Echoes of Enlightenment: The Life and Legacy of Soenam Peldren explores the issues of gender and sainthood raised by the discovery of a previously unpublished "liberation story" of the fourteenth-century Tibetan female Buddhist practitioner Soenam Peldren. Born in 1328, Peldren spent most of her adult life living and traveling as a nomad in eastern Tibet until her death in 1372. Existing scholarship suggests that she was illiterate, lacking religious education, and unconnected to established religious institutions. That, and the fact that as a woman her claims of religious authority would have been constantly questioned, makes Soenam Peldren's overall success in legitimizing her claims of divine identity all the more remarkable. Today the site of her death is recognized as sacred by local residents. In this study, Suzanne Bessenger draws on the newly discovered biography of the saint, approaching it through several different lenses. Bessenger seeks to understand how the written record of the saint's life is shaped both by the specific hagiographical agendas of its multiple authors and by the dictates of the genres of Tibetan religious literature, including biography and poetry. She considers Peldren's enduring historical legacy as a fascinating piece of Tibetan history that reveals much about the social and textual machinations of saint production. Finally, she identifies Peldren as one of the earliest recorded instances of a historical Tibetan woman successfully using the uniquely Tibetan hermeneutic of deity emanation to achieve religious authority.

The Life of the Madman of UE tells the story of Kunga Zangpo (1458-1532), a famous Tibetan Buddhist ascetic of the Kagyu sect. Having grown weary of the trials of human existence, Zangpo renounced the world during his teenage years, committing himself to learning and practicing the holy Dharma as a monk. Some years later he would give up his monkhood to take on a unique tantric asceticism that entailed dressing in human remains, wandering from place to place, and provoking others to attack him physically, among other norm-overturning behaviors. It was because of this asceticism that Zangpo came to be known as the Madman of UE. Written in two parts in 1494 and 1537, this biography provides a rich depiction of religious life in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Tibet. Between his travels across central and western Tibet, the Himalayas, and Nepal, Zangpo undertook inspiring feats of meditation, isolating himself in caves for years at a stretch. The book also details Zangpo's many miracles, a testament to the spiritual perfection he attained. His final thirty years were spent at his monastery of Tsimar Pel, where he dispensed teachings to his numerous disciples and followers. The life of this remarkable and controversial figure provides new means for understanding the tradition of the "holy madman" (smyon pa) in Tibetan Buddhism. This valuable example of Tibetan Buddhist hagiographical literature is here made available in a complete English translation for the first time.

"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."

Chogyam Trungpa describes "crazy wisdom" as an innocent state of mind that has the quality of early morning--fresh, sparkling, and completely awake. This fascinating book examines the life of Padmasambhava--the revered Indian teacher who brought Buddhism to Tibet--to illustrate the principle of crazy wisdom. From this profound point of view, spiritual practice does not provide comfortable answers to pain or confusion. On the contrary, painful emotions can be appreciated as a challenging opportunity for new discovery. In particular, the author discusses meditation as a practical way to uncover one's own innate wisdom.