellectual and literary histories of these practices, and also
explores the meditative techniques and physiology that underlie
their distinctive visionary experiences.
The book also offers for the first time complete English
translations of three major Tibetan texts on visionary practice: a
Kalacakra treatise by Yumo Mikyo Dorje, The Lamp Illuminating
Emptiness, a Nyingma Great Perfection work called The Tantra of the
Blazing Lamps, and a Bon Great Perfection work called Advice on the
Six Lamps, along with a detailed commentary on this by Drugom
Gyalwa Yungdrung."
"The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa" brings together in eight
volumes the writings of one 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 Seven
features the work of Chogyam Trungpa as a poet, playwright, and
visual artist and his teachings on art and the creative process,
which are among the most innovative and provocative aspects of his
activities in the West. While it includes material in which Trungpa
Rinpoche shares his knowledge of the symbolism and iconography of
traditional Buddhist arts (in "Visual Dharma)," this richly varied
volume primarily focuses on his own, often radical creative
expressions. "The Art of Calligraphy" is a wonderful showcase for
his calligraphy, and "Dharma Art" brings together his ideas on art,
the artistic process, and aesthetics. Tibetan poetics, filmmaking,
theater, and art and education are among the topics of the selected
writings.
Love and Liberation reads the autobiographical and biographical
writings of one of the few Tibetan Buddhist women to record the
story of her life. Sera Khandro Kunzang Dekyong Chonyi Wangmo (also
called Dewe Dorje, 1892-1940) was extraordinary not only for
achieving religious mastery as a Tibetan Buddhist visionary and
guru to many lamas, monastics, and laity in the Golok region of
eastern Tibet, but also for her candor. This book listens to Sera
Khandro's conversations with land deities, dakinis, bodhisattvas,
lamas, and fellow religious community members whose voices
interweave with her own to narrate what is a story of both love
between Sera Khandro and her guru, Drime Ozer, and spiritual
liberation. Sarah H. Jacoby's analysis focuses on the status of the
female body in Sera Khandro's texts, the virtue of celibacy versus
the expediency of sexuality for religious purposes, and the
difference between profane lust and sacred love between male and
female tantric partners. Her findings add new dimensions to our
understanding of Tibetan Buddhist consort practices, complicating
standard scriptural presentations of male subject and female aide.
Sera Khandro depicts herself and Drime Ozer as inseparable
embodiments of insight and method that together form the Vajrayana
Buddhist vision of complete buddhahood. By advancing this
complementary sacred partnership, Sera Khandro carved a place for
herself as a female virtuoso in the male-dominated sphere of early
twentieth-century Tibetan religion.
The Buddha himself said in a Lesser Vehicle sutra: "Son of the
family You are to become expert in the skandhas. You are to become
expert in the ayatanas. You are to become expert in the dhatus. You
are to become expert in pratityasamutpada. You are to become expert
in topics. You are to become expert in non-topics." With these
words, the Buddha indicated that there are six topics which must be
learned, at least to some extent, by every one of his followers.
Although the Buddha gave these teachings in the Lesser Vehicle,
they are a necessary foundation for practitioners of all levels,
from those studying the Lesser Vehicle to those practising
Mahamudra and Great Completion. This book gives a thorough
explanation of the six topics using a text written by Zhanphen
Chokyi Nangwa, or Khenchen Zhan-ga as he is more commonly known,
the greatest of all abbots to have presided over the famous Shri
Singha monastic college at Dzogchen Monastery, Tibet. The author of
the book, the well-known teacher and translator Tony Duff,
supplements the explanations in the text with many clarifications
in an extensive introduction. The text is very similar to Mipham
Namgyal's famous "mkhas 'jug" or Gateway to Knowledge as it has
been called. Unfortunately, Mipham's text is difficult for
beginners. Zhan-ga's text is quite different; it was not written
merely as a piece of scholarship, but was carefully composed so as
not to exclude beginners with excessively difficult explanations
and moreover to be helpful to practitioners of all levels. For
these reasons, Gangteng Tulku has selected our book rather than
Mipham's Gateway of Knowledge in order to teach this topic to
students in the second year of his shedra. Extensive explanations
of the meaning of the six topics are provided by the author from
his own knowledge gathered during forty years of studying with the
Gelug, Kagyu, and Nyingma traditions, not to mention his extensive
stays at Dzogchen Monastery where he learned the approach of
Zhan-ga directly from Zhan-ga's successors. Ample footnotes, an
extensive glossary, and a carefully corrected edition of the
Tibetan text are also provided.
Dragpa Gyaltsan's writings in Tibetan fill four volumes of almost a
thousand pages each. He was a statesman, a physician, an historian,
and a poet, not to mention an adept in Buddhist practice, both
exoteric and esoteric. The present volume of translations
represents a mere sampling of his extraordinary literary acumen. I
have made selections from his poetry and historical writings, an
account of his dreams, and a few practice related works. These
works will be interesting to many kinds of readers, depending on
their personal inclinations. I have included one work written by
his brother, Sonam Tsemo: The Six Dharmas of Guru Vajrasana. I
present these to you as literature for you to enjoy. The practices
that are described in some of the works are meant to be pursued
under the instruction of a qualified teacher. Readers who find them
intriguing are encouraged to seek out such guidance. My translation
of a biography of Dragpa Gyaltsan, written by Sakya Pandita, is to
be found in the first volume of the Sakya Kongma Series: Sakya
Pandita's Poetic Wisdom. A Melody of Experience for Yeshe Dorje,
included in this volume, was first published in Melody of Dharma,
the official magazine of the Sakya Drolma Podrang.
Other Emptiness is the view of emptiness that goes with wisdom. It
has long been thought amongst Westerners that the view of emptiness
championed by the Gelug tradition following the views of Tsongkhapa
is the one and only view of emptiness in the Buddhist teachings.
However, that is not the case. The majority of Tibetan Buddhists
accept two approaches to emptiness, a logical approach called empty
of self and a non-conceptual approach called empty of other. This
book clearly presents all of these views and shows how the empty of
other type of emptiness is actually the ultimate teaching of the
Buddha, the teaching on how to enter non-dual wisdom. Other
emptiness has usually been thought of amongst Westerners who have
heard of it as a very complicated and difficult philosophy. It is
subtle, that is true, because it describes what it is like to be in
wisdom. However, it was not taught as a difficult philosophy.
Rather, it was taught as a practical teaching on how to enter
non-dual wisdom. The book explores this point at length. The book
was written to be useful for all levels of reader. It starts
simply, giving a clear explanation of the Buddha's non-dual
teaching and how the other emptiness teaching is part of that. Then
it goes into details about the history and teaching other
emptiness. Finally, it goes in to great technical detail concerning
the other emptiness teaching, and supports that with extensive
materials from various Tibetan teachers. Unlike many of the books
on other emptiness that have appeared, this book does not only
present the theory of other emptiness but keeps a proper balance
between showing the theory of other emptiness and presenting the
practice-based reality of the teaching. The book is divided into
four parts, each one a set of presentations from someone
knowledgeable of the subject. The first part is several chapters
written by the author in plain English in order to get the reader
under way. Following that, there are sections embodying the
explanations of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyatso,
and amgon Kongtrul the great. Ample introductions, glossaries and
so on are provided.
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