Pith Instructions


Book Description

This small collection of commentaries and verse by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, one of the greatest spiritual leaders of the twentieth century, contains exposition on different stages of the Buddhist path from the perspective of meditative experience and actually putting the teachings into practice. Originally given orally to Western students, the texts afford a rare glimpse into the direct transmissions of a master teacher. The commentaries are on ? • The Wheel of Investigation and Meditation That Thoroughly Purifies Mental Activity by Jamgön Mipham • The Lamp That Dispels Darkness by Jamgön Mipham • A Wondrous Ocean of Advice for the Practice of Retreat in Solitude by Jigme Lingpa. These, along with the five selected poems in the final section, provide an introduction to the wisdom and compassion of Khyentse Rinpoche.







Straight from the Heart


Book Description

Straight from the Heart brings together an inspiring collection of Buddhist teachings, songs of realization, meditation instructions, and enlightened poetry—all chosen for their power to speak directly to the student. Drawn from Indian Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism as well as from all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, some will impress with their beautiful poetry and powerful imagery, others with their profound power of instruction. Still others share personal advice for life that seems to come directly from the mouth of the author, and some serve as immediate and profound practice instructions. Several are just delightfully unconventional, even outrageous, letting in fresh air on petrified views or musty traditions. Most of them are simply unknown precious gems, which deserve a wider audience. Each of the works is preceded by a brief introduction and a short biography of its author. Many of these are legendary accounts of supernatural feats, edifying examples for students on the same spiritual path meant to expand their limited outlook with “mind-blowing” stories. Miraculous deeds, magnificent songs, and pithy instructions distinguish this collection assembled by the Buddhist scholar and translator Karl Brunnhölzl, whose years of work among dharma texts and his skill as a translator yield a rich mine of teachings all chosen for their ability to speak directly to the heart.




The Pith Instructions for the Stages of the Practice Sessions of the A Khrid System of Bon RDzogs Chen [Great Completion] Meditation


Book Description

This book "The Pith Instructions for the Stages of the Practice Sessions of the A Khrid System of Bon rDzogs Chen [Great Completion] Meditation" is available in English for the very first time. Originally written by Bru rGyal Ba G.yunG drunG (1242-1290), Geshe Sonam Gurung and Daniel P. Brown, Ph.D. faithfully translate the text from its original Tibetan under the guidance of His Holiness The Thirty-Third Menri Trizin, the head of the Bon Lineage. A main practice manual from one of the four great lineages of Bon Great Completion meditation (rdzogs chen). These lineage teachings started with a fifty-session lesson plan by Ri Khrod, and eventually was reduced to 14 sessions by Bru rGyal ba. This step-by-step practice manual, using 'intense means' of pith instruction, covers three broad areas of practice.




Great Perfection


Book Description

In the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, the Great Perfection is considered the most profound and direct path to enlightenment. The instructions of this tradition present a spiritual shortcut—a radically direct approach that cuts through confusion and lays bare the mind's true nature of luminous purity. For centuries, these teachings have been taught and practiced in secret by some of the greatest adepts of the Buddhist tradition. Great Perfection: Outer and Inner Preliminaries contains detailed instructions on the foundational practices of this tradition, from "The Excellent Chariot," a practice manual compiled by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche. Distilling the teachings of the Heart Essence of the Dakinis into an accessible, easy-to-practice format, The Excellent Chariot leads the reader through the entire Buddhist path, starting with basic Buddhist contemplations that work to dislodge deeply ingrained patterns of thinking and behaving, and continuing on to the most advanced and secret meditative practices of the Great Perfection. The teachings in this volume are drawn largely from the writings of the great Nyingma master Longchenpa and the root texts of the Heart Essence of the Dakinis itself. The Third Dzogchen Rinpoche begins by discussing the correct way to study and practice the Great Perfection teachings before presenting an overview of the Great Perfection lineage and an explanation on the meaning and importance of empowerment. In the chapters that follow, he presents practical instructions on the outer and inner preliminaries, the so-called "ngöndro" practices. These practices enable the practitioner to transform and purify the mind, preparing it for the advanced Great Perfection meditation of Trekchö and Tögal, the breakthrough and direct leap. In addition to the translation mentioned above, Great Perfection: Outer and Inner Preliminaries contains a beautiful introduction by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, a contemporary Great Perfection master, and an extensive glossary of key Great Perfection terminology.




Vajra Speech


Book Description

Vajra Speech, by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, renowned for his extra-ordinary experience and realization, is a wide ranging collection of pith instructions for the Dzogchen yogi. This Tibetan master's advice reduces negative emotions and naturally enables loving kindness, compassion and wisdom to flourish. "A swan can separate water and milk when drinking. The yogi should be like the swan in sepa rating the milk of original wakefulness from the water of ignorance." --Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche "Compared to many years studying books and going through analytical meditation, we found it more beneficial to ask questions of Tulku Urgyen and listen to his answers." --Orgyen Topgyal Rinpoche




Natural Radiance


Book Description

One moment of total awareness is one moment of perfect enlightenment." This is the ultimate insight of Dzogchen, or "the Great Perfection," the pinnacle teaching of Tibetan Buddhism. With his previous bestselling books including Awakening the Buddha Within, American-born Tibetan Buddhist teacher Lama Surya Das has taught millions about the innate wakefulness and liberation that can be our natural ways of being. Now, with Natural Radiance, he offers his first complete daily practice program for the personal experience of the "swift and direct path" of Dzogchen. Dzogchen affirms that we are all Buddhas by natureinfinitely open, luminous, compassionate, wise, and free. This profound realization, say the teachings, cannot be understood intellectually or studied mentally, but it can be passed from teacher to student through the spoken word. With Natural Radiance, you can now learn these time-honored practices as they have been shared for centuriesthrough direct transmission from an accomplished master of the tradition. Join Lama Surya Das as your trusted guide to help you awaken to the sky like nature of mindwhat is known in Tibetan as rigpa, or total and pure presence. "This is the time of Dzogchen," says Lama Surya Das, "when we most need this immediate teaching of the inherent perfection of being ... the natural state of enlightenment." Includes CD with seven guided Dzogchen techniques.




Primordial Purity


Book Description

A meditation master illuminates the path trekchö and provides his commentary on the atiyoga dzogchen instructions from the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism The path of trekchö is the way of directly and thoroughly cutting through the misconceptions of samsara to lay bare the primordial purity of the nature of mind. This powerful practice is illuminated by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche in his commentary on an essential text based on the atiyoga dzogcheninstructions of the outstanding nineteenth-century master Patrul Rinpoche. Three Words That Strike the Vital Point is the famous seminal statement by Garap Dorje that is said to encapsulate all the myriad dzogchen tantras. The key instructions on it by Patrul Rinpoche—the verses known as "The Special Teaching of Khepa Shri Gyalpo"—form the basis for the discourse in Primordial Purity. It explains that in dzogchen, when one has fully recognized that all the confusion of samsara is the expressive power of great emptiness, confusion is spontaneously liberated into the primordial purity of mind’s essential nature. Compassion spontaneously arises, accomplishing the benefit of sentient beings. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche illuminates this beautifully in this profound work, which will inspire students of Buddhism and deepen their experiential appreciation of the teachings.







Not for Happiness


Book Description

From the author of What Makes You Not a Buddhist comes a fresh look at the foundations of Tibetan Buddhist practice, with practical advice and guidance for the modern practitioner Do you practice meditation because you want to feel good? Or to help you relax and be “happy”? Then frankly, according to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, you are far better off having a full-body massage than trying to practice the Dharma. Genuine spiritual practice, not least the Ngöndro preliminaries, will not bring the kind of comfort and ease most worldly people crave. Quite the opposite, in fact. But if your ultimate goal is enlightenment, Ngöndro practice is a must, and Not for Happiness your perfect guide, as it contains everything an aspiring practitioner needs to get started, including advice about: • Developing “renunciation mind” • Discipline, meditation and wisdom • Using your imagination in visualization practice • Why you need a guru