Topics include:
- Understanding the inherent spiritual potential we all possess.
- Connecting with the Buddhist tradition.
- The fundamental tools of practice: listening, contemplating, and meditating.
- Detailed explanation of the basics of meditation practice.
- A discussion of the ethical principles of Buddhism.
- Teaching related to he key principle of bodhicitta (the attitude of profound, compassionate aspiration that is the key to supreme enlightenment).
- The Importance of teacher-student relationship.
- An in-depth look at how to awaken our widsom through mindfulness.


Excellent at the Beginning: Discovering the Buddhist Way, Ven. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, Rinchen Publication, 226 pages, 2015, $16.95

Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche was born in Tibet in 1924, and he is among the few remaining senior Tibetan lamas who were fully trained in retreat practice, ritual, and philosophical studies in Tibet before the Chinese invasion. In 1976 Rinpoche was sent to the United States by His Holiness the 16th Gyalwang Karmapa to establish Karma Triyana Dharmachakra (KTD) Monastery in Woodstock, New York, as the main Western seat of the Karma Kagyu tradition. Since then, Rinpoche has touched the lives of thousands of people with his extensive teaching activity, his extraordinary compassion, and his living embodiment of the awakened qualities of an authentic lama.

Contents: Excellent at the Beginning: Discovering the Buddhist Way
INTRODUCTION	xi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	xii
CONNECTING WITH THE BUDDHIST TEACHINGS	1
LISTENING, CONTEMPLATING, AND MEDITATING	7
MEDITATION ESSENTIALS
The Purpose of Meditation Practice	15
Meditation Practice Instructions	25
The Benefits of Shamata Practice	43
THE ETHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF PRACTICE	51
The Ten Positive Actions of Body, Speech, and Mind	63
Compassion and Loving-Kindness as Remedies for Anger and Jealousy	85
THE IMPORTANCE OF MIND TRAINING PRACTICE	95
THE REFUGE VOW	107
THE FOUR IMMEASURABLES	115
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BODHISATTVA VOW	135
THE SEVEN-BRANCH PRAYER	139
THE SIX PERFECTIONS	153
THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A SPIRITUAL FRIEND	171
The Authentic Master and the Authentic Student	177
THE FOUR FOUNDATIONS OF MINDFULNESS
The Contemplation of the Body	185
The Contemplation of Feelings	193
The Contemplation of the Mind	199
The Contemplation of Phenomena	211
CREDITS	225