The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, Books 1 to 10

The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, Books 1 to 10
Author: Choying Tobden Dorje
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 941
Release: 2015-06-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0834829916

In 1838, Choying Tobden Dorje, a Buddhist yogi-scholar of eastern Tibet, completed a multivolume masterwork that traces the entire path of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism from beginning to end. Written by a lay practitioner for laypeople, it was intended to be accessible, informative, inspirational, and above all, practical. Its twenty-five books, or topical divisions, offer a comprehensive and detailed view of the Buddhist path according to the early translation school of Tibetan Buddhism, spanning the vast range of Buddhist teachings from the initial steps to the highest esoteric teachings of great perfection. Choying Tobden Dorje’s magnum opus appears in English here for the first time. In Foundations of the Buddhist Path, which covers the first ten of the treatise’s twenty-five books, the author surveys the scope of the entire work and then begins with the topics that set the cornerstones for all subsequent Buddhist practice: what constitutes proper spiritual apprenticeship, how to receive the teachings, how to make the best use of this life, and how to motivate ourselves to generate effort on the spiritual path. He then describes refuge and the vows that define the path of individual liberation before turning to the bodhisattva’s way—buddha nature, how to uplift the mind to supreme awakening, the bodhisattva’s training, and the attainments of the paths leading to supreme awakening.

The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, Book 13

The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, Book 13
Author: Choying Tobden Dorje
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 674
Release: 2017-11-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1559394609

Chöying Tobden Dorje's magnum opus presented in English for the first time, in an authoritative translation prepared under the auspices of well-known and highly respected Tibetan teachers and translators. In 1838, Choying Tobden Dorje, a yogin and scholar of northeastern Tibet, completed a multivolume masterwork that traces the entire path of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism from beginning to end. Written by a mantra practitioner for the benefit of mantra practitioners living among the lay community, it was intended to be informative, inspirational, and above all, practical. Its twenty-five books, or topical divisions, offer a comprehensive and detailed view of the Buddhist path according to the early translation school of Tibetan Buddhism, spanning the vast range of Buddhist teachings from the initial steps to the highest esoteric teachings of great perfection. Choying Tobden Dorje’s magnum opus appears in English here for the first time. Book 13 presents the philosophical systems of India and Tibet, according to the writings of Longchen Rabjam and the revelations of Orgyan Lingpa. First, it discusses the views attributed to classical Hinduism, Jainism, materialism, and nihilism. Second, it describes the standpoints of the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika exponents of the lesser vehicle, exemplified by pious attendants and hermit buddhas, and the Cittamatra (“mind only”) and Madhyamaka (“middle way”) commentators of the great vehicle, exemplified by great bodhisattva beings. Third, it analyzes the inner and outer vehicles of the Buddhist tantras, with an emphasis on the three classes of the great perfection. Fourth, it documents the lines of philosophical transmission within Tibet, including Bon, Nyingma, Kagyu, Sakya, Kadampa, and Geluk. It concludes with an extract from a well-known treatise of the Fifth Dalai Lama, applying the techniques of consequential reasoning to the first chapter of Vasubandhu’s Treasury of Phenomenology.

The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, Books 15 to 17

The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, Books 15 to 17
Author: Choying Tobden Dorje
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 647
Release: 2016-03-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1559394366

Choying Tobden Dorje's magnum opus presented in English for the first time, in an authoritative translation prepared under the auspices of well-known and highly respected Tibetan teachers and translators. The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, a multivolume masterwork by the eighteenth-century tantric master Choying Tobden Dorje, traces the path of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism from beginning to end. Books 15 to 17: The Essential Tantras of Mahayoga concerns the first of the three classes of highest, or inner, tantras. It presents the entire text of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, in Tibetan and English, together with one of its most important commentaries, Dispelling the Darkness of the Ten Directions, by the outstanding fourteenth-century master Longchen Rabjam. In addition, it presents the author's rewriting of Candragomin's inspirational Extensive Commentary on the Sublime Litany of the Names of Mañjuśrī, which correlates diverse aspects of Mañjuśrī to the five pristine cognitions. This product (Books 15 to 17) will be published as two volumes in a slipcase.

Wise Teacher Wise Student

Wise Teacher Wise Student
Author: Alexander Berzin
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2010-06-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1559393475

The relationship between a teacher and student can be a most rewarding and life-enhancing experience, yet it can also be fraught with problems and misunderstandings. For Westerners working with Eastern teachers, the difficulties can be compounded by cultural differences, language barriers, and divergent expectations. Wise Teacher, Wise Student examines the teacher-student relationship as it is understood in the Tibetan Buddhist context. The author surveys a wide spectrum of situations, exploring the causes of potential pitfalls. In illuminating the sources of misunderstandings, he offers methods to heal wounds and encourage healthy relationships.

Enlightened Vagabond

Enlightened Vagabond
Author: Matthieu Ricard
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2017-07-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1611803306

Colorful stories about and profound teachings of Patrul Rinpoche, one of the most impactful teachers and thinkers in the Tibetan tradition from the nineteenth century. The life and teachings of the wandering yogi Patrul Rinpoche—a highly revered Buddhist master and scholar of nineteenth-century Tibet—come alive in true stories gathered and translated by the French Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard over more than thirty years, based on the oral accounts of great contemporary teachers as well as written sources. Patrul’s life story reveals the nature of a highly realized being as he transmits the Dharma in everything he does, teaching both simple nomads and great lamas in ways that are often unconventional and even humorous, but always with uncompromising authenticity.

Relating to a Spiritual Teacher

Relating to a Spiritual Teacher
Author: Alexander Berzin
Publisher: Snow Lion Publications, Incorporated
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2000
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

This book explores the sources of misunderstanding and reexamines traditional Buddhist teachings to receal methods that can heal wounds.

The Bliss of Inner Fire

The Bliss of Inner Fire
Author: Thubten Yeshe
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2005-06-10
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0861719786

In the classic bestseller, Introduction to Tantra, Lama Yeshe offered a profound and wonderfully clear glimpse into the sophisticated practices of Tibetan Buddhist tantra. This present book, the last major teachings of this great lama, opens up the world of advanced practices for Highest Yoga Tantra initiates in much the same way his earlier work opened up the world of tantra in general. Following Je Tsongkhapa's (1357-1419 C.E.) text Having the Three Convictions, Lama Yeshe introduces the renowned Six Yogas of Naropa, focusing mainly on the first of these six, the practice of inner fire (tummo). Mastery of inner fire quickly brings the mind to its most refined and penetrating state--the experience of clear light, an extra-ordinarily powerful state of mind that is unequaled in its ability to directly realize ultimate reality. Lama Yeshe felt that twentieth-century Westerners could easily grasp the often misunderstood ideas of this esoteric tradition: "We really need tantra these days because there is a tremendous explosion of delusion and distraction.and we need the atomic energy of inner fire to blast us out of our delusion." Lama Yeshe's aim was for his students to actually taste the experience of inner fire rather than merely gain an intellectual understanding. Lama's own realization of the transformative power of these practices comes through, inspiring his students to discover for themselves their own capacity for inexhaustible bliss.

The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems

The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems
Author: Thuken Losang Chokyi Nyima
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 698
Release: 2017-06-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0861717864

The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems, by Thuken Losang Chokyi Nyima (1737-1802), is arguably the widest-ranging account of religious philosophies ever written in pre-modern Tibet. Like most Tibetan texts on philosophical systems, this work covers the major schools of India, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, but then goes on to discuss in detail the entire range of Tibetan traditions as well, with separate chapters on the Nyingma, Kadam, Kagyu, Shije, Sakya, Jonang, Geluk, and Bon schools. Not resting there, Thuken goes on to describe the major traditions of China--Confucian, Daoist, and the multiple varieties of Buddhist--as well as those of Mongolia, Khotan, and even Shambhala. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is unusual, too, in its concern not just to describe and analyze doctrines, but to trace the historical development of the various traditions. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is an eloquent and erudite presentation exploring the religious history and philosophical systems of an array of Asian Cultures--and offering evidence that the serious and sympathetic study of the history of religions has not been a monopoly of Western scholarship.