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Amrita of Eloquence: A Biography of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche
By: Lama Karma Drodul, translated by Yeshe Gyamtso

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Amrita of Eloquence is a luminous portrait of the life of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, one of the Kagyu lineage's most beloved and revered teachers. Beautifully written by Lama Karma Drodul (Rinpoche's nephew and disciple) and elegantly translated by Yeshe Gyamtso, Amrita of Eloquence describes Khenpo Rinpoche and his life with humor, lyrical beauty, and boundless affection. The book composed in the traditional style of Tibetan spiritual biographies, but is nonetheless completely accessible to modern readers. The importance of such biographies cannot be overestimated: studying the life of one's guru brings devotion, and devotion brings awakening.
Born in eastern Tibet in 1924, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche is one of the great masters of the Karma Kagyu tradition. Rinpoche, who received most of his training and education in Tibet before the Chinese invasion, is highly accomplished in meditation, philosophy, and monastic arts. As abbot of Karma Triyana Dharmachakra Monastery (KTD) in Woodstock, New York; spiritual guide of thirty-five Karma Thegsum Choling (KTC) affiliate centers; and retreat master at the Karme Ling Retreat Center in Delhi, New York, Rinpoche has touched the lives of thousands of students. He is also known for numerous books, including The Quintessence of the Union of Mahamudra and Dzokchen; Dharma Paths; Instructions of Gampopa; Bardo: Interval of Possibility, The Wish-Fulfilling Wheel: The Practice of White Tara; and the five-volume masterwork Karma Chakme's Mountain Dharma.

"You light the beacon of dharma in a land where it was previously absent.
You bring happiness to the minds of all kinds of beings.
You are always on the path of nonviolence, peace, and happiness.
Holy being with flawless morality, I pray that you remain."

Supplication written by
His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa,
Ogyen Trinley Dorje,
for the long life of Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche

Bo Bon
By: Dmitry Ermakov

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Hailed as a fascinating and unique book, this is the first in-depth study of its kind comparing the ancient B�n religion with the Siberian shamanic tradition of Lake Baikal. Combining scholarly research with spiritual insight and with over 200 illustrations, maps and diagrams, the information is presented in a clear and lively way, enabling the reader to navigate easily through the various topics dealt with and to follow the threads of the intricate tapestry which is woven as the parallels between the ancient shamanic traditions of Tibet and Siberia unfold.

However, it goes much further than usual research in comparative religion can; while it stands up to academic scrutiny, it is written from the perspective of �an insider� and the author draws on his many years of experience in both Yungdrung B�n and the Bө Murgel tradition of Buryatia to bring this subject to life and help us unlock some hidden aspects of both belief systems.

Book of Kadam: The Core Texts, Attributed to Atisa Dipamkara (982�1054) and Dromt�npa (1005�1064)

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The Kadma School, which emerged from the teachings of the Indian master Atisa and his principal student, Dromt�npa, is revered for its unique practical application of the bodhisattva�s altruistic ideal in day-to-day life. One of the most well-known sets of spiritual teachings stemming from Atisa and Dromt�npa is a special collection of oral transmissions enshrined in the two-volume Book of Kadam (Bka� gdams glegs bam). The texts in this volume include the core texts of The Book of Kadam, notably the twenty-three-chapter dialogue between Atisa and Dromt�npa that is woven around Atisa�s Bodhisattva�s Jewel Garland. Sometimes referred to as the �Kadam emanation scripture,� The Book of Kadam is indisputedly one of the greatest works of Tibetan Buddhism. This volume contains (1) Atisa�s Bodhisattva�s Jewel Garland, (2) the twenty-three chapters of the Jewel Garland of Dialogues, (3) Dromt�npa�s Self-Exhortation, (4) Elucidation of the Heart-Drop Practice by Khenchen Nyima Gyaltsen (1223�1305), (5) four selected chapters from Dromt�npa�s birth stories, (6) two brief verse summaries of the Book of Kadam, one by the second Dalai Lama (1476�1542) and the other by Yongzin Yesh� Gyaltsen (1713�93), and (7) Sayings of the Kadam
Masters, compiled by Chegom Sherap Dorj� (ca. twelfth century).
Although the Kadam school no longer exists as an autonomous lineage within Tibetan Buddhism, its teachings have become fully incorporated into the teachings of all four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, especially the Geluk School.

Hardcover, 768 pages, $59.95

Chod Practice in the Bon Tradition
By: Alejandro Chaoul

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This book is the first to trace the history of Ch�d practice in Tibet's indigenous B�n tradition. Ch�d ("cutting through") is a meditative practice in which the practitioner imagines offering his or her body in sacrifice through elaborate contemplative visualization. Although a meditative practice, Ch�d is not done sitting comfortably on a cushion in a shrine room, but instead is often practiced in terrifying places like cemeteries or charnal grounds. The feelings of fear that result are used by the Ch�d practitioner to "cut through" his or her own ego. Ch�d contains elements of early shamanism, of sutric and tantric teachings also found in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, and of the Tibetan highest school of Dzogchen.

Hardcover, March, 2008,118 Pages, $18.95

Dreamworlds of Shamanism and Tibetan Buddhism

Dreamworlds of Shamanism and Tibetan Buddhism
By: Angela Sumegi

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Explores shamanic and Tibetan Buddhist attitudes toward dreams.

Dreamworlds of Shamanism and Tibetan Buddhism explores the fertile interaction of Buddhism, shamanism, and Tibetan culture with the subject of dreaming. In Tibetan Buddhist literature, there are numerous examples of statements that express the value of dreams as a vehicle of authentic spiritual knowledge and, at the same time, dismiss dreams as the ultra-illusions of an illusory world. Examining the �third place� from the perspective of shamanism and Buddhism, Angela Sumegi provides a fresh look at the contradictory attitudes toward dreams in Tibetan culture. Sumegi questions the longstanding interpretation that views this dichotomy as a difference between popular and elite religion, and theorizes that a better explanation of the ambiguous position of dreams can be gained through attention to the spiritual dynamics at play between Buddhism and an indigenous shamanic presence. By exploring the themes of conflict and resolution that coalesce in the Tibetan experience, and examining dreams as a site of dialogue between shamanism and Buddhism, this book provides an alternate model for understanding dreams in Tibetan Buddhism.

Paperback, 166 Pages

From the Land of the Thunder Dragon: Textile Arts of Bhutan

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Bhutanese textiles are among the last of the major arts of Asia to gain recognition in the West, and this is the first book to present this outstanding art form in its cultural and historical context. Bhutan's textiles, especially the intricate brocades and complex supplementary-warp patterns, are unmatched anywhere in the world. This art, with a steadily growing and devoted following in the West and Japan, has become Bhutan's most powerful emblem abroad.

This volume, first published in 1994 (now reprinted in 2008) in conjunction with a special exhibition organized by the Peabody Essex Museum of Salem, Massachusetts, covers all aspects of Bhutan's textiles and weaving heritage, from the central role of women - more than 80 percent of Bhutanese women contribute to their household's income by weaving - to fibers, dyes, and looms, to the functioning of beautiful cloth as an item of trade and an indicator of historical change and social identity. This copiously illustrated book reveals the richness, originality, and striking beauty of Bhutanese textiles. Examples come from the Peabody Essex Museum, which holds the largest such collection of any North American museum, and public and private collections in Bhutan, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The illustrations are supplemented by field photographs and rare archival images.

Available in May, 2008.

Garland of Jewels: The Eight Great Bodhisattvas, by Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, Translated by Yeshe Gyamtso

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Translator's Introduction

This book is a translation of a collection of stories about the eight great bodhisattvas. These stories are all taken from sutras and tantras taught by the Buddha, such as the Avatamsaka and the Lotus Sutras. They were collected and edited by the great Buddhist teacher Mipham Namgyal (1846 - 1912). Mipham was one of the greatest teachers in Tibet of his time, and his writings remain the basis for much of the study conducted by his own tradition, the Nyingma school of Buddhism, and by other traditions such as the Karma Kagyu.

In writing his book, Mipham combined edited extracts from his sources with his own writing about his subject. He wove the two together so skillfully that it is often not immediately obvious where the extract ends and his comments begin. Often he summarized long passages. He also omitted some of the sutras� didactic material in order to emphasize the stories he wanted to tell. Although we typically think of Buddhist sutras as teachings accompanied by sparing narrative, we discover in this book that the great sutras of the mahayana are repositories of extraordinary accounts of miracles and great deeds performed by buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Heart Essence of the Vast Expanse: A Story of Transmission
By: Anne Carolyn Klein

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This book is for anyone who appreciates the splendor of landscape, the beauty of spiritual music, anyone with an anthropologist's eye for other cultures, and especially for Western practitioners of Buddhism, members of the large community that takes "Heart Essence, the Vast Expanse" as central to its practice. Tibetan tradition lives through the performance of its religious texts�transmission through songs, images, and words. This book offers elements of all three, and is designed as a beautiful gift for the mind, the eye, the ear, and above all, the heart.
The first-ever chantable English translation of one of the most beloved and widely used of practice texts, this multimedia edition also provides a CD of the chanted text and a selection of rare photographs of sacred sites in Tibet. The vocalist, Jetsun Kacho Wangmo, is a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and singer.

Karma Chakme�s Mountain Dharma, Volume Three As Taught by Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche

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The original text by Karma Chakme Rinpoche was written in the Year of the Horse, 1659. The text from which Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche taught was printed and published at Tashi Jong, Him'chal Pradesh, India, and consists of fifty-four chapters and 595 pages. Karma Chakme requested that the text always be copied and presented in its completeness to ensure that nothing be lost. Because Mountain Dharma is a complete work of the complete path, Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche follows Karma Chakme's instructions, maintaining the integrity of the original text. We also respectfully follow their wishes and instructions; however, due to the length of the text and commentary, we will publish Khenpo Rinpoche's commentary on Mountain Dharma in five volumes, with a separate volume for the Tibetan text. Rinpoche followed the same order as the original Tibetan text with two exceptions: he began with the namthar (spiritual biography) of Karma Chakme, which in the Tibetan text is at the end; Rinpoche also omitted the chapters that he considered restricted. These restricted or secret parts will be taught and published separately at Karma Ling Retreat Center for use by qualified students. The result of these efforts is that the entire contents of Karma Chakme's Mountain Dharma will be available in English for the first time.

Karmapa's Middle Way: Feast for the Fortunate
By: Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje; Translated by Tyler Dewar

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In this much-awaited translation of a key text of Tibetan Buddhism, the Ninth Karmapa presents in unique fashion the vital Buddhist concept of emptiness, contrasting his own view with other widely accepted presentations. His explanation stresses the direct experience of the reader and bolsters the Mahayana ethic of compassion. A highly readable translation accessible even to beginning students.

Hardcover, 850 Pages.

Memories of Life in Lhasa Under Chinese Rule
By: Matthew Akester

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Born in 1941, Tubten Kh�tsun is a nephew of the Gyatso Tashi Khendrung, one of the senior government officials taken prisoner in the Tibetan peoples' uprising of March 10, 1959. Kh�tsun himself was arrested while defending the Dalai Lama's summer palace, and after serving a four-year sentence, he spent close to two decades in Lhasa as a requisitioned laborer and "class enemy."

In this eloquent autobiography, Kh�tsun describes what it was like to live under Maoist rule. His account is one of the most dispassionate, detailed, and readable firsthand descriptions yet published of daily life in Tibet under the Communist occupation. Kh�tsun talks of his prison experiences as well as the state of civil society following his release, and offers keenly observed accounts of well-known events, like the birth of the Cultural Revolution, and lesser-known aspects of the period. Since China continues to occupy Tibet, the facts of this era remain obscure. Kh�tsun's story is a careful evocation of the everyday hardships Tibetans suffered under a shockingly brutal regime and will captivate any reader seeking a refreshingly human account of those troubled years.

Pure Land Tradition: History and Development

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This new collection includes the latest scholarship on one of the most important strains of Buddhism, the Pure Land Tradition. The essays trace its historical evolution from its origins in India through its development in China to medieval Japan.

Struggle for Tibet
By: Wang Lixiong & Tsering Shakya

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Two leading thinkers argue against the Chinese occupation and the theocracy of Tibet.
This landmark dialogue between a dissenting Chinese intellectual and Tibet�s outstanding national historian breaks taboos on both sides of the conflict over Tibet.
In the first of the four exchanges that comprise this book, Wang Lixiong considers some of the bitter paradoxes of Tibet�s history under Communist rule, and their roots in the confrontation of an alien bureaucracy and fear-stricken religion. In reply, Tsering Shakya sets out his own view of Tibetan society and religion, and the PRC�s record in his country. Conceding the strength of some of Shakya�s arguments, Wang�s response focuses on the case of Woeser, a now-exiled Tibetan author. Wang critically examines China�s cultural imperialism, arguing that China has categorically suppressed Tibetan self-assertion, and aims to control expression of all kinds: any breakout invites punishment. The exchange concludes with Shakya�s examination of the difficulties faced today by Tibetan writers and thinkers, whose nationalist aspirations lead them to reject a traditional Tibetan religious world view, but oppose the state�s right to define �Tibetanness.�
Together, these pieces constitute a groundbreaking examination of the Chinese occupation of Tibet, and of Chinese cultural imperalism.

Why the Dalai Lama Matters: His Act of Truth as the Solution for China, Tibet, and the World
By: Thurman

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