SPEECH OF GOLD: Reason and Enlightenment in the Tibetan Buddhism by Robert Thurman
This is the first full study, translated and critically annotated, of the Essence of True Eloquence, by Tsong Khapa (1357-1419), universally acknowledged as the greatest Tibetan philosopher. The work is a study of the major schools of Mahayana Buddhism, known as Vijnanavada and Madhyamika, and an explanation of Prasangika ("Dialecticist") interpretation of Madhyamika ("Centrism"). The translation and introduction supplement our view of Buddhism as a contemplative and "mystical" religion and reveal a rigorous, critical philosophy. Robert Thurman emphasizes the relevance of "Dialectical Centrism" to our own time.
This book presents a strain of Indian Buddhist thought largely inaccessible outside Tibet until recently. Following Tsong Khapa, it shows that critical reason and contemplative realization are mutually indispensable for the attainment of enlightenment.
MAPS OF THE PROFOUND: Jam-yang-shay-ba's "Great Exposition of Buddhist and Non-Buddhist Views on the Nature of Reality" by Jeffrey Hopkins
In the Tibetan cultural region, schools of non-Buddhist and Buddhist Indian philosophies were systematized and compared in texts called "presentation of tenets" in order to get a handle on the plethora of systems inherited from India. Focal topics and issues of these schools are studied in order to stimulate inquiry and to encourage development of an inner faculty capable of investigating appearances so as to penetrate their reality.
Now a book by Jeffrey Hopkins culminating forty years of Tibetan studies presents the deeper explanation you always wanted-a fascinating and even thrilling opening of horizons to understand what is behind appreances.
KNOWING, NAMING AND NEGATION: A Sourcebook on Tibetan Sautrantika by Anne Klein
With oral commentary by Geshe Belden Drakba, Denma Locho Rinbochay and Kensur Yeshay Tupten.
The texts translated here address questions that arise from Buddhist interest in the confluence of conceptual thought and direct perception in human experience. For over six hundred years, study of these issues in Tibet has focused on elaborations of a philosophical perspective known as Sautrantika. Several years in the Tibetan monastic curriculum are devoted to study of the Sautrantika tenet system, for it is here that thebais for Madhyamika epistemology is found.
From its inception, Buddhist philosophy has been concerned with defining and overcoming the limitations and errors of ordinary perception. To do this was essential to Buddhism's central purpose of establishing a path and method for attaining liberation. Conceptual thought, in this view, is capable of leading to a liberating understanding, a transformative religious experience.
Madhyamika is considered to have had two subschools, Svatantrika and Prasangika. The Prasangika school of Candrakirti is better known than Svatantrika, in part because the major Svatantrika texts are preserved only in Tibetan translation. The Svatantrikas, however, made important contributions to Buddhist philosophy in their expositions of the nature of reality, the role of reasoning in the process of enlightenment, and in their delineations of the paths to nirvana. The synthesis of Yogacara and Madhyamika philosophy by the Svatantrika master Santaraksita represents the final development of Buddhist thought in India. In Tibet, Svatantrika was the first Indian Buddhist school to gain currency, prior to the translation of the works of Candrakirti into Tibetan.
SHAMBHALA: The Sacred Path of the Warrior by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche
In this practical guide to enlightened living, Chogyam Trungpa offers an inspiring vision for our time, based on the figure of the sacred warrior. In ancient times, the warrior learned to master the challenges of life, both on and off the battlefield. He acquired a sense of personal freedom and power -- not through violence or aggression, but through gentleness, courage, and self-knowledge. The Japanese samurai, the warrior kings of Tibet, the knights of medieval Europe, and the warriors of the Native American tribes are a few examples of this universal tradition of wisdom.
With this book the warrior's path is opened to contemporary men and women in search of self-mastery and greater fulfillment. Interpreting the warrior's journey in modern terms, Trungpa discusses such skills as synchronizing mind and body, overcoming habitual behaviors, relaxing within discipline, facing the world with openness and fearlessness, and finding the sacred dimension of everyday life. Above all, Trungpa shows that in discovering the basic goodness of human life, the warrior learns to radiate that goodness out into the world for the peace and sanity of others.
The Shambhala teachings, named for a legendary Himalayan kingdom where prosperity and happiness reign, thus point to the potential for enlightened conduct that exists within every human being. "The basic wisdom of Shambhala," writes Trungpa. "is that in this world, as it is, we can find a good and meaningful human life that will also serve others. That is our true richness."
SHAMBHALA: The Sacred Path of the Warrior Book and Card Set by Chogyam Trungpa
This new book and 53 card set offers readers an accessible way to put the principles of the sacred warrior to practice in daily life through a series of maxims. Color cards have warrior slogan on one side and master Trungpa's commentary on the other, and an explanatory booklet. Includes slogans never before available to the general public. Boxed set comes with the full, unabridged edition of the classic book.
THE ESSENTIAL CHOGYAM TRUNGPA ed by Carolyn Rose Gimian
Chogyam Trungpa was one of the most influential figures in the development of Buddhism in America. The first Tibetan lama to teach in English, he coined such phrases as "cutting through spiritual materialism," "crazy wisdom," and -- his pupil Allen Ginsberg's favorite -- "first thought best thought." Trungpa wrote more than two dozen books on Buddhism and the Shambhala path of warriorship, with over one million copies in print.-
The Essential Chogyam Trungpa blends excerpts from bestsellers like Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior, Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, Meditation in Action, and other titles into a concise overview of Trungpa's teachings. Forty selections from fourteen different books articulate the secular path of the Shambhala warrior as well as the Buddhist path of meditation and awakening. This "new classic" vividly demonstrates Trungpa's great appreciation of Western culture which, combined with his deep understanding of the Tibetan tradition, makes these teachings uniquely accessible to contemporary readers. It will appeal to beginning students of meditation as well as seasoned readers of Eastern religion.
Chogyam Trungpa -- meditation master, scholar, poet, and artist -- was founder of the Naropa Institute and the author of many books on Buddhism and meditation.
THE CENTRAL PHILOSOPHY OF TIBET: A Study and Translation of Jey Tsong Khapa's Essence of Eloquence. by Robert A. F. Thurman
This is the first full study of Tsong Khapa's Essence of True Eloquence--a study of Vijnanavada and Prasangika Madhyamika. This translation and introduction show Buddhism as a contemplative and mystical religion and reveal Prasangika as a rigorous, critical philosophy relevant to our own time.
EMBRACING WHAT IS GENUINE by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche
This teaching will explain how to perfectly accomplish virtuous or wholesome activity. Nagarjuna said:
Happiness and birth in the higher realms are the result of virtuous activity. Unhappiness and birth in the lower realms are the result of unvirtuous activity.
Neither happiness nor positive qualities will arise if you engage in unvirtuous activity. However, positive qualities such as peace, happiness, bliss, and loving-kindness will arise sooner or later from the practice of virtue. While you are engaged in negative actions, some happiness or delight may exist, but the fruition of that negative activity will definetely not involve anything delightful or pleasant. A poisonous substance might have a pleasant, sweet taste, but once it gets into the system of the body, the result is suffering and great unpleasantness. In a similar way, the practice of virtuous activity might seem unpleasant at the time, but it is like a bitter tasting medicine which cures illness. [...] excerpt from page 1