Most traditions of Mahamudra meditation can be traced back to the mahasiddha Tilopa and his Ganges Mahamudra, a "song of realization" that he sang to his disciple Naropa on the banks of the Ganges River more than a thousand years ago. In this book, Khenchen Thrangu, a beloved Mahamudra teacher, tells the extraordinary story of Tilopa's life and explains its profound lessons. He follows this story with a limpid and practical verse-by-verse commentary on the Ganges Mahamudra, explaining its precious instructions for realizing Mahamudra, the nature of one's mind. Throughout, Thrangu Rinpoche speaks plainly and directly to Westerners eager to receive the essence of Mahamudra instructions from an accomplished teacher.

Tilopa's Wisdom: His Life and Teachings on the Ganges Mahamudra, Thrangu Rinpoche, Snow Lion Publications, Paperback, 208 pp, $19.95

KHENCHEN THRANGU was born in Tibet in 1933. He founded numerous monasteries and nunneries, schools for Tibetan children, and medical clinics. He has taught extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States and is the abbot of Gampo Abbey. He was appointed by the Dalai Lama to be the personal tutor for the Seventeenth Karmapa.

CONTENTS: Tilopa's Wisdom
Editor's Preface		ix
Part One: The Life of Tilopa
1.	Introduction	3
2.	Childhood	7
3.	Renouncing Samsara and Meeting His Teachers	11
4.	Teaching Mahamudra at Pancapana	19
5.	Receiving Secret Instructions	29
6.	Gaining Disciples	735
Part Two: Teachings on the Ganges Mahamudra
7.	Tilopa's Ganges Mahamudra Root Text	47
8.	Introduction	55
9.	The View of Mahamudra in Six Metaphors	67
10.	The Conduct of Mahmudra	89
11.	The Commitments of Mahamudra	101
12.	The Benefits of Practicing Mahamudra	107
13.	The Defects of Not Practicing Mahamudra	111
14.	How to Practice the Preliminaries	115
15.	How to Practice the Main Body of Mahamudra	135
Afterword		155
Appendix A: Tilopa's Six Points for Mahamudra		157
Appendix B: The Five Buddha Families		161
Appendix C: The Eight Consciousnesses		163
Glossary		165
Glossary of Tibetan Terms		179
Notes		183
Annotated Bibliography		191
Index		197
Biographical Note about Khenchen Thrangu		207