Tay (1813-99) produced a 10-volume encyclopedia describing the entire range of Buddhist teachings as they were preserved in Tibet, called Shes byakun khyab, or the Encompassment of All Knowledge. The fourth chapter of the sixth book presents the complete system of the indestructible way, vajrayana, of secret mantra. It sets out the essential points

Jamgon Kongtrul's "Treasury of Knowledge" in ten volumes is a unique encyclopedic masterpiece embodying the entire range of Buddhist teachings as they were presented in Tibet. Tibetan Buddhist teachers expected their students to study Buddhist philosophical texts as well as practice reflection and meditation; present-day students have also realized that awakening has its source in study as well as in reflection and practice. "The Elements of Tantric Practice" sets forth the essential components of the path of highest yoga tantra, a system of meditation that unites wisdom and compassion in its two phases of practice. The first phase, that of creation, relies primarily on the use of the imagination to effect personal transformation. The phase of completion allows the practitioner to perfect the process of transformation by training in methods that manipulate the energies and constituents of the mind and body. The result of this path is the direct experience of the fundamental nature of mind and phenomena. "The Elements of Tantric Practice" concerns the meditative processes of the inner system of secret mantra--that of highest yoga tantra--and is based primarily on tantric sources. The author introduces the subject by describing the path of tantra and its underlying principles. The main body of the book deals with two major elements essential to all highest yoga tantras: the practice of the creation phase and that of the completion phase. For the first phase, Kongtrul describes the visualization sequences in which ordinary perceptions are transformed into the forms of awakening and explains how these practices purify the stages of cyclic existence--life, death, and rebirth. The creation phase prepares the practitioner for the techniques of the completion phase, which entail focusing directly on the channels, winds, and vital essences that form the subtle body. Kongtrul presents the key elements of a variety of tantras, including the Guhyasamaja and Yamari, belonging to the class of father tantras and the Kalachakra Hevajra Chakrasamvara Mahamaya Buddhakapala and Tara mother tantras. All these tantras share a common goal: to make manifest the pristine awareness that is the union of emptiness and bliss.

This work offers a new translation of the ancient Buddhist text originally composed by Padmasambhava, an Indian spiritual master of the eighth century. Hidden in the mountains of Tibet, the text remained concealed until the 14th century when it was discovered and revealed by Karma Lingpa. A manual of instructions designed to facilitate the inner liberation of the dead or dying person at the moment of death, this new translation of one of the world's greatest spiritual classics includes a detailed introduction by Dzogchen Buddhist master Chogyal Namkhai Norbu.

The Marvelous Primordial State of Great Perfection is a profoundly important root text of the Mind series of Dzogchen. Although this ancient text is not as large, nor has it as many chapters as The Supreme Source, it teaches all the essential principles of Ati Dzogchen that can be subsumed in the view without fixations, contemplation beyond concepts, and the fruit that is not obtained by treading a path. Therefore, this book contains the essence of all sutras and tantras of the Buddha's teaching, with nothing missing. Our English translation of The Marvelous Primordial State, an ancient and extraordinary text the like of which is rarely found in the world and whose value is immeasurable, has been made for the benefit of those fortunate ones who wish to gain an understanding of the real meaning of Ati Dzogpa Chenpo. I truly hope and wish that it will serve to open the doors of their minds and engender a genuine understanding of the principle of Ati Dzogpa Chenpo. -Chogyal Namkhai Norbu This teaching leads directly to the level of enlightenment, therefore it does not even speak of hell. In this teaching only omniscience exists, therefore it does not even speak of ignorance. This is a Dharma in which one understands the real meaning without mistakes. -The Marvelous Primordial State, Chapter 30

THIS MANUAL IS THE FIRST of its kind to focus on the Tibetan technique of the moxibustion, and external therapy that uses the power of heat to stimulate a curative effect.