Patrul Rinpoche's collection of the Dzogchen teachings of Aro Yeshe Jungne illuminated by practical meditation instructions that can be applied on-the-go in daily life by students of all backgrounds.

Patrul Rinpoche, the beloved nineteenth-century master best known for Words of My Perfect Teacher, collected the teachings of the tenth-century adept Aro Yeshe Jungne and synthesized them into the short text translated here as Clear Elucidation of True Nature. How to put these essential teachings into practice is the subject of the lively commentary by the two Khenpo brothers, the late Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche.

The Dzogchen meditation instructions of the Aro lineage are divided into nine sets, or nine levels, with specific instructions for each on how to identify the nature of the mind, how to abide in it as a way of life, and how to liberate turbulent thoughts and emotions when they arise. The commentary enfolds this instruction into a broad general teaching suitable for beginners that serves as an introduction to Dzogchen meditation, to the Nyingma tradition, and to basic Buddhism.

Succinct and easy to read, the text encapsulates the entire path of the nine levels of study and practice described in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. As a result, it has much to offer both beginners and longtime meditators to support their understanding and practice.

The restless mind is frightened of silence, easily bored, and busy, busy, busy. The restful mind is creative and alert, relaxed and confident. The step from one to the other is all in the way we think. His Eminence Gyalwa Dokhampa has a real understanding of the pressures of modern life and how our crowded minds have left us too little space to stretch and grow. He shows us new ways to calm body and mind, become more aware, better able to deal with problems and appreciate the moment. It is with our mind that we create our world. Here's how to open it up and let the world in.

The Dalai Lama has represented Buddhism as a religion of non-violence, compassion, and world peace, but this does not reflect how monks learn their vocation. This book shows how monasteries use harsh methods to make monks of men, and how this tradition is changing as modernist reformers - like the Dalai Lama - adopt liberal and democratic ideals, such as natural rights and individual autonomy. In the first in-depth account of disciplinary practices at a Tibetan monastery in India, Michael Lempert looks closely at everyday education rites - from debate to reprimand and corporal punishment. His analysis explores how the idioms of violence inscribed in these socialization rites help produce educated, moral persons but in ways that trouble Tibetans who aspire to modernity. Bringing the study of language and social interaction to our understanding of Buddhism for the first time, Lempert shows and why liberal ideals are being acted out by monks in India, offering a provocative alternative view of liberalism as a globalizing discourse.

"The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way " was written in the second century and is one of the most important works of Nagarjuna, the pioneering commentator on the Buddha's teachings on the Madhyamika or Middle Way view. The subtle analyses presented in this treatise were closely studied and commented upon by many realized masters from the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Using Nagarjuna's root text and the great modern master Ju Mipham's commentary as a framework, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso explains the most important verse from each chapter in the text in a style that illuminates for modern students both the meaning of these profound teachings and how to put them into practice in a way that benefits both oneself and others.

Sixteenth-century wall paintings in a Buddhist temple in the Tibetan cultural zone of northwest India are the focus of this innovative and richly illustrated study. Initially shaped by one set of religious beliefs, the paintings have since been reinterpreted and retraced by a later Buddhist community, subsumed within its religious framework and communal memory. Melissa Kerin traces the devotional, political, and artistic histories that have influenced the paintings' production and reception over the centuries of their use. Her interdisciplinary approach combines art historical methods with inscriptional translation, ethnographic documentation, and theoretical inquiry to understand religious images in context.

Atisha, the eleventh-century Indian Buddhist scholar and saint, came to Tibet at the invitation of the king of Western Tibet, Lha Lama Yeshe Wo, and his nephew, Jangchub Wo. His coming initiated the period of the second transmission of Buddhism to Tibet, formative for the Sakya Kagyu and Gelug traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Atisha's most celebrated text, "Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment," ""sets forth the entire Buddhist path within the framework of three levels of motivation on the part of the practitioner. Atisha's text thus became the source of the lamrim tradition, or graduated stages of the path to enlightenment, an approach to spiritual practice incorporated within all schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Happily, we do not have to remain trapped by the past. His Holiness reveals how life-enhancing Buddhist practices, as relevant today as they have ever been, can help us break free from the cycles of suffering that ensnare us. He encourages us to broaden our outlook and to adjust our personal values. And he gives us the tools to deal with any negative emotions we may experience in the process. Practical, step-by-step exercises, steeped in wisdom, show how to make the most of each moment; how to undo the negative effects of past deeds; and how you can enjoy spiritual growth and find deep inner happiness.

It is often assumed that a revelation must be new and innovative, and indeed, that the point of a new sacred text must be to revitalize the heritage. Yet in the Tibetan Nyingma Treasure Revelatory tradition, the ongoing vitality of textual production often has more to do with the fresh blessings, rather than altogether novel content. This book for the first time analyses precise continuities and changes in comparing the new and the old, considering examples of the creation and development of tantric revelations, including further re-workings in subsequent generations. In doing so, the focus enlarges to encompass materials from the broader religious heritage, as well as from specific lineages of related visionary lamas. By identifying such exact linkages and departures, it is possible to answer questions both of how and why developments may occur, not limiting the purview merely to the individual stories of the virtuoso lamas producing the books, but looking also to the tantric communities they are part of. The case studies in the book stem from the prolific writings of the famous 20th century scholar-lama, Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, who contributed to numerous revelatory traditions of the past, as well as producing his own revelations. They concern a single tantric deity, Vajrakilaya, the most popular Nyingma deity, whose tantras and ritual practices stem from the earliest formulations of Tibetan tantric Buddhism, and who is closely connected with the culture heros and founding fathers of the Nyingmapa. This particular focus gives us the opportunity to discover patterns in the creation of new tantric texts which have significance beyond the specific examples.

Based on the Buddhist wisdom tradition, this easy-to-read book discusses in simple but inspiring language how we can live a life full of love, satisfaction, and happiness. The author represents a new voice among Dharma teachers.

Open-access edition: DOI 10.6069/9780295743004 Only fifty years ago, Tibetan medicine, now seen in China as a vibrant aspect of Tibetan culture, was considered a feudal vestige to be eliminated through government-led social transformation. Medicine and Memory in Tibet examines medical revivalism on the geographic and sociopolitical margins both of China and of Tibet's medical establishment in Lhasa, exploring the work of medical practitioners, or amchi, and of Medical Houses in the west-central region of Tsang. Due to difficult research access and the power of state institutions in the writing of history, the perspectives of more marginal amchi have been absent from most accounts of Tibetan medicine. Theresia Hofer breaks new ground both theoretically and ethnographically, in ways that would be impossible in today's more restrictive political climate that severely limits access for researchers. She illuminates how medical practitioners safeguarded their professional heritage through great adversity and personal hardship.

Chogyam Trungpa's unique ability to express the essence of Buddhist teachings in the language and imagery of modern American culture makes his books among the most accessible works of Buddhist philosophy. Here Trungpa explores the true meaning of freedom, showing us how our preconceptions, attitudes, and even our spiritual practices can become chains that bind us to repetitive patterns of frustration and despair. This edition features a new foreword by Pema Chodron, a close student of Trungpa and the best-selling author of "When Things Fall Apart. "

The Indian master Padmasambhava occupies a special place in the hearts of practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. By bringing tantric Buddhism to Tibet from India he inspired a movement of awakening that for centuries has brought countless practitioners to spiritual fulfillment. A Practice of Padmasambhava presents two practical and compelling works related to a visualization and mantra practice of Padmasambhava. This practice is based on the most important revelation of the renowned nineteenth-century treasure revealer Chokgyur Lingpa, Accomplishing the Guru's Mind: Dispeller of All Obstacles. These two works give an introduction to the preliminary trainings, outline the primary elements of visualization practice and mantra recitation, and supply a detailed explanation of the practice of Padmasambhava's wisdom aspect, Guru Vadisimha. Through practical step-by-step instructions on this deity, the reader is guided into the general world of tantric practice common to all of Tibetan Buddhism.

In "Becoming Enlightened," His Holiness the Dalai Lama powerfully explores the foundation of Buddhism, laying out an accessible and practical approach to age-old questions: How can we live free from suffering? How can we achieve lasting happiness and peace?

Drawing from traditional Buddhist meditative practices as well as penetrating examples from today's troubled planet, he presents step-by-step exercises designed to expand the reader's capacity for spiritual growth, along with clear milestones to mark the reader's progress. By following the spiritual practices outlined in "Becoming Enlightened," we can learn how to replace troublesome feelings with positive attitudes and embark on a path to achieving an exalted state -- within ourselves and within the larger world.

Full of personal anecdotes and intimate accounts of the Dalai Lama's experiences as a lifelong student, thinker, political leader, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, "Becoming Enlightened" gives readers all the wisdom, support, guidance, and inspiration they need to become successful and fulfilled in their spiritual lives.

This is a remarkable and empowering book that can be read and enjoyed by seekers of all faiths. Readers at every stage of their spiritual development will be captivated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama's loving and direct teaching style.

This title is a continuation of the ideas explored by the author in a previous title Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior. There, the author offers a practical guide to enlightened living, or nowness. In Great Eastern Sun, he asks how nowness can be extended to the future.

This book is unique in the way in which it explains the rich iconography of Tibetan Buddhism in relation to spiritual psychology and the exploration of our inner world. It is a door into the rich and profound symbolism of Tibetan sacred art. The author uses concepts from Western psychotherapy to bridge an understanding of the meaning and functions of these symbols.