The life and writings of an accomplished Tibetan meditation master who was the Buddhist priest to two Mongolian emperors and was recognized as one of the first-ever reincarnated lamas in Tibet.

Karma Pakshi is considered influential in the development of the reincarnate lama tradition, a system that led to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas. Born in East Tibet in the thirteenth century, Karma Pakshi himself was the first master to be named Karmapa, a lineage that continues to modern times and has millions of admirers worldwide.

During his lifetime, Karma Pakshi was widely acknowledged as a mahasiddha--a great spiritual adept--and was therefore invited to the Mongol court at the apogee of its influence in Asia. He gave spiritual advice and meditation instructions to the emperor Mongke Khan, whom he advised to engage in social policies, to release prisoners, and to adopt a vegetarian diet. After Mongke's death, Karma Pakshi was imprisoned by the successive emperor Kubilai Khan, and much of Karma Pakshi's writing was done while he was captive in northeast China. He was eventually released and returned to Tibet, where he commissioned one of the medieval world's largest metal statues: a seated Buddha sixty feet high.

Centuries later, two Buddhist meditation masters, the First Mingyur Rinpoche and Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, were inspired by Karma Pakshi to write meditation practices that are profoundly important to contemporary Tibetan Buddhist practitioners: respectively, the Karma Pakshi Guru Yoga and the Sadhana of Mahamudra.

This first-ever comprehensive biography of Karma Pakshi in English reveals new information about a pivotal historical figure in the development of Tibetan Buddhism and his interactions with two Mongol emperors. Also included are translations of several newly available songs attributed to Karma Pakshi and translations of ten excerpts of his writings on reincarnation, meditation, dreams, visionary experiences, tantra, and consecration. Details on the music of Karma Pakshi's singing of the Mani mantra are also given.

Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi: Tibetan Mahasiddha, Charles Manson, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 304 pages, $27.95

Charles Manson was once a master woodcarver, who then spent several years as a Buddhist monk and meditation retreatant. He later studied at Harvard University where he received a Master of Theological Studies degree. He currently works as a librarian for the Tibetan Collections at the Bodleian Library (Oxford University) and at the British Library in London.

CONTENTS: The Second Karmapa Karma Pakshi
Series Introduction by Kurtis Schaeffer		vii
Acknowledgments		ix
Introduction
Part One: Life and Legacy
1.	Early Years	7
2.	Meditation Development	23
3.	Teaching, Traveling, and Building	43
4.	Meeting Mongke Khan	59
5.	Captured by Kublai Khan	79
6.	Return to Tsurpu	91
7.	Legacies	117
Part Two: Writings
8.	Preincarnations	131
9.	Meditations	163
10.	Verse Narrative: Imperial Death Warrant, Exile, and Reconciliation	171
11.	Prose Narrative: Dreams of a Buddha Statue and a Horse	185
12.	Conversations with Manjusri	189
13.	Reflections on Tantra	199
14.	Musings on Consecration	203
15.	Song for a Disciple	213
16.	Deathbed Song	215
17.	An Esoteric Great Treasury	217
Notes		229
Bibliography		257
Index		265