The Mirror of Turquoise Lake presents two plays from the classical Tibetan Buddhist dramatic tradition, translated by Tenzin Chonyi and Robert Hulton-Baker. With an introductory essay by Robert Hulton-Baker. Illustrated with line drawings. Nangsa Wohbum is a woman's story. Nangsa is a girl of great beauty and virtue in ancient Tibet, and her only wish is to help her family and practice the holy Dharma. But her family and a local king have other plans. Soon she is married off and becomes a wife and mother in an aristocratic family. Her courage in the face of the painful circumstances of her life provide a timeless example of perseverance in the spiritual journey. Drimay Kunden is a prince, a man of great sensitivity and compassion. But when Drimay gives away the kingdom's most precious possession, he and his family narrowly escape execution and are cruelly exiled to the wilderness. His story is one of transcendent generosity, forbearance, and the triumph of compassion.

Mahamudra, the highest level of teaching within Tibetan Buddhism, rewards study and practice with the realization of the very nature of mind itself. There is not a single experience which is not subsumed within the realizations of Mahamudra. On his first tour of the United States, H.H. Chetsang Rinpoche gave detailed instructions in Mahamudra methods. He carefully explained each of the five stages of Mahamudra and taught its main meditational practices. He also gave precise instructions on posture and breathing for meditation and answered many common questions using the teachings of Tilopa and Gampopa to illustrate his various points. ...the clearest presentation of Mahamudra meditation practice available in English.--Wisconsin Bookwatch

Meditation helps us relax, sharpens our minds, and increases our creativity. In "The Tibetan Book of Meditation," Lama Christie McNally demonstrates that meditation also provides a much greater gift. It awakens our innate potential to shape our reality, to make moments of joy last forever, and to bring us the peace and contentment that we all ultimately seek.
Written in an instructional yet intimate style, the author guides readers through a progression of meditations, from the simple concept of compassion to the transformative concept of emptiness. Teaching technique and content at the same time, this book is unique in its comprehensive approach and will find a special place in the hearts of novice and experienced meditators alike.
Christie McNally, a renowned master teacher and lecturer who has studied with some of the greatest Indian, Tibetan, and western Buddhist masters, explains the central tenets of Buddhism and reveals how they apply to everyday life. Combining ancient wisdom and contemporary teachings, she leads readers along the path to a richer, fuller life through resonant examples and eye-opening insights.
Her engaging tone and fresh approach to the art of meditation will appeal to followers of Pema Chodron and to readers of Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. This down-to-earth guide to meditation brings the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism to a new generation.

If objects don't exist the way they appear, is mind itself an illusion, or is it merely empty of illusions? Is the reality of the mind already endowed with ultimate Buddha qualities, or is reality just the immaculate nature of the mind that allows for Buddha qualities to be developed? Tsong-kha-pa (1357-1419), the great Tibetan Buddhist master, had to address these and a host of other questions in order to formulate the nature of liberation in Buddhism. This volume presents the explanations found in Tsong-kha-pa's Medium-Length Exposition of the Stages of the Path and in a commentary Tsong-kha-pa supplied for Chandrakirti's supplement to Nagarjuna's Treatise on the Middle, contrasting them with views of his predecessor Dol-bo-ba Shay-rab Gyel-tsen (1292-1391), as found in Dol-bo-ba's Mountain Doctrine. The two systems--Dol-bo-ba's doctrine of other-emptiness and Tsong-kha-pa's doctrine of self emptiness--emerge more clearly, contributing to a fuller picture of reality as viewed in Tibetan Buddhism.

All you ever wanted to know but never dared ask about Gurus, disciples, groupies, sponsors, Dharma centres, different approaches and philosophies, who's right, who's best, why there is neither right nor best, and what it all has to do with YOU. Through insightful observations, warm-hearted advice and deeply personal experiences, His Eminence Tsem Tulku Rinpoche explores what a Guru-disciple relationship is all about and what it means for contemporary spiritual aspirants. He reveals the ups, downs, benefits and troubles of Dharma centres all around the world and shows us how it is one of the most liberating places we'll ever know. Touching on a variety of near-taboo subjects, Rinpoche compassionately shows us the keys to finding our own way in the labyrinths of today's spiritual supermarket, and why the holy journey is still worth every thorny step we take.

Despite the daunting barriers of geography and language that separate them, Buddhism and contemporary feminism have much to say to each other. Buddhist practices such as mindfulness (in which calm centering and keen awareness of change coexist) and compassion (in which the self is recognized as both powerful in itself and interdependently connected with all others) can be important resources for contemporary women, while feminism can expand the traditional horizons of Buddhist concerns to include social, historical, and psychological issues. The image and ritual of the Great Bliss Queen, an important Buddhist figure of enlightenment, form the unifying theme of the book modeling the practices and theory that can assist each of us in being at one with ourselves and fully engaged with others.

This compelling study of the Ri-me movement and of the major Buddhist lineages of Tibet is comprehensive and accessible. It includes an introduction to the history and philosophy of the Ri-me movement; a biography of the movement's leader, the meditation master and philosopher known as Jamgon Kongtrul the Great; helpful summaries of the eight lineages' practice-and-study systems, which point out the different emphases of the schools; an explanation of the most hotly disputed concepts; and an overview of the old and new tantras.
Jamgon Kongtrul the Great (1813-1899) is a giant in Tibetan history, renowned for his scholarly and meditative achievements, but also for his energetic yet evenhanded work to unify and strengthen the different lineages of Buddhism. The Ri-me movement, led by Kongtrul and several other leading scholars of the time, was a unifying effort to cut through interscholastic divisions and disputes that were occurring between the different lineages. These leaders sought appreciation of the differences and acknowledgment of the importance of variety in benefiting practitioners with different needs. The Ri-me teachers also took great care that the teachings and practices of the different schools and lineages, and their unique styles, did not become confused with one another. This lucid survey of the Ri-me movement will be of interest to serious scholars and practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism.

"My recipe is simple: tell people the necessity of finding something which can carry them through sickness, aging, and death, and don't be afraid to give them a glimpse of your joy of life. Tell people that the mind is like space: open, clear and limitless, and talk about both the way and the goal." In 1969 Ole and Hannah Nydahl became the first Western students of H.H. the Karmapa, the head of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. After years of practice in the Himalayas, he authorized them to teach and start centers in his name. An audience with the Queen of Denmark started their work in the West. A basement in historical Copenhagen became the first Tibetan Buddhist center on the European continent, and a rusted-through VW-bus with race-car qualities got them everywhere. Riding the Tiger is the inside story of the development of Tibetan Buddhism in the West. In his refreshingly unsentimental style, Lama Ole shows all aspects of the work. With breathtaking intensity, he highlights both healthy and unhealthy tendencies in the light of the Buddha's ultimate aim: to bring about the fully developed beings whose every activity blesses the world. Amazon Review: Jason Anderson from Monterey, CA: "Lama Ole Nydahl is a unique figure in modern Buddhist history--first Western student of the Black Hat lama, H.H. the XVIth Gyalwa Karmapa, married lama 'without robes, ' and spiritual figure personally chosen by the Karmapa to teach and make foundations in his name--and Riding the Tiger is filled to overflowing with his particular energies and gifts. It is a galloping book that takes the reader around the world, inviting him in for a close-up look at the making of a Buddhist center for meditationand study, and Lama Ole has successfully started over one hundred such centers. And a deep look, as well, at the nature of Buddhism in the West, how it has been transplanted, how it has flourished. ... This is a magical book and a magical ride "

This concise but revealing book gives a glimpse inside the relatively unexplored thought world of the Jonangpa School of Tibetan Buddhism. This seminal text from that tradition situates the doctrine of other-emptiness within the tenet systems of the four traditional schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This book is a first. There has never been one entirely dedicated to the spiritual life of the Dalai Lama. Yet as one of the world's most recognised, and respected, spiritual leaders there is already great interest in such a work from His Holiness' thousands of friends and followers around the world. The Dalai Lama sees himself first and foremost as a human being, secondly as a monk and thirdly as the former political leader of Tibet. In this extraordinary autobiography we read many hitherto unknown stories from his childhood, his formation as a monk and his gradual development as a leader of his people. We are offered a view of his daily spiritual practise, invited to listen in on the dialogue he has been pursuing with other religions, with non-believers and with scientists in his search for ethical and environmental principles, and shown how he brings a sense of goodness and conscience to political life around the globe. In a world that is so profoundly interdependent, the Dalai Lama explains how he transforms himself through spiritual means in order to have a positive effect on the world, and he encourages us to do the same by working on ourselves first of all.

Tired of being an armchair activist, Isabel Losada decides to take matters into her own hands. From the streets of London to the temples of Dharamsala, in this adventure, Isabel falls in love with a monk, impersonates a member of the Chinese army, starts an activist organization, breaks the law, puts lives at risk (including her own), and appears on the news around the world. In the end, she meets the Dalai Lama to ask him the crucial question, "Can one person make a difference?"

Mullin provides a readable and comprehensive introduction to the life and times of the Second Dalai Lama, and the selections of works contained herein greatly enrich our understanding of his exalted realizations.

A Tibetan master of Dzogchen meditation and scholar now living in Colorado, Rinpoche explains the union of Dzogchen--a method for realizing the nature of mind--with Bodhichitta--the determination to gain ultimate realization for oneself for the sake of benefiting all sentient beings. He in particularly concerned with showing how Dharma can be merge

The word Chod in Tibetan means cutting, and the practice severs the self-cherishing mind so we can cherish others more than we cherish ourselves. Here Kyabje Zong Ripoche, an abbot for 70 years, explains why the practice of Chod is essential to overcoming fear, internalizing transcendent wisdom, attaining altruistic aspiration to enlightenment,

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

1893. This volume is a compilation of speeches and lectures delivered by Sri Sarat Chandra as to what he saw and learnt about the little known works of Indian Aryans in the countries beyond the Himalayas during his sojourn in Tibet.

Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche provides an illuminating, expansive, and practical commentary on Mi-pam-gya-tso's incisive work on the Great Completeness view of ultimate reality called "The Meaning of Fundamental Mind Clear Light." "Fundamental Mind "begins with a biography of Mi-pam-gya-tso, after which Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche explains the aim of the book: the differentiation of mistaken mind and fundamental mind. The main theme is primordial enlightenment in the basal clear light, self-arisen pristine wisdom. The emphasis is on being introduced to and identifying fundamental mind in naked experience through a lama's quintessential instructions.

In wide-ranging essays and interviews, contributors from the fields of Buddhist practice and scholarship, philosophy, the arts, and literature examine the work of a modern genius--the Tibetan Buddhist meditation master Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1939-1987). A pioneer in introducing Buddhism to the West, Trungpa Rinpoche had a distinct knack for breaking down the cultural, historical, and ideological barriers that make any such transmission so difficult today. His skill at communicating in a living language to Western students, while remaining faithful to the traditional origins of Buddhism, was paired with an understanding of the modern world of unusual relevance. As a result, his activities in a wide range of areas--including psychology, education, theater, poetry, visual arts, translation, publishing, interreligious dialogue, the creation of a path of spiritual warriorship, and the founding of the first Buddhist university in North America--offer penetrating insights into the meaning of Buddhism for our world and our culture. This anthology is a testimony to the continuing influence of his unique qualities and work as a revitalizing force in spheres both spiritual and secular.

For inspiration, Buddhists turn to the life stories of how the great masters of their lineage struggled with their circumstances and achieved enlightenment. This important and very readable volume tells the extraordinary tales of the greatest teachers of the Kagyu the lineage with the widest following in the U.S.

Contents: Historical: Changes in Primitive Buddhism Leading to Lamaism; Spread of Lamaism; Sects of Lamaism. Doctrinal: Metaphysical Sources; Doctrine and Morality; Scripture and Literature. Monastic: Order of Lamas; routine; Hierarchy. Buildings: Monasteries; Temples and Cathedrals; Shrines. Mythology and Gods: Pantheon and Images; Sacred Symbolism. Ritual and Sorcery: Worship; Astrology and Divination; Sorcery and Necromancy. Festivals and Plays: Festivals and Holidays; Sacred Drams, Plays and Masquerades. Popular Lamaism: Domestic and Popular. Illustrated.

B.Alan Wallace, widely recognized as of the clearest facilitators of the dialogue between science and Buddhism explains the methods and exoeriences fo those Tibetan practitioners and compares these with investigations of consciousness by Western scientists.