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.
Transcending Time, Gen Lamrimpa, Translated by Alan Wallace, Wisdom Publications, 317 pages, $21.95
Gen Lamrimpa was a Tibetan Buddhist scholar and contemplative who has devoted more than thirty-five years of his life to solitary retreat in the Himalayas, including twenty-one years outside Dharamsala, India, where he died in 2003.
Alan Wallace (translator), one of the first Westerners ordained in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, was a monk for fourteen years. Scholar, teacher, and practitioner, he is widely respected for the depth of his understanding of Buddhist philosophy, as well as his ability to render the teachings relevant to modern life. Author of several books in this field, he is one of the foremost translators of Tibetan Buddhist teachings, having interpreted for many eminent Tibetan lamas, including His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University and now runs the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies.
CONTENTS: Transcending Time
|
Foreword |
ix |
Editor's Acknowledgments |
xi |
Preface |
xiii |
Introduction |
1
|
Homage |
9
|
|
PART 1 PREPARING FOR PRACTICE |
1
|
Reflections on the Path |
13 |
2
|
Receiving Tantric Teachings |
20 |
3
|
Overview of the Kalacakra Tantra |
25 |
|
PART 2 THE KALACAKRA SIX-SESSION GURU YOGA |
4
|
Beginning the Practice |
37 |
5
|
Guru Yoga |
54 |
6
|
Recollections and Practices |
75 |
7
|
Receiving Initiation |
88 |
8
|
The Seven Self-Entries of a Child |
104 |
9
|
The Higher and Greatly Higher Initiations |
127 |
10 |
The Purification of Death |
140 |
11 |
Generating Oneself as Kalacakra |
155 |
12 |
Deepening Your Understanding |
168 |
13 |
Hooking the Hearts of All Kalacakras |
178 |
14 |
Bindu Yoga and Subtle Yoga |
184 |
15 |
Mantra Recitation |
188 |
16 |
Offerings |
194 |
17 |
Praise and Dedication |
198 |
|
PART 3 COMPLETION STAGE PRACTICES |
18 |
The Nature of Phenomena |
205 |
19 |
The Six-Phase Yoga |
212 |
20 |
Questions and Answers |
239 |
|
Dedication Prayer |
263 |
A Lucid Presentation of the Kalacakra Six-Session Guru Yoga |
265 |
Charts |
277 |
Glossary |
301 |
Notes |
305 |
Bibliography |
309 |
Index |
313 |
|