The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra, Volume One: Tantra in Tibet (Revised Edition)

by Dalai Lama, Tsongkhapa, Jeffrey Hopkins (Editor)

Overview

His Holiness the Dalai Lama illuminates the highly practical and compassionate use of Tantra for spiritual development in this important classic work.


This is the first book in a series presenting The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra. The other two books are Deity Yoga and Yoga Tantra. Tantra in Tibet consists of three parts published under the auspices of the Dalai Lama. "Essence of Tantra" by the Dalai Lama discusses tantra for practice, refuge, the three paths, greatness of mantra, clear light, and initiation. "The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra—Part 1" by Tsongkhapa is one of the principal classic texts on tantra. It presents the main features common to all the Buddhist tantra systems as well as the differences between sutra and tantra. In this volume Tsongkhapa covers paths to Buddhahood, vajra vehicle, deity yoga, and method in the four tantras. "Supplement" by Jeffrey Hopkins discusses the meaning of emptiness, transformation, and the purpose of the four tantras.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611803594
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	12/27/2016
Series:	Great Exposition of Secret Mantra , #1
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	715,976
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

HIS HOLINESS THE FOURTEENTH DALAI LAMA is considered the foremost Buddhist leader of our time. The exiled head of the Tibetan people, he is a Nobel Peace Laureate, a Congressional Gold Medal recipient, and a remarkable teacher and scholar who has authored over one hundred books. TSONGKHAPA (1357-1419), founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, was one of Tibet's greatest philosophers and a prolific writer. His most famous work, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path, is a classic of Tibetan Buddhism. JEFFREY HOPKINS is Founder and President of the UMA Institute for Tibetan Studies. He is Professor Emeritus of Tibetan Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia, where he taught Tibetan Buddhist Studies and Tibetan language for thirty-two years from 1973. He served as His Holiness the Dalai Lama's chief interpreter into English on lecture tours for ten years, 1979-1989, and has translated and edited fifteen books from oral teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has also published numerous translations of important Buddhist texts that represent the diversity of views found in Tibetan Buddhism.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Acknowledgment xiii

I Essence of Tantra by The Dalai Lama 1

Tantra for Practice 3

Refuge 15

Lesser Vehicle and Great Vehicle 23

Vajrayana 33

Clear Light 39

Greatness of Mantra 45

Clarification 51

Initiation 61

II The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra Tsongkhapa 63

Reasons for Faith 65

Paths to Buddhahood 73

Vajra Vehicle 87

Deity Yoga 101

Method in the Four Tantras 115

One Goal 127

Identifying the Four Tantras 139

Preparation for Mantra 155

III Supplement Jeffrey Hopkins 161

Rehearsing the Differences between the Vehicles 163

Quintessential Points on the Difference between the Lesser Vehicle and Great Vehicle and the Two Great Vehicles 189

Emptiness 195

Psychological Transformation 211

Purpose of the Four Tantras 223

Appendix 233

Notes 237

Glossary 251

Bibliography 261

Index 276