Secret of the Vajra World

Author: Reginald A. Ray
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834825236
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 545

Book Description
An entrée into the world of Tantric Buddhism—a unique collection of texts, concepts, and meditation practices presented by Tibetan masters teaching in the West The “Vajra World” (vajradhatu in Sanskrit) is a realm of indestructibility, the level of reality beyond all thought and imagination, all impermanence and change, which a fully realized person knows and inhabits. Used metaphorically, “Vajra World” refers to the traditional culture of Tibet and the unique spirituality that is its secret strength. Secret of the Vajra World is the companion volume to the author’s earlier book, Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism. While that book focuses on the history, cosmology, philosophy, and practice of the more public, exoteric side of Tibetan Buddhism, this work treats its more hidden and esoteric aspects as they take shape in Vajrayana. Together, the two volumes provide a broad introduction to the major traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Topics include: • The tantric view of human nature and the external world • The special role of the guru, or tantric mentor • The preliminary practices that prepare the student for full initiation • The major dimensions of Vajrayana practice, including visualizations, liturgies, and inner yogas • The tradition of the tulku, or incarnate lama • The lore surrounding the death of ordinary people and of saints • The practice of solitary retreat, the epitome of traditional Tibetan Buddhism

Secret of the Vajra World

Author: Reginald A. Ray
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 157062917X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 545

Indestructible Truth

Author: Reginald A. Ray
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834824388
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 401

Book Description
One of the most thorough, yet accessible, introductions to the Tibetan Buddhist worldview ever published The author presents complex and sophisticated teachings and practices in nontechnical language, using engaging stories and personal anecdotes to illustrate his points. Indestructible Truth presents Tibetan Buddhism in its traditional form but also shows how the Tibetan traditions are applicable to the problems and challenges of modern life in the West. In Indestructible Truth, Tibetan Buddhism is introduced not as an exotic religion, but rather as an expression of human spirituality that is having a profound impact on the modern world. In addition, it presents the point of view of meditation and the practice of the spiritual life, paying special attention to contemplative practice and meditation as taught in the Kagyu and Nyingma schools.

The World of Tibetan Buddhism

Author: Dalai Lama XIV Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 232

Book Description
A lucid and profound yet eminently readable introduction to [Tibetan Buddhism].--Library Journal

The Ri-me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great

Author: Ringu Tulku
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1590304640
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Book Description
This compelling study of the Ri-me movement and of the major Buddhist lineages of Tibet is comprehensive and accessible. It includes an introduction to the history and philosophy of the Ri-me movement; a biography of the movement's leader, the meditation master and philosopher known as Jamgön Kongtrul the Great; helpful summaries of the eight lineages' practice-and-study systems, which point out the different emphases of the schools; an explanation of the most hotly disputed concepts; and an overview of the old and new tantras. Jamgön Kongtrul the Great (1813–1899) is a giant in Tibetan history, renowned for his scholarly and meditative achievements, but also for his energetic yet evenhanded work to unify and strengthen the different lineages of Buddhism. The Ri-me movement, led by Kongtrul and several other leading scholars of the time, was a unifying effort to cut through interscholastic divisions and disputes that were occurring between the different lineages. These leaders sought appreciation of the differences and acknowledgment of the importance of variety in benefiting practitioners with different needs. The Ri-me teachers also took great care that the teachings and practices of the different schools and lineages, and their unique styles, did not become confused with one another. This lucid survey of the Ri-me movement will be of interest to serious scholars and practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Practice of Pure Awareness

Author: Reginald A. Ray
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834841614
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
A respected teacher presents the core and essential wisdom of Tibet and shows us the possibilities of "enlightenment in this present life" through the meditative practice of Pure Awareness. Perhaps the most precious teaching Tibet has to offer the modern world is the practice of meditation. Reginald Ray presents the essence of this tradition through the somatic practice of Pure Awareness—a unique kind of meditation that is thoroughly grounded in the body and in ordinary experience. This fundamentally transformative practice offers the possibility of enlightenment in this present life and invites us into the immensely powerful journey that Tibetan tantric spirituality has to offer. Includes a link to a free download of audio meditations.

Touching Enlightenment

Author: Reginald A. Ray, Ph.D.
Publisher: Sounds True
ISBN: 1591798434
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
What does it mean to "meditate with the body"? Until you answer this question, explains Reggie Ray, meditation may be no more than a mental gymnastic —something you can practice for years without fruitful results. In Touching Enlightenment, the esteemed author of five books about Buddhist history and practice guides you back to the original practice of the Buddha: a systematic process that results in a profound awareness in your body rather than in your head. Combining the scholarship that has earned him international renown with original insights from nearly four decades practicing and teaching meditation, Reggie Ray invites you to explore: How to enter fully into communion with your embodied natureThe insights of Tibetan yoga, from guidance on breathing and working with discomfort to its challenge to modern practitioners on the path to realizationWhy "rejected" experience becomes imprinted in the body —and how to receive it anew to reconstitute your human way of being Karma of cause and karma of result —taking full responsibility for your lifeYour three bodies—the physical, the interpersonal, and the cosmic "To be awake, to be enlightened, is to be fully and completely embodied. To be fully embodied means to be at one with who we are, in every respect, including our physical being, our emotions, and the totality of our karmic situation," writes Reggie Ray. In Touching Enlightenment, he offers you a map of unprecedented clarity and power for embarking on the journey toward ultimate realization in and through the body.

The Awakening Body

Author: Reginald A. Ray
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834840413
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
A senior Buddhist teacher offers fundamental body-based meditation practices that prove enlightenment is as close to you as your own body Many of us experience life through so many conceptual filters that we never recognize the freedom and joy that are inherent in us—and are in fact the essence of who we are. We can grow old not realizing that one of the most powerful tools to escape the painful knots we tie ourselves in is, literally, at our fingertips: our body. With The Awakening Body, Reggie Ray cracks open the shell of the mind-body dichotomy and presents six fundamental body-based practices that connect us back to who we really are. These practices cut through the mental fabrications through which we experience our world and lead us directly to the richness of living a fully present, embodied human life. This book includes a link to free downloads of recorded guided practices.

When a Woman Becomes a Religious Dynasty

Author: Hildegard Diemberger
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231143214
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Book Description
In the fifteenth century, the princess Chokyi Dronma was told by the leading spiritual masters of her time that she was the embodiment of the ancient Indian tantric deity Vajravarahi, known in Tibetan as Dorje Phagmo, the Thunderbolt Female Pig. After suffering a great personal tragedy, Chokyi Dronma renounced her royal status to become a nun, and, in turn, the tantric consort of three outstanding religious masters of her era. After her death, Chokyi Dronma's masters and disciples recognized a young girl as her reincarnation, the first in a long, powerful, and influential female lineage. Today, the twelfth Samding Dorje Phagmo leads the Samding monastery and is a high government cadre in the Tibet Autonomous Region. Hildegard Diemberger builds her book around the translation of the first biography of Chokyi Dronma recorded by her disciples in the wake of her death. The account reveals an extraordinary phenomenon: although it had been believed that women in Tibet were not allowed to obtain full ordination equivalent to monks, Chokyi Dronma not only persuaded one of the highest spiritual teachers of her era to give her full ordination but also established orders for other women practitioners and became so revered that she was officially recognized as one of two principal spiritual heirs to her main master. Diemberger offers a number of theoretical arguments about the importance of reincarnation in Tibetan society and religion, the role of biographies in establishing a lineage, the necessity for religious teachers to navigate complex networks of political and financial patronage, the cultural and social innovation linked to the revival of ancient Buddhist civilizations, and the role of women in Buddhism. Four introductory, stage-setting chapters precede the biography, and four concluding chapters discuss the establishment of the reincarnation lineage and the role of the current incarnation under the peculiarly contradictory communist system.

The Five Wisdom Energies

Author: Irini Rockwell
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1570624518
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 261

Book Description
This playful and accessible guide presents a Buddhist psychological system for enhancing self-awareness, interpersonal communication, and creativity This book invites us to celebrate our strengths and work with our weaknesses by learning to identify and utilize five basic personal styles or energies based on a Tibetan Buddhist practice. Each of the five wisdom energies is associated with particular ways of perceiving and interacting with the world and also with particular colors, elements, senses, seasons, and times of day. With easy, fun, and engaging exercises and stories, Irini Rockwell shows us how to identify which energies are active in our lives, and how we can work with them in any situation to improve self-awareness, communication, and creative expression. According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, each of us has one or two dominant energies, but these can shift and change over time, and we can manifest different energies in different areas of our lives. Each of the five energies has its unique wisdom, but also its neurotic tendencies. By learning to recognize which energies we possess—and which are present in those around us—we can learn to relax and appreciate our natural traits and those of others, and we can move away from our neuroses toward the wisdom-aspects of our character.