One of the most beloved and oft-recited prayers in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, The Mahamudra Lineage Prayer combines a supplication to the Mahamudra lineage with a concise guide to Mahamudra practice and the stages of the path to enlightenment. In this commentary on the prayer, Thrangu Rinpoche teaches in his down-to earth yet direct manner the importance of the Mahamudra lineage, how to develop renunciation and devotion through the common and uncommon preliminary practices, and how to practice calm abiding (shamatha) and insight (vipashyana) meditation in the Mahamudra tradition. He explains that Mahamudra teachings are easy to practice yet are very powerful, and are especially appropriate for serious Western Dharma students.
Mahamudra Lineage Prayer: A Guide to Practice, Thrangu Rinppoche, Snow Lion Publications, Paperback, 176 pp, $16.95
Khenchen Thrangu is an eminent teacher of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He was appointed by the Dalai Lama to be the personal tutor for His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa and has authored many books, including Pointing Out the Dharmakaya, Everyday Consciousness and Primordial Awareness, and Vivid Awareness.
|
CONTENTS: Mahamudra Lineage Prayer: A Guide to Practice
|
|
Foreword, by the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje
|
vii
|
|
Editor's Preface
|
xi
|
|
|
|
The Mahamudra Lineage Prayer
|
1
|
|
1. The Mahamudra Lineage
|
7
|
|
2. Practicing the Genuine Dharma
|
33
|
|
3. Shamatha Meditation
|
57
|
|
4. Vipashyana Meditation
|
79
|
|
5. Conduct
|
97
|
|
|
|
Appendix A: The Short or Close Lineage of Mahamudra
|
103
|
|
Appendix B: The Four Greater and Eight Lesser Schools of the Dagpo Kagyu
|
107
|
|
Appendix C: The Eight Forms of Leisure and the Ten Endowments
|
109
|
|
Appendix D: The Ten Virtuous, the Ten Nonvirtuous, and the Ten Special Deeds
|
111
|
|
Appendix E: Nine Ways of Placing the Mind
|
113
|
|
Appendix F: The Eight Consciousnesses
|
115
|
|
Appendix G: The Five Paths and the Ten Bodhisattva Levels
|
117
|
|
Appendix H: The Visualization for The Mahamudra Lineage Prayer
|
119
|
|
|
|
Notes
|
121
|
|
Glossary
|
127
|
|
Glossary of Tibetan Terms
|
141
|
|
Annotated Bibliography
|
143
|
|
Index
|
147
|
|