|
Books > Religion & Spirituality > Non-Christian religions > Religions of Indic & Oriental origin > Buddhism > Tibetan Buddhism
The Qing empire and the Dalai Lama-led Geluk School of Tibetan
Buddhism came into contact in the eighteenth century. Their
interconnections would shape regional politics and the geopolitical
history of Inner Asia for centuries to come. In Common Ground, Lan
Wu analyzes how Tibetan Buddhists and the Qing imperial rulers
interacted and negotiated as both sought strategies to expand their
influence in eighteenth-century Inner Asia. In so doing, she
recasts the Qing empire, seeing it not as a monolithic project of
imperial administration but as a series of encounters among
different communities. Wu examines a series of interconnected sites
in the Qing empire where the influence of Tibetan Buddhism played a
key role, tracing the movement of objects, flows of peoples, and
circulation of ideas in the space between China and Tibet. She
identifies a transregional Tibetan Buddhist knowledge network,
which provided institutional, pragmatic, and intellectual common
ground for both polities. Wu draws out the voices of lesser-known
Tibetan Buddhists, whose writings and experiences evince an
alternative Buddhist space beyond the state. She highlights
interactions between Mongols and Tibetans within the Qing empire,
exploring the creation of a Buddhist Inner Asia. Wu argues that
Tibetan Buddhism occupied a central-but little understood-role in
the Qing vision of empire. Revealing the interdependency of two
expanding powers, Common Ground sheds new light on the entangled
histories of political, social, and cultural ties between Tibet and
China.
Buddha Heruka is a manifestation of all the Buddhas' enlightened
compassion, and by relying upon him we can swiftly attain a pure
selfless joy and bring true happiness to others. Geshe Kelsang
first explains with great clarity and precision how we can practise
the sublime meditations of Heruka body mandala, and thereby
gradually transform our ordinary world and experiences, bringing us
closer to Buddhahood. He then provides definitive instructions on
the completion stage practices that lead to the supreme bliss of
full enlightenment in this one lifetime. This is a treasury of
practical instructions for those seriously interested in following
the Tantric path.
The first complete translation of the classic Buddhist text
One of the greatest works created by any culture and
overwhelmingly the most significant of all Tibetan Buddhist texts
in the West, "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" has had a number of
distinguished but partial translations. Now the entire text has not
only been made available in English but also in a translation of
remarkable clarity and beauty. Translated with the close support of
leading contemporary masters, this complete edition faithfully
presents the insights and intentions of the original work. It
includes one of the most detailed and compelling descriptions of
the after-death state in world literature, practices that can
transform our experience of daily life, guidance on helping those
who are dying, and an inspirational perspective on coping with
bereavement.
Milarepa was a yogi and Tibetan Buddhist mystic of great learning
and turbulent worldly experience. His "hundred thousand songs" are
read and loved by many, but examinations of them are few. Here,
three of these songs are explored by Sangharakshita, a
well-respected Buddhist teacher and author, in such a way that the
wisdom and teachings Milarepa drew out in his songs are made
relevant to life for us today. Known by some as both the Robin Hood
and Shakespeare of Tibetan Buddhism, Milarepa and his songs offer a
magical and thoughtful way into the wisdom and compassion sought on
the Buddhist path. The Yogi's Joy reveals how these ancient
teachings can ring true for us--here and now.
Lodi Gyaltsen Gyari spent decades drawing attention to the plight
of the Tibetan people and striving for resolution of the
Tibetan-Chinese conflict. He was the Dalai Lama's Special Envoy and
chief negotiator with the People's Republic of China in the formal
negotiations over the status of Tibet. In this revealing memoir,
Gyari chronicles his lifetime of service to the Dalai Lama and the
Tibetan cause. Gyari recounts his work conducting formal dialogue
with the Chinese leadership from 2002 to 2012, as well as his
efforts during the many years of quiet diplomacy preceding these
historic negotiations. He details the fits and starts of the
parties' relationship, addressing successes as well as failures and
highlighting misperceptions, missteps, and missed opportunities by
both sides. Gyari grounds his recollections of his time as Special
Envoy in his life experience, providing a powerful account of the
personal side of Tibet's struggles. He describes the Tibetan
resistance to the Chinese invasion and the tumultuous early years
of the Tibetan community in exile as well as his family's history
and spiritual lineage. A reincarnated Tibetan Buddhist lama forced
to flee Tibet during the Chinese invasion, Gyari illuminates how
his political efforts fulfilled his spiritual calling. Informed by
his unparalleled experiences, Gyari offers realizable-but
provocative-recommendations for restarting the Tibetan-Chinese
dialogue to achieve a mutually beneficial resolution of the issue.
For all readers interested in Tibet's complex modern history, this
book offers an incomparable look inside the decades-long effort to
achieve the Dalai Lama's vision of a reunited Tibet.
Mysticism is popularly understood as becoming one with God or the
Absolute. Here in this inspirational book are the Dalai Lama's
thoughts on: The nature and meaning of mysticism How we can live
lives infused with mystical experience How mysticism can result in
both personal and social change. The book consists of four sections
that provide an accessible introduction to the Dalai Lama's core
teachings on the mystical path: Introduction Quotations Lecture on
mysticism by the Dalai Lama Glossary This is a book for fans of His
Holiness and anyone interested in developing a rich and meaningful
inner life.
The real test of our Buddhist practice happens not on the cushion
or in the protected space of retreat but moment-to-moment in daily
life, particularly when we find ourselves in uncomfortable
situations. How do we respond? In this book, one of the most
respected Western figures of contemporary Buddhism, Jetsunma Tenzin
Palmo, offers insights gleaned from more than forty years of
engagement with Buddhist practice. Her perspective is vast, with a
well-grounded understanding of how the timeless Buddhist teachings
apply to the demands and challenges of modern life. Down-to-earth,
approachable, and deeply informative, this collection of talks and
dialogues covers a wide range of topics, always returning to
practical reflections on how we can enhance the quality of our
lives and develop more sanity, fulfillment, wisdom, and compassion.
Into the Heart of Life is addressed to a general audience and
presents practical advice that can be applied whether or not one is
a Buddhist.
Traditional medicine enjoys widespread appeal in today's Russia, an
appeal that has often been framed either as a holdover from
pre-Soviet times or as the symptom of capitalist growing pains and
vanishing Soviet modes of life. Mixing Medicines seeks to
reconsider these logics of emptiness and replenishment. Set in
Buryatia, a semi-autonomous indigenous republic in Southeastern
Siberia, the book offers an ethnography of the institutionalization
of Tibetan medicine, a botanically-based therapeutic practice
framed as at once foreign, international, and local to Russia's
Buddhist regions. By highlighting the cosmopolitan nature of
Tibetan medicine and the culturally specific origins of
biomedicine, the book shows how people in Buryatia trouble
entrenched center-periphery models, complicating narratives about
isolation and political marginality. Chudakova argues that a
therapeutic life mediated through the practices of traditional
medicines is not a last-resort response to sociopolitical
abandonment but depends on a densely collective mingling of human
and non-human worlds that produces new senses of rootedness, while
reshaping regional and national conversations about care, history,
and belonging.
Traditional medicine enjoys widespread appeal in today's Russia, an
appeal that has often been framed either as a holdover from
pre-Soviet times or as the symptom of capitalist growing pains and
vanishing Soviet modes of life. Mixing Medicines seeks to
reconsider these logics of emptiness and replenishment. Set in
Buryatia, a semi-autonomous indigenous republic in Southeastern
Siberia, the book offers an ethnography of the institutionalization
of Tibetan medicine, a botanically-based therapeutic practice
framed as at once foreign, international, and local to Russia's
Buddhist regions. By highlighting the cosmopolitan nature of
Tibetan medicine and the culturally specific origins of
biomedicine, the book shows how people in Buryatia trouble
entrenched center-periphery models, complicating narratives about
isolation and political marginality. Chudakova argues that a
therapeutic life mediated through the practices of traditional
medicines is not a last-resort response to sociopolitical
abandonment but depends on a densely collective mingling of human
and non-human worlds that produces new senses of rootedness, while
reshaping regional and national conversations about care, history,
and belonging.
The paradox of awareness is very profound and yet very simple. It
can't be described because it has no objective qualities and no
limitation. Sometimes it comes naturally to the surface when we are
fully in the present moment and no longer lost in thought or mental
projections. Pure consciousness is neither high nor low, neither
pleasant nor unpleasant, neither good nor bad. No matter where we
are, no matter what we are doing, we always have an immediate
access to that inner stillness. It can be experienced in an instant
in all circumstances once we know how to pay attention to it. It is
utterly peaceful and it is also insightful, so it sees through all
illusions. Whenever there is a moment of being deluded, we can use
that moment to practice settling in the very perfect sphere of the
Buddha mind without trying to change anything. When we reside in
that liberated mind, we find the very thing we have been seeking
all along.
Critically exploring medical thought in a cultural milieu with no
discernible influence from the European Enlightenment, Being Human
in a Buddhist World reveals an otherwise unnoticed intersection of
early modern sensibilities and religious values in traditional
Tibetan medicine. It further studies the adaptation of Buddhist
concepts and values to medical concerns and suggests important
dimensions of Buddhism's role in the development of Asian and
global civilization. Through its unique focus and sophisticated
reading of source materials, Being Human adds a crucial chapter in
the larger historiography of science and religion. The book opens
with the bold achievements in Tibetan medical illustration,
commentary, and institution building during the period of the Fifth
Dalai Lama and his regent, Desi Sangye Gyatso, then looks back to
the work of earlier thinkers, tracing a strategically astute
dialectic between scriptural and empirical authority on questions
of history and the nature of human anatomy. It follows key
differences between medicine and Buddhism in attitudes toward
gender and sex and the moral character of the physician, who had to
serve both the patient's and the practitioner's well-being. Being
Human in a Buddhist World ultimately finds that Tibetan medical
scholars absorbed ethical and epistemological categories from
Buddhism yet shied away from ideal systems and absolutes, instead
embracing the imperfectability of the human condition.
Here is a treasury of short selections from the best-selling books
of Pema Chodron, the beloved Tibetan Buddhist nun. Sized to fit
easily into a pocket or purse, this little book can be taken
anywhere, providing on-the-go inspiration. Topics of this book
include opening the heart; becoming fearless; breaking free of
destructive patterns; developing patience and joy; and, discovering
one's natural warmth, intelligence, and goodness.
Midal steers a middle way between Western biography & Tibetan
hagiography to provide a detailed portrait of Chogyam Trungpa, a
Tibetan lama who is best known for his teaching in the West. Midal
reveals Trungpa as a traditional teacher, who places great emphasis
on the practice of sitting meditation.
The Buddha Party tells the story of how the People's Republic of
China employs propaganda to define Tibetan Buddhist belief and sway
opinion within the country and abroad. The narrative they create is
at odds with historical facts and deliberately misleading, but,
John Powers argues, it is widely believed by Han Chinese. Most of
China's leaders appear to deeply believe the official line
regarding Tibet, which resonates with Han notions of themselves as
China's most advanced nationality and as a benevolent race that
liberates and culturally uplifts minority peoples. This in turn
profoundly affects how the leadership interacts with their
counterparts in other countries. Powers's study focuses in
particular on the government's "patriotic education" campaign-an
initiative that forces monks and nuns to participate in propaganda
sessions and repeat official dogma. Powers contextualizes this
within a larger campaign to transform China's religions into
"patriotic" systems that endorse Communist Party policies. This
book offers a powerful, comprehensive examination of this ongoing
phenomenon, how it works and how Tibetans resist it.
'Rinpoche is a powerful and eloquent link between the great yogi
practitioners of old Tibet and our bewildering 21st century' - from
the Foreword by Richard Gere Tsoknyi Rinpoche's story is an unusual
one: as a rebellious young man, he fled a monastery to marry and
raise a family, then returned to Nepal and has since become a
preeminent Tibetan Buddhist teacher. As a married man raising two
daughters, Tsoknyi Rinpoche has interesting views on how to balance
a life dedicated to Buddhist practice with the demands of a husband
and father. In addition, he has a keen interest in the ongoing
dialogue between Eastern philosophy and Western research,
especially in neuroscience. His writing reflects this awareness of
the Western psyche while also imparting the earliest tenets of
Buddhism. OPEN HEART, OPEN MIND offers Rinpoche's extraordinary
history as an example of how to lead a compassionate life,
regardless of status, tradition or circumstances. Accessible and
relevant to every variety of reader, this is an illuminating guide
from a man who truly is a bridge between ancient wisdom and the
modern mind.
There are more connections between spirituality and science than
you might think... In 2004, biologist Dee Denver heard the Dalai
Lama speak in Bloomington, Indiana. The famous Tibetan monk's
speech that day exposed him to the centrality of impermanence in
Buddhist thinking, a topic that directly connected to his mutation
research in evolutionary biology. He left the event shocked and
startled by the unexpected parallels between Buddhism and biology.
This experience is not wholly unique to Denver. Spirituality and
science are two inherently humane ways to approach our world. Why
shouldn't more people look at them in tandem? In this book, Denver
shares Buddhist ideas and the tradition's colonial and more recent
interactions with biology. He then applies the scientific method to
Buddhist principles and draws connections between Buddhist ideas
and current research in biology. In doing this, he proposes a new
approach to science, Bodhi science, that integrates Buddhist
teachings and ethical frameworks. Denver's research supports a
connected synergy between biological and Buddhist thinking. This
scientific approach to Buddhism offers strong evidence supporting
the validity of fundamentally Buddhist principles and logic. The
book builds on historical evidence from Sri Lanka, Japan, and
Tibetan Buddhism to illustrate these connections.
After his enlightenment, the Buddha taught the Four Noble
Truths--the foundation and essence of all forms of Buddhism. The
first truth diagnoses the nature of our existential illnesses and
neuroses. The second explores their causes and conditions for
arising. The third shows that the causes of our problems can be
removed and that we can be free of suffering. The fourth includes
the many paths Buddhism offers to realize that goal. The Buddha has
shown that the spiritual path is pragmatic and works directly with
everyday experience in order to fundamentally transform the
practitioner. This presentation is a succinct and a very clear
introduction to the Buddha's core teaching.
|
|