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Tibetan Buddhism and Culture

Find below our extensive selection of books on all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. From Gelugpa (Gelukpa), to Kagyupa, Nyingmapa, and Sakyapa, we have essential root texts and commentaries from all the major schools. Also find here historical accounts of the lives of Tibetans and their experiences through the invasion of Tibet by the Chinese in 1949.


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A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency

Edited by John Stanley, David R. Loy, and Gyurme Dorje,


Never before have so many teachers from all Buddhist traditions—Zen, Vajrayana, Theravada, Vipassana; from the West and the East—come together to offer a unified response to a matter of utmost urgency. This watershed volume is at the same time a clarion call to action and a bright beacon of hope.

With contributions from: the Dalai Lama, the Seventeenth Karmapa, Sakya Trizin,Dudjom Rinpoche, Chatral Rinpoche, Ato Rinpoche,Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche,Thrangu Rinpoche,Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Ringu Tulku Rinpoche,Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Robert Aitken, Joanna Macy, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Joseph Goldstein,Taigen Dan Leighton, Susan Murphy,Matthieu Ricard,Hozan Alan Senauke, Lin Jensen, and Thich Nhat Hanh

ISBN:0-86171-605-1_|_312 pages_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

A Direct Path to the Buddha Within
Go Lotsawa’s Mahamudra Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhaga
Klaus-Dieter Mathes, Author


Maitreya's Ratnagotravibhaga, also known as the Uttaratantra, is the main Indian treatise on buddha nature, a concept that is heavily debated in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. In A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, Klaus-Dieter Mathes looks at a pivotal Tibetan commentary on this text by Go Lotsawa Zhonu Pal, best known as the author of the Blue Annals. Go Lotsawa, whose teachers spanned the spectrum of Tibetan schools, developed a highly nuanced understanding of buddha nature, tying it in with mainstream Mahayana thought while avoiding contested aspects of the so-called empty-of-other (zhentong) approach. In addition to translating key portions of Go Lotsawa's commentary, Mathes provides an in-depth historical context, evaluating Go’s position against those of other Kagyü, Nyingma, and Jonang masters, and examining how Go Lotsawa's view affects his understanding of the buddha qualities, the concept of emptiness, and the practice of mahamudra.

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ISBN:0-86171-528-4_|_624_|_Our Price: $26.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Advice from a Spiritual Friend

Geshe Rabten, Author
Geshe Dhargyey, Author_|_Stephen Batchelor, Introduction
Brian Beresford, Translator

"Do not wish for gratitude.
Never strike at the heart.
Now if you die, you will have no regrets."
The Seven-Point Thought Transformation

Like wise old friends, two Tibetan masters offer down-to-earth advice for cultivating compassion, wisdom, and happiness in every situation. Based on practical Buddhist verses on "thought training" (lojong), Advice from a Spiritual Friend teaches how to develop the inner skills that lead to contentment by responding to everyday difficulties with patience and joy.

Following Stephen Batchelor's introduction to the Kadamapa tradition that gave rise to these earthy, pithy instructions, part 1 is a commentary by Geshe Dhargyey to Atisha's (982-1054) Jewel Rosary of a Bodhisattva. Part 2 includes a commentary by Geshe Rabten to the famous Seven-Point Thought Transformation

First published in 1977, Advice from a Spiritual Friend is a Wisdom classic, which has enriched readers in many editions over the years. As Batchelor says in his introduction, "These teachings are as applicable today as they were when Atisha first introduced them to Tibet."

ISBN:0-86171-193-9_|_160 pp_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Among Tibetan Texts
History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau
E. Gene Smith, Author
Jeffrey Hopkins, Foreword_|_Kurtis Schaeffer, Editor

For three decades, E. Gene Smith ran the Library of Congress's Tibetan Text Publication Project of the United States Public Law 480 (PL480)—an effort to salvage and reprint the Tibetan literature that had been collected by the exile community or by members of the Bhotia communities of Sikkim, Bhutan, India, and Nepal.

Smith wrote prefaces to these reprinted books to help clarify and contextualize the particular Tibetan texts: the prefaces served as rough orientations to a poorly understood body of foreign literature. Originally produced in print quantities of 20, these prefaces quickly became legendary, and soon photocopied collections were handed from scholar to scholar, achieving an almost cult status.

These essays are collected here for the first time. The impact of Smith's research on the academic study of Tibetan literature has been tremendous, both for his remarkable ability to synthesize diverse materials into coherent accounts of Tibetan literature, history, and religious thought, and for the exemplary critical scholarship he brought to this field.

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ISBN:0-86171-179-3_|_352 pp_|_Our Price: $31.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Approaching the Great Perfection
Simultaneous and Gradual Methods of Dzogchen Practice in the Longchen Nyingtig
Sam Van Schaik, Author


Researcher and scholar Sam van Schaik introduces the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, looking closely at its practice of Dzogchen—and one of Dzogchen's seminal figures, Jigme Lingpa—to make an extensive analysis of a core tension within Buddhism: does enlightenment develop gradually, or does it come all at once?

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ISBN:0-86171-370-2_|_416 pp_|_Our Price: $23.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Attention Revolution, The
Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind
B. Alan Wallace, Author
Daniel Goleman, Foreword

As featured in Psychology Today.

Meditation offers, in addition to its many other benefits, a method for achieving previously inconceivable levels of concentration. Author B. Alan Wallace has nearly thirty years' practice in attention-enhancing meditation, including a retreat he performed under the guidance of the Dalai Lama. An active participant in the much-publicized dialogues between Buddhists and scientists, Alan is uniquely qualified to speak intelligently to both camps, and The Attention Revolution is the definitive presentation of his knowledge.

Beginning by pointing out the ill effects that follow from our inability to focus, Wallace moves on to explore a systematic path of meditation to deepen our capacity for deep concentration. The result is an exciting, rewarding "expedition of the mind," tracing everything from the confusion at the bottom of the trail to the extraordinary clarity and power that come with making it to the top. Along the way, Alan also provides interludes and complementary practices for cultivating love, compassion, and clarity in our waking and dreaming lives.

Attention is the key that makes personal change possible, and the good news is that it can be trained. This book shows how.

ISBN:0-86171-276-5_|_224 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Awakening the Kind Heart
How to Meditate on Compassion
Kathleen McDonald,


A Spiritually & Practice “Best Spiritual Books of 2010” winner.

Awakening the Kind Heart offers powerful and inviting meditation techniques to activate the heart of kindness within us all-a modern and motivating interpretation of traditional and powerful practices.

ISBN:0-86171-695-7 _|_168 pages_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Awakening Through Love
Unveiling Your Deepest Goodness
John Makransky, Author
Lama Surya Das, Foreword

Mother Theresa. The Dalai Lama. Nelson Mandela. Gandhi. Some admire such figures from afar and think, How special they are; I could never be like that. But as John Makransky has learned, the power of real and enduring love lies within every one of us. Awakening Through Love is his guide to finding it.

In Awakening Through Love, he pioneers new ways of making Tibetan meditations of compassion and wisdom accessible to people of all backgrounds and faiths. Drawing from Tibetan teachings of compassion and the Dzogchen teachings of innate wisdom, and using plain, practical instruction, he helps readers uncover the unity of wisdom and love in the very nature of their minds. Then Lama John describes how to actualize those qualities in every aspect of family life, work, service and social action.

An mp3 audio file of guided meditations by Lama John Makransky is also available to accompany his book. You can download the audio file at http://foundationforactivecompassion.org/audios-videos-texts.

ISBN:0-86171-537-3_|_280_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Becoming a Child of the Buddha
A Simple Clarification of the Root Verses of Seven Point Mind Training
Gomo Tulku, Author


This book contains a fresh translation of one of the best known and studied Buddhist texts, Seven Point Mind Training. In addition to the root verses there is an explanatory commentary by a beloved contemporary Tibetan master, Gomo Tulku. He provides a detailed description of how to train your mind and develop mental qualities which will help bring peace of mind in any circumstance.

ISBN:0-86171-139-4_|_112 pp_|_Our Price: $10.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Becoming the Compassion Buddha
Tantric Mahamudra for Everyday Life
Lama Thubten Yeshe, Author
Robina Courtin, Editor_|_Geshe Lhundub Sopa, Foreword

Lama Yeshe was both one of the most beloved Tibetan Buddhist masters of the late twentieth century and a remarkably effective teacher and communicator. In one of his earlier books, Introduction to Tantra, he manages to present a subject that has been misinterpreted and muddled by numerous commentators in a clear and accessible way.

Since his death in 1984, many of his teachings have been collected and some have been published, but still some of his most important teachings have yet to become readily available. Becoming the Compassion Buddha represents a significant development in that it is the first of a series of books that examine key tantric deity practices in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. What is remarkable is that again, as with his book on Tantra, his teachings make coherent and understandable to the general reader and those just discovering Buddhism practices that once were considered arcane or hidden.

Lama Yeshe strongly believed that practices that helped develop compassion and wisdom should not be limited to advanced practitioners, but that the man in the street could benefit from them as well. In this book he provides a commentary on a short guru yoga practice written by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. The practice includes visualizations that inspire the development of compassion and wisdom. The final section of the book goes into detail on the subject of Mahamudra, the true nature of all phenomena, another potentially tricky subject. Here again, Lama Yeshe presents the teachings by drawing on examples from daily life and by introducing meditation practices that all can follow.Becoming the Compassion Buddha is an extraordinary book that opens new doors for countless readers.

ISBN:0-86171-343-5_|_224 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Becoming Vajrasattva
The Tantric Path of Purification, 2nd Edition
Lama Thubten Yeshe, Author
Nick Ribush, Editor

"The practice of purification is one of the most important solutions to life's problems."—Lama Zopa Rinpoche

Common to all four traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, the practice of Vajrasattva is used to purify obstacles to spiritual development, negative karma and illness. Lama Yeshe, the inspirational teacher who strongly influenced the development of Buddhism in the West, found that the practice of Vajrasattva brought dramatic results for his Western students. Becoming Vajrasattva, is a complete guide to this purification practice, providing instruction on the method, commentary on the traditional texts, and insight into tantra. Also included is an entire section of complete retreat instructions-required reading for anyone undertaking a meditation retreat in the Tibetan tradition.

Click here to download a large format line drawing of Vajrasattva
Click here to download a color practice image of Vajrasattva

ISBN:0-86171-389-3_|_320 pp_|_Our Price: $14.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Bhutan
Land of the Thunder Dragon
John Berthold, Author


Regarded as the 'crown jewel of the Himalayas,' the Kingdom of Bhutan is the last remaining independent country to support Buddhism as the official state religion. Photographed over the course of three years, Bhutan: Land of the Thunder Dragon transports us to colorful festivals and religious traditions, continuing to the remote communities along the roof of the world. This book encompasses a wide range of landscape, portrait, and editorial photographs sure to impress and please any reader interested in travel, photography, and/or Himalayan culture.

Sample Images:

Sample Image 1
Sample Image 2

ISBN:0-86171-282-x_|_176 pp_|_Our Price: $23.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Bliss of Inner Fire
Heart Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa
Lama Thubten Yeshe, Author
Robina Courtin, Editor_|_Alisa Cameron, Editor

In the classic bestseller, Introduction to Tantra, Lama Yeshe offered a profound yet wonderfully clear glimpse into the authentic and sophisticated practices of Tibetan Buddhist tantra. This present book, the last major teachings of this great lama, opens up the world of advanced practices for Highest Yoga Tantra initiates in much the same way his earlier work opened up the world of tantra in general.

Following Je Tsongkhapa's (1357-1419 a.d.) text Having the Three Convictions, Lama Yeshe introduces the renowned Six Yogas of Naropa, focusing mainly on the first of these six, the practice of inner fire (tummo). Mastery of inner fire quickly brings the mind to its most refined and penetrating state-the experience of clear light, an extra-ordinarily powerful state of mind that is unequaled in its ability to directly realize ultimate reality.

Lama Yeshe felt that twentieth-century Westerners could easily grasp the often misunderstood ideas of this esoteric tradition: "We really need tantra these days because there is a tremendous explosion of delusion and distraction.and we need the atomic energy of inner fire to blast us out of our delusion."

Lama Yeshe's aim was for his students to actually taste the experience of inner fire rather than merely gain an intellectual understanding. Lama's own realization of the transformative power of these practices comes through, inspiring his students to discover for themselves their own capacity for inexhaustible bliss.

ISBN:0-86171-136-X_|_256 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Blue Poppy and the Mustard Seed

Kathleen Willis Morton,


After the death of her six-week-old son, Liam, Katie Willis Morton embarks on a courageous search for solace and understanding. The Blue Poppy and the Mustard Seed invites readers to share in her voyage as she travels the world and the landscapes of her own experience. Interweaving what she witnesses - simple rituals like children's baths and picnics, and rites of passage like birth and death - with her own recovery and growth, she discovers that the pain she has experienced is both unavoidable and necessary, a pivotal part of the process of healing that can lead to "a victorious kind of joy, of acceptance." In discovering herself, Morton's story speaks to readers suffering similar tragedies, and indeed to all of us, in an intimate and inspiring story about enduring world-shattering pain and coming out whole.

The Blue Poppy and the Mustard Seed helps us confront the universal truths of love and loss that we all will eventually and inevitably encounter. This book will be a comfort to anyone who has faced a tragic loss, but not only that, it takes us all on a rich journey, through joy, suffering, and ultimately to hope, in a way that is quietly beautiful and, above all, utterly life-affirming.

ISBN:0-86171-565-9_|_192_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Book of Kadam
The Core Texts
Geshe Thupten Jinpa,


The Kadam school of Tibetan Buddhism emerged in the eleventh century from the teachings of the Indian master Atisa and his principal Tibetan student, Dromtönpa, Although it no longer exists as an independent school, Kadam's teachings were incorporated into the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and are still prized today for their unique practical application of the bodhisattva's altruistic ideal in everyday life. One of the most cherished teachings stemming from Atisa and Dromtönpa is the collection of esoteric oral transmissions enshrined in the Book of Kadam. This volume includes the core texts of the Book of Kadam, notably the twenty-three-chapter dialogue between Atisa and Dromtönpa that is woven around Atisa's Bodhisattva's Jewel Garland, as well as complementary texts that illuminate the history and practices of the Kadam tradition.

View all the available Library of Tibetan Classics volumes.

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ISBN:0-86171-441-5_|_752 pages_|_Our Price: $47.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Buddhism Between Tibet and China

Matthew Kapstein,


As Tibet enters into its fiftieth year of Chinese rule, questions of cultural distinctions and similarities become ever more important in determining the future of the relationship between the Snow Lion and the Red Dragon. But often left unsaid is the long history the two countries share, and the significant cultural interchanges that have existed over time. Setting political agenda aside, Buddhism Between Tibet and China features a collection of noteworthy essays that probe the nature of this relationship, from the Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE) to the present. Annotated and contextualized by noted scholar Matthew Kapstein and others, the historical accounts that comprise this volume display the rich dialogue between Tibet and China in the areas of scholarship, the fine arts, politics, philosophy, and religion. This thoughtful book provides insight into the surprisingly complex history behind the relationship from a variety of geographical regions.

Includes contributions from Rob Linrothe, Karl Debreczeny, Elliot Sperling, Paul Nietupski, Carmen Meinert, Gray Tuttle, Zhihua Yao, Ester Bianchi, Fabienne Jagou, Abraham Zablocki, and Matthew Kapstein.

Click here to return to the complete Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism Series

ISBN:0-86171-581-0_|_480 pages_|_Our Price: $27.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Buddhist Psychology
The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 3
Geshe Tashi Tsering, Author
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Foreword

This new volume from the Foundation of Buddhist Thought series, provides a stand-alone and systematic -but accessible!- entry into how Buddhism understands the mind. Geshe Tashi, an English-speaking Tibetan monk who lives in London, was trained from boyhood in a traditional Tibetan monastery, but he is adept in communicating this classical training for a modern Western audience.

Buddhist psychology addresses both the nature of the mind and how we know what we know. Just as scientists observe and catalog the material world, Buddhists for centuries have been observing and cataloging the components of our inner experience. The result is a rich and subtle knowledge that can be harnessed to the goal of increasing human well being.

ISBN:0-86171-272-2_|_176 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Buddhist Symbols in Tibetan Culture
An Investigation of the Nine Best-Known Groups of Symbols
Dagyab Rinpoche, Author
Robert Thurman, Foreword

In this fascinating study, Dagyab Rinpoche not only explains the nine best-known groups of Tibetan Buddhist symbols but also shows how they serve as bridges between our inner and outer worlds. As such, they can be used to point the way to ultimate reality and to transmit a reservoir of deep knowledge formed over thousands of years.

ISBN:0-86171-047-9_|_168 pp_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Compassionate Life, The (Cloth Edition)

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author


"The key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion." —His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Giving and receiving affection is the key to happiness, and compassion is the key that opens our hearts to affection. Illuminating themes touched upon in The Good Heart and The Art of Happiness, this generous and gentle book contains some of the most beloved teachings on compassion that the Dalai Lama has ever offered. Touching and transformative, The Compassionate Life is a personal invitation from one of the world's most gifted teachers to live a life of happiness, joy, true prosperity.

Collected here for the first time are four of the Dalai Lama's most accessible and inspiring teachings on compassion. The purpose of life is to be happy, His Holiness reminds us. To be happy, we should devote ourselves to developing our own peace of mind; the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own peace of mind. Therefore, we must develop compassion for others in order to be truly happy.

In these four teachings—imbued with the gentle humor and extraordinary kindness of this incomparable teacher—His Holiness explores altruism and the need for compassion on an individual as well as a global scale. He offers specific practices for developing loving-kindness and compassion in even the most difficult situations.

ISBN:0-86171-301-X_|_128 pages_|_Our Price: $15.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Compassionate Life, The (Paperback)

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author


"The key to a happier and more successful world is the growth of compassion."—His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Giving and receiving affection is the key to happiness, and compassion is the key that opens our hearts to affection. Illuminating themes touched upon in The Good Heart The Art of Happiness, this generous and gentle book contains some of the most beloved teachings on compassion that the Dalai Lama has ever offered. Touching and transformative, The Compassionate Life is a personal invitation from one of the world's most gifted teachers to live a life of happiness, joy, true prosperity.

Collected here for the first time are four of the Dalai Lama's most accessible and inspiring teachings on compassion. The purpose of life is to be happy, His Holiness reminds us. To be happy, we should devote ourselves to developing our own peace of mind; the more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own peace of mind. Therefore, we must develop compassion for others in order to be truly happy.

In these four teachings—mbued with the gentle humor and extraordinary kindness of this incomparable teacher—His Holiness explores altruism and the need for compassion on an individual as well as a global scale. He offers specific practices for developing loving-kindness and compassion in even the most difficult situations.

ISBN:0-86171-378-8_|_128 pp_|_Our Price: $9.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Creation & Completion
Essential Points of Tantric Meditation, with a Commentary by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche
Jamgon Kongtrul, Author
Thrangu Rinpoche, Author_|_Sarah Harding, Translator
Sarah Harding, Editor_|_Sarah Harding, Introduction

Creation and Completion represents some of the most profound teachings of Jamgön Kongtrul (1813-99), one of the true spiritual and literary giants of Tibetan history. Though brief, it offers a lifetime of advice for all who wish to engage in-and deepen-the practice of tantric Buddhist meditation.

The original text, beautifully translated and introduced by Sara Harding, is further brought to life by an in-depth commentary by the contemporary master Thrangu Rinpoche. Key Tibetan Buddhist fundamentals are quickly made clear, so that the reader may confidently enter into tantra's oft-misunderstood "creation" and "completion" stages.

In the creation stage, practitioners visualize themselves in the form of buddhas and other enlightened beings in order to break down their ordinary concepts of themselves and the world around them. This meditation practice prepares the mind for engaging in the completion stage, where one has a direct encounter with the ultimate nature of mind and reality.

ISBN:0-86171-312-5_|_176 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Dear Lama Zopa
Radical Solutions for Transforming Problems into Happiness
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Author


Unconventional wisdom, affirmation, and advice from one of Tibetan Buddhism’s most influential living teachers.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche is a master at explaining Buddhism’s radical but effective methods for transforming suffering into happiness, which have been practiced and taught by Tibetans for a thousand years. It’s a challenging way to think—how can it be that the things that cause us pain are actually blessings?

In Dear Lama Zopa, Rinpoche applies that challenge to our everyday, real-life problems—from the littlest to the biggest. Every year he receives thousands of letters from people around the world asking for advice—on coping with everything from addiction, grief, and depression, to war, terrorism, and death.

In his detailed and deeply caring responses to these letters, reproduced here, Rinpoche shows again and again that the best method for solving our problems is to radically change the way we perceive them; that by emphasizing their inner causes we can even change the resulting outer circumstances.

Even people familiar with notions like karma and reincarnation, which imply that we are the creators of our own experiences, may find the advice difficult. Yet uncountable thousands of people of all backgrounds have put Rinpoche’s loving guidance into practice—and have seen real and positive change in their lives. Now, with Dear Lama Zopa, you can see for yourself..

ISBN:0-86171-289-7_|_224_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Deities of Tibetan Buddhism
The Zurich Paintings of the Icons Worthwhile to See
Martin Willson, Editor
Martin Brauen, Editor

An extraordinary encyclopedia of Buddhist icons. Illustrating the Rin 'byung brgya rtsa, the Nar thang brgya rtsa, and the Vajravali, the book is based on a collection of over five hundred images of Tibetan deities. The images, presented in the book at full scale, were originally created by a master artist in the early nineteenth century to serve as initiation cards (tsakli). The original tsakli were woodblock prints, hand colored at the request of a Ch'ing Dynasty nobleman who had received the initiations. Such cards are used in ceremonies to introduce the practitioner to the deity and his or her practice. The paintings are housed in the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich.

Deities of Tibetan Buddhism is also an indispensable reference tool for Tibetologists, students of Mahayana Buddhism, and museum curators. Its extensive supplementary materials include English translations of the basic invocation texts; the associated visualization with descriptions of the deities' postures, attributes, and colors; and the dharanis and mantras used in their invocation.

Sample Tara Plate:


Click here to see the detail

Co-editor Martin Willson spent more than a decade translating and documenting this work. He has provided detailed explanations of technical terms, enlightening explanatory notes, and glossaries documenting the discrepancies in the depictions. The extensive pictorial index, featuring drawings and text by Robert Beer, explains the symbolic meaning behind the deities' implements and adornments. The cross-referenced indices for Tibetan, Sanskrit, Mongolian, and English names and terms provide quick access to vast amounts of information.

Co-editor Martin Brauen and the technical staff of the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich have documented the relationship between this and other sets of initiation cards that exist elsewhere, as well as detailing the construction materials and methods involved in producing this set.

Deities of Tibetan Buddhism is a reference book without peer, essential for any serious student of Tibetan and East Asian art and religion.

ISBN:0-86171-098-3_|_626 pp_|_Our Price: $120 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Dependent-Arising & Emptiness
A Tibetan Buddhist Interpretation of Madhyamika Philosophy
Elizabeth Napper, Author


Dependent-arising and emptiness are two essential Buddhist concepts. Elizabeth Napper helps us understand the integral relationship of these ideas and the ways that they have been interpreted by Tibetan and Western scholars. An essential reference work for students and practitioners of Buddhism.

Along with a translation of the insight (vipashyana) section of Tsongkhapa's Great Exposition on the Stages of the Path (Lam rim chen mo), Napper provides an extensive introduction that contrasts the Geluk view of emptiness to that of Western scholars, and a translation of four interwoven commentaries on the text.

ISBN:0-86171-364-8_|_864 pp_|_Our Price: $23.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Dignity and Discipline
Reviving Full Ordination for Buddhist Nuns
Thea Mohr,
Ven. Jampa Tsedroen,

When the Buddha established his community over twenty-five centuries ago, he did so upon a foundation of radical equality among women and men. And indeed, the earliest Buddhist scriptures celebrate the teachings and inspiring influence of these path-blazing female renunciants. Nonetheless, through much of the Buddhist world, the order of nuns has disappeared or was never transmitted at all.

Dignity and Discipline represents a watershed moment in Buddhist history, as the Dalai Lama together with scholars and monastics from around the world, present powerful cases, grounded in both scripture and a profound appeal to human dignity, that the order of Buddhist nuns can and should be fully restored.

ISBN:0-86171-588-8_|_352 pages_|_Our Price: $15.16 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Door of Liberation
Essential Teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition
Geshe Wangyal, Author


This book contains seven fundamental Buddhist texts considered essential to Western students by Geshe Wangyal, who first brought Tibetan Buddhism to America. Ranging from early scriptural sources to meditation and visualization guides of Tibetan Buddhist practice, this is indispensible reading for those interested in opening the door to the highest realms of freedom, wisdom, and compassion.

ISBN:0-86171-032-0_|_264 pp_|_Our Price: $12 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Door to Satisfaction, The
Heart Advice of a Tibetan Buddhist Master
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Author


In this new edition of a classic book, Lama Zopa Rinpoche reveals the essential meaning of an ancient text that he discovered in his retreat cave high in the Himalayas. This text was Opening the Door to Dharma, composed in the fifteenth century by a follower of the Kadampa tradition. Lama Zopa was so moved and enlightened by the text that he declared that only after reading it did he understand the true meaning of practicing Dharma. He has based an entire line of thought-training teachings on it and from it brings forth a powerful message in this book.

Lama Zopa Teaches:
‘What is called "I" is the object to be abandoned forever; what is called "others"—even one sentient being—is the object to be cherished forever. This is why living your life for others - dedicating your life to even one sentient being—gives the greatest enjoyment and the most interesting life. Real happiness in life starts when you cherish others. Living your life for others, cherishing them with loving-kindness and compassion, is the door to happiness, the door to enlightenment.’

ISBN:0-86171-310-9_|_192 pp_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Dreaming Me
Black, Baptist, and Buddhist - One Woman’s Spiritual Journey
Jan Willis,


Jan Willis is not Baptist or Buddhist. She is simply both. Dreaming Me is the story of her life, as a child growing up in the Jim Crow South, dealing with racism in an Ivy League college, and becoming involved with the Black Panther Party. But it wasn't until meeting Lama Yeshe, a Tibetan Buddhist monk living in the mountains of Nepal that she realized who the real Jan Willis was, and how to make the most of the life she was living.

ISBN:0-86171-548-9_|_384 pages_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Drinking the Mountain Stream
Songs of Tibet’s Beloved Saint, Milarepa
Milarepa, Author
Brian Cutillo, Translator

Jetsun Milarepa, Tibet’s renowned and beloved saint, is known for his penetrating insights, wry sense of humor, and ability to render any lesson into spontaneous song. His songs and poems exhibit the bold, inspirational leader as he guided followers along the Buddhist path.

More than any other collection of his stories and songs, Drinking the Mountain Stream reveals Milarepa’s humor and wisdom. Faithfully translated by Lama Kunga Rinpoche and Brian Cutillo, this rare collection -- never before available in any Western language -- cuts across the centuries to bring Milarepa’s most inspiring verses, in all their potency, to today’s reader.

ISBN:0-86171-063-0_|_188 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Dying with Confidence
A Tibetan Buddhist Guide to Preparing for Death
Anyen Rinpoche,


Anyen Rinpoche’s wise and reassuring voice guides readers through the Tibetan Buddhist teachings on death and dying, while providing practical tools for end-of-life and estate planning. Dying with Confidence reads like a remarkable how-to guide, laying out in clear and straightforward language the preparations we must make and the best practices to use while dying to fur- ther our goal of enlightenment.

ISBN:0-86171-656-6_|_192 pages_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Emptiness
The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 5
Geshe Tashi Tsering,


In Emptiness, the fifth volume in The Foundation of Buddhist Thought series, Geshe Tashi Tsering provides readers with an incredibly welcoming presentation of the central philosophical teaching of Mahayana Buddhism. Emptiness does not imply a nihilistic worldview, but rather the idea that a permanent entity does not exist in any single phenomenon or being. Everything exists interdependently within an immeasurable quantity of causes and conditions. An understanding of emptiness allows us to see the world as a realm of infinite possibility, instead of a static system. Just like a table consists of wooden parts, and the wood is from a tree, and the tree depends on air, water, and soil, so is the world filled with a wondrous interdependence that extends to our own mind and awareness. In lucid, accessible language, Geshe Tashi Tsering guides the reader to a genuine understanding of this infinite possibility.

ISBN:0-86171-511-x_|_184 pages_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Enlightened Beings
Life Stories from the Ganden Oral Tradition
Jan Willis, Author


Jan Willis provides a wealth of information about six mahamudra masters from the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism and how they studied, practiced, meditated, and became enlightened beings in their lifetimes.

ISBN:0-86171-068-1_|_318 pp_|_Our Price: $14.4 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Enlightenment to Go
Shantideva and the Power of Compassion to Transform Your Life
David Michie,


Essential reading for those seeking life-changing psychological tools and transcendent wisdom. In Enlightenment to Go, David Michie provides a lively, accessible introduction to the 'best of' Shantideva. With warmth, humor, and stories of his own experiences, Michie shows how modern psychological science confirms Shantideva’s insights, and he explores its powerful antidotes to contemporary problems, including stress, anxiety, and depression. Whether you are a newcomer to Buddhism or a seasoned practitioner, Enlightenment to Go offers a glimpse of a radiantly different reality right here in your busy life.

ISBN:0-86171-757-0_|_288pp_|_Our Price: $14.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Essence of the Heart Sutra
Dalai Lama’s Heart of Wisdom Teachings
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author
Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Editor

This is the best available resource for studying and understanding one of Buddhism's seminal and best-known texts, the Heart Sutra. Masterfully translated and edited by Geshe Thupten Jinpa, this volume comprises the Dalai Lama's famous Heart of Wisdom teachings of 2001, including an overview of Buddhism, background material, as well as commentary on the text. The Heart Sutra is a presentation of profound wisdom on the nature of emptiness and selflessness, but these terms can be easily misunderstood. The Dalai Lama identifies misconceptions an shows how an understanding of emptiness leads not to nihilism, but to a view of reality and to a deep and compassionate understanding.

ISBN:0-86171-284-6_|_192 pages_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Essential Mind Training

Geshe Thupten Jinpa,


The key to happiness is not a life free of problems but rather the development of a mind capable of transforming any problem into a cause of happiness. Essential Mind Training is full of guidance for cultivating new mental habits for mastering our thoughts and emotions.

This volume contains eighteen individual works selected from Mind Training: The Great Collection, the first volume of the historic Library of Tibetan Classics. This earliest collection of mind-training (lojong) literature includes lesser-known as well as renowned classics such as Eight Verses on Mind Training and The Seven-Point Mind Training.

ISBN:0-86171-263-3_|_296 pages_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Essentials of Mahamudra
Looking Directly at the Mind
Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Author


What would you see if you looked directly at your mind?

The Tibetan Buddhist teachings on mahamudra are known for their ability to lead to profound realization. Peaceful and infinitely adaptable, these teachings are as useful for today's busy world as they have been for centuries.

Written by the tutor to the seventeenth Karmapa, Essentials of Mahamudra is a commentary on Tashi Namgyal's famous Moonlight of Mahamudra-a text that the sixteenth Karmapa had identified as the most valuable for Westerners. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche recognized that Western meditators don't just need to know how to maintain our meditation practice-we need to know why we should do it. Unmatched in its directness, Essentials of Mahamudra addresses both these needs, rendering one of the most advanced forms of meditation more easily adaptable to our everyday lives.

ISBN:0-86171-371-0_|_288 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

First Invite Love In
40 Time-Tested Tools for Creating a More Compassionate Life
Tana Pesso,
His Holiness Penor Rinpoche,

A Spiritually & Practice “Best Spiritual Books of 2010” winner.

First Invite Love In is a beautiful collection of exercises inspired by the ancient meditative arts of Tibetan Buddhism. Tana Pesso and the Penor Rinpoche work together to create a guidebook for anyone who would like to live more compassionately, wisely, and with an open and inviting heart.

Moment by moment, thought by thought, step by step we can transform our minds through time-tested compassion practices, and ultimately create a garden of delight out of any life history or current circumstance, regardless of how traumatic or difficult. There are countless examples of people from all spiritual paths, faiths, and religions who have experienced terrible hardships or even themselves created hardships and suffering for others, who have turned their minds towards love and compassion and found peace and happiness.

ISBN:0-86171-285-4_|_256 pages_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Flight of the Garuda, The
Dzogchen Teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, Second Edition
Keith Dowman, Editor
Keith Dowman, Translator

Dzogchen, a tradition of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, is considered by many to be an extremely powerful path to enlightenment. This ground-breaking book offers translations of four sacred texts of the Dzogchen tradition: Secret Instruction in a Garland of Vision, The Flight of the Garuda, Emptying the Depths of Hell, and the Wish-Granting Prayer of Kuntu Zangpo. With an informative introduction by the translator, Flight of the Garuda is an invaluable resource for both practice and scholarship.

Flight of the Garuda conveys the heart advice of one of the most beloved nonsectarian masters of Tibet. Ordained as a Gelug monk, the itinerant yogi Shabkar was renowned for his teachings on Dzogchen, the heart practice of the Nyingma lineage. He wandered the countryside of Tibet and Nepal, turning many minds toward the Dharma through his ability to communicate the essence of the teachings in a poetic and crystal-clear way. Buddhists of all stripes, including practitioners of Zen and Vipassana, will find ample sustenance within the pages of this book, and be thrilled by the lyrical insights conveyed in Shabkar's words.

Along with the song by Shabkar, translator Keith Dowman includes several other seminal Dzogchen texts. Dzogchen practice brings us into direct communion with the subtlemost nature of our experience, the unity of samsara in nirvana as experienced within our own consciousness. Within the Nyingma school, it is held higher than even the practices of tantra for bringing the meditator face to face with the nature of reality.

ISBN:0-86171-367-2_|_240 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Foundations of Dharmakirti's Philosophy

John D. Dunne, Author


Dharmakirti is a central figure in the history of Buddhist philosophy. John Dunne's extraordinary work of scholarship illuminates the body of Dharmakirti's work, work that has profoundly influenced Mahayana Buddhism and South Asian philosophy as a whole.

Click here to return to the complete Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism Series

ISBN:0-86171-184-x_|_496 pp_|_Our Price: $31.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Four Noble Truths, The
Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 1
Geshe Tashi Tsering, Author
Gordon McDougall, Editor

The first step toward a solid foundation in Buddhist thought!

The Foundation of Buddhist Thought series is an excellent introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. These unique books, based on the curriculum of a popular course of the same name, were developed by Geshe Tashi Tsering, a Tibetan scholar renowned for his ability to render Buddhist teachings accessible and relevant to everyday life.

Geshe Tashi Tsering's Foundation of Buddhist Thought courses are systematic introductions to Buddhist philosophy and practice. With this series of books drawn from his highly successful courses, his insights can now be enjoyed by a wide audience of both specialists and newcomers to the Buddhist tradition. Geshe Tashi's presentations combine rigor and comprehensiveness with lucidity and accessibility, never divorced from the basic humanity and warmth of his personality. In Geshe Tashi, we encounter the new generation of Tibetan monk-scholars teaching in the West who are following in the eminent footsteps of Geshe Wangyal and Geshe Sopa.

This volume, the first of six, provides a complete presentation the Buddha's seminal Four Noble Truths, which summarize the fundamentals of the Buddhist worldview. Indeed, they are an essential framework for understanding all of the other teachings of the Buddha.

ISBN:0-86171-270-6_|_192 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Freedom from Extremes
Gorampa's "Distinguishing the Views" and the Polemics of Emptiness
José I. Cabezón, Author
Geshe Lobsang Dargyay, Author

What is emptiness? This question at the heart of Buddhist philosophy has preoccupied the greatest minds of India and Tibet for two millennia, producing hundreds of volumes. Distinguishing the Views, by the fifteenth-century Sakya scholar Gorampa Sönam Sengé, is one of the most important of those works, esteemed for its conciseness, lucidity, and profundity.

Gorampa’s text is polemical, and his targets are two of Tibet’s greatest thinkers: Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug school, and Dölpopa, one of the founding figures of the Jonang school. Distinguishing the Views argues that Dolpopa has fallen into an eternalistic extreme, whereas Tsongkhapa has fallen into nihilism, and that only the mainstream Sakya view—what Gorampa calls “freedom from extremes”—represents the true middle way, the correct view of emptiness. Suppressed for years in Tibet, this seminal work today is widely regarded and is studied in some of Tibet’s greatest academic institutions.

Gorampa’s treatise has been masterfully translated and annotated here by two leading scholars of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, and a critical edition of the Tibetan text on facing pages gives students and scholars direct access to Gorampa’s own words. José Cabezón’s extended introduction provides a thorough overview of Tibetan polemical literature and contextualizes the life and work of Gorampa both historically and intellectually. Freedom from Extremes will be indispensable for serious students of Madhyamaka thought.

Related Downloads:

The Tibetan Script of Gorampa’s Text

ISBN:0-86171-523-3_|_432_|_Our Price: $26.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Freeing the Heart and Mind
Introduction to the Buddhist Path: Part 1
His Holiness Sakya Trizin,


His Holiness Sakya Trizin, the head of the glorious Sakya lineage, one of the four primary schools of Tibetan Buddhism, presents here the essential Buddhist teachings of the four noble truths, universal compassion, and the proper motivation for practice. This book opens by sharing a private teaching His Holiness gave to a young newcomer seeking to understand this great master’s spiritual heritage. His Holiness’s advice inspires us to integrate the living power of these teachings into our daily lives.

Full of timeless wisdom, Freeing the Heart and Mind contains, in addition to this introduction, an explanation of the teaching Matchless Compassion by the Indian saint Virupa, and a selection of commentaries on the essential teaching called Parting from the Four Attachments. Developed as the first volume in a course of study for students of the Sakya tradition, it nonetheless stands alone as an excellent entry into the teachings of the Buddha.

Freeing the Heart and Mind includes a full-color photo insert of Sakya lineage masters.

ISBN:0-86171-638-8_|_184 pages_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Fulfillment of All Hopes, The
Guru Devotion in Tibetan Buddhism
Tsongkhapa, Author
Gareth Sparham, Translator

Why is it important to have a spiritual teacher? How does on enter into such a relationship intelligently?

Devoting oneself to a spiritual teacher is a practice much misunderstood in the West, yet fundamental to the tantric Buddhism of Tibet. The Fulfillment of All Hopes is an explanation of this core practice by Tsongkhapa, one of Tibet’s most revered scholar-practitioners.

Presented here is a complete translation of Tsongkhapa's commentary on the well-known Fifty Stanzas on the Guru accompanied by the original Tibetan text.

ISBN:0-86171-153-X_|_160 pp_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Gesture of Awareness
A Radical Approach to Time, Space, and Movement
Charles Genoud, Author


From a major mind of Buddhism today comes this unique philosophical work, which hearkens back to the classical verse-form, but in a modern voice that speaks directly to the 21st-century reader and practitioner.

Gesture of Awareness involves a fascinating philosophical exploration of time, space, and movement but at the same time is a manual for an embodied 'practice of exploration.'

Genoud is very well known to the leading lights of Buddhism today. He and his work are continuingly praised for their invention and importance. Well-versed in French and continental philosophies, as well as Eastern thought, he has produced a work that will be welcomed as a Buddhist book and a noteworthy contribution to the larger philosophical community.

ISBN:0-86171-506-3_|_184 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Good Heart, The
A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author


The Dalai Lama provides an extraordinary Buddhist perspective on the teachings of Jesus, commenting on well-known passages from the four Christian Gospels including the Sermon on the Mount, the parable of the mustard seed, the Resurrection, and others.

ISBN:0-86171-114-9_|_224 pp_|_Our Price: $19.2 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Good Heart, The
A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author
Robert Kiely, Editor_|_Dom Laurence Freeman, Introduction
Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Translator
The Dalai Lama provides an extraordinary Buddhist perspective on the teachings of Jesus, commenting on well-known passages from the four Christian Gospels including the Sermon on the Mount, the parable of the mustard seed, the Resurrection, and others.

ISBN:0-86171-138-6_|_224 pages_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Hermit of Go Cliffs
Timeless Instructions from a Tibetan Mystic
Cyrus Stearns, Translator
Cyrus Stearns, Introduction

The great Tibetan meditation master Gyalwa Godrakpa (1170-1249) practiced and taught a nonsectarian approach to realization. Hermit of Go Cliffs is the first English translation of The Collected Songs of Godrakpa, presented here with the original Tibetan text and with Cyrus Stearns' comprehensive introduction to Godrakpa's life, legacy, and poetry.

Like the songs of Tibet's great saint Milarepa, Godrakpa's songs are uniquely beautiful and accessible: sometimes stern and sharp, sometimes lyrical and filled with allusions to the natural world. These songs express what Godrakpa emphasized in his life-a no-nonsense approach to the practice of meditation.

ISBN:0-86171-164-5_|_224 pp_|_Our Price: $15.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Hidden Teachings of Tibet
An Explanation of the Terma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism
Tulku Thondup Rinpoche, Author


In all religions, sacred texts and objects have appeared miraculously. Among the most remarkable of these revelatory traditions is the terma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Termas herald a fresh opportunity for the renewal of spiritual practice. Here Tulku Thondup tells the story of the terma treasure tradition initiated by Padmasambhava, the ninth-century saint who established Buddhism in Tibet.

ISBN:0-86171-122-X_|_304 pp_|_Our Price: $15.16 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Horses Like Lightning
A Story of Passage Through the Himalayas
Sienna Craig, Author


A tender account—by turns cultural exploration and memoir of a young woman's firsthand experience of change and continuity in one of the worlds most remote regions, through the lens of the horse and "horse culture."

At just 19, Sienna Craig made her first venture deep into Mustang, an ethnically Tibetan area of Nepal, in the rainshadow of the Himalayas. As an equestrian and a buddhing anthropologist, she sought not only to understand what it was like to rely on horses to navigate through the windswept valleys and plains of High Asia, but also to grasp how horses lent meaning to the lives of the Mustangi people. Through living and working with local Tibetan doctors, veterinarians, and other horse experts, as well as the deep friendships she formed, Sienna began to understand the region's history, and the way life in Mustang was being transformed in the face of temendous social, political, and economic shifts. She learned much about herself and her life's course through her year in Mustang -- a place that came to feel, for all its foreignness, like home.

Click below to read more about Sienna and Horses Like Lightning

The Santa Barbara Independent article.

ISBN:0-86171-517-9_|_304_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

How to Be Happy

Lama Zopa Rinpoche,


In How to Be Happy Lama Zopa Rinpoche helps us find our good heart, the heart that can easily rejoice in the happiness of others; he also gives us wonderful advice in transforming problems into happiness, and even in finding compassion for our “enemies”—those people, thoughts, and situations in daily life we find so troublesome and unpleasant. The books ends with three wonderfully rich and evocative guided meditations that help us vividly see that the more we give the more happiness we find always in this moment right here.

Anyone looking for advice on how to be happy—truly, meaningfully happy—will find Lama Zopa Rinpoche to be a trustworthy and skillful guide. He is a tireless teacher of methods that work for us when all is well, and also when life’s troubles, big and small, seem unmanageable.

ISBN:0-86171-196-3_|_144 pages_|_Our Price: $7.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

How to Meditate
A Practical Guide - Revised and Expanded!
Kathleen McDonald, Author
Robina Courtin, Editor

Now with new meditations!

What is meditation? Why practice it? Which techniques is best? How do I do it? The answers to these often-asked questions are contained in this down-to-earth book, making it of enormous value for anyone who wishes to begin and maintain a meditation practice. Written by a Western Buddhist nun with solid experience in both the practice and teaching of meditation, How to Meditate contains a wealth of practical advice on a variety of authentic techniques, from what to do with our minds, to how to sit, to visualizations and other traditional practices. Best of all, McDonald's approach is warm and encouraging. The next best thing to private instruction!

Download MP3 files of meditations being led by the author here:

Appreciating Our Human Life :: Body Of Light :: Compassion And Tong-Len :: Death 1- Inevitability :: Meditation On Breathing :: Meditation On Emptiness :: Meditation On Equanimity

ISBN:0-86171-341-9_|_288 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Imagine All the People
A Conversation with the Dalai Lama on Money, Politics, and Life as it Could Be
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author
Fabien Ouaki, Author

If you could sit down with the Dalai Lama and talk with him about anything, what would you discuss? Fabien Ouaki, a prominent French businessman, was granted such an opportunity and asked the Dalai Lama for his thoughts on the everyday issues that fill our newspapers and our lives. This is the record of these varied and remarkable conversations.

Covered are a wide spectrum of topics—;political, social, personal and spiritual—;including the media and education, marriage and sex, and disarmament and compassion. Blessed by His Holiness' buoyant and insightful thoughts, Imagine All the People allows readers to glimpse the spontaneous workings of an extraordinary mind at once of—;and above—;this world.

Includes the full text of The Global Community and the Need for Universal Responsibility.

ISBN:0-86171-150-5_|_192 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Imagining Tibet
Perceptions, Projections, and Fantasies
Thierry Dodin, Editor
Heinz Rather, Editor

In the past century, the Western view of Tibet has evolved from an exotic Shangri-la filled with golden idols and the promise of immortality, to a peaceful land with an enlightened society now ravaged by outside aggression. How and why did our perception change? How accurate are our modern conceptions of Tibet?

Imagining Tibet is a collection of essays that reveal these Western conceptions. Providing an historical background to the West's ever-changing relationship with Tibet, Donald Lopez, Jeffrey Hopkins, Jamyang Norbu, and other noted scholars explore a variety of topics—from Western perceptions of Tibetan approaches to violence, monastic life, and life as a nation in exile, to representations of Tibet in Western literature, art, environmentalism, and the New Age movement.

ISBN:0-86171-191-2_|_512 pp_|_Our Price: $23.16 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Introduction to Tantra
The Transformation of Desire
Lama Thubten Yeshe, Author


What is tantra? Who is qualified to practice it? How should it be practiced? What are the results? According to Buddhism, every human being has the potential to achieve profound and lasting happiness. And according to the tantric teachings of Buddhism, this remarkable transformation can be realized very quickly if we utilize all aspects of our human energy - especially the energy of our desires.

Introduction to Tantra is the best available clarification of a subject that is often misunderstood. This new edition of this classic text includes a new foreword by Philip Glass and a new cover design, but leaves untouched Lama Yeshe's excellent original text, edited by Jonathan Landaw.

Tantra recognizes that the powerful energy aroused by our desire is an indispensable resource for the spiritual path. It is precisely because our lives are so inseparably linked with desire that we must make use of desire's tremendous energy not just for pleasure, but to transform our lives.

Lama Yeshe presents tantra as a practice leading to joy and self-discovery, with a vision of reality that is simple, clear, and extremely relevant to 21st-century life.

ISBN:0-86171-162-9_|_192 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Kalachakra Tantra
Rite of Initiation
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author
Jeffrey Hopkins, Editor

Associated with the promotion of world peace, the Kalachakra—or "Wheel of Time"—tantra is one of the most detailed and encompassing systems of theory and practice within Tibetan Buddhism. This book contains a complete translation of the Kalachakra initiation ritual as it will be conferred by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Washington DC in July 2011, along with his commentary and a comprehensive introduction by Professor Jeffrey Hopkins that explores the Kalachakra's rich symbolism, meaning, and history. The book also includes the Six-Session Yoga.

ISBN:0-86171-151-3_|_528 pages_|_Our Price: $18.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Karmapa
The Politics of Reincarnation
Lea Terhune, Author


While only a young man, Orgyen Trinley Dorje's life has been marked indelibly by devotion, intrigue, and transformation. Karmapa: The Politics of Reincarnation is his amazing story.

For Westerners, Tibet is a land of powerful spiritual teachings, staggering mountain vistas, and geopolitical intrigue. The country's resistance to Chinese occupation, and also the growing presence of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, are not just part of our daily news but of the Western consciousness as well. In January 2000, interest hit a peak as fourteen-year-old Orgyen Trinley Dorje was thrust upon the world stage. Recognized as the Seventeenth Karmapa-arguably the second most powerful figure in the Tibetan Buddhist religious hierarchy-he made a dramatic escape from his Chinese Communist overseers to the land of the Buddha's birth, India, so that he could study with the masters of his religious lineage, follow his conscience, and be a leader to his people.

Through wide-ranging research and interviews with key figures, including the Karmapa himself, award-winning journalist Lea Terhune unlocks the riveting tale of the Karmapa's disputed incarnation, and traces the roots of the Kagyu tradition and the history of the previous Karmapas in order to illuminate the tale of the young man born to play a key role in the future of Tibet.

ISBN:0-86171-180-7_|_320 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Lawudo Lama, The
Stories of Reincarnation from the Mount Everest Region
Jamyang Wangmo, Author
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foreword

The Lawudo Lama presents two life stories along with an extended introduction laying out their social and cultural context. It takes place in the Mount Everest region of Nepal, the home of the famous Sherpa guides, where the people practice Tibetan Buddhism and revere the local lamas and yogis. The stories are centered in Lawudo, a small village in the Khumbu region, and the central figure is the renowned Lawudo Lama. The first Lawudo Lama portrayed, Lama Kunzang Yeshe (1864-1946), was a yogi of the Nyingma lineage who spent much of his life meditating in a cave near Lawudo, and his life is reconstructed through meticulous research of written and oral histories. The second story is of Kunzang Yeshe's reincarnation, a monk of the Gelug lineage known as Lama Zopa Rinpoche, whose story is given in a first-person narrative. Lama Zopa is well known in the West as the author of several books and as the Spritual Director of the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), which has more than 100 affiliate Buddhist centers worldwide. Lama Zopa Rinpoche travels and teaches extensively to large audiences and has thousands of students.

The Lawudo Lama will appeal to travelers to Nepal, to Buddhist practitioners, and to scholars trying to understand the culture of the region. It is well documented, and is accompanied by more than 125 color and black and white photos, drawings, lineage charts, and maps.

ISBN:0-86171-183-1_|_480 pp_|_Our Price: $17.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand (2006)
A revised translation of the classic text.
Pabongka Rinpoche, Author
Trijang Rinpoche, Editor_|_Michael Richards, Translator

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.

ISBN:0-86171-500-4_|_896 pp_|_Our Price: $19.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Like a Yeti Catching Marmots
A Little Treasury of Tibetan Proverbs
Pema Tsewang, Shastri,


This enchanting little book contains 108 traditional Tibetan proverbs—conveying the wit and wisdom of one of the world’s most unique cultures. The proverbs appear in English and Tibetan script, along with a brief explanation of how and when to use each saying. Funny and wise, these proverbs always remind us of our experiences in a natural and meaningful way.

ISBN:1-61429-000-8_|_176 pp_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Lives and Liberation of Princess Mandarava
The Indian Consort of Padmasambhava
Lama Chonam, Author
Sangye Khandro, Author_|_Janet Gyatso, Introduction

This lucid translation of a rare Tibetan treasure text makes available for the first time to Western readers the remarkable lifestory of Princess Madarava. As the principal consort of the eighth-century Indian master Padmasambhava before he introduced tantric Buddhism to Tibet, Mandarava is the Indian counterpart of the Tibetan consort Yeshe Tsogyal. Lives and Liberation recounts her struggles and triumphs as a Buddhist adept throughout her many lives and is an authentic deliverance story of a female Buddhist master. Those who read this book will gain inspiration and encouragement on the path to liberation.

ISBN:0-86171-144-0_|_240 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Lives Lived, Lives Imagined
Biography in the Buddhist Traditions
Linda Covill, Ulrike Roesler, and Sarah Shaw,


From the Buddha in ancient India to a nun in modern-day Los Angeles, Lives Lived, Lives Imagined crosses time, traditions, and cultures to present fascinating lives and depictions of lives of those on the Buddhist path. Buddhist biographies come to life in many forms: they come from known poets and anonymous compilers; they are told by bards and even enacted by performers; they may also be autobiographies, either public or secret. Equally diverse have been the purposes they have served-as models for emulation, as origin stories for a particular community or lineage, or as narrative explications of doctrine.

This book, a collection of papers presented at a conference at the University of Oxford, presents a multifaceted, multitradition portrait of Buddhist biographies. Part 1 deals with biographies of the Buddha, investigating Chinese and Pali sources and the Sanskrit dramatizations of Asvaghosa. Part 2 contains modern Buddhist life stories, including a rare autobiography from Burma. Part 3 explores the Tibetan tradition, including such well-known figures as Milarepa, Shakya Chogden, and Karmapa Mikyö Dorje. Together, these biographies and studies reveal the rich diversity of Buddhism's myriad incarnations over its long history and the dynamic scope of its thought and practice.

ISBN:0-86171-578-0_|_352 pages_|_Our Price: $19.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Losing the Clouds, Gaining the Sky
Buddhism and the Natural Mind
Doris Wolter, Editor


By engaging deeply with the wisdom and practices of the Buddhist path, we are brought face to face with the true nature of our mind and reality. We are taken beyond our stories and opinions, our hopes and our fears, to the place of clarity and peace inherent within us all. The nature of mind is limitless, infinite like the sky, and when we recognize it, we awaken to profound compassion and insight.

This collection of thirty-one teachings, drawn primarily from the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, provides a gateway into practice for those new to Buddhism and fresh access to timeless truths for longtime practitioners. Readers will appreciate the distinct voices and approaches of both renowned contemporary teachers and great masters of the recent past.

Includes contributions by:

Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche | Phillipe Cornu | His Holiness the Dalai Lama | Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche | Dudjom Rinpoche | Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche | Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche | Dzogchen Rinpoche | Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche | Francesca Fremantle | Patrick Gaffney | Gyalwang Drukpa Rinpoche | Jamyang Kyentse Chokyi Lodro | Kalu Rinpoche | Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche | Christine Longaker | Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche | Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche | Frank Ostaseski | Ringu Tulku Rinpoche | Sakya Jetsun Chimey

ISBN:0-86171-359-1_|_320 pp_|_Our Price: $15.16 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Luminous Lives
The Story of the Early Masters of the Lam ‘bras in Tibet
Cyrus Stearns, Author


In this seminal work of Tibetan Buddhist studies, Cyrus Stearns has translated a text recounting the masters in the transmission line of the Lam 'bras or "Path with the Result" teachings in Tibet. The book contains a detailed description of the Lam 'bras teachings and the text of the masters' biographies in English and Tibetan.

For those interested in the Sakyapa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, this will be an essential reference work.

Click here to return to the complete Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism Series

ISBN:0-86171-307-9_|_352 pp_|_Our Price: $27.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Luminous Mind
The Way of the Buddha
Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche, Author
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foreword

Luminous Mind is a remarkable compilation of the oral and written teachings of the late Kalu Rinpoche - who was called "a beacon of inspiration" by the Dalai Lama. A master of meditation and leader of the Shangpu Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, Kalu Rinpoche taught with an inviting, playful and lucid style that was just one natural manifestation of his own profound realization. The teachings presented in LUMINOUS MIND are immediate and timeless.

As the Dalai Lama notes in his foreword, Luminous Mind covers "the full range of Buddhist practice from the basic analysis of the nature of the mind up to its ultimate refinement in the teachings of Mahamudra." This anthology of Kalu Rinpoche's writings and oral teachings resonates with his wisdom and compassion.

Comparing Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche with Milarepa, the greatest mediation master Tibet has ever known, His Holiness the Dalai Lama extols the author of Luminous Mind as a "beacon of inspiration" for spiritual practitioners of all traditions. Noting that "there have been few like him before or since," His Holiness urges us to delve into this remarkable anthology of the late Kalu Rinpoche's essential instructions so that we may encounter "the full range of Buddhist practice from the basic analysis of the nature of the mind up to its ultimate refinement in the teachings of Mahamudra." Drawn from both his lucid writings and his eloquent oral presentations, this unprecedented book lays bare the full grandeur of Kalu Rinpoche's legacy. At the same time, the gentle words and playful stories of this master of meditation are filled with a depth of clarity and warmth that could only arise from a profound realization of both wisdom and compassion.

ISBN:0-86171-118-1_|_352 pp_|_Our Price: $15.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Mahamudra
The Moonlight—Quintessence of Mind and Meditation
Tashi Namgyal, Author
Lobsang P. Lhalungpa, Translator_|_His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foreword

Mahamudra meditation is simultaneously the most profound of meditative disciplines and the most accessible for modern practitioners. Traditionally passed orally from teacher to disciple, mahamudra instructions point the meditator to the innate perfection of every experience.

When it first appeared in 1986, Mahamudra: The Moonlight—Quintessence of Mind and Meditation was the first presentation in English of a major Tibetan Buddhist work on meditation. This classic guide was composed in the sixteenth century by an eminent lama of the Kagyu school and is so comprehensive and practical that it is still widely used today as a manual. Divided into two major sections, it presents first the common approach and then the mahamudra approach to tranquility (shamatha) and insight (vipashyana) meditation.

ISBN:0-86171-299-4_|_528 pages_|_Our Price: $27.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Mahamudra and Related Instructions
Core Teachings of the Kagyu Schools
Peter Alan Roberts,


The Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism began in the eleventh century with such renowned figures as Marpa and Milarepa, and its seminal meditative traditions are Mahamudra and the six Dharmas of Naropa. Mahamudra teachings focus on the cultivation of profound insight into the nature of the mind, and Mahamudra texts in this volume include a lucid work by the celebrated master Tselé Natsok Rangdröl and works by the twelfth-century master Shang Rinpoche, the great Third Karmapa, the Eighth Tai Situ, and Drukpa Pema Karpo. The volume also contains an inspirational work by Gampopa, the Drigung Kagyü root text The Single Viewpoint, the Sixth Shamarpa's guide to the six Dharmas of Naropa, and finally an overview of tantric practice by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, author of the famous Moonlight of Mahamudra The texts in this volume were selected by the preeminent scholar of the Kagyü school, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche.

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ISBN:0-86171-444-X_|_800 pages_|_Our Price: $47.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Meaning of Life, The
Buddhist Perspectives on Cause and Effect
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author
Jeffrey Hopkins, Translator

Each of us struggles with the existential questions of meaning, purpose, and responsibility. In The Meaning of Life, the Dalai Lama examines these questions from the Buddhist perpective, skillfully guiding us to a clearer understanding that can liberate us from the prison of selfishness and suffering. The Dalai Lama bases his explanations on the Buddha's teachings of dependent arising, showing how every aspect of our suffering-unhappiness, pain, even old age and death-is ultimately rooted in our misunderstanding of our true nature.

Through detailed discussion and lively questions-and-answers, the teachings of The Meaning of Life address the myriad challenges we meet daily-dealing with aggression from both within and without; facing illness and helping someone who is dying; expanding our capacity to feel love for all beings; and reconciling personal responsibility with the doctrine of selflessness-all suffused with the Dalai Lama's incomparable intelligence, wit, and kindess. Useful attention is given to our understanding of dependent arising, and the meaning of the Wheel of Life.

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Wheel of Life Mandala Image

ISBN:0-86171-173-4_|_164 pp_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Medicine and Compassion (Cloth Edition)
A Tibetan Lama's Guidance for Caregivers
Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Author
David R. Shlim, Author

It is estimated that some 54 million people in the U.S. act as informal caregivers for ill or disabled loved ones. We can add to these countless workers in the fields of health and human service, and yet there is still not enough help to go around: as many as three fourths of our informal caregivers report "going it alone." It's no wonder that "caregiver burnout" and depression afflict so many.

Sure to be welcomed by caregivers of all types, the groundbreaking new Medicine and Compassion can help anyone reconnect with the true spirit of their caregiving task. In a clear and very modern voice, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and Dr. David R. Shlim use the teachings of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy to present practical tools for revitalizing the caring spirit. Readers, in turn, will find their patience, kindness, and effectiveness re-energized.

Offering practical advice on dealing with people who are angry at their medical conditions or their care providers, people who are dying, or the families of those who are critically ill, Medicine and Compassion will strike resonant cords with medical professionals, hospice workers, teachers and parents of children with special needs, and those caring for aging and infirm loved ones.

ISBN:0-86171-478-4_|_208 pp_|_Our Price: $17.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Medicine and Compassion (Paperback)
A Tibetan Lama's Guidance for Caregivers
Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Author
David R. Shlim, Author

For countless healthcare professionals-and informal caregivers-a little extra compassion could go a long way. In Medicine and Compassion, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche and David R. Shlim, M.D., introduce a training in compassion, with proven methods based on classic Tibetan Buddhist teachings. Caregivers will not only find their patience and kindness re-energized, they will learn to sustain them with less effort. Those in their care will, in turn, feel more at ease and better able to contribute to their own healing.

ISBN:0-86171-512-8_|_208 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Meditation and Relaxation in Plain English

Bob Sharples, Author


Odds are that you or someone you know could truly benefit from Meditation and Relaxation in Plain English. After all, who wouldn't like to have less stress-and more enjoyment-from life?

Meditation and Relaxation in Plain English teaches us how to achieve just that, with potent tools that are easy to learn, enjoy, and keep doing. And these practices do so much more than more than allow us freedom from anxiety and stress: they allow us to be a better friend to ourselves, and to the people around us.

ISBN:0-86171-286-2_|_192 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Meditation on Emptiness

Jeffrey Hopkins, Author


In bringing this remarkable and complex philosophy to life, Jeffrey Hopkins describes the meditational practices by which emptiness can be realized and shows that, far from being merely abstract, these teachings can be vivid and utterly practical.

ISBN:0-86171-110-6_|_1024 pp_|_Our Price: $23.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Meditation on the Nature of Mind

His Holiness the Dalai Lama,
José I. Cabezón,

“We all have the same human mind—each and every one of us has the same potential. Our surroundings and so forth are important, but the nature of mind itself is more important… To live a happy and joyful life, we must take care of our minds.” —His Holiness the Dalai Lama

At the heart of this book is The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel of the Oral Tradition, an accessible and nonsectarian treatise on penetrating the nature of mind by Khöntön Peljor Lhündrub, a teacher of the Fifth Dalai Lama. His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s broad-ranging overview of this work insightfully distills some of the most central themes of Buddhism: why the mind is so essential to the tradition, what distinguishes the levels of consciousness, and how different schools of Tibetan Buddhism elaborate those distinctions. Profound and erudite, it brings the reader closer to a fresh and direct experience of Buddhism’s central truths.

Along with his lucid translations, José Cabezón provides an introduction to the root text and presentations of the life and works of Khöntön Rinpoché, all richly annotated.

To download a pdf of Khonton Peljor Lhundrup's text in the original Tibetan click here.

ISBN:0-86171-628-0_|_232 pages_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism

Lati Rinpoche, Author
Denma Locho Rinpoche, Author_|_Leah Zahler, Translator
Jeffrey Hopkins, Translator
From two great masters comes a detailed description of meditative practices for developing a mind that is alert, powerful, and capable of gaining great insight. Discussing step-by-step the practice of meditation itself, they provide us with practical antidotes to the various obstacles that may arise in meditation. At the same time, they intersperse their presentations with captivating descriptions of the sometimes fantastic and astonishing cosmology that provides the background and context for Buddhist practice.

ISBN:0-86171-119-X_|_240 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Memoirs of a Political Officer’s Wife in Tibet, Sikkim, and Bhutan

Margaret D. Williamson, Author


This is a fascinating account of one woman's experiences in the Himalayan plateau during a pivotal time in cultural, political, and religious history..

ISBN:0-86171-056-8_|_240 pp_|_Our Price: $15.16 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Middle Way, The
Faith Grounded in Reason
His Holiness the Dalai Lama,
Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Translator

In this luminous presentation, the Dalai Lama lays out the Middle Way—"the way of the intelligent person" who approaches all matters, including matters of faith and devotion, with the highest spirit of critical inquiry and does so without falling into the traps of fixed ideas or extreme views. With fresh emphasis, this peerless and beloved teacher links Tibetan Buddhism to its deep roots in the ancient scholastic tradition of Nalanda University and to the profound analytical teachings of the seminal Indian master Nagarjuna. As the Dalai Lama explores in depth Nagarjuna's Fundamental Stanzas on the Middle Way—a text of radical importance to the entirety of the Mahayana Buddhist tradition-he illuminates such subtle and easily misunderstood topics as the nature of self and no-self, dependent origination, and the differing roles of relative and absolute truths. This volume also includes a rich exploration of the Tibetan master Tsongkhapa's Three Principal Aspects of the Path, offering the reader an opportunity to put these matters of deepest philosophical import into direct practice.

"It is vital for us to obtain genuine confidence in the nature of mind and reality, grounded in understanding and reason. What we need is a skeptical curiosity and constant inquiry, a curious mind, drawn toward all possibilities; and when we cultivate that, the desire to deeply investigate naturally arises.”—The Dalai Lama, in The Middle Way

ISBN:0-86171-552-7_|_200 pages_|_Our Price: $15.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Mind in Comfort and Ease
The Vision of Enlightenment in the Great Perfection
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author


In September 2000, at the invitation of Sogyal Rinpoche, the Dalai Lama visited the south of France to give what would be one of his most extensive and vital Buddhist teachings, entitled "The Path to Enlightenment." Over ten thousand people attended, from twenty-one different countries.

In these teachings, His Holiness set out the key principles of Buddhism, showing how the mind can be transformed, and suffering overcome, through love, compassion, and a true understanding of the nature of reality. Illustrating his brilliant overview of the path with his own personal experiences and advice on how to integrate practice into our lives, the Dalai Lama is at his best here, bringing Buddhist teachings, especially those of the Great Perfection, or Dzogchen, to life.

"Like an expert jeweller," as Sogyal Rinpoche writes in his foreword, the Dalai Lama "set the teaching of Dzogchen within the context of the other traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, highlighting their parallels and their common ultimate aim of realizing the clear light nature of the mind."

Mind in Comfort and Ease was not drawn from the oral translation of the event but is instead a re-translation of His Holiness’s original Tibetan. Thus it captures a deeper fidelity and nuance than other such works, and will stand the test of time as a remarkable record of the Dalai Lama’s great erudition, compassion, humor, and insight.

Click here to download the Table of Contents

(If you are having trouble getting the file to download, please try right-clicking and then selecting “Save Target As...”)

ISBN:0-86171-493-8_|_352 pages_|_Our Price: $19.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Mind Training
The Great Collection
Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Translator


Compiled in the fifteenth century, Mind Training: The Great Collection is the earliest anthology of a special genre of Tibetan literature known as "mind training," or lojong in Tibetan. The principal focus of these texts is the systematic cultivation of such altruistic thoughts and emotions as compassion, love, forbearance, and perseverance. The mind-training teachings are highly revered by the Tibetan people for their pragmatism and down-to-earth advice on coping with the various challenges and hardships that unavoidably characterize everyday human existence.

The volume contains forty-four individual texts, including the most important works of the mind training cycle, such as Serlingpa's well-known Leveling Out All Preconceptions, Atisha's Bodhisattva's Jewel Garland, Langri Thangpa's Eight Verses on Training the Mind, and Chekawa's Seven-Point Mind Training together with the earliest commentaries on these seminal texts. An accurate and lyrical translation of these texts, many of which are in metered verse, marks an important contribution to the world's literary heritage, enriching its spiritual resources.

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ISBN:0-86171-440-7_|_720 pages_|_Our Price: $39.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Mindful Politics
A Buddhist Guide to Making the World a Better Place
Melvin McLeod, Editor


"I've studied politics my entire life. It's been because of my time working on this book that I've finally learned what's really important in politics." So says Melvin McLeod, editor of Mindful Politics, a book that transcends Right and Left, progressive and conservative, to get to the heart of what matters: how we can all make a positive difference in our complex political world.

This is not your typical political book. It's not written at a fever pitch, it doesn't use a good/bad binary, and it doesn't tout partisan policies. Instead, this timely collection addresses the less-discussed but more important questions about politics: What insight does religion have to offer politics? How can we as concerned citizens move beyond the particulars of legislation and party affiliation, and take direct action? How, amid divisive and challenging times, can personal growth and effective advocacy take place together?

In short, Mindful Politics offers the persectives of 34 important authors and thinkers on how each of us, right now, can make the world a better place.

McLeod includes essays and insights from some of the brightest, and most controversial, lights of Buddhism - and beyond.

Included are: Thich Nhat Hanh | Sam Harris (author of The End of Faith) | The Dalai Lama | Jerry Brown | Pema Chodron | Trungpa Rinpoche | bell hooks | Ezra Bayda | Meg Wheatley ...and many more

ISBN:0-86171-298-6_|_320 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

MindScience
An East-West Dialogue
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author
Herbert Benson, Author_|_Daniel Goleman, Author
Robert Thurman, Author_|_Howard Gardner, Author

What is the subtle relationship between mind and body? What can today's scientists learn about this relationship from masters of Buddhist thought? Is it possible that by combining Western and Eastern approaches, we can reach a new understanding of the nature of the mind, the human potential for growth, the possibilities for mental and physical health?

MindScience explores these and other questions as it documents the beginning of an historic dialogue between modern science and Buddhism.The Harvard Mind Science Symposium brought together the Dalai Lama and authorities from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, and education. Here, they examine myriad questions concerning the nature of the mind and its relationship to the body.

ISBN:0-86171-066-5_|_152 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty
Illuminating the View of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection
John W. Pettit, Author
John W. Pettit, Translator_|_Penor Rinpoche, Foreword

For centuries, Dzogchen--a special meditative practice to achieve spontaneous enlightenment--has been misinterpreted by both critics and malinformed meditators as being purely mystical and anti-rational. In the grand spirit of Buddhist debate, 19th century Buddhist philosopher Mipham wrote Beacon of Certainty, a compelling defense of Dzogchen that employs the very logic it was criticized as lacking. Through lucid and accessible textural translation and penetrating analysis, Pettit presents Mipham as one of Tibet's greatest thinkers.

Click here to return to the complete Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism Series

ISBN:0-86171-157-2_|_592 pp_|_Our Price: $23.16 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Mission to Tibet
The Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Account of Father Ippolito Desideri, S.J.
Michael J. Sweet, Translator
Leonard Zwilling, Editor

Mission to Tibet recounts the fascinating eighteenth-century journey of the Jesuit priest ippolito Desideri (1684–1733) to the Tibetan plateau. The italian missionary was most notably the first european to learn about Buddhism directly with Tibetan schol ars and monks—and from a profound study of its primary texts. while there, Desideri was an eyewitness to some of the most tumultuous events in Tibet’s history, of which he left us a vivid and dramatic account.

Desideri explores key Buddhist concepts including emptiness and rebirth, together with their philosophical and ethical implications, with startling detail and sophistication. This book also includes an introduction situating the work in the context of Desideri’s life and the intellectual and religious milieu of eighteenth-century Catholicism.

ISBN:0-86171-676-0_|_832 pages_|_Our Price: $27.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Momentary Buddhahood
Mindfulness and the Vajrayana Path
Anyen Rinpoche,


We think of enlightenment as something that happens all at once, like a tidal wave that cleans away everything impure. In truth, however, realization happens incrementally, from moment to moment. And in any moment when true wisdom is recognized, all concepts and afflictions are freed right on the spot and we can affirm for ourselves that the experience of enlightenment is possible. When we do, we experience a moment of the mind of a buddha—”momentary buddhahood.”

In this tantalizing presentation, Anyen Rinpoche offers a vision of the crucial necessity of mindfulness in any exploration of the Buddha's path—especially the path of tantric practice.

ISBN:0-86171-598-5_|_152 pages_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Natural Liberation
Padmasambhava’s Teachings on the Six Bardos
Gyatrul Rinpoche, Author
B. Alan Wallace, Translator

In the spirit of the Buddhist tantric tradition, Natural Liberation is concerned primarily with how to take the commonplace states of consciousness experienced in life and death and turn them into opportunities for the highest liberation. In this work, Padmasambhava, the great eighth-century Indian master who established Buddhism in Tibet, describes in detail six life-processes, or bardos, and how to transform them into vehicles for enlightenment. This most extraordinary teaching is here accompanied by meditation instructions and edifying anecdotes in a lucid commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche, an esteemed teacher of the Nyingma tradition.

ISBN:0-86171-131-9_|_360 pp_|_Our Price: $15.16 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Natural Perfection
Lonchenpa’s Radical Dzogchen
Keith Dowman,


Dzogchen, or the “Great Perfection,” is considered by many to be the apex of Tibetan Buddhism, and Longchen Rabjam is the most celebrated of all the saints of this remarkable tradition. Natural Perfection presents the radical precepts of Dzogchen, pointing the way to absolute liberation from conceptual fetters, and leading the practitioner to a state of pure, natural integration into one's true being.

Transcending the Tibetan context or even the confines of Buddhist tradition, Longchen Rabjam delivers a manual full of practical wisdom. 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. Keith Dowman's illuminating translation of this remarkable work of wisdom provides clear accessibility to the profound path of Dzogchen in the here-and-now.

ISBN:0-86171-640-X_|_336 pages_|_Our Price: $14.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Never Turn Away
The Buddhist Path Beyond Hope and Fear
Rigdzin Shikpo, Author
Francesca Fremantle, Foreword

An all-new book from Rigdzin Shipko!

A meditator's meditator, Rigdzin Shikpo (né Michael Hookham) began the practice in the mid 1950s and eventually became a prominent student of several renowned Tibetan Buddhist teachers, including Chögyam Trungpa and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Over the years he has developed his own utterly unique style made of straight talk and sparkling, inspiring insights.

The title of this, his long-awaited new book, comes from the teachings Rigdzin Shikpo received from Trungpa Rinpoche, who said that we should always turn toward those things that scare us, open to them completely, and never turn away from them. This path of openness, clarity, and sensitivity is a hallmark of the Dzogchen tradition of Buddhist practice. Rigdzin Shikpo has lived its truth so deeply that his words shine with authenticity and freshness.

ISBN:0-86171-488-1_|_192_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Nightly Wisdom
Buddhist Inspirations for Sleeping, Dreaming, and Waking Up
Josh Bartok, Editor
Gustavo Szpilman Cutz, Editor

Includes inspiring nighttime reflections from:

Shakyamuni Buddha * The Dalai Lama * Padmasambhava * Eihei Dogen * Ajahn Brahm * Susan Murphy * Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche * Ezra Bayda * Gyatrul Rinpoche * Lama Yeshe * Geshe Lhundub Sopa * Serinity Young * Kalu Rinpoche * Robert Langan * Barry Magid * Venerable Yin-Shun * Manhae * Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche * B. Alan Wallace

…and many more!

Nightly Wisdom mines a rich vein of Buddhist teachings on such topics as lucid dreaming, Tibetan "dream yoga"--the art of extending meditation into the boundless world of dreams--and relaxing into restful sleep. In addition to inspiration and encouragement, you'll find here simple practices for transforming your sleep into something that's beneficial in entirely new ways, as well as practices for greeting each morning with fresh eyes-and an open heart.

Featuring poetry and prose from sources modern and ancient (including the Buddha himself), Nightly Wisdom is a bedside keepsake, perfect for anyone who has wants to wake up to the entirety of life or bring fresh wisdom into that third of our lives we spend in bed.

ISBN:0-86171-549-7_|_304 pages_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Nixon Under the Bodhi Tree
and Other Works of Buddhist Fiction
Kate Wheeler, Editor
Charles Johnson, Foreword

Pico Iyer, Victor Pelevin, Doris Dorrie and other renowned contributors join young award-winners in what National Book Award-winner Charles Johnson calls "an embarrassment of literary riches," sure to please fiction lovers of every stripe. From the O. Henry Award-winning title story, to visionary short-shorts and barely fictionalized personal memoirs, Nixon Under the Bodhi Tree is inventive, exciting, and unlike any collection before it.

CONTRIBUTORS: Sharon Cameron * Dorris Dorrie * Lama Surya Das * Martha Gies * Francesca Hampton * Keith Heller * Marie Henry * Jan Hodgman * MJ Huang * Pico Iyer * Keith Kachtick * Anne C. Klein * Jake Lorfing * Margo McLoughlin * Dinty W. Moore *Victor Pelevin * Judith R. Peterson * Gerald Reilly * Cathy Rose * John Rueppel * Kira Salak * Lea Sammel * Merry Speece * Marilyn Stablein *Ira Sukrunggruang * Mark Terrill * Easton Waller * Jeff Wilson * Diana Winston

ISBN:0-86171-354-0_|_288 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, The
Its Fundamentals and History
Dudjom Rinpoche, Author
Gyurme Dorje, Author_|_Matthew Kapstein, Translator

Written by a great modern Nyingma master, Dudjom Rinpoche's The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism covers in detail and depth both the fundamental teachings and the history of Tibetan Buddhism's oldest school. This, the first English translation of His Holiness' masterwork, constitutes the most complete work of its type in the West.

An absolute treasure for students of the tradition, it is also an indispensable reference for anyone with an interest in Buddhism. The book includes chronologies and glossaries that elucidate Buddhist doctrine, and it provides fascinating insights into the Buddhist history of Tibet. Two treatises form the present volume, namely the Fundamentals of the Nyingma Schooland the History of the Nyingma School. Among the most widely read of all His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche's works, these treatises were composed during the years immediately following his arrival in India as a refugee. His intention in writing them was to preserve the precise structure of the Nyingma philosophical view within its own historical and cultural context.

This is the first time this text has been available in a trade edition. Beautifully presented, this single-volume edition represents a truly wonderful gift, and features illustrations in black and white and in color, plus maps, bibliographic information, and useful annotations.

ISBN:0-86171-199-8_|_1584 pages_|_Our Price: $72 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Omniscience and the Rhetoric of Reason
Santaraksita and Kamalasila on Rationality, Argumentation, & Religious Authority
Sara L. McClintock,


The great Buddhist scholars Santaraksita (725-88 C.E.) and his disciple Kamalasila were among the most influential thinkers in classical India. They debated ideas not only within the Buddhist tradition but also with exegetes of other Indian religions, and they both traveled to Tibet during Buddhism's infancy there. Their views, however, have been notoriously hard to classify. The present volume examines Santaraksita's Tattvasamgraha and Kamalasila's extensive commentary on it, works that cover all conceivable problems in Buddhist thought and portray Buddhism as a supremely rational faith.

One hotly debated topic of their time was omniscience—whether it is possible and whether a rational person may justifiably claim it as a quality of the Buddha. Santaraksita and Kamalasila affirm both claims, but in their argumentation they employ divergent rhetorical strategies in different passages, advancing what appear to be contradictory positions. McClintock's investigation of the complex strategies these authors use in defense of omniscience sheds light on the rhetorical nature of their enterprise, one that shadows their own personal views as they advance the arguments they deem most effective to convince the audiences at hand.

ISBN:0-86171-661-2_|_440 pages_|_Our Price: $29.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

One City
A Declaration of Interdependence
Ethan Nichtern, Author


What you wear. What you say. What you think/ignore/buy/don't buy…Welcome to One City-Population: Everyone-where EVERYTHING you do matters. You've lived here your whole life, whether you know it or not.

Ethan Nichtern, the charismatic and creative force behind New York's upstart Interdependence Project (theidproject.com) is your guide to the beauty that is everywhere in the urban jungle-in the rattling of subway trains, the screechings of traffic, the hum and drone of millions scurrying for work, food, sustenance, art, culture, and meaning. There may be no greater setting for exploring the great truth that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. expounded: "Whatever effects one directly, effects all indirectly."

One City melds Dr. King's message with modern Buddhist wisdom to offer a new way of understanding what binds us all together-no matter where we are, no matter who. With its pop-culture savvy, humor, and literary liveliness, One City will speak to—and even, it's fair to say, help define—the spiritually-inclined, conscious Next Generation.

ISBN:0-86171-516-0_|_192_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Opening the Eye of New Awareness

His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author
Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Translator

Opening the Eye of New Awareness is a succinct, thorough overview of the doctrines of Buddhism as they have been practiced for a thousand years in Tibet. The Dalai Lama here discusses the need for religious practice and the importance of kindness and compassion. Originally written for Tibetan lay people, this was the Dalai Lama's first book on Buddhist philosophy to appear in English, and Prof. Lopez's new introduction places these teachings in their proper historical context. This is an invaluable handbook for both personal use and academic study of the Buddhist path.

Written for both Tibetan and Western readers, OPENING THE EYE OF NEW AWARENESS is the Dalai Lama's first religious work. It is not an edited transcript of public lectures, but is His Holliness' own summation of Buddhist doctrine and practice. Completed in 1963, just four years after his escape from Tibet and four years after completing his religious education, it is a work of consummate scholarship by a 27 year-old geshe, wise beyond his years. Nowhere in his many subsequent works does one find a more clear and concise exposition of the essentials of Buddhist thought. Indeed, all of His Holiness' many publications are in some sense commentaries on this first book.

ISBN:0-86171-155-6_|_160 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Ordinary Wisdom
Sakya Pandita’s Treasury of Good Advice
Sakya Pandita, Author
John Davenport, Translator_|_His Holiness Sakya Trizin, Foreword

A popular guide to the art of living, the Sakya Legshe—;or "Treasury of Good Advice"—;has been fundamental to the development of Tibetan culture and character. As in Aesop's Fables, Sakya Pandita uses proverbs and stories to address the basic question: "How are we to live peaceably with ourselves and with others?"

This is the only available English translation of the Sakya Legshe—;a book that reveals the heart of the Buddhist way of life.

ISBN:0-86171-161-0_|_384 pp_|_Our Price: $17.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Ornament of Stainless Light
An Exposition of the Kalachakra Tantra
Khedrup Norsang Gyatso, Author
Gavin Kilty, Translator_|_Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Editor

The premiere volume of Thupten Jinpa's thirty-two-volume Library of Tibetan Classics, inaugurated to coincide with the Dalai Lama's conferral of the initiation rite of Kalachakra in Toronto in April 2004.

The Kalachakra (literally, "Wheel of Time") tantra, a core practice of Tibetan Buddhism, is a method for transforming the universe by working with the body and mind. This first volume of the Library of Tibetan Classics series was hand-picked by the Dalai Lama—who recognized it as the finest explication of this practice—and overseen by Thupten Jinpa, whose work has been indispensable to Tibetan Buddhism, both in the West and on the whole. Gavin Kilty's fluid translation makes this volume a pleasure to read.

Like its classical Indian predecessor, Stainless Light or Vimalaprabha by Pundarika, Norsang Gyatso's commentary is divided into five sections: (1) the outer world, including the unique Kalachakra cosmology, (2) the inner world of the individual and the subtle nervous system, (3) the Kalachakra initiation rite, (4) the sadhana and generation-stage practices, and (5) the completion-stage practices, including pranayama. Ten appendixes plus a glossary, notes, and bibliography make this an indispensable reference volume on the Kalachakra tantra.

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ISBN:0-86171-452-0_|_736 pages_|_Our Price: $47.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Peacock in the Poison Grove
Introduction to Mental Training Practice
Geshe Lhundub Sopa, Author
Michael J. Sweet, Author_|_Leonard Zwilling, Author

Geshe Sopa offers insightful commentary on two of the earliest Tibetan texts that focus on mental training. Peacock in the Poison Grove presents powerful yogic methods of dispelling the selfish delusions of the ego, and maintaining the purity of our motives. Geshe Sopa's lucid explanations teach how we can fight the egocentric enemy within by realizing the truth of emptiness, and by developing a compassionate, loving attitude toward others.

ISBN:0-86171-185-8_|_320 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Perfect Conduct
Ascertaining the Three Vows
Ngari Panchen, Author
Dudjom Rinpoche, Author

All religions teach codes of ethical behavior. So too does Buddhism. This books is a translation of an indispensable exposition of the three sets of vows that are central to Tibetan Buddhist codes of discipline - the pratimoksa vows of individual liberation; the vows of the bodhisattva, who selflessly strives for the liberation of all beings; the vows of the esoteric path of tantra.

Here, the late Dudjom Rinpoche provides his authoritative commentary on the role of ethics and morality in Buddhist practice, outlining in detail the meaning and scope of the vows, and giving practical advice on maintaining the vows as supportive tools in the journey toward enlightenment.

ISBN:0-86171-083-5_|_192 pp_|_Our Price: $14.4 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Pointing Out the Great Way
The Stages of Meditation in Mahamudra
Daniel P. Brown, Author
Robert A.F. Thurman, Foreword

Many books have been published in recent years on the topic of mahamudra, or meditation on the fundamentally clear nature of the mind. This book is different in the systematic way it draws from a variety of source texts in order to construct a complete, graded path of practice informed by an understanding of the particular obstacles faced by meditators in the West. Dan Brown is a clinical psychotherapist who has also spent much time evaluating the experiences of meditators on longterm retreats. He knows the Tibetan literature on mahamudra meditation and has over thirty years of both personal meditation experience and observation of the experiences of others. He co-wrote, with Ken Wilber and Jack Engler, the book Transformations in Consciousness, and he teaches an annual seminar on mahamudra meditation at the Esalen Institute.

Pointing Out the Great Way is a spiritual manual that describes the Tibetan Buddhist meditation known as mahamudra from the perspective of the 'gradual path.' The gradual path is a progressive process of training that is often contrasted to sudden realization. As such, this book contains a step-by-step description of the ways to practice, precise descriptions of the various stages and their intended realizations, and the typical problems that arise along with their remedies. Simply put, mahamudra meditation involves penetrative focus, free of conceptual elaboration, upon the very nature of conscious awareness.

A unique feature of this book is its integrative approach to the stages of mahamudra meditation. A number of works on Buddhist meditation stages in general and mahamudra meditation in particular are already available in English, yet none, single text or commentary on the stages of mahamudra meditation, captures the inner experience of these stages in sufficient detail to convey its richness. This book represents the needed alternative by integrating material from a variety of root texts, practical manuals, and commentaries. Another unique feature of this book is its relational approach. It is intended as a return to the original teacher/student style of teaching meditation, which may be better suited to Western culture than the monastic or retreat style of practice. The book distills and codifies the experiences of many great masters who have traversed the path of meditation to the point of perfect mastery.

ISBN:0-86171-304-4_|_608 pages_|_Our Price: $23.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Portrait of a Dalai Lama
The Life and Times of the Great Thirteenth
Charles Bell, Author


The story of one of Tibet's greatest religious and political leaders that also stands as an important historical portrait of a pivotal era in Asian cultural and political affairs.

ISBN:0-86171-055-X_|_464 pp_|_Our Price: $18.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Practicing the Path
A Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo
Yangsi Rinpoche, Author
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Preface_|_Geshe Lhundub Sopa, Foreword
Miranda Adams (Ven. Namdrol), Editor_|_Tsering Tuladhar (Ven. Tsen-la), Translator

Practicing the Path is a complete commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo in a single volume. Yangsi Rinpoche, a thirty-something tulku who has spent the last several years in Madison, Wisconsin, gave these teachings to a group of Western students over a month-long period a few years ago in Dharamsala, India. While having the full training of a Tibetan scholar, Rinpoche uses Western metaphors and demonstrates an appreciation for the Western mind. The text is particularly well edited and is a pleasure to read, and will be an excellent resource for those studying and meditating on the lamrim, the steps on the path to enlightenment.

The Lamrim Chenmo is a comprehensive overview of the entire path to enlightenment, superimposing the essential principles of renunciation, bodhicitta, and the pure view of emptiness. It is unique in combining scriptural authority and perfect logic in order to clarify all doubts on the path. The author's deep knowledge of the traditional teachings and his ability to elucidate them in contemporary language and form provide a unique opportunity for readers to refine their understanding and develop their practice.

ISBN:0-86171-346-X_|_560 pp_|_Our Price: $19.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Practicing Wisdom
The Perfection of Shantideva's Bodhisattva Way
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author
Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Translator

Like the bestselling A Flash of Lightning in the Dark of the Night, Practicing Wisdom focuses on Shantideva's Way of the Bodhisattva. While the former includes only a brief introduction to Shantideva's complex and crucial ninth chapter on insight, Practicing Wisdom is a full and detailed follow-up commentary, making it an invaluable statement on the fundamental concept behind Buddhist thought and practice.

Shantideva says at the beginning of the final chapter of his Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life: "All branches of the Buddha's teachings are taught for the sake of wisdom. If you wish to bring an end to suffering, you must develop wisdom." Shantideva's ninth chapter is revered in Tibetan Buddhist circles as one of the most authoritative expositions of the Buddha's core insight, and all other Buddhist practices are means to support the generation of this wisdom within the practitioner. In Practicing Wisdom, the Dalai Lama reaffirms his reputation as a great scholar, communicator, and embodiment of the Buddha's Way by illuminating Shantideva's verses, drawing on contrasting commentaries from the Nyingma and Gelug lineages, and leading the reader through the stages of insight up to the highest view of emptiness. These teachings, delivered in southern France in 1993, have been masterfully translated, edited, and annotated by Geshe Thupten Jinpa, the Dalai Lama's primary translator and founder of the Institute of Tibetan Classics.

ISBN:0-86171-182-3_|_192 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Principles of Buddhist Tantra

Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche,


Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoché was a renowned teacher of Tibetan Buddhism with students worldwide. Revered as a teacher by even the Dalai Lama, he was known especially as a master of Buddhist tantra, the powerful esoteric methods for attaining enlightenment swiftly. The teachings in this book are a singular record of his deep learning in that field. Originally delivered in California to a group of Western students, the teachings comment on a classic introduction to tantra by the nineteenth-century Mongolian lama Chöjé Ngawang Palden. The work, Illumination of the Tantric Tradition, is a staple even today of the curriculum for training young monastics.

Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoché explains the distinctive features of the four classes of tantra—action tantra, performance tantra, yoga tantra, and highest yoga tantra—by describing the way to progress through their paths and levels. He illuminates key issues in tantric practice that are still a matter for debate within the tradition. Finally, he gives a special treatment of the unique methods of Kalacakra tantra, which is regularly taught around the globe by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

ISBN:0-86171-297-8_|_496 pages_|_Our Price: $19.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Razor Wire Dharma
A Buddhist Life in Prison
Calvin Malone,


Calvin Malone has plenty to teach us all about ideas that we rarely associate with the penal system: Dignity. Compassion. Freedom behind bars. He speaks from experience: Malone is nearing the end of a 20-year prison sentence himself.

Razor-Wire Dharma is his eloquent, enlightening, and utterly inspiring personal story how he found Buddhism-and real, transformative meaning for his life-despite being in one of the world's harshest environments.

Some of his stories are hilarious, some are harrowing, but all express Buddhist wisdom as vividly as any practitioner could hope to do. Malone is living it, and in the unlikeliest of places. For him, the choice of staying true to his principles often requires that he quite literally jeopardize his life, safety, and the few small comforts available to him to try to do what's right.

Razor-Wire Dharma makes it clear that if Calvin can do what's right in jail, he can do it anywhere. What's more, it proves that we can, too.

ISBN:0-86171-563-2_|_248 pages_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Real Meditation in Minutes a Day
Enhancing Your Performance, Relationships, Spirituality, and Health
Joseph Arpaia, Author
Lobsang Rapgay, Author

As seen in Newsweek.

Got a few minutes? You can:

* Reduce your stress, even when under pressure! * Sleep better! * Get re-energized! * Think more clearly, and more creatively! * Reconnect with the people who count on you! * Learn to recognize and encourage the best in yourself!

You know that meditation would probably be good for you, just like you know that you should floss your teeth. First, though, you need the motivation to make it happen. This book, with its jargon—free tone and incredibly simple exercises-little but effective things you can do in just a minute at work, in the car, wherever-will make you want to meditate. You'll realize: it's just a good thing to do. Like flossing—only, for your mind.

Real Meditation in Minutes a Day is an easygoing, always-encouraging mental workout buddy, ready to teach and train you. Throughout the book, composite everypersons "Maria" and "Brian" recount their efforts, reinforcing the basics, answering FAQ's, and removing common obstacles and quandaries.

With its clear language and exercises that even the busiest of us can find time for, Real Meditation in Minutes a Day can help anyone to make meditation's very real benefits part of everyday life.

ISBN:0-86171-556-X_|_264_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Reason’s Traces
Identity and Interpretation in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Thought
Matthew Kapstein, Author


Part of the Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism series.

"Only Matthew Kapstein could present such a collection of essays. He brings to his exploration of Buddhist philosophy and hermeneutics an unmatched range of scholarly skills. He is an insightful and acutely analytic philosopher with a sure command of the Western philosophical canon and method; he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the Indian and Tibetan philosophical literature; his Sanskrit and Tibetan philology is superb; he is a lucid translator; he is completely at home in the living tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and has close working relationships with many eminent Tibetan scholars and access to a wealth of oral textual material and rarely-studied texts. He has also thought deeply about the enterprise of Buddhist Studies and cross-cultural scholarship. Kapstein brings his unique set of abilities to bear in this set of linked essays that together explore with great precision, insight and masterful scholarship a range of important issues in Indian and Tibetan philosophy, drawing on Western philosophical ideas, texts and techniques where appropriate, and shedding light not only on these philosophical traditions and the problems they address, but also on the study of Buddhist philosophy itself, and the place of this project philosophy as a whole." —Jay L Garfield, Professor of Philosophy, Smith College, Director, Five Colleges Tibetan Studies in India Program

Click here to return to the complete Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism Series

ISBN:0-86171-239-0_|_496 pp_|_Our Price: $27.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Relative Truth, Ultimate Truth
The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 2
Geshe Tashi Tsering,


Relative Truth, Ultimate Truth is a clear and remarkably practical presentation of a core Buddhist teaching on the nature of reality. Geshe Tashi Tsering provides readers with an excellent opportunity to enhance not only thier knowledge of Buddhism, but also a powerful means to profoundly enhance their view of the world.

The Buddhist teaching of the "two truths" is the gateway to understanding the often-misunderstood philosophy of emptiness. This volume is an excellent source of support for anyone interested in cultivating a more holistic and transformative understanding of the world around them and ultimately of their own conciousness.

ISBN:0-86171-271-4_|_208 pages_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Resurrecting Candrakirti
Disputes in the Tibetan Creation of Prasangika
Kevin A. Vose,


The seventh-century Indian master Candrakirti lived a life of relative obscurity, only to have his thoughts and writings rejuvenated during the Tibetan transmission of Buddhism. Since then, Candrakirti has been celebrated as offering the most thorough and accurate vision of Nagarjuna's view of emptiness which, in turn, most fully represents the final truth of the Buddha's teaching. Candrakirti's emptiness denies the existence of any "nature," or substantial, enduring essence in ourselves or in the phenomenal world while avoiding the extreme view of nihilism. In this view, our false belief in nature is at the root of our ignorance and is the basis for all mental and emotional pain and disturbance. For many Tibetan scholars, only Candrakirti's Middle Way entirely overcomes our false belief in inherent identity and, consequently, alone overcomes ignorance, delivering freedom from the cycle of uncontrolled death and rebirth known as samsara.

Candrakirti's writings have formed the basis for Madhyamaka study in all major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. In Resurrecting Candrakirti, Kevin Vose presents the reader with a thorough presentation of Candrakirti's rise to prominence and the further elaborations the Tibetans have made on his presentation of emptiness. By splitting Madhyamaka into two sub-schools, namely the Svatantrika and Prasangika, the Tibetans became pioneers in understanding reality, and created a new way to define differences in interpretation. Resurrecting Candrakirti provides the historical and philosophical context necessary to understand both Madhyamaka and its importance to Tibetan Buddhist thought.

ISBN:0-86171-520-9_|_304 pages_|_Our Price: $27.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Saint in Seattle, A
The Life of the Tibetan Mystic Dezhung Rinpoche
David P. Jackson, Author


In 1960, the Tibetan lama Dezhung Rinpoche (1906-87) arrived in Seattle after being forced into exile from his native land by the Communist Chinese. Already a revered master of the teachings of all Tibetan Buddhist schools, he would eventually become a teacher of some of Western Buddhism's most notable scholars. This is the inspiring and unlikely biography of a modern buddha.

ISBN:0-86171-396-6_|_800 pp_|_Our Price: $27.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Scripture, Logic, Language
Essays on Dharmakirti and his Tibetan Successors
Tom J.F. Tillemans, Author


Dharmakirti, an Indian Buddhist philosopher of the 7th century, explored the nature, limits and justifications of rationality within the context of Buddhist religious and metaphysical concerns. While Dharmakirti is widely recognized for his crucial innovations in Indian logic and semantic theory, his notoriously difficult thought nonetheless remains poorly understood.

In this volume, one of the world's leading scholars of Buddhist philosophy sheds light on the interrelated topics of scripture, logic and language in the works of Dharmakirti and his philosophical heirs, both Indian and Tibetan. Professor Tillemans' knowledgeable explanations of such technical subjects as the apoha theory of reference and the problem of entailment (vyàpti) are coupled throughout with insightful reflections on how best to evaluate Dharmakirti's theories in light of contemporary philosophical thought. Scripture, Logic, Language is an informative and thought-provoking study for students of Buddhism as well as for those in the wider field of philosophy.

Click here to return to the complete Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism Series

ISBN:0-86171-156-4_|_320 pp_|_Our Price: $26.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying
An Exploration of Consciousness
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author
Francisco Varela, Editor

This is an absorbing account of a dialogue between leading Western scientists and the foremost representative of Buddhism today, the Dalai Lama of Tibet.

For modern science, the transitional states of consciousness lie at the forefront of research in many fields. For a Buddhist practitioner these same states present crucial opportunities to explore and transform consciousness itself. This book is the account of a historic dialogue between leading Western scientists and the Dalai Lama of Tibet. Revolving around three key moments of consciousness—sleep, dreams, and death—the conversations recorded here are both engrossing and highly readable. Whether the topic is lucid dreaming, near-death experiences, or the very structure of consciousness itself, the reader is continually surprised and delighted.

Narrated by Francisco Varela, an internationally recognized neuroscientist, the book begins with insightful remarks on the notion of personal identity by noted philosopher Charles Taylor, author of the acclaimed Sources of Self. This sets the stage for Dr. Jerome Engel, Dr. Joyce MacDougal, and others to engage in extraordinary exchanges with the Dalai Lama on topics ranging from the neurology of sleep to the yoga of dreams.

Remarkable convergences between the Western scientific tradition and the Buddhist contemplative sciences are revealed. Dr. Jayne Gackenbach's discussion of lucid dreaming, for example, prompts a detailed and fascinating response from the Dalai Lama on the manipulation of dreams by Buddhist meditators. The conversations also reveal provocative divergences of opinion, as when the Dalai Lama expresses skepticism about "Near-Death Experiences" as presented by Joan Halifax. The conversations are engrossing and highly readable. Any reader interested in psychology, neuroscience, Buddhism, or the alternative worlds of dreams will surely enjoy Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying.

Download two pages of illustrations from the first edition:

Sleeping, Dreaming and Dying Illustrations

ISBN:0-86171-123-8_|_264 pages_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Song for the King, A
Saraha on Mahamudra Meditation
Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Author
Michele Martin, Editor_|_Peter O’Hearn, Translator

Mahamudra is the basic meditation practice for many Tibetan Buddhists, particularly of the Kagyu tradition. It is particularly adaptable for modern people, since it involves no rituals and can be incorporated into all daily activities. Saraha’s “Song for the King” is a short verse text from classical India that is a basis for the tradition and is widely known in Tibetan Buddhist circles. It is often the basis for teachings given in the West, but there is only one outdated translation of it in print, first published in 1969. Michele Martin has produced a stellar new translation, which is accompanied by a commentary from the well-known teacher Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, who is uniquely skilled and concerned with making this method of meditation available to Westerners.

While pithy and accessible, the book easily stands up to academic scrutiny, and includes the original Tibetan as well—making it ideal for the popular, scholarly, and Tibetan audiences all at once.

ISBN:0-86171-503-9_|_192 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Spiritual Friends
Meditations by Monks and Nuns of the International Mahayana Institute
Thubten Dondrub, Editor


A collection of the favorite guided meditations of senior monks and nuns of the International Mahayana Institute of the FPMT. These meditations center on different Buddhist themes and provide a good resource for the practicing meditator. The book also includes brief spiritual autobiographies that allow the reader to trace each contributors' entry into and study of Tibetan Buddhism.

Our true spiritual friends are the positive potentials in our minds, which will never never disappoint us and never desert us. Similarly, the generous and personal meditations offered in this book help us develop these potentials and thus are true friends to whom we can always turn. Likewise, the Sangha, as the ordained followers of the Buddha upon whom the continuity of the Buddha's teachings depend, are spiritual friends who encourage us and inspire us to transform our minds.

This unique book - the first from the International Mahayana Institute - contains meditations written by eighteen nuns and monks of the IMI Sangha as well as an autobiographical essay from each in which these nuns and monks share how they came to the ordained life.

ISBN:0-86171-325-7_|_160 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Splendor of an Autumn Moon, The
The Devotional Verse of Tsongkhapa
Tsongkhapa, Author
Gavin Kilty, Translator_|_Gavin Kilty, Introduction

The Tibetan saint Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), the founder of the Dalai Lama's tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, was renowned for his vast learning, meditational achievements, influential writings on practice and philosophy, and reform of tantric religious practices. A deeply humble and religious man, he expressed himself in exquisite verse.

Here, presented in both the original Tibetan and in English translation, are twenty-one devotional poems by Tsongkhapa. Each verse -- dedicated to the Buddha, bodhisattvas, and lamas -- illuminates some aspect of the Buddhist path. Gavin Kilty's commentary places each prayer into context, and his careful, artful translations will appeal to anyone with a love of poetry.

ISBN:0-86171-192-0_|_304 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Step by Step
Basic Buddhist Meditations
Geshe Namgyal Wangchen,


Step By Step is a practical introduction to the profound meditation methods of Tibetan Buddhism. Based on the teachings of the great Tibetan saint and founder of the Gelug School, Tsongkhapa, the techniques explained here are simple, direct and possess the power to radically alter the way we see the world and ourselves. They present a time-tested means for counteracting depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and countless other forms of mental suffering. This book provides the reader with all of the instruction necessary to embark on the path of transformation that Tibetan Buddhists have refined over the last 1300 years. Geshe Wangchen provides detailed explanations on the six perfections, emptiness, the preciousness of life, and how to develop the genuine altruistic wish to live one’s life in a way that brings only benefit to all living things. Geshe Wangchen provides three life-changing meditations that the reader can immediately integrate into their lives in order to work toward a life experience that is more compassionate, confident, and full of wisdom.

ISBN:0-86171-600-0_|_256 pages _|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Steps on the Path to Enlightenment
A Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo, Vol. 1: The Foundational Practices
Geshe Lhundub Sopa, Author
David Patt, Editor_|_Beth Newman, Editor
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foreword
The first volume of a much-anticipated, comprehensive commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo by the renowned Buddhist scholar, Geshe Sopa. This landmark commentary on what is perhaps the most elaborate and elegant Tibetan presentation of the Buddhist path offers a detail overview of Buddhist philosophy which will be especially invaluable for those who want to enact the wisdom of the Buddha in their lives.

In the Lamrim Chenmo, Tsongkhapa explains the path in terms of the three levels of practitioners, those of small capacity who seek happiness in future lives, those of medium capacity who seek liberation from the cycle of suffering, and those of great capacity who seek full enlightenment in order to benefit al beings. This volume covers the topics common to the first level: Tsongkhapa's explanations of the role of this teacher, his exhortation to take the essence of human existence, the contemplation of death and future lives, and going for the refuge.

Given his vast knowledge and his experience in both the Tibetan and Western contexts, Geshe Sopa is the ideal commentator for this work for the modern student of Tibetan Buddhism.

ISBN:0-86171-303-6_|_608 pp_|_Our Price: $23.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Steps on the Path to Enlightenment
A Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo, Vol. 2: Karma
Geshe Lhundub Sopa, Author
David Patt, Editor_|_His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foreword

This second volume of the five-volume commentary by the renowned Buddhist scholar Geshe Lhundub Sopa focuses on the key Buddhist concepts of karma, or cause and effect, and dependent origination. Considered one of the finest scholars of Buddhism alive, Geshe Sopa provides commentaries essential for anyone interested in a sound understanding of Tibetan Buddhist practice and philosophy.

Never has a book gone into such clear detail on karma—a concept that, despite many references in popular culture, is too often misunderstood. Geshe Sopa is an ideal commentator for the Western reader.

ISBN:0-86171-481-4_|_512 pp_|_Our Price: $23.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Steps on the Path to Enlightenment
A Commentary on the Lamrim Chenmo, Vol. 3: The Way of the Bodhisattva
Geshe Lhundub Sopa, Author
Beth Newman, Editor_|_His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foreword

Geshe Lhundub Sopa’s Steps on the Path to Enlightenment is a landmark commentary on what is perhaps the most elaborate and elegant Tibetan presentation of the Buddhist path, Tsongkhapa’s monumental Lamrim Chenmo. In this third volume of five, readers are acquainted with the bodhisattva’s path and the altruistic desire to make service to others the driving force of spiritual development.

It begins with an explanation of what distinguishes the Mahayana practitioner from other Buddhists. The nature of bodhichitta is described in depth, and Geshe Sopa then provides a detailed, contemporary commentary on the two methods to develop this attitude: the “sevenfold cause-and-effect personal instructions” based on the teachings of Atisha and the later Kadampa lineage, and the “training to exchange self and other” based on Shantideva’s Engaging in the Bodhisattva’s Deeds. While bodhichitta’s significance in Mahayana Buddhism is universally known, this attitude alone is not sufficient in the quest for complete enlightenment. A practitioner must devote oneself to the performance of actions motivated by bodhichitta, called the bodhisattva perfections.

ISBN:0-86171-482-2_|_624 pp_|_Our Price: $23.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Stilling The Mind
Shamatha Teachings From Dudjom Linpa’s Vajra Essence
B. Alan Wallace,


In The Attention Revolution, bestselling author Alan Wallace guided readers through the stages of shamatha, a meditation for focusing the mind. In Stilling the Mind he uses the wisdom of the Dzogchen—a subtle Tibetan meditation tradition—to open up this practice into a space of freedom from hope and fear by introducing us to one of the most cherished works of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, Düdjom Lingpa’s Vajra Essence.

ISBN:0-86171-690-6_|_224_|_Our Price: $14.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Svatantrika-Prasangika Distinction, The
What Difference Does a Difference Make?
Georges B.J. Dreyfus, Editor
Sara L. McClintock, Editor

Madhyamaka, or "Middle Way," philosophy came to Tibet from India and became the basis of all of Tibetan Buddhism. The Tibetans, however, differentiated two streams of Madhyamaka philosophy—Svatantrika and Prasangika. In this collection, leading scholars in the field address the distinction on various levels, including the philosophical import for both Indian and Tibetan Madhyamaka and the historical development of the distinction.

Click here to return to the complete Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism Series

ISBN:0-86171-324-9_|_416 pp_|_Our Price: $27.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Taking the Result as the Path
Core Teachings of the Sakya Lamdré Tradition
Cyrus Stearns, Translator
His Holiness Sakya Trizin, Foreword

The tradition known as the Path with the Result, or Lamdré‚ is the most important tantric system of theory and meditation practice in the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. This volume contains an unprecedented compilation of eleven vital works from different periods in the history of the Path with the Result in India and Tibet, including the Vajra Lines of the great Indian adept Virupa (ca. seventh-eighth centuries), the basic text of the tradition. The collection also includes six writings by Jamyang Khyentsé Wangchuk (1524-68) and an instruction manual composed by the Fifth Dalai Lama (1617–62). None of the works in this book have ever been published before in any European language, and most of these writings traditionally have been considered secret. The present translation, volume 4 of the Library of Tibetan Classics, has been made with the personal approval and encouragement of His Holiness Sakya Trizin, head of the Sakya tradition.

View all the available Library of Tibetan Classics volumes.

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ISBN:0-86171-443-1_|_784 pages_|_Our Price: $47.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Tantric Distinction
A Buddhist’s Reflections on Compassion and Emptiness
Jeffrey Hopkins, Author


"The ideas, concepts, and methods of various religions must be tried on for size, must be lifted above museum displays, must be confronted and allowed to resonate with one's own character. It is in this spirit that…I present here a personalized account of central Buddhist practices."—;from the author's preface

Widely recognized as one of the West's leading scholars of Tibetan Buddhism, Professor Jeffrey Hopkins is renowned for his textual translations and original scholarship. For ten years he ser4ved as the principal English translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The Tantric Distinction is his effort to make accessible the complexities of this highly sophisticated philosophy by sharing his personal, individual experience with buddhist thought and practice. It lays out the entire Buddhist path as a living experience.

ISBN:0-86171-154-8_|_192 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Tantric Ethics
An Explanation of the Precepts for Buddhist Vajrayana Practice
Tsongkhapa, Author
Gareth Sparham, Translator_|_Jeffrey Hopkins, Foreword

Tantra, or Vajrayana, Buddhism is a set of esoteric practices that involve mantra recitation and complex visualizations. Tantra constitutes the fabric of a Tibetan Buddhist's daily practice, but no practice of tantra can be successful without adherence to the tantric precepts, the highest of three complementary sets of vows. Tsongkhapa is perhaps the greatest philosopher ever produced by Tibet's Buddhist culture, and this book is a translation of his explanation of the tantric precepts.

ISBN:0-86171-290-0_|_208 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

The Awakening Mind
The Foundation of Buddhist Thought, Volume 4
Geshe Tashi Tsering,


Bodhichitta [boh-dee-CHEE-tuh], often translated as "great compassion," is the gem at the heart of Buddhism. From this altruistic desire to serve others, all other Buddhist practices naturally flow, therefore, this state of mind is one Buddhists should understand and cultivate. In The Awakening Mind, Geshe Tashi Tsering leads us through the two main methods to develop bodhichitta that have been developed by the great Indian and Tibetan Buddhists over the centuries: the seven points of cause and effect, and equalizing and exchanging the self with others.

This is the fourth release from Geshe Tashi's Foundation of Buddhist Thought series, which-individually and collectively-represent an excellent introduction to Tibetan Buddhism. These unique and friendly books are based on the curriculum of a popular course of the same name, developed by Geshe Tashi himself.

Geshe Tashi's presentations combine rigor and comprehensiveness with lucidity and accessibility, never divorced from the basic humanity and warmth of his personality. In Geshe Tashi, we encounter the new generation of Tibetan monk-scholars teaching in the West who are following in the footsteps of such revered and groundbreaking teachers as Geshe Wangyal and Geshe Sopa.

ISBN:0-86171-510-1_|_192 pages_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

The Best of Inquiring Mind
25 Years of Dharma, Drama, and Uncommon Insight
Edited by Barbara Gates and Wes Nisker,


For over a quarter century Inquiring Mind has been a pathblazer at the forefront of Buddhism in the West. Rich in insight, humor, and world-renowned expertise, The Best of Inquiring Mind is an unprecedented gathering of wisdom from the minds of some of the most influential thinkers in the realm of modern Dharma.

ISBN:0-86171-551-9_|_360_|_Our Price: $14.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

The Buddhist Philosophy of the Middle
Essays on Indian and Tibetan Madhyamaka
David Seyfort Ruegg,


Madhyamaka, the “philosophy of the middle,” systematized the Buddha's fundamental teaching on no-self with its profound non-essentialist reading of reality. Founded in India by Nagarjuna in about the second century c.e., Madhyamaka philosophy went on to become the dominant strain of Buddhist thought in Tibet and exerted a profound influence on all the cultures of East Asia. Within the extensive Western scholarship inspired by this school of thought, David Seyfort Ruegg's work is unparalleled in its incisiveness, diligence, and scope.

ISBN:0-86171-590-x_|_464 pages_|_Our Price: $31.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems
A Tibetan Study of Asian Religious Thought
Thuken Losang Chokyi Nyima,


The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems by Thuken Losang Chokyi Nyima (1737–1802), is arguably the widest-ranging account of religious philosophies ever written in pre-modern Tibet. Like most Tibetan texts on philosophical systems, this work covers the major schools of India, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, but then goes on to discuss in detail the entire range of Tibetan traditions as well, with separate chapters on the Nyingma, Kadam, Kagyu, Shije, Sakya, Jonang, Geluk, and Bon schools. Not resting there, Thuken goes on to describe the major traditions of China—Confucian, Daoist, and the multiple varieties of Buddhist—as well as those of Mongolia, Khotan, and even Shambhala. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is unusual, too, in its concern not just to describe and analyze doctrines, but to trace the historical development of the various traditions. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is an eloquent and erudite presentation exploring the religious history and philosophical systems of an array of Asian Cultures—and offering evidence that the serious and sympathetic study of the history of religions has not been a monopoly of Western scholarship.

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ISBN:0-86171-464-4_|_696 pages_|_Our Price: $47.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

The Two Truths Debate
Tsongkhapa and Gorampa on the Middle Way
Sonam Thakchoe, Author
Jay Garfield, Foreword

All lineages of Tibetan Buddhism today claim allegiance to the philosophy of the Middle Way, the exposition of emptiness propounded by the second-century Indian master Nagarjuna. But not everyone interprets it the same way. A major faultline runs through Tibetan Buddhism around the interpretation of what are called the two truths—the deceptive truth of conventional appearances and the ultimate truth of emptiness. An understanding of this faultline illuminates the beliefs that separate the Gelug descendents of Tsongkhapa from contemporary Dzogchen and Mahamudra adherents. The Two Truths Debate digs into the debate of how the two truths are defined and how they are related by looking at two figures, one on either side of the faultline, and shows how their philosophical positions have dramatic implications for how one approaches Buddhist practice and how one understands enlightenment itself.

ISBN:0-86171-501-2_|_264 pp_|_Our Price: $18.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Three Levels of Spiritual Perception, The
A Commentary on the Three Visions, Second Edition
Deshung Rinpoche, Author


The Three Levels of Spiritual Perception is a revised edition of the classic guide to the Lam-dre, 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 written 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.

ISBN:0-86171-368-0_|_624 pages_|_Our Price: $19.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Tibet is My Country
The Autobiography of Thubten Jigme Norbu, Brother of the Dalai Lama
Thubten Jigme Norbu, Author
Heinrich Harrer, Author

The Dalai Lama's brother recalls the details of his life: his childhood, his recognition as a reincarnated lama, the story of his brother, and the exile of thousands of Tibetans from their homeland.

ISBN:0-86171-045-2_|_276 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Tibetan Art Calendar 2011




Now available at 60% off the listed price!

Poster-sized reproductions of classical paintings produced to the highest standards. Wisdom’s Tibetan Art Calendar is an annual favorite.

The antique scroll-art masterpieces seen in Wisdom's Tibetan Art Calendar 2010 are called thangkas. While the thangka is common to Tibetan Buddhists, its finest examples are highly sought-after in the international art community and have become hot properties in the same vein as Oriental rugs and ceramics. As a result, the best of these works are seldom, if ever, available for public viewing.

This is why Wisdom's Tibetan Art Calendar is so special. It's an affordable way to enjoy incredibly rare and meaningful works of sacred art, year-round. These thirteen sacred paintings by Tibet's master painters represent a variety of classical images, mandalas, deities, and icons. Each poster-sized picture is produced to the highest German printing standards, and is suitable for framing. Complete with in-depth explanations of their cultural and philosophical significance, these exquisite fine art reproductions will be treasured for years to come.

ISBN:0-86171-622-1_|_28 pages_|_Our Price: $11.984 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Tibetan Art of Parenting
From Before Conception through Early Childhood
Anne Maiden Brown, Author
Edie Farwell, Author

This is an inspiring and practical introduction for parents, health workers, policy makers, educators, spiritual students, and others to an integrated system of health care that includes body, emotions, mind, spirit, relationships, and environment. ... An invaluable guide for anyone interested in anything from holistic healthcare to the myths, legends, and child-rearing practices of the Tibetan people.

ISBN:0-86171-579-9_|_256 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Tibetan Buddhism from the Ground Up
A Practical Approach for Modern Life
B. Alan Wallace, Author
Steven Wilhelm, Editor

As long as our minds are dominated by the conditions of the external world, we are bound to remain in a state of dissatisfaction, always vulnerable to grief and fear. How then can we develop an inner sense of well-being and redefine our relationship to a world that seems unavoidably painful and unkind?

Many have found a practical answer to that question in the 2,500-year-old teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. Here at last is an organized overview of these teachings, beginning with the basic themes of the sutras—;the general discourses of the Buddha—;and continuing through the esoteric concepts and advanced practices of Tantra. Unlike other introductions to Tibetan Buddhism, this accessible, enjoyable work doesn't stop with theory and history, but relates timeless spiritual principles to the pressing issues of modern life, both in terms of our daily experience and our uniquely Western world view.

This fascinating, highly readable book asks neither unquestioning faith nor blind obedience to abstract concepts or religious beliefs. Rather, it challenges us to question and investigate life's issues for ourselves in the light of an ancient and effective approach to the sufferings and joys of the human condition.

ISBN:0-86171-075-4_|_224 pp_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Tibetan Calligraphy
How to Write the Alphabet and More
Sanje Elliott,


In Tibetan Calligraphy, Sanje Elliott shows us how to capture the elegance and grace of Tibetan calligraphy without prior knowledge of either Tibetan language or calligraphy. This beautiful book includes many prayers, mantras, and seed syllables to copy and study. Perfect for practitioners, artists, and anyone interested in the Tibetan language.

ISBN:0-86171-699-X_|_104 pages_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

To Dispel the Misery of the World
Whispered Teachings of the Bodhisattvas
Ga Rabjampa, Author
Khenpo Appey, Foreword by

"Offered here is the pith advice on mind training according to the great vehicle. This is the path followed by all the buddhas and their children of the past, present, and future, the most profound instruction of the oral lineage, and the quintessence of the ocean of all the excellent teachings." —Ga Rabjampa

To Dispel the Misery of the World is among the best translations of early Tibetan texts in English. Fluid and accessible, with informative notes and an introduction to the little-known fifteenth-century author, this wellspring of Dharma will delight readers of any tradition or of no tradition. Translated under the guidance of Sogyal Rinpoche by Rigpa Translations, this work was recommended by the late Khenpo Appey Rinpoche, who believed its simple yet powerful instructions were exactly what was needed by people in the world today.

ISBN:1-61429-004-0_|_224 pages_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Transcending Time
An Explanation of the Kalachakra Six-Session Guru Yoga
Gen Lamrimpa, Author
B. Alan Wallace, Translator_|_His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foreword

Inspired by years of scholarly training and decades of solitary retreat, Tibetan monk Gen Lamrimpa offers a concise overview of all phases of the Kalachakra practice: the preliminaries, the initiation, and finally, the stages of generation and completion. With remarkable clarity, he makes the Six-Session Guruyoga practice accessible to all practitioners, and deepens our understanding and appreciation of this sublime teaching of the Buddha.

Gen Lamrimpa begins this eminently practical explanation by emphasizing the importance of a compassionate motivation for spiritual practice. He then explores the nature of suffering and the cycle of existence that traps all living beings, and concludes with a detailed account of the Six-Phase Yoga, which is meant to be recited and contemplated three times during the day and three times at night. Alan Wallace's introduction illuminates both Kalachakra's rich history and Gen Lamrimpa's unique contribution to our understanding.

This book provides a clear explanation of Kalachakra as set forth within the context of the Six-Session Guruyoga, a daily meditation practice for initiates. Transcending Time presents all phases of Kalachakra practice—the preliminaries, the initiation, and finally, the stages of generation and completion.

ISBN:0-86171-152-1_|_336 pp_|_Our Price: $17.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Transforming Problems into Happiness

Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Author
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foreword

"Happiness and suffering are dependent upon your mind, upon your interpretation. They do not come from outside, from others. All of your happiness and all of your suffering are created by you, by your own mind," says Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Commenting on a early-twentieth-century Tibetan text of instructions and practical advice for everyday spiritual living, Lama Zopa Rinpoche literally teaches us how to be happy when we are not, by bringing about the changes in attitude that permit us to live a happy and relaxed life in which external circumstances no longer rule us. In Transforming Problems Into Happiness, Lama Zopa Rinpoche brings his own special flavor or contemporary relevance to a timeless teaching on Buddhist psychology. This volume will be valuable to everyone, whatever their religious or spiritual background.

This new edition includes a translation of the root text, Dodrupchen Rinpoche's (1865-1926) Instructions on Turning Happiness and Suffering into the Path of Enlightenment, translated by Tulku Thundop.

ISBN:0-86171-194-7_|_104 pp_|_Our Price: $10.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Tsongkhapa's Praise for Dependent Relativity

Lobsang Gyatso, Author
Geshe Graham Woodhouse, Author

Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), the author of The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment and the teacher of the First Dalai Lama, is renowned as one of the greatest scholar-saints that Tibet has ever produced. He composed his poetic Praise for Dependent Relativity the very morning that he abandoned confusion and attained the final view, the clear realization of emptiness that is the essence of wisdom. English monk Graham Woodhouse, a longtime student of Buddhism who lives near the Dalai Lama’s residence in northern India, translates Tsongkhapa’s celebrated text and conveys for modern readers the teachings he received from his teacher, the late Venerable Losang Gyatso.

ISBN:0-86171-264-1_|_144 pages_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Ultimate Healing
The Power of Compassion
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Author
Ailsa Cameron, Editor_|_Lillian Too, Foreword

Ultimate Healing shows us that by transforming our minds, especially through the development of compassion, we can eliminate the ultimate cause of all disease. In addition to relating stories of people who have recovered from disease through meditation, Lama Zopa presents practical healing meditations, including white-light healing, compassion meditation, "taking and giving," and techniques to cure depression. Ultimate Healing shows that by opening up to the truths of impermanence, interdependence, and the suffering of others, we can heal our bodies, our lives, and the world around us.

We experience illness on a physical level, but in order to be healed, we must understand where true healing begins: within our hearts and minds. In Ultimate Healing, internationally renowned meditation master Lama Zopa Rinpoche helps us to recognize the root of illness and gives us the tools to create our future happiness. Beginning with stories of people who have recovered from disease through meditation, Rinpoche addresses the central role played by karma and by the mental habit of "labeling" in causing illness, and shows how meditation and thought other techniques for developing compassion and insight can eliminate the ultimate cause of all disease.

ISBN:0-86171-195-5_|_288 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Uniting Wisdom and Compassion
Illuminating the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva
Chokyi Dragpa, Author
Heidi I. Koppl, Translator_|_Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, Introduction

UNITING WISDOM AND COMPASSION is a unique presentation of the Buddhist path by Chokyi Dragpa, the foremost Gelug disciple of the famed nineteenth-century Tibetan master Patrul Rinpoche. Its quotations and direct instructions from realized sages of the past reinforce one another, subtly penetrating the mind and preparing it for meditation. This book, while fully accessible to newcomers, is especially powerful for serious, established practitioners.

ISBN:0-86171-377-x_|_224 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Vajrayogini
Her Visualization, Rituals, and Forms
Elizabeth English, Author


Vajrayogini is a tantric goddess from the highest class of Buddhist tantras who manifests the ultimate development of wisdom and compassion. Her practice is prevalent today among practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism. This ground-breaking book delves into the origins of Vajrayogin_, charting her evolution in India and examining her roots in the Cakrasamvara tantra and in Indian tradition relating to Shiva.

The focus of this work is the Guhyasamayasadhanamala, a collection of forty-six sadhanas, or practice texts. Written on palm leaves in Sanskrit and preserved since the twelfth century, this diverse collection, composed by various authors, reveals a multitude of forms of the goddess, each of which is described and illustrated here. One of the sadhanas, the Vajravarahi Sadhana by Umapatideva, depicts Vajrayogini at the center of a mandala of thirty-seven different goddesses, and is here presented in full translation alongside a Sanskrit edition. Elizabeth English provides extensive explanation and annotation of this representative text. Sixteen pages of stunning color plates not only enhance the study but bring the goddess to life.

Click here to return to the complete Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism Series

ISBN:0-86171-329-X_|_592 pp_|_Our Price: $27.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Vast as the Heavens, Deep as the Sea
Verses in Praise of Bodhicitta
Khunu Rinpoche, Author
Gareth Sparham, Translator_|_Gareth Sparham, Introduction
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foreword
Revered by many—especially His Holiness the Dalai Lama—as the very embodiment of altruism, the late Khunu Rinpoche Tenzin Gyaltsen devoted his life to the development of bodhicitta—the aspiration to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Presented in both English and the original Tibetan, this modern classic is a collection of Khunu Rinpoche’s inspirational verse.

ISBN:0-86171-146-7_|_160 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Veggiyana
The Dharma of Cooking: With 108 Delicious Easy Vegetarian Recipes
Sandra Garson,


The kitchen is the most vital place on Earth, because survival even now in the age of iPads and large hadron colliders still depends on wholesome, nutritious food. In keeping with this simple truth Veggiyana provides 108 tasty, beloved and simple recipes from around the world. And generously sprinkled throughout—like the perfect blend of herbs and spices are morsels of time-tested wisdom on how to live a life that nourishes both body and spirit. Veggiyana brings the vitality of the worlds kitchens to your own with wisdom and recipes to delight and inspire.

ISBN:0-86171-636-1_|_320_|_Our Price: $15.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Voice That Remembers
One Woman’s Historic Fight to Free Tibet
Ama Adhe, Author
Joy Blakeslee, Author_|_His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foreword

Ama Adhe's spirit soars over national and cultural boundaries. Her tenacious struggle to remain human in the face of inhuman torture and deprivation while imprisoned by the Chinese for twenty-seven years inspires any reader fortunate enough to encounter this remarkable woman's story. An added bonus is an education on Tibet and China in the last half of the twentieth century.

ISBN:0-86171-149-1_|_272 pp_|_Our Price: $13.56 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Warrior-King of Shambhala
Remembering Chogyam Trungpa
Jeremy Hayward, Author
Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Foreword

A fascinating portrait of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, one of the most charismatic, controversial, and visionary spiritual teachers of all time, this book is also an inspiring, heart-warming, and often humorous account of the author's own path of transformation from skeptic to mature spiritual practitioner. What's more, Warrior-King of Shambhala is a splendid presentation of the teachings and experiences that have become the heart of the Shambhala Buddhist tradition.

A pioneer in introducing Tibetan Buddhism to the West, Chogyam Trungpa is also one of its most controversial figures: he often defied notions of how a holy man should act, and his unconventional behavior and "crazy wisdom" caused some to view him with suspicion. But he was above all known for his compassion, insight, and vision and was immediately recognized as a living Buddha by a generation of spiritual seekers.

One of those seekers was Jeremy Hayward, who in little time became a close confidante of the teacher. Warrior King of Shambhala, Hayward's intimate memoir of Trungpa, begins with their first meeting in 1970, progressing year by year until Trungpa's death and beyond. Hayward vividly describes Trungpa's powerful, direct way of working with students, his groundbreaking work in bringing Buddhism to the West, and the teachings Trungpa presented each year. He also describes his own personal spiritual journey with the inimitable Chogyam Trungpa as his guide.

ISBN:0-86171-546-2_|_496_|_Our Price: $15.16 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Warriors of Tibet
The Story of Aten and the Khampas’ Fight for the Freedom of their Country
Jamyang Norbu, Author


A heartfelt story of one man's struggle for Tibetan independence. Warriors of Tibet is a vivid portrait of a Tibetan Khampa warrior, Aten, and his people of Nyarong. He tells the history of his people, and relates how the peaceful lifestyle in Kham was shattered by the incursion and final domination of the Chinese government in the 1950's. He tells of blood battles and the terrible suffering of his people, and finally the murder of his family and his escape across the Himalayas to Dharamsala in northern India. This book is essential reading for people involved with the Free Tibet movement.

ISBN:0-86171-050-9_|_152 pp_|_Our Price: $10.36 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Way of Awakening, The
A Commentary on Shantideva's Bodhicharyavatara
Geshe Yeshe Tobden, Author
Fiorella Rizzi, Editor_|_His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Foreword

One of the great classics of Buddhist literature, the Bodhicharyavatara, or Way of the Bodhisattva, is required reading for understanding Tibetan Buddhism. His Holiness the Dalai Lama considers it a seminal influence in his life and work and repeatedly stresses the benefits of its study. Presented in the form of a personal meditation in verse, it outlines the path of the bodhisattvas—those who renounce the peace of their own salvation, vowing instead to attain enlightenment for the sake of all others.

Shantideva was a seventh-century Buddhist master who taught at Nalanda, one of the great monastic universities of ancient India, and Shantideva's Bodhicharyavatara deeply influenced the Dalai Lama, who once remarked that his own understanding of the bodhisattva path is based entirely upon Shantideva's text. Shantideva's work is required reading for an understanding of Tibetan Buddhism.

As long as space endures,
As long as sentient beings remain,
May I likewise remain
To dispel the sorrows of the world.

—Shantideva

The Way of Awakening is without question the most comprehensive single commentary on this text available. Expounded by an accomplished scholar and deeply realized meditator, it is a resource for a lifetime of study. Chapter by chapter and verse by verse, it maps the Bodhicharyavatara, helping us to deepen our understanding of its teachings and apply them to our lives.

ISBN:0-86171-494-6_|_416 pp_|_Our Price: $15.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Wheel of Great Compassion
The Practice of the Prayer Wheel in Tibetan Buddhism
Lorne Ladner, Editor
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Foreword

The Wheel of Great Compassion is the first book to provide Western readers with a complete understanding of the prayer wheel—an ancient and mystical practice that has long been popular with Buddhists throughout Tibet and Mongolia for its ability to bless the environment, promote healing, increase compassion, and assist practitioners on their journeys to enlightenment.

This book offers a clear description of prayer wheel practice, its meaning and benefits, and its role as an essential ritual and symbol of Tibetan Buddhism. It contains a general introduction to the prayer wheel, photographs and illustrations, six commentaries by Tibetan lamas (including Lama Zopa Rinpoche), and instructions for both prayer wheel construction and proper use.

ISBN:0-86171-174-2_|_168 pp_|_Our Price: $15.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

When the Chocolate Runs Out
A “little book of wisdom.”
Lama Thubten Yeshe,


To know Lama was to know he loved chocolate! It was his favorite metaphor to epitomize our attachments.

This funny and trenchant little volume answers the question of how we can be happy even after the “chocolate” has run out. By cutting the cords of attachment, we discover the indestructible happiness that has always been available to us.

This beautiful little book captures the remarkable personality of Lama, who played an integral role in introducing Tibetan Buddhism to the world. When the Chocolate Runs Out will delight both readers who have known Lama Yeshe for decades and those who have never met this timelessly inspiring spiritual teacher.

This “little book of wisdom” is a perfect companion to How to Be Happy by Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

ISBN:0-86171-269-2_|_176 pages_|_Our Price: $7.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Wholesome Fear
Transforming Your Anxiety About Impermanence and Death
Lama Zopa Rinpoche,
Kathleen McDonald,

Our anxiety around sickness, old age, and death can be a “wholesome fear”—a fear with a positive quality that ultimately enriches and nourishes our lives. Lama Zopa Rinpoche shows us how we can use our anxiety as a high-octane fuel to really live what's most important, and Kathleen McDonald presents meditations that integrate these teachings and lead to peace, compassion, and joy for ourselves and others. Doing so will help us to live well and, when the time comes as it inevitably will, to die well too. It's never too early to start making this most important of efforts—and, fortunately, it is never too late.

ISBN:0-86171-630-2_|_160 pages_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Wisdom Energy
Basic Buddhist Teachings
Lama Thubten Yeshe, Author
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Author_|_Jonathan Landaw, Editor
Alexander Berzin, Editor

Wisdom Energy is a simple and compelling introduction to Buddhism by two Tibetan lamas renowned for their insight and skill in teaching Westerners. Containing an entire meditation course, it goes to the heart of basic Buddhist practice and discusses the meaning and purpose of meditation, the causes of dissatisfaction and unhappiness, and the methods for subduing them and gaining control over our minds and lives.

This special 25th Anniversary Edition of Wisdom Energy preserves the power, humor, and directness of the lamas' first teaching tour of North America. It gives the reader the feeling of an intimate audience with two highly respected teachers.

ISBN:0-86171-170-X_|_160 pp_|_Our Price: $11.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

World of Tibetan Buddhism, The (Cloth Edition)
An Overview of Its Philosophy and Practice
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author
Richard Gere, Foreword_|_Geshe Jinpa, Translator

With characteristic humility, His Holiness the Dalai Lama begins this landmark survey of the entire Buddhist path saying, “I think an overview of Tibetan Buddhism for the purpose of providing a comprehensive framework of the Buddhist path may prove helpful in deepening your understanding and practice.”

ISBN:0-86171-100-9_|_224 pp_|_Our Price: $20 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

World of Tibetan Buddhism, The (Paperback)
An Overview of Its Philosophy and Practice
His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Author
Richard Gere, Foreword_|_Geshe Jinpa, Translator

With characteristic humility, His Holiness the Dalai Lama begins this landmark survey of the entire Buddhist path saying, “I think an overview of Tibetan Buddhism for the purpose of providing a comprehensive framework of the Buddhist path may prove helpful in deepening your understanding and practice.”

ISBN:0-86171-097-5_|_224 pp_|_Our Price: $12.76 (20% OFF)_|_More Info



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