The Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism began in the 11th century with such renowned figures as Marpa and Milarepa, and it continues today with the Karmapa and several best-selling authors, including Pema Chodron and Chogyam Trungpa. Mahamudra, the Great Seal, is a central teaching of the Kagyu school, along with the so-called six dharmas of Naropa. Formulated as a systematic practice by Gampopa (1079-1153), the mahamudra teachings trace their source to earlier Indian materials and focus on the cultivation of profound insight into the nature of the mind.

Peter Alan Roberts, translator, was born in Wales and lives in Hollywood, California. He obtained a B.A. in Sanksrit and Pali and a Ph.D. in Tibetan Studies from Oxford University. For more than thirty years he has been working as an interpreter for lamas and as a translator of Tibetan texts. He specializes in the literature of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions with a focus on tantric practices, and he is the author of the Biographies of Rechungpa. Thupten Jinpa, General Editor, holds a Geshe Lharam degree from Ganden monastic university and a Ph.D. in religious studies from Cambridge University. The translator and editor of numerous books, he has been the principal English-language translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama for over two decades, and he is the author of Self, Reality and Reason in Tibetan Philosophy. He lives in Montreal with his wife and two daughters.

	Contents: Mahamudra and Related Instructions: Core Teachings of the Kagyu Schools
	Foreword by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche	xi
	General Editor's Preface	xiii
	Translator's Introduction	1
	Technical Notes	27
1.	A String of Pearls: A Collection of Dharma Lectures Gampopa (1079-1153)	31
2	The Unrivaled Instructions of Shang Rinpoche: The Preliminaries and Main Practice of the Great Meditation of Mahamudra Shonu Lha (late thirteenth century)	65
3	The Ultimate Supreme Path of the Mahamudra Lama Shang (1123-93)	83
4	A Record of Mahamudra Instructions Drukchen Pema Karpo (1527-92))	135
5	Instructions for the Mahamudra Innate Union Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339)	153
6	Prayer for the Definitive Meaning, the Mahamudra Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339)	169
7	Oral Transmission of the Supreme Siddhas: A Commentary on Prayer for the Definitive Meaning, the Mahamudra Situ Tenpai Nyinje (1700-77)	175
8	The Bright Torch: The Perfect Illumination of the True Meaning of the Mahamudra, the Essence of All the Dharma Tsele Natsok Rangdrol (b.1608)	289
9	The Quintessence of Nectar: Instructions for the Practice of the Six Dharmas of Naropa Sharmapa Chokyi Wangchuk (1584-1630)	333
10.	The Single Viewpoint: A Root Text Sherap Jungne (1187-1241)	373
	I. The Hundred and Fifty Vajra Teachings	373
	II. The Forty-Seven Supplements to the Hundred and Fifty Vajra Teachings	390
	III. The Rour Main Points of the Dharma of the Single Viewpoint	395
	IV. The Structured Analysis that Classifies the Sequence of the Seven Chapters	398
11.	Light Rays from the Jewel of the Excellent Teaching: A General Presentation on the Points of Secret Mantra Dakpo Tashi Namgyal (1512-87)	401
	SELECTED TOPICS
	The way in which the Teacher appeared	402
	The Buddha's teaching	408
	The tantras in general	426
	The lower tantras	447
	Highest yoga tantra	460
	Empowerment rites	467
	Commitments and vows	492
	The two stages in general	498
	Generation stage	507
	Completion stage	550
	The yoga of channels, winds, and drops	555
	The illusory body	565
	The bardo and transference	572
	Mahamudra	576
	Union	582
	Conduct that enhances the path	586
	Results of practice	598
	Table of Tibetan Transliteration	621
	Notes	627
	Glossary	701
	Bibliography	725
	Index	749
	About the Contributors	765