Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand : A Concise Discourse on the Path to Enlightenment

by Rinpoche, Trijang; Richards, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780861715008
• ISBN10: 0861715004
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-11-03
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications

Summary

Pabongka Rinpoche was one the twentieth century's most charismatic and revered Tibetan lamas, and in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand we can see why. In this famous twenty-four-day teaching on the lamrim, or stages of the path, Pabongka Rinpoche weaves together lively stories and quotations with frank observations and practical advice to move readers step by step along the journey to buddhahood. When his student Trijang Rinpoche first edited and published these teachings in Tibetan, an instant classic was born. The flavor and immediacy of the original Tibetan are preserved in Michael Richards' fluid and lively translation, which is now substantially revised in this new edition.

Author Biography

Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941) was one of the great lamas of the twentieth century. He was the root lama of both tutors of the present Dalai Lama and the teacher of many of the other Tibetan lamas who have been bringing the Dharma to the West.

Trijang Rinpoche (1901-81) was the foremost student of Pabongka Rinpoche, the Junior Tutor of the present Dalai Lama, and the root lama of many of the first generation of great Gelug masters to teach in the West.

Michael Richards is an Australian scholar who lived in the Tibetan exile community of Dharamsala for many years.
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Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	viii
Translator's Introduction	ix
Pabongka Rinpoche: A Memoir by Rilbur Rinpoche	xiii
INTRODUCTION BY TRIJANG RINPOCHE	3	(6)
PART ONE: THE PRELIMINARIES
DAY 1 Introductory Discourse on the Lamrim	9	(16)
DAY 2 The Greatness of the Authors	25	(34)
DAY 3 The Greatness of the Dharma; How to Study and Teach the Dharma	59	(44)
PART TWO: THE PREPARATORY RITES
DAY 4 Cleaning the Room and Setting up an Altar; Arranging Offerings; Adjusting the Body and Motivation; The Refuge Visualization	103	(47)
DAY 5 Petitioning the Merit Field; The Seven-Limbed Prayer	150	(33)
DAY 6 The Seven-Limbed Prayer; Requests to Lineage Lamas	183	(34)
PART THREE: THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE PATH
DAY 7 Devoting Yourself to a Spiritual Guide	217	(19)
DAY 8 Devoting Yourself to a Spiritual Guide	236	(27)
DAY 9 Devoting Yourself to a Spiritual Guide; The Optimum Human Rebirth	263	(28)
PART FOUR: THE SMALL SCOPE
DAY 10 The Optimum Human Rebirth; Remembering Death	291	(31)
DAY 11 The Suffering of the Lower Realms	322	(30)
DAY 12 Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels	352	(33)
DAY 13 Observing the Law of Cause and Effect	385	(42)
PART FIVE: THE MEDIUM SCOPE
DAY 14 The General Sufferings of Samsara; The Sufferings of the Higher Rebirths	427	(32)
DAY 15 Understanding the Causes of Samsara; The Path to Liberation	459	(40)
PART SIX: THE GREAT SCOPE
DAY 16 The Importance of Bodhichitta; Developing Bodhichitta through the Cause-and-Effect Instruction	499	(22)
DAY 17 Developing Bodhichitta through the Cause-and-Effect Instruction; The Seven-Point Mind Training	521	(25)
DAY 18 The Seven-Point Mind Training	546	(10)
DAY 19 The Seven-Point Mind Training	556	(17)
DAY 20 The First Four Perfections	573	(20)
DAY 21 Developing Mental Quiescence	593	(23)
DAY 22 Developing Mental Quiescence; The Perfection of Wisdom	616	(33)
DAY 23 Taking the Bodhisattva Vows	649	(6)
DAY 24 Taking the Bodhisattva Vows	655	(10)
COLOPHON BY TRIJANG RINPOCHE	665	(8)
APPENDIXES
1 Outline of the Text	673	(21)
2 The Lineage of these Teachings	694	(2)
3 The Three Fundamentals of the Path	696	(3)
4 An Ornament for the Throats of the Fortunate	699	(27)
5 The Seven-Point Mind Training	726	(5)
Notes	731	(8)
Glossary	739	(66)
Bibliography	805	(30)
Index	835