When we study Buddhism we are studying ourselves, the nature of our body, speech and mind, the main emphasis being on the nature of our mind and how it works in everyday life. The main topic is not something else, like what is Buddha, what is the nature of God or things like that. Why is it so important to know the nature of our own mind? It's because we all want happiness, enjoyment, peace and satisfaction and these experiences do not come from ice cream but from wisdom and the mind. Therefore we have to understand what the mind is and how it works.
Tantra is the right practice for Westerners and of the utmost need in this twentieth century. After all, the Buddha wanted us to have as much perfect pleasure as possible; he certainly didn't want us to be miserable, confused or dissatisfied. Therefore we should understand that we meditate in order to gain profound pleasure, not to beat ourselves up or to experience pain. If entering the Buddhist path brings you nothing but fear and guilt then it's certainly not worth the effort.
Maitreya is the manifestation of the love of all the buddhas, the supreme beings who have achieved limitless, universal love. When we practice the yoga method of Buddha Maitreya we unify with the universal love energy that is Maitreya by developing to their ultimate extent the limited qualities of love, compassion and purity that presently lie within us.
--Lama Yeshe
Lama Thubten Yeshe (1935�84) was born in Tibet and educated at the great Sera Monastic University in Lhasa. In 1959 he fled the Chinese oppression and completed his studies in India. In 1969, with his chief disciple, Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, he began teaching Buddhism to Westerners at their Kopan Monastery, Kathmandu, Nepal, and in 1974 the Lamas began traveling the world to spread the Dharma. In 1975, they founded the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT), an international Buddhist organization that now numbers some 150 centers and related activities in more than 30 countries worldwide. One of the vast projects Lama Yeshe initiated was the building of a 500-foot Maitreya statue, which is now planned for Kushinagar, UP, India.
Nicholas Ribush, a student of Lama Yeshe since 1972, is director of the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.
Editor�s Introduction
Part 1: Introduction to Buddhism
1. What is Buddhism? 3 2. The Purpose of Meditation 15 3. Compassion and Emptiness 27
Part 2: The Yoga Method of Buddha Maitreya
4. A Brief History of Maitreya Buddha 45 5. The Practice of Tantra 51 6. The Preliminaries 65 7. Meditation on Emptiness 69 8. Becoming Maitreya 77 9. Meditation on Maitreya 85 10. Concluding Practices 93 11. Retreat 99 12. Questions and answers 105
Appendices
1. An Explanation of the Shunyata Mantra and a Meditation on Emptiness 111 2. The Sadhana of Buddha Maitreya 117 3. The Mantra of Maitreya Buddha�s Promise 127 4. A Glance Meditation on All the Important Points of the Lam-rim 129 5. Chronology 133 Glossary 135 Bibliography 147
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