HEALING WITH FORM, ENERGY AND LIGHT: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche
In the shamanic world-view of Tibet, the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space are accessed through the raw powers of nature and through non-physical beings associated with the natural world. In the Tibetan tantric view, the elements are recognized as five kinds of energy in the body and are balanced with a program of yogic movements, breathing exercises, and visualizations. In these Dzogchen teachings, the elements are understood to be the radiance of being and are accessed through pure awareness. Healing with Form, Energy, and Light offers the reader healing meditations and yogic practices on each of these levels.
CREATION AND COMPLETION: Essential Points of Tantric Meditation by Jamgon Kongtrul, trans. by Sarah Harding, comm. by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Creation and Completion is a unique guide to the practice of Tibetan Buddhist tantra. Drawing on experiential explanations from two great masters, it is both concise and thorough, both authoritative and clear. In the creation stage of tantra, practitioners visualize themselves in the form of buddhas and other enlightened beings. This meditation practice prepares the mind for engaging in the completion stage, where one comes face to face with the ultimate nature of mind and reality.
Jamgon Kongtrul, a pivotal figure in the Buddhist revival movement of nineteenth-century Tibet, was a master practitioner and one of Tibetan Buddhism's most prolific writers. His guide to tantric Buddhist meditation, translated here by Sarah Harding, was written in the style of the Tibetan songs of realization. The commentary by contemporary master Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche skillfully clarifies the nuances of Kongtrul's text, making the language come alive in a practical way for the modern reader. Harding's excellent introduction distills the essential features of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
The powerful meditation instructions, traditionally reserved for initiates alone, will be of immense value, both to aspiring and experienced practitioners alike.
"...very beneficial...will resolve all doubts about tantric practice."--Thrangu Rinpoche
The Opening of the Lotus is concerned with the development of the stages of enlightenment, the path to peace, in the mind ot each individual. The author, a lama of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddism, draws from his twenty years of experience with both Tibetan and Western students at the Tibet Institute in Rikon, Switzerland With sincerity and conviction he describes the powerful and practical rnethods for calming and developing the mind.
THE GENERATION STAGE IN BUDDHIST TANTRA by Gyatrul Rinpoche
This book offers an exceptionally clear and accessible presentation of the generation stage practices of deity yoga. Gyatrul Rinpoche explains the state of mind to be established at the beginning of the practice session, the details of the visualization sequences, the three types of offerings and proper mantra recitation, as well as mudras, tormas and malas. Practitioners from all lineages of Tibetan Buddhism will find that these teachings enhance their understanding of sadhana practice. Rinpoche's detailed explanations make it possible to practice these meditations as they were intended and as they were practiced in Tibet and ancient China.
TANTRIC PRACTICE IN NYING-MA by Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche, trans. & ed. by Jeffrey Hopkins, co-edited by Anne Klein
Rinpoche's commentary on the Instructions on the "Preliminaries to the Great Perfection Teaching" contains the classical Nying-ma presentation of the Dzogchen preliminaries and practices which lead to Buddhahood. It is an oral commentary on Patrul Rinboche's Kunzang Lamai Shelung (Words of My Perfect Teacher).
EMPOWERMENT And The Path Of Liberation by Tsele Natsok Rangdrol
The empowerment ritual is the indispensable entrance door to Vajrayana Buddhism. It activates our natural right to an enlightened rule over our life and spiritual practice. Empowerment contains a wealth of instructions on Buddhist training, particularly Mahamudra and Dzogchen.
This books is in four parts. The first part consists of Introduction by H.S. Prasad. He argues for sempiternal, dynamic and substantive reality underlying all appearances. He shows that as one rises to a higher level of consciousness, the various Yanas, like Sravakayana, Pratyekabuddhayana, Bodhi-sattvayana and Mahayana, all merge into ekayana; for each contributes to the gradual realisation of the oneness of ultimate reality, thus paving the way for the emergence of universal culture. On Prasad's view the much talked-about negativism of the Madhyamika-Sarvadrstisunyata is not an end in it self, rather it is a basis for the realisation of the essential unity of all beings, sentient as well as insentient, leading to the cultivation and promotion of universal good, compassion and friendliness.
In the second part is reprinted the Sanskrit text of Maitreya's Uttaratantra (Ratnagotravibhaga). The third part includes correction and emendation suggested by Jikido Takasaki in the Sanskrit text in the light of Tibetan and Chinese versions. The fourth part is an English translation of the text from its Tibetan version by E. Obermiller.
This book is a radical departure from the traditional interpretations of Buddhism and Madhyamika philosophy in particular. It aims at reviving philosophy as cultural activity, a path to enlightenment as spiritual discipline.
THE UTTARATANTRA: A Treatise on Buddha-Essence by Ven. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
The Uttaratantra elucidates the inseparability of emptiness and luminosity, the bridge beween Sutra and Tantra, the view of Vajrayana and the ground of Mahamudra. A wonderful commentary by the tutor of the present Karmapa.
METAPHYSICS AND MYSTICISM IN MAHAYANA BUDDHISM: An Analytical Study of the Ratnagotravibhago - Mahayanottaratantra Sastram by C.D. Sebastian
Canonical and classical Mahayana literature falls into two classes viz., Prajnaparamita and the Tathagatagarbha classes. The Ratnagotravibhago Mahayanottara- tantra Sastra, popularly known as the Uttaratantra, is the foremost example of the Tathagata-garbha literature. In this volume the author makes an exegetical and analytic study of the same text, and brings out the metaphysical and mystical bearings of Mahayana Buddhism. The teaching of the Uttaratantra is a perfect blend of philosophy, religion, spiritual discipline, mysticism and metaphysics - a blend that is characteristic of Buddhism. Tathagata-garbha is an important Mahayana principle, which explains that all living beings possess the essence of Buddha-hood (Sarva- sattvas-tathatagata-garbhah). Tatha- gata-garbha theory is a teaching that gives great optimism for all living beings in the pursuit of Bodhi (Enlightenment) or Buddhatva (Buddhahood). This theory enshrines in it a sublime concept that all the sentient beings are potential Buddhas or all will attain Buddha-hood. Owing to the presence of Tathagata-garbha in all, one perceives the equality of oneself with others, and works for the well-being of all living beings, as one's entire life motif.
REASON'S TRACES: Identity and Interpretation in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Thought by Matthew Kapstein
Reason's Traces addresses some of the key questions in the study of Indian and Buddhist thought: the analysis of personal identity and of ultimate reality, the interpretation of Tantric texts and traditions, and Tibetan approaches to the interpretation of Indian sources. Drawing on a wide range of scholarship, Reason's Traces reflects current work in philosophical analysis and hermeneutics, inviting readers to explore the relationship between philosophy and traditions of spiritual exercise in a Buddhist context.