Ornament of Stainless Light

Ornament of Stainless Light
Author: Khedrup Norsang Gyatso
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 733
Release: 2016-03-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0861717422

The premiere volume of Thupten Jinpa's thirty-two-volume Library of Tibetan Classics series, inaugurated to coincide with the Dalai Lama's conferral of the initiation rite of Kalacakra in Toronto in April 2004. The Kalacakra, or "wheel of time," tantra likely entered Indian Mahayana Buddhism around the tenth century. In expounding the root tantra, the Indian master Pundarika, one of the legendary Kalki kings of the land of Shambhala, wrote his influential Stainless Light.Ornament of Stainless Light is an authoritative Tibetan exposition of this important text, composed in the fifteenth century by Khedrup Norsang Gyatso, tutor to the Second Dalai Lama. One of the central projects of Kalacakra literature is a detailed correlation between the human body and the external universe. In working out this complex correspondence, the Kalacakra texts present an amazingly detailed theory of cosmology and astronomy, especially about the movements of the various celestial bodies. The Kalacakra tantra is also a highly complex system of Buddhist theory and practice that employs vital bodily energies, deep meditative mental states, and a penetrative focus on subtle points within the body's key energy conduits known as channels. Ornament of Stainless Light addresses all these topics, elaborating on the external universe, the inner world of the individual, the Kalacakra initiation rites, and the tantric stages of generation and completion, all in a highly readable English translation.

The Mirror of Beryl

The Mirror of Beryl
Author: Sangye Desi Gyatso
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 690
Release: 2016-05-17
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1614291160

Composed while its author was the ruler of Tibet, Mirror of Beryl is a detailed account of the origins and history of medicine in Tibet through the end of the seventeenth century. Its author, Desi Sangye Gyatso (1653 - 1705), was the heart disciple and political successor of the Great Fifth Dalai Lama and the author of several highly regarded works on Tibetan medicine, including his Blue Beryl, a commentary on the foundational text of Tibetan medicine, The Four Tantras. In the present historical introduction, Sangye Gyatso traces the sources of influence on Tibetan medicine to classical India, China, Central Asia, and beyond, providing life stories, extensive references to earlier Tibetan works on medicine, and fascinating details about the Tibetan approach to healing. He also provides a commentary on the pratimoksha, bodhisattva, and tantric Buddhist vows. Desi Sangye Gyatso's Mirror of Beryl remains today an essential resource for students of medical science in Tibet.

Transcending Time

Transcending Time
Author: Gen Lamrimpa
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2012-08-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0861717929

Inspired by years of scholarly training and decades of solitary retreat, Tibetan monk Gen Lamrimpa offers a concise overview of all phases of the Kalachakra practice: the preliminaries, the initiation, and finally, the stages of generation and completion. With remarkable clarity, he makes the Six-Session Guruyoga practice accessible to all practitioners, and deepens our understanding and appreciation of this sublime teaching of the Buddha. Gen Lamrimpa begins this eminently practical explanation by emphasizing the importance of a compassionate motivation for spiritual practice. He then explores the nature of suffering and the cycle of existence that traps all living beings, and concludes with a detailed account of the Six-Phase Yoga, which is meant to be recited and contemplated three times during the day and three times at night. Alan Wallace's introduction illuminates both Kalachakra's rich history and Gen Lamrimpa's unique contribution to our understanding. This book provides a clear explanation of Kalachakra as set forth within the context of the Six-Session Guruyoga, a daily meditation practice for initiates. Transcending Time presents all phases of Kalachakra practice--the preliminaries, the initiation, and finally, the stages of generation and completion.

Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru

Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru
Author: Changkya Rölpai Dorjé
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 435
Release: 2019-12-17
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1614296243

The most lucid and penetrating survey of classical Indian philosophy in the Tibetan language. Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru by Changkya Rölpai Dorjé (1717–86) is a work of doxography, presenting the distinctive philosophical tenets of the Indian Buddhist and non-Buddhist schools in a systematic manner that ascends through increasingly more subtle views. It is a Tibetan corollary to contemporary histories of philosophy. The “Mount Meru” of the title is the Buddha’s teachings, and Changkya’s work excels in particular in its treatment of the two Mahayana Buddhist schools, the Yogacara (here called the Vijñaptimatra) and the Madhyamaka. Unlike Jamyang Shepa’s (1648–1722) much longer Great Exposition of Tenets, which was one of the key sources and inspirations for Changkya, Beautiful Adornment is often praised for the clarity of its prose and its economical use of citations from Indian texts. At the same time, like Jamyang Shepa’s work, Changkya’s text is not simply a catalog of assertions; it skillfully examines core philosophical issues, including a number of intriguing ancillary discussions. Also like Jamyang Shepa’s text, Changkya’s is very much a Geluk work, drawing heavily on the works of Tsongkhapa and his disciples. The manageable size of Beautiful Adornment and, more importantly, its lucid literary style, made this work the classic source for the study of Indian thought, used by students the across Tibetan cultural sphere. In contemporary academic circles, it has also been a central source for studying the Tibetan interpretation of the classical Indian philosophical systems.

Naked Seeing

Naked Seeing
Author: Christopher Hatchell
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 497
Release: 2014
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199982910

Buddhism is in many ways a visual tradition, with its well-known practices of visualization, its visual arts, its epistemological writings that discuss the act of seeing, and its literature filled with images and metaphors of light. Some Buddhist traditions are also visionary, advocating practices by which meditators seek visions that arise before their eyes. Naked Seeing investigates such practices in the context of two major esoteric traditions, the Wheel of Time (Kalacakra) and the Great Perfection (Dzogchen). Both of these experimented with sensory deprivation, and developed yogas involving long periods of dwelling in dark rooms or gazing at the open sky. These produced unusual experiences of seeing, which were used to pursue some of the classic Buddhist questions about appearances, emptiness, and the nature of reality. Along the way, these practices gave rise to provocative ideas and suggested that, rather than being apprehended through internal insight, religious truths might also be seen in the exterior world-realized through the gateway of the eyes. Christopher Hatchell presents the intellectual and literary histories of these practices, and also explores the meditative techniques and physiology that underlie their distinctive visionary experiences. The book also offers for the first time complete English translations of three major Tibetan texts on visionary practice: a Kalacakra treatise by Yumo Mikyo Dorjé, The Lamp Illuminating Emptiness, a Nyingma Great Perfection work called The Tantra of the Blazing Lamps, and a Bön Great Perfection work called Advice on the Six Lamps, along with a detailed commentary on this by Drugom Gyalwa Yungdrung.

The Life of My Teacher

The Life of My Teacher
Author: Dalai Lama
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 505
Release: 2017-07-11
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1614293430

The Dalai Lama tells the life story of his remarkable teacher, Ling Rinpoché, who remained a powerful anchor for him from childhood and into his emergence as a global spiritual leader. The Sixth Ling Rinpoché (1903–83) was a towering figure in Tibetan Buddhism. Combining great learning with great humility, he was ordained by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and went on to serve as the the head of the Geluk tradition and as the senior tutor to the present Dalai Lama. In temperament and wisdom, he had a profound influence on the Dalai Lama’s spiritual development, and he became a steadying presence for His Holiness during the chaotic changes that defined the Tibetan experience of the twentieth century, with the invasion of their county by Communist forces and the subsequent rebuilding of their culture in India. Ling Rinpoché’s extensive travels among exiled communities abroad and across India bouyed the spirits of the Tibetan diaspora, and the training and activities of this consummate Buddhist master, here told by the Dalai Lama in the traditional Tibetan style, will inspire and amaze. Over one hundred archival photos bring the text to life.

Ornament of Abhidharma

Ornament of Abhidharma
Author: Chim Jampalyang
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 1368
Release: 2019-03-26
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0861714628

The single greatest Tibetan commentary—never previously translated—on one of the most well-known and cited works of classical Indian Buddhism. This work by a scholar of the Kadam school is the most authoritative Tibetan commentary on Vasubandhu’s Treasury of Abhidharma (Abhidharmakosa). In terms of stature and authority, Vasubandhu’s Treasury rivals Buddhaghosa’s contemporaneous Path of Purification and deals with such central themes as the dynamics of emotions and karma, of mental and meditative states; it treats both the cosmos and the life within. Chim Jampalyang’s exposition of it is the greatest flowering of Abhidharma studies in Tibet. Usually referred to as the Chimzö, it is to this day a key textbook in the great monastic universities. A veritable encyclopedia, it spans all areas of classical Indian Buddhist knowledge and is an indispensable reference for scholars of Buddhism. The Library of Tibetan Classics is a special series being developed by the Institute of Tibetan Classics to make key classical Tibetan texts part of the global literary and intellectual heritage. Eventually comprising thirty-two large volumes, the collection will contain over two hundred distinct texts by more than a hundred of the best-known Tibetan authors. These texts have been selected in consultation with the preeminent lineage holders of all the schools and other senior Tibetan scholars to represent the Tibetan literary tradition as a whole.

Tibetan Astrology

Tibetan Astrology
Author: Philippe Cornu
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2002-12-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1570629633

Astrology is one of the traditional arts and sciences of Tibet, where it is known as "the science of calculation," used by monks and lamas in the study of the rhythms and cycles of time, for divination, for choosing auspicious times for rituals and life-cycle events such as marriages and funerals, and as an adjunct to the practice of traditional medicine. This comprehensive introduction to the topic includes: • Historical roots and influences from China and India as well as the Buddhist Kalachakra teachings and the ancient Bön religion of Tibet • The two main branches of Tibetan astrology: Nagtsi, or "black astrology," based on the Chinese system, and Kartsi, or "white astrology," derived from Indian astrology • The twelve- and sixty-year cycles and the twelve animals and five elements associated with them • The mewa, or magical squares, which are numerological factors used to calculate the auspiciousness of days or years • The parkha, or eight trigrams of the I Ching, representing the elements, directions, seasons, and fundamental universal forces • How to analyze the character of hours, days, months, and years, so as to determine auspicious times for various activities • How to cast and interpret a Tibetan horoscope Also included are numerous diagrams and charts that are indispensable to the practice of Tibetan astrology, including tables for converting Western dates to dates on the Tibetan calendar.

Young House Love

Young House Love
Author: Sherry Petersik
Publisher: Artisan
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2015-07-14
Genre: House & Home
ISBN: 1579656765

This New York Times bestselling book is filled with hundreds of fun, deceptively simple, budget-friendly ideas for sprucing up your home. With two home renovations under their (tool) belts and millions of hits per month on their blog YoungHouseLove.com, Sherry and John Petersik are home-improvement enthusiasts primed to pass on a slew of projects, tricks, and techniques to do-it-yourselfers of all levels. Packed with 243 tips and ideas—both classic and unexpected—and more than 400 photographs and illustrations, this is a book that readers will return to again and again for the creative projects and easy-to-follow instructions in the relatable voice the Petersiks are known for. Learn to trick out a thrift-store mirror, spice up plain old roller shades, "hack" your Ikea table to create three distinct looks, and so much more.

The Tibetan Book of Everyday Wisdom

The Tibetan Book of Everyday Wisdom
Author: Jinpa Thupten
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2018-04-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1614295131

Enjoy popular Tibetan collections of advice, fables, and aphorisms for following the way of the wise and avoiding the paths of fools. The Tibetan Book of Everdyay Wisdom: A Thousand Years of Sage Advice presents a genre of Tibetan works known as “wise sayings” (lekshé). While most Tibetan literature focuses on the Buddhist path, “wise sayings” literature has traditionally been a centerpiece of secular education in Tibet and in the cultivation of social mores and an honorable way of life. Drawing inspiration from classical Indian literature on human virtue and governance (nitisastra), including the folktales in the Pañcatantra, the authors of these Tibetan works strove to educate young minds in the ways of the civilized world, especially by distinguishing the conduct of the wise from that of the foolish. This anthology includes some of the best-loved classics of Tibetan literature, such as Sakya Pandita’s Jewel Treasury of Wise Sayings, Panchen Sönam Drakpa’s Ganden Wise Sayings, and Gungthang’s Treatise on Trees and Treatise on Water. The final work is the intriguing Kaché Phalu’s Advice. Ostensibly written by a wise Tibetan Muslim, this versified text enjoys great popularity within Tibetan-speaking communities, such that most people are able to recite at least a few verses from memory.