Tantra: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 6
240
Tantra: The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 6
240Paperback
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
Tantric Buddhism provides a quick avenue to buddhahood by means of dissolving the body's wind energies into the central channel at the heart, mimicking the transformations of consciousness that occur at the time of death. Guiding readers systematically from tantra's generation stage through to the full enlightenment of the completion stage, Geshe Tashi Tsering even unpacks a simple compassion practice composed by the Dalai Lama, using it to illustrate the building blocks common to all such visualization techniques.
Tantra is a fitting conclusion to this accessible and practical series.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781614290117 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Wisdom Publications MA |
| Publication date: | 07/03/2012 |
| Series: | The Foundation of Buddhist Thought , #6 |
| Pages: | 240 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d) |
About the Author
Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche is the Spiritual Director of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), a worldwide network of Buddhist centers, monasteries, and affiliated projects, including Wisdom Publications. Rinpoche was born in 1946 in the village of Thami in the Solo Khumbu region of Nepal near Mount Everest. His books include Transforming Problems into Happiness, How to Be Happy, and Ultimate Healing. He lives in Aptos, California.
Gordon McDougall was director of Cham Tse Ling, the FPMT's Hong Kong center, for two years in the 1980s and worked for Jamyang Buddhist Centre in London from 2000 to 2007. He helped develop the Foundation of Buddhist Thought study program and administered it for seven years. Since 2008 he has been editing Lama Zopa Rinpoche's lamrim teachings for Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive's FPMT Lineage series.
Table of Contents
List of Tables xi
Foreword xiii
Preface xv
1 The Uniqueness of Tantra 1
Sutra and Tantra 1
Tantra and the Mahayana 2
The Prerequisites 2
The Vajrayana Was Taught by the Buddha 4
Vajrayana and Its Many Names 5
The Unique Features of Vajrayana 9
The Four Complete Purities 10
Vajrayana Combines Method and Wisdom 12
Deity Yoga 14
Practicing Deity Yoga 14
The Three Aspects of Deity Yoga 17
Utilizing Afflictive Emotions on the Path 20
2 Entering the Vajrayana 23
The Door to the Vajrayana 23
The Vajra Master and the Vajra Disciple 24
Guru Yoga 29
The Initiation 30
The Purpose of an Initiation 32
The Preliminary Stages of an Initiation 34
The Main Initiation 35
The Mandala 39
Vows and Commitments 41
3 The Lower Tantras 43
The Differences among the Four Classes of Tantra 44
Internal and External Activities 44
Subduing the Vital Wind 46
Yoga with Sign 48
The Concentration of the Four Branches of Recitation 49
The Concentrations of Abiding in Fire and Abiding in Sound 54
Yoga without Sign 58
4 Practicing Kriya Tantra 61
A Kriya Tantra Sadhana 61
Offerings 62
The Sadhana 64
Refuge and Purification 65
The Purification of the Place 66
Visualizing the Merit Field 66
The Seven-Limb Prayer and Mandala Offering 68
The Main Deity Practice 69
Pranayama 71
A Passport to a New Universe 74
5 Preparation for Highest Yoga Tantra 77
The Many Deities within Vajrayana 77
An Overview of the Generation Stage 78
Preparation for Practicing the Generation Stage 80
Death, Intermediate State, and Rebirth 82
The Eight Dissolutions of Ordinary Death 82
The Ordinary Intermediate State 86
The Ordinary Rebirth 88
The Four Levels of Achievement 89
6 Practicing the Generation Stage 93
Before the Actual Practice 93
The Three Components of the Guhyasamaja Sadhana 95
The Yoga of Taking Death as the Dharmakaya into the Path 98
The Eight Dissolutions 98
The Base, Path, and Result in the Death Practice 99
The Yoga of Taking the Intermediate State as the Sambhogakaya into the Path 103
The Base, Path, and Result in the Bardo Practice 103
The Yoga of Taking Rebirth as Nirmanakaya into the Path 106
7 The Nature of the Body and Mind 111
Coarse, Subtle, and Very Subtle Body and Mind 111
Channels, Chakras, Winds, and Drops 113
Channels 113
Chakras 117
Loosening the Knots 119
Winds 122
Drops 125
The Enlightenment Process 127
Emptiness and Bliss 128
Emptiness, Bliss, and the Meaning of Evam 128
The Union of Emptiness and Great Bliss 129
8 The Six Levels of the Completion Stage 133
Physical Isolation 135
The Actual Meditation of Physical Isolation 139
The Post-Meditation Session 144
Tumo Practice 145
Verbal Isolation 148
The Mantra-Drop Meditation 149
The Light-Drop Meditation 150
The Substance-Drop Meditation 151
Mental Isolation 153
The Two Levels of Mental Isolation 153
The Action Seal 154
The Illusory Body 156
Clear Light 160
Union 162
Learner's Union 162
Non-Learner's Union 163
No-More Learning 165
Appendix 1 The Inseparability of the Guru and Avalokiteshvara: A Source of All Powerful Attainments 169
Appendix 2 The Six Deities within the Nyungné Practice 185
Notes 191
Glossary 197
Bibliography 203
Index 205
About the Authors 213
The Foundation of Buddhist Thought 215