Phenomenological-psychological Aspects of Tibetan Buddhism(Mahamudra and sNying-thig) Practices from Original Tibetan Sources. Despite the interest in meditation, few works have studied what "meditation" means within the original traditions. "Meditation Differently" presents a translation of an important Tibetan work which contrasts and compares two central traditions of Buddhist meditative practice- the Mahamudra and rDzogs-chen. particularly the sNying-thig version. This translation is supplemented by a detailed commentary based on original Tibetan sources by Dr. Guenther.
WHOLENESS LOST AND WHOLENESS REGAINED: Forgotten Tales of Individuation from Ancient Tibet by Herbert V. Guenther
This book deals in narrative form with the theme of recovering lost wholeness - with the perennial question of beginnings and what role a human being must play in order to find meaning in his or her life.
MATRIX OF MYSTERY: Scientific and Humanistic Aspects of rDzogs-Chen Thought by Herbert V. Guenther
Utilizing a key root Buddhist scripture, the Guhyagarbha ("Matrix of Mystery"), along with dozens of commentarial Tibetan textual sources, Guenther presents the most profound teachings of the Buddhist tradition, which represent the culmination of religious thought and practice in Tibet. In relating these teachings in modern scientific and humanistic perspectives, he demonstrates how, in many cases, the traditional religious and modern secular perspectives on the nature of reality interface.
FROM REDUCTIONISM TO CREATIVITY: Rdzogs-Chen and the New Sciences of Mind by Jeremy W. Hayward, fore. by Robert Thurman
"Dr. Herbert V. Guenther, foremost scholar and translator of Buddhism, has long been most forthright in his insistence that, as a living tradition, Buddhism must be communicated in the living language of our time. Rather than entombing Buddhism in concepts appropriate for another era, he has offered us translations and commentaries that, while being strictly faithful to the meaning of the originals, have been framed in contemporary language. Buddhism is the study of mind - its essence, nature, and functioning - and as scientists begin to turn their attention to mind, it is not surprising that we find a wealth of insight in the traditional Buddhist texts that are directly relevant to the scientific study of mind."
REALIZING EMPTINESS: Madhyamaka Insight Meditation by Gen Lamrimpa, trans. by B. Alan Wallace
In Realizing Emptiness, Gen Lamrimpa draws on his theoretical training as well as his solitary meditative experience to show how students can gain realization of ultimate reality. He explains in a practical and down-to-earth fashion how to analyze experience to fathom how it has been misperceived and misunderstood because of our many delusions and how to use Madhyamaka reasoning to experience theway in which all things exist as dependently related events. Those who wish to apply the Madhyamaka view to meditative practice and daily life will undoubtedly find this work to be of great practical value. The book closes with two chapters on Dzogchen and its relation to Madhyamaka.
NATURAL RADIANCE: Awakening to Your Great Perfection by Lama Surya Das
One moment of total awareness is one moment of perfect freedom and enlightenment. This is the ultimate teaching of Tibetan Buddhism, renowned as Dzogchen, the subject of Lama Surya Das' newest book. In this book/CD, he teaches for the first time a complete daily Dzogchen practice in the oral tradition as it was originally transmitted, including guided meditations and chants. Surya Das is one of the foremost Western Buddhist meditation teachers and the author of Awakening the Buddha Within.
AWAKENING THE BUDDHA WITHIN: Tibetan Wisdom for the Western World by Lama Surya Das
An accessible interpretation of basic Buddhist teachings and an unassuming introduction to Dzogchen. Lama Surya Das begins with the claim that "We are all Buddhas." He outlines the path to "awaken the Buddha within" by presenting the teachings embodied in the Noble Eightfold Path and its Three Enlightenment Trainings (ethics, wisdom, and meditation). Peppered with stories from the author's experience, this enjoyable book can serve as a manual for applying basic Buddhist principles to life.
ORAL TRADITIONS FROM ZHANG-ZHUNG: An Introduction to the Bonpo Dzogchen Teachings of the Oral Tradition from Zhang-zhung known as the Zhang-zhung snyan-regyud by John Myrdhin Reynolds, fore. by Lopon Tenzin Namdak
The original Dzogchen teachings are found equally in the old, unreformed Tibetan schools of the Buddhist Nyingmapas and the pre- Buddhist Bonpos. These teachings are substantially the same in both schools in terms of meaning, terminology, and practice, both traditions justly claiming unbroken lineages of transmission coming down to the present day from the 8th century, and even before. Moreover, both schools assert that Dzogchen did not originate in Tibet itself, or even in India, but in Central Asia, variously known as Tazik and Uddiyana. From there it was brought to India and Central Tibet by certain Mahasiddhas, or great adepts, where it represented an Upadesha, or secret oral instruction, concerning an unconditioned state of being and awareness beyond the Tantric process of transformation. This refers to the Natural State of the Nature of Mind, one's own innate Buddha-nature, that is beyond all time, conditioning, and causality. In both traditions, the Nyingmapa and the Bonpo, Dzogchen is regarded as the ultimate teaching of the Buddhas of the three times and it is classified as the ninth or highest vehicle to enlightenment.
PENETRATING WISDOM: The Aspiration Prayer of Samantabhadra by The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, co-translated by Lama Yeshe Gyamtso
In addition to being the prayer of a primordial buddha, this is a prayer of the path to complete awakening according to the Dzogchen tradition as well as a prayer of instructions that make our path more genuine and correct. It is a prayer that expresses the different manifestations of rigpa, which is our basic awareness, in ordinary life. Further, it is a prayer and aspiration for realization of rigpa, realization of the genuine path, and realization of the genuine teacher.
PRESENT FRESH WAKEFULNESS: A Meditation Manual on Nonconceptual Wisdom by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche
Present Fresh Wakefulness is more than a set of general instructions on how to practice, it is the quintessential advice of an experienced, living master on what he considers to be the absolute necessities for today's yogis to arrive at liberation and complete enlightenment.In this series of teachings and conversations, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, a revered abbot, Tibetan meditation master and author of Union of Mahamudra & Dzogchen, Bardo Guidebook and Indisputable Truth, conveys the indispensable principles for arriving at the heart of Buddhist practice in his characteristic style, filled with humor, candor and wit.