First Invite Love In : 40 Time-Tested Tools for Creating a More Compassionate Life

by Pesso, Tana; Rinpoche, Penor; Lama, Dalai

• ISBN13: 9780861712854
• ISBN10: 0861712854
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-16
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications

Summary

"Now that Dzogchen is spreading in the West, we need a popular translation of this extraordinary text...the benefit will be seen as direct experience of the nature of mind. Keith Dowman, the translator who has spent many years with many great masters and has absorbed the realization of Dzogchen, has overcome the difficulties of translation and produced a straight-forward English rendition. I hope that this text may bring realization of the nature things, just as they are, to all living beings."-from the foreword by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, The most popular, well-known Tibetan teacher of Dzogchen alive today, he is the author of several books. Dzogchen or the Great Perfection is considered by many to be the apex of Tibetan Buddhism and Longchen Rabjam is the pre-eminent master of Dzogchen and one of Tibet's greatest writers and sages. This book encompasses and optimizes the radical precepts of Dzogchen. Transcending the Tibetan context, Longchen Rabjam delivers a manual of practical wisdom for all people of all times, cultures, and traditions. Natural Perfection is a shining example of why people have continued to turn to the traditions of Tibet for spiritual and personal transformation and realization. This transmission of timeless wisdom will take its place amongst the religious classics of the world.

Author Biography

Tana Pesso holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College and a master's degree in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She lives in Rockport, Massachusetts.

Penor Rinpoche was the head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Born in 1932 in Eastern Tibet he was renowned by all as an exemplary master of the Tibetan tradition. He tirelessly taught devoted students around the world. He passed away in 2009.

Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He frequently describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. Born in northeastern Tibet in 1935, he was as a toddler recognized as the incarnation of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and brought to Tibet's capital, Lhasa. In 1950, Mao Zedong's Communist forces made their first incursions into eastern Tibet, shortly after which the young Dalai Lama assumed the political leadership of his country. He passed his scholastic examinations with honors at the Great Prayer Festival in Lhasa in 1959, the same year Chinese forces occupied the city, forcing His Holiness to escape to India. There he set up the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, working to secure the welfare of the more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles and prevent the destruction of Tibetan culture. In his capacity as a spiritual and political leader, he has traveled to more than sixty-two countries on six continents and met with presidents, popes, and leading scientists to foster dialogue and create a better world. In recognition of his tireless work for the nonviolent liberation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. In 2012, he relinquished political authority in his exile government and turned it over to democratically elected representatives.

His Holiness frequently states that his life is guided by three major commitments: the promotion of basic human values or secular ethics in the interest of human happiness, the fostering of interreligious harmony, and securing the welfare of the Tibetan people, focusing on the survival of their identity, culture, and religion. As a superior scholar trained in the classical texts of the Nalanda tradition of Indian Buddhism, he is able to distill the central tenets of Buddhist philosophy in clear and inspiring language, his gift for pedagogy imbued with his infectious joy. Connecting scientists with Buddhist scholars, he helps unite contemplative and modern modes of investigation, bringing ancient tools and insights to bear on the acute problems facing the contemporary world. His efforts to foster dialogue among leaders of the world's faiths envision a future where people of different beliefs can share the planet in harmony. Wisdom Publications is proud to be the premier publisher of the Dalai Lama's more serious and in-depth works.
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