Hundreds of Deities of Tuṣita

Hundreds of Deities of Tuṣita PDF

Author: Choden Rinpoche

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 9780987209443

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In this book Choden Rinpoche explains the practice of guru yoga focusing on the fourteenth century Tibetan monk-scholar Je Tsongkhapa. Instructions on this practice were received and disseminated by the First Dalai Lama, a disciple of Je Tsongkhapa, who in turn taught it to selected students. In it Je Tsongkhapa is visualized in the retinue of the future buddha Maitreya in his celestial abode of Tu ita and their light pervades the beings of this realm. It has been recited by Tibetans, both lay and ordained for many centuries, and remains an inspiring and well-loved meditative practice. Choden Rinpoche has based his explanation on the commentary by Pabongkha Rinpoche called "A Treasure of Jewels" which is included here in full. He explains in detail the meaning of the migtsema praise and the complex set of visualizations required to purify one's mindstream and receive blessings from one's spiritual friend. His Eminence Choden Rinpoche is a renowned yogi, scholar, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in 1931 in far eastern Tibet to a devout family renowned of their contemplative practice. Early in his life he was recognized as the reincarnation of Choden Rinpoche, a revered master of Tibetan Buddhism. Then following the advice of Pabongkha Rinpoche, he joined Sera Je monastery at the age of 15, completing his studies at the age of 28. Despite being urged by Trijang Rinpoche to sit his final exams quickly, he followed the advice of his main teacher, the abbot of Sera Je, to continue his studies. But soon after the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese occupation of Tibet disrupted his studies and he entered retreat in a small and secluded room in Lhasa for more than nineteen years. In 1985 Rinpoche arrived in India and following the advice of the Dalai Lama, he commenced teaching at Sera Monastery and then to audiences around the world.

Pure Lands in Asian Texts and Contexts

Pure Lands in Asian Texts and Contexts PDF

Author: Georgios T. Halkias

Publisher: University of Hawaii Press

Published: 2019-03-31

Total Pages: 808

ISBN-13: 0824877144

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This diverse anthology of original Buddhist texts in translation provides a historical and conceptual framework that will transform contemporary scholarship on Pure Land Buddhism and instigate its recognition as an essential field of Buddhist studies. Traditional and contemporary primary sources carefully selected from Buddhist cultures across historical, geopolitical, and literary boundaries are organized by genre rather than chronologically, geographically, or by religious lineage—a novel juxtaposition that reveals their wider importance in fresh contexts. Together these fundamental texts from different Asian traditions, expertly translated by eminent and up-and-coming scholars, illustrate that the Buddhism of pure lands is not just an East Asian cult or a marginal type of Buddhism, but a pan-Asian and deeply entrenched religious phenomenon. The volume is organized into six parts: Ritual Practices, Contemplative Visualizations, Doctrinal Expositions, Life Writing and Poetry, Ethical and Aesthetic Explications, and Worlds beyond Sukhāvatī. Each part is introduced and summarized, and each translated piece is prefaced by its translator to supply historical and sectarian context as well as insight into the significance of the work. Common and less-common issues of practice, doctrine, and intra-religious transfer are explored, and deeper understandings of the meaning of “pure lands” are gained through the study of the celestial, cosmological, internal, and earthly pure lands associated with various buddhas, bodhisattvas, and devotional figures. The introduction by the volume editors ties the diverse themes of the book together and provides a historical background to Pure Land Buddhist studies. Scholars of Buddhism and Asian religion, including graduate and post-graduate students, as well as Buddhist practitioners, will appreciate the range of translated materials and accompanied discussions made accessible in one essential collection, the first of its kind to center on the formerly-neglected topic of Buddhist pure lands.

The Life of My Teacher

The Life of My Teacher PDF

Author: Dalai Lama

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2017-07-11

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 1614293430

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The Dalai Lama tells the life story of his remarkable teacher, Ling Rinpoché, who remained a powerful anchor for him from childhood and into his emergence as a global spiritual leader. The Sixth Ling Rinpoché (1903–83) was a towering figure in Tibetan Buddhism. Combining great learning with great humility, he was ordained by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and went on to serve as the the head of the Geluk tradition and as the senior tutor to the present Dalai Lama. In temperament and wisdom, he had a profound influence on the Dalai Lama’s spiritual development, and he became a steadying presence for His Holiness during the chaotic changes that defined the Tibetan experience of the twentieth century, with the invasion of their county by Communist forces and the subsequent rebuilding of their culture in India. Ling Rinpoché’s extensive travels among exiled communities abroad and across India bouyed the spirits of the Tibetan diaspora, and the training and activities of this consummate Buddhist master, here told by the Dalai Lama in the traditional Tibetan style, will inspire and amaze. Over one hundred archival photos bring the text to life.

Lineages of the Literary

Lineages of the Literary PDF

Author: Nicole Willock

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2021-04-27

Total Pages: 245

ISBN-13: 0231551967

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Winner, 2024 E. Gene Smith Inner Asia Book Prize, Association for Asian Studies Honorable Mention, 2023 Joseph Levenson Prize Post-1900, Association for Asian Studies In the aftermath of the cataclysmic Maoist period, three Tibetan Buddhist scholars living and working in the People’s Republic of China became intellectual heroes. Renowned as the “Three Polymaths,” Tséten Zhabdrung (1910–1985), Mugé Samten (1914–1993), and Dungkar Lozang Trinlé (1927–1997) earned this symbolic title for their efforts to keep the lamp of the Dharma lit even in the darkest hour of Tibetan history. Lineages of the Literary reveals how the Three Polymaths negotiated the political tides of the twentieth century, shedding new light on Sino-Tibetan relations and Buddhism during this turbulent era. Nicole Willock explores their contributions to reviving Tibetan Buddhism, expanding Tibetan literary arts, and pioneering Tibetan studies as an academic discipline. Her sophisticated reading of Tibetan-language sources vivifies the capacious literary world of the Three Polymaths, including autobiography, Buddhist philosophy, poetic theory, and historiography. Whereas prevailing state-centric accounts place Tibetan religious figures in China in one of two roles, collaborator or resistance fighter, Willock shows how the Three Polymaths offer an alternative model of agency. She illuminates how they by turns safeguarded, taught, and celebrated Tibetan Buddhist knowledge, practices, and institutions after their near destruction during the Cultural Revolution. An interdisciplinary work spanning religious studies, history, literary studies, and social theory, Lineages of the Literary offers new insight into the categories of religion and the secular, the role of Tibetan Buddhist leaders in modern China, and the contested ground of Tibet.

Tsongkhapa

Tsongkhapa PDF

Author: Thupten Jinpa

Publisher: Shambhala Publications

Published: 2019-11-12

Total Pages: 553

ISBN-13: 0834842599

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The new standard work and definitive biography of Tsongkhapa, one of the principle founders of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism--the school of the Dalai Lamas. In this groundbreaking addition to the Lives of the Masters series, Thupten Jinpa, a scholar-practitioner and long-time translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, offers the most comprehensive portrait available of Jé Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), one of the greatest Buddhist teachers in history. A devout monastic, Tsongkhapa took on the difficult task of locating and studying all of the Indian Buddhist classics available in Tibet in his day. He went on to synthesize this knowledge into a holistic approach to the path of awakening. In an achievement of incredible magnitude, he integrated the pivotal yet disparate Mahayana teachings on emptiness while retaining the important role of critical reason and avoiding the extreme of negating the reality of the everyday world. Included in this volume is a discussion of Tsongkhapa’s early life and training; his emergence as a precociously intelligent Buddhist mind; the composition of his Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Great Exposition of Tantra, and many other important works; and his founding of the Lhasa Prayer Festival and Ganden Monastery. This is a necessary resource for anyone interested in Tsongkhapa’s transformative effect on the understanding and practice of Buddhism in Tibet in his time and his continued influence today.

Encyclopaedia of the the Divine Masculine God of 10,000 Names

Encyclopaedia of the the Divine Masculine God of 10,000 Names PDF

Author: Tamara Von Forslun

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2021-11-18

Total Pages: 421

ISBN-13: 166988502X

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The idea of religion has been around since the beginning of mankind, when man saw something bigger and grander than themselves. They saw an immense building block of creation and re-creation in all aspects of nature. It was the ancient Shamans that created the first structures that we call religion. But these were set upon rules and laws of Nature based on birth, life, fertility, truth, faith, magic, death, love, and rebirth. From this the Divine was born with the images of their surroundings, and above these images were the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine, and these great Ancient Beings spoke to the Shamans (the Priests of Old) and guided their footsteps who in turn guided their community. The reality is that now man has created a myriad of gods in each and every country, culture and community, and through time these spiritual Shamans have shared their truth with all of mankind upon their many travels, and so religion spread, and the names of their deities also spread to create the diversity all over the world, where instead of a god being known just to a set area and community that he has now been shared and adopted all over the world by those who were searching, and believe they found their fit. The reality is that God is! Deity has always been about bringing likeminded people together without judgement, segregation, and distrust. It is about tolerance, acceptance, faith, trust, love, peace, harmony, truth, and the bigger picture of Divine Oneness. This book features thousands of gods from every land, culture and belief system that were needed to bring man into the 21st Century. Do we still need thousands of deities? That can only be answered by yourself when you find your god or goddess. Please delve into the history and variations of deities as they take you back into the past of your ancestors and hopefully bring you closer to yourself, your Truth, and that spiritual connection to your god in the 21st century, no matter what name he is known.

The Buddha Within

The Buddha Within PDF

Author: S. K. Hookham

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1991-01-01

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 9780791403570

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Tathagatagarbha -- Buddha Nature -- is a central concept of Mahayana Buddhism crucial to all the living practice traditions of Tibetan and Zen Buddhism. Its relationship to the concept of emptiness has been a subject of controversy for seven hundred years. Dr. Hookam's work investigates the divergent interpretations of these concepts and the way the Tibetan tradition is resolving them. In particular she does this with reference to the only surviving Indian commentary on the Tathagatagarbha doctrine, the Ratnagotravibhaga. This text addresses itself directly to the issue of how to relate the doctrine of emptiness (the illusory nature of the world) to that of the truly existing, changeless Absolute (the Buddha Nature). This is the first work by a Western writer to present an analysis of the Shentong tradition based on previously untranslated sources. The Shentong view rests on meditative experience that is inaccessible to the conceptualizing mind. It is deeply rooted in the sutra tradition of Indian Buddhism and is central to an understanding of the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions and Tantric practice among Kagyupas and Hyingmapas.

Understanding the Case Against Shukden

Understanding the Case Against Shukden PDF

Author:

Publisher: Wisdom Publications

Published: 2019-03-12

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1614295352

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Leaders of the Dalai Lama’s tradition illuminate the issues surrounding the Shukden controversy. Until recently, the figure of Shukden, or Dölgyal, was an obscure one in the pantheon of Tibetan Buddhism’s many oracles and protectors. But after a small faction within the Geluk tradition began to promote and disseminate the practice, sowing division among Buddhists of different sects, the Dalai Lama decided to investigate the practice more deeply. The fruits of this research are presented here, as are the statements made by His Holiness about it over the past fifty years. Discover the historical context behind this contentious practice, which dates back to the Fifth Dalai Lama in the seventeenth century, and learn why the present Dalai Lama has been so vocal in countering it. Understanding the Case against Shukden is a clarion call for unity among the Tibetan people and a vision for a more harmonious Tibetan Buddhist community.

The Three Levels of Spiritual Perception

The Three Levels of Spiritual Perception PDF

Author: Kun-dgaʼ-bstan-paʼi-ñi-ma (Sde-gźun Luṅ-rig Sprul-sku)

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2003-06-15

Total Pages: 626

ISBN-13: 0861713680

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The Three Levels of Spiritual Perception is a revised edition of the classic guide to the Lamdre, a key system of meditation of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Written by one of the first Tibetan masters to live and teach in the United States, it is rendered in a lyrical style that entertains, inspires, and motivates the reader. A key work for all those who are eager to develop and deepen their meditation practice.