A modern commentary on a classic Tibetan text of instructions for practitioners of the Dzogchen tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, with practical step-by-step instructions for advanced Nyingma teachings on realizing the nature of mind.
Seamlessly interweaving the language of science with the sublime teachings of Buddhism, B. Alan Wallace presents a modern commentary on a pivotal Tibetan retreat manual, Extracting the Vital Essence of Accomplishment: Concise and Clear Advice for Practice in a Mountain Retreat by twentieth-century Nyingma master, Dudjom Rinpoche. The root text offers practical step-by-step instructions for dedicated practice in meditation retreat--wherever one may be--and Wallace's commentary elucidates the enduring relevance of these teachings for our contemporary context.
The commentary includes four concise and powerful meditation practices, guided by Wallace, to bring the teachings into one's immediate experience. This volume serves as a practice manual for those familiar with the teachings of Dzogchen and as a clear guide to this pinnacle of Buddhist paths for those interested in broader questions about direct and unmediated insight into the fundamental nature of awareness. "By extracting the essence of all meditative accomplishment through the practice of Dzogchen," Wallace states, "you draw forth the vital essence of consciousness itself."
Vital Essence of Dzogchen: A Commentary on Dudjom Rinpoche's Advice for a Mountain Retreat, Dudjom Rinpoche and B. Alan Wallace, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 280 pages, $27.95
Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje (1904 - 1987) was a highly revered Buddhist meditation master and the leader of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He also traveled and taught extensively, proving instrumental in bringing Buddhism to people in Europe, North America, and other parts of Asia. He founded a teaching and meditation center in Dordogne, France in 1980, where he lived until his death in 1987.
B. Alan Wallace has authored, translated, edited, and contributed to more than forty books on Tibetan Buddhism and culture, as well as on the interface between science and religion, and he has spent many years in solitary meditation retreat. Having trained for many years as a Buddhist monk in India, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, and the United States, he then earned a BA in physics and the philosophy of science and later a PhD in religious studies. After teaching in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, he founded the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies and more recently the Center for Contemplative Research.
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