Mahamudra and Related Instructions : Core Teachings of the Kagyu Schools

by Roberts, Peter Alan

• ISBN13: 9780861714445
• ISBN10: 086171444X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-05-17
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications

Summary

The Kagyuuml; school of Tibetan Buddhism began in the eleventh century with such renowned figures as Marpa and Milarepa and continues today with the Karmapa and several bestselling authors including Pema Chodron, Mingyur Rinpoche and Chogyam Trungpa. Mahamudra, the "Great Seal", is a central teaching of the Kagyuuml; school. Formulated as a systematic practice by Gampopa (10791153), the mahamudra teachings trace their source to earlier Indian materials and focus on the cultivation of profound insight into the nature of the mind. Mahamudra texts in this volume include a lucid work by the celebrated master Tseleacute; Natsok Rangdrouml;l (b. 1608) and works by the twelfth-century master Shang Rinpoche, the great Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorjeacute; (12841339), the Eighth Situ Chouml;kyi Jungneacute; (17001774), and Drukpa Pema Karpo (152792). The volume also contains an inspriational work by Gampopa, the Drigung Kagyuuml; root text One Viewpoint by Sherap Jungne (11871241), the Sixth Shamar Chouml;kyi Wangchuk's (15841630) guide to the six dharmas of Naropa, and finally an overview of tantric practice by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal (151287), author of the famous Moonlight of Mahamudra. The eleven texts in this volume were selected for inclusion in The Library of Tibetan Classics by the preeminent scholar of the Kagyuuml; school, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche.

Author Biography

Peter Alan Roberts was born in Wales and lives in Hollywood, California. He earned a BA in Sanskrit and Pali and a DPhil in Tibetan Studies from Oxford University (Harris-Manchester College). For more than thirty years he has been working as an interpreter for lamas and as a translator of Tibetan texts. He specializes in the literature of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions with a focus on tantric practices, and he is the author of The Biographies of Rechungpa.
"

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xi
General Editor's Preface	p. xiii
Translator's Introduction	p. 1
Technical Notes	p. 27
A String of Pearls: A Collection of Dharma Lectures	p. 31
The Unrivaled Instructions of Shang Rinpoché: The Preliminaries and Main Practice of the Great Meditation of Mahamudra	p. 65
The Ultimate Supreme Path of the Mahamudra	p. 83
A Record of Mahamudra Instructions	p. 135
Instructions for the Mahamudra Innate Union	p. 153
Prayer for the Definitive Meaning, the Mahamudra	p. 169
Oral Transmission of the Supreme Siddhas: A Commentary on Prayer for the Definitive Meaning, the Mahamudra	p. 175
The Bright Torch: The Perfect Illumination of the True Meaning of the Mahamudra, the Essence of All the Dharma	p. 289
The Quintessence of Nectar: Instructions for the Practice of the Six Dharmas of Naropa	p. 333
The Single Viewpoint: A Root Text	p. 373
The Hundred and Fifty Vajra Teachings	p. 373
The Forty-Seven Supplements to the Hundred and Fifty Vajra Teachings	p. 390
The Four Main Points of the Dharma of the Single Viewpoint	p. 395
The Structural Analysis that Classifies the Sequence of the Seven Chapters	p. 398
Light Rays from the Jewel of the Excellent Teaching: A General Presentation on the Points of Secret Mantra	p. 401
Selected Topics
The way in which the Teacher appeared	p. 402
The Buddha's teaching	p. 408
The tantras in general	p. 426
The lower tantras	p. 447
Highest yoga tantra	p. 460
Empowerment rites	p. 467
Commitments and vows	p. 492
The two stages in general	p. 498
Generation stage	p. 507
Completion stage	p. 550
The yoga of channels, winds, and drops	p. 555
The illusory body	p. 565
The bardo and transference	p. 572
Mahamudra	p. 576
Union	p. 582
Conduct that enhances the path	p. 586
Results of practice	p. 598
Table of Tibetan Transliteration	p. 621
Notes	p. 627
Glossary	p. 701
Bibliography	p. 725
Index	p. 749
About the Contributors	p. 765
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.