The Tibetan Buddhist teachings on mahamudra are known for their ability to lead to profound realization. Peaceful and infinitely adaptable, these teachings are as useful for today's busy world as they have been for centuries.

Written by the tutor to the seventeenth Karmapa, Essentials of Mahamudra is a commentary on Tashi Namgyal's famous Moonlight of Mahamudra--a text that the sixteenth Karmapa had identified as the most valuable for Westerners. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche recognized that Western meditators don't just need to know how to maintain our meditation practice--we need to know why we should do it. Unmatched in its directness, Essentials of Mahamudra addresses both these needs, rendering one of the most advanced forms of meditation more easily adaptable to our everyday lives.

Essentials of Mahamudra: Looking Directly at the Mind, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 352 pages, $22.95

Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche is a renowned Tibetan Buddhist master known for his deep compassion and the clarity of his teachings. He was selected by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to serve as the principal tutor to His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Oryen Trinley Dorje.

Thrangu Rinpoche is a full holder and teacher of the Kagyu Vajrayana lineages. He founded the Namo Buddha retreat center in Nepal, has established two shedras (monastic universities) in Nepal and India, and serves as Abbot of Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia. He also built Tara Abbey, where nuns receive a full dharma education qualifying them to become khenpos or teachers. Thrangu Rinpoche teaches extensively throughout Asia, Europe and the United States. He has centers in Maine and California, and is building the Vajra Vidya Retreat Center in Crestone, Colorado.

CONTENTS: Essentials of Mahamudra: Looking Directly at the Mind
Editor's Preface		vii
1.	Introduction	1
Part I. Meditations Shared by Other Traditions		13
2.	The Shared Tradition of Shamata and Vipashyana	15
3.	The Shared Tradition of Shamata Meditation	31
4.	The Shared Tradition of Vipashyana Meditation	45
5.	Eliminating Doubts Concerning Vipashyana Meditation	63
Part II. Mahamudra Meditation		71
6.	The Origins of Mahamudra	73
7.	The Preparatory Practices for Mahamudra	93
8.	Mahamudra Shamata Meditation	101
9.	Mahamudra Vipashyana Meditation	119
10.	Eliminating Doubts about Vipashyana	137
11.	Mind As It Is and Coemergence	149
12.	Eliminating Flaws That May Arise in Mahamudra	169
13.	Maintaining Mahamudra in Meditation and Postmeditation	181
14.	Eliminating Obstacles to Mahamudra	209
15.	The Practice of Utterly Releasing	219
16.	Bringing Obstacles to the Path	229
17.	How Realization Dawns	239
18.	How We Should Practice	251
Notes		257
Glossary		261
Table of Tibetan Terms		265
Index		269
About the Author		275