The holy sites of India---Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, Shravasti, and others--- became holy because the Buddha blessed them by performing his enlightened activities there. When we become holy through our practice of the Buddha's instructions, then the places we go will be made holy, too. Through meditation practice, we can realize and capture what the Buddha described as the profundity of the mind, which is completely peaceful, free from elaboration, luminous, and uncompounded. In this wise, heartfelt, and indispensable guide, Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen takes us on a journey through the major holy sites for Buddhist pilgrimage by offering profound teachings related to each of the sacred places. In Bodh Gaya, the site of the Bodhi tree and the Buddha's enlightenment, we learn of how the Buddha became enlightened and what it means to take refuge in him; we uncover the profundity of emptiness at the site where the Buddha expounded the Heart Sutra; at the place of the Buddha's passing, we learn that the legacy of his vast teachings came about through his perfection of bodhicitta---a core quality we can master, too. In chapters based on these and other sacred places, we find that the wisdom the Buddha uncovered is available to us all. The Buddha discovered total satisfaction, the ultimate achievement, and left instructions on how we, too, can achieve the same. We already have this great path; we just have to follow it. In that way, we experience the joy of following the footsteps of the Buddha.

Sacred Places, Sacred Teachings: Following the Footsteps of the Buddha, Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen, Wisdom Publications, Paperback, 288 pages, $21.95

Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche was born in 1946 near Mount Tsari in southwestern Tibet. In 1959 his family became refugees in India when the Communists invaded Tibet. Rinpoche attended school in India and in 1968 took monk's vows from Kyabje Kalu Rinpoche. Later he became one of the first to graduate from the then newly established Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies in Varanasi.

Among the great teachers Rinpoche received teachings from were His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the Sixteenth Karmapa, and Khunu Lama Rinpoche. Rinpoche also completed a three-year retreat at Lamayuru Monastery in Ladakh under the guidance of Vajradhara Kyungka Rinpoche.

In later years, Rinpoche also received teachings from the tripon of Drigungtil Monastery, Vajradhara Pachung Rinpoche, and his successor Vajradhara Gelong Tenzin Nyima Rinpoche. In the 1980s, Rinpoche arrived in the United States and established the Tibetan Meditation Center (now in Frederick, Maryland), as well as other centers across the country over the next twenty years.

During this time he translated critical Drikung Kagyu practices, prayers, and histories into English, and published altogether thirteen highly regarded books. Among them are Great Kagyu Masters, In Search of the Stainless Ambrosia, Jewel Ornament of Liberation, A Complete Guide to the Buddhist Path, Opening the Treasure of the Profound, and Wheel of Wisdom. In 2001, Rinpoche was formally enthroned as the khenchen ("great khenpo") of the Drigung Kagyu Lineage by His Holiness Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang Rinpoche.

In teaching Dharma, Rinpoche always emphasizes the importance of letting Dharma penetrate our hearts rather than chasing after so-called "higher" teachings or practices or engaging in empty ritualism. Rinpoche's teachings are thoroughly grounded in the unique view of Kyobpa Jigten Sumgon, founder of Drikung Kagyu.