New Books
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SHAMATHA MEDITATION by Jakob Leschly and Stefan Mager 8-page coated foldout guide. #SHMEFO - $ 18.00 This helpful study guide offers a "map" of the Shamatha Path that guides you through all the levels, from dullness to attainment. In an organized and helpful way, this fold-out chart describes the experience of the path, the faults, and also the remedies to guide us. Using narrative, charts and a fine descriptive illustration, we understand the pitfalls, and also the goal, of the Shamatha path. More ... | |
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SHANGPA KAGYU TEACHINGS by the 12th Kenting Tai Situpa, Chamgon Dorje Chang 232 pp., paper, 2 line drawings. #SHKATE - $ 30.00 This volume is a rich compendium of instructions given by the twelfth Kenting Tai Situpa on a number of important topics. Situpa's easy and direct writing style shines forth with clarity and good humor. The book covers a wide variety of topics, such as how to receive transmissions or make offerings; how to take empowerments as well as advice on how to conduct the empowerments themselves; explanations of how to conduct one's behavior with yogis, or between parents and children; explanation of the illusory body and other features; historical background on the lives of Niguma, Chakrasamvara and other teachers; and so much more. It is an essential text for Shangpa and Kagyu practitioners. More ... | |
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SONGS OF SHABKAR: The Path of a Tibetan Yogi Inspired by Nature by Shabkar Tshogdruk Rangdrol, translations and photographs by Victoria Sujata 366 pp., gloss paper with more than 50 color photos. In both Tibetan and English. #SOSHPA - $ 35.00 These deeply personal songs of realization by Nyingmapa yogi Shabkar Tshogdruk Rangdrol, composed in a simple yet richly poetic style, charm by their beauty and directness, often expressing the delights of nature. Drawn from the vast and mostly untranslated collection The Festival of Melodious Songs, they have been organized thematically to reflect Shabkar's quest for spiritual awareness. More ... | |
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STAGES OF THE BUDDHA'S TEACHINGS: Three Key Texts by Dolpa, Gampopa, and Sakya Pandita; translated by David P. Jackson, Ulrike Roesler, and Ken Holmes Pre-order Now--Available Summer 2012. 864 pp., cloth. #STBUTE - $ 59.95 The "stages of the teachings," or ten-rim genre of Tibetan spiritual writing, expounds the Mahayana teachings as a graded series of topics, from the practices required at the start of the bodhisattva's career to the final perfect awakening of buddhahood. The three texts in the present volume all exerted seminal influence in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. More ... | |
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STILLING THE MIND: Shamatha Teachings from Dudjom Lingpa's Vajra Essence by B. Alan Wallace, edited by Brian Hodel 224 pp., paper. #STMISH - $ 17.95 In The Attention Revolution, bestselling author Alan Wallace guided readers through stages of shamatha, a meditation for focusing the mind. Here he uses the wisdom of the Dzogchen—the highest of all the Tibetan meditation traditions—to open up this practice into a space of freedom from hope and fear by introducing us to one of the most cherished works of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, Dudjom Lingpa's Vajra Essence. More ... | |
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THE TAMING OF THE DEMONS: Violence and Liberation in Tibetan Buddhism by Jacob P. Dalton 334 pp., 7 b&w illustrations, hardbound. #TADECL - $ 40.00 The Taming of the Demons examines mythic and ritual themes of violence, demon taming, and blood sacrifice in Tibetan Buddhism. Taking as its starting point Tibet's so-called age of fragmentation (842 to 986 C.E.), the book draws on previously unstudied manuscripts discovered in the "library cave" near Dunhuang, on the old Silk Road. These ancient documents, it argues, demonstrate how this purportedly inactive period in Tibetan history was in fact crucial to the Tibetan assimilation of Buddhism, and particularly to the spread of violent themes from tantric Buddhism into Tibet at the local and the popular levels. Having shed light on this" dark age" of Tibetan history, the second half of the book turns to how, from the late tenth century onward, the period came to play a vital symbolic role in Tibet, as a violent historical "other" against which the Tibetan Buddhist tradition defined itself. The Taming of the Demons challenges our tendency to romanticize or demonize the rich and ancient culture of Tibet. More ... | |
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THREE TEACHINGS by Venerable Tenzin Palmo 110 pp., paper. #THTETE - $ 16.00 Tenzin Palmo's Three Teachings, including Teachings on Retreat, Mahamudra Practice and Mindfulness are a delight to read. Transcribed from talks she gave in Singapore, the teachings are delivered in plain language, seasoned with plenty of audience participation. Each subject is discussed with humor, liveliness and compassion. She has the great gift of showing how the Dharma can be integrated into our everyday lives. More ... | |
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TIBET: A History by Sam van Shaik 352 pp., 38 b&w photos & illustrations, cloth. #TIHISA - $ 35.00 Situated north of the Himalayas, Tibet is famous for its unique culture and its controversial assimilation into modern China. Yet Tibet in the twenty-first century can only be properly understood in the context of its extraordinary history. More ... | |
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TIBETAN CALLIGRAPHY: How to Write the Alphabet and More by Sanje Elliott, foreword by Sarah Harding 104 pp. #TICAHO - $ 14.95 "The written word contains much magic. Ancient spiritual traditions have always recognized the power of the word, both as utterance and as symbol. In studying the Buddhist teachings, one has many ways of relating to the media of its transmission. Not the least of these methods is developing simply beautiful writing. More ... | |
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TIBETAN DREAM YOGA: The Royal Road to Enlightenment by Michael Katz 152 pp., paper. #TIBEDR - $ 14.95 Tibetan Dream Yoga: The Royal Road to Enlightenment builds on the foundation of the original Dream Yoga and the Practice of Natural Light book by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, clarifying the distinction between common dreams, and a special class of dreams--"dreams of clarity "--with extraordinary examples. It clearly explains the importance of using the time spent asleep and dreaming for transpersonal purposes, most importantly during the passage through the Bardos of Death and Dying. This book is also noteworthy for summarizing essential advice of many great contemporary masters of Dream yoga, offering specific exercises to develop awareness within the dream and sleep states. It will appeal to all readers who are interested in their dream life, particularly those wishing to utilize lucid dream and trance work for personal transformation. More ... | |
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TO DISPEL THE MISERY OF THE WORLD: Whispered Teachings of the Bodhisattvas by Ga Rabjampa, foreword by Khenpo Appey, trans. by Rigpa Translations Pre-order Now--Available March 2012. 224 pp. #TODIMI - $ 16.95 This first publication from Rigpa Translations, a project of Sogyal Rinpoche, author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, contains a wealth of advice for those wanting to become more fully human. When we are disconnected from others we flounder, but when we recognize the profound interdependence of all beings, we flourish and grow. In just a few pages of one-line instructions, the famous Seven-Point Mind Training provides direct and powerful advice for breaking through the chronic barriers that separate us. More ... | |
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A TORCH LIGHTING THE WAY TO FREEDOM: Complete Instructions on the Preliminary Practices by Dudjom Rinpoche, Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje, translated by Padmakara Translation Group 384 pages, hardbound. #TOLIWA - $ 39.95 The foundations of Vajrayana practice are laid out with eloquence and precision here by one of the greatest Tibetan Buddhist masters of our age. His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche's commentary on the preliminary practices (ngöndro) is informed by his profound realization and wide-ranging scholarship, and illuminated with an array of quotations from the Vinaya, Sutra, and Tantra traditions. In addition to the commentary on the outer and inner preliminary practices, he provides other invaluable instructions on the correct view, conduct, and activity of a practitioner. Dudjom Rinpoche taught that the realization of the teachings of the Great Perfection depends entirely on the practice of these preliminary practices, thus his compassionate exposition of them here makes this book a particularly precious resource for anyone who seeks to remove the obstacles between themselves and the total freedom of enlightenment. More ... | |
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TOWARD A TRUE KINSHIP OF FAITHS: How the World's Religions Can Come Together by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, edited by Thupten Jinpa and Jas Elsner 208 pp., paper. #TOTRUE - $ 15.00 In perhaps his most important book, the Dalai Lama shares his hopeful yet realistic views on how the world's religions must peacefully coexist. In our daily lives today no one is untouched by what happens in the rest of the world. New technology, environmental problems, economic gain and loss, nuclear weapons, and instant communication have all created unprecedented familiarity and closeness among the world's many cultures. All major religions confront the same perennial questions, and each has its own distinct answers. The diversity of these insights can inspire dialogue that can enrich everyone's pursuit of wisdom. More ... | |
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TSONGKHAPA'S PRAISE FOR DEPENDENT RELATIVITY by Lobsang Gyatso and Geshe Graham Woodhouse 144 pp. #TSPRDE - $ 16.95 Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), the author of The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment and the teacher of the First Dalai Lama, is renowned as one of the greatest scholar-saints that Tibet has ever produced. He composed his poetic Praise for Dependent Relativity the very morning that he attained the clear realization of the profound unity of emptiness and dependent origination, the essence of Buddhism's middle way. British monk Graham Woodhouse translates Tsongkhapa's celebrated text and conveys for modern readers the teachings on it that he received from his teacher, the late Venerable Lobsang Gyatso (1928-97),founding director of the Institiute of Buddhist dialectics in Dharamsala, India. More ... | |
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VEGGIYANA: The Dharma of Cooking, with 108 Deliciously Easy Vegetarian Recipes by Sandra Garson, illustrated by Michelle Antonisse 360 pp., two-color throughout. #VEDHCO - $ 19.95 "Wholesome Food from the Whole Wide World." The kitchen is the most vital place on Earth, because even now in the age of iPads and Hadron Colliders, survival still depends on wholesome, nutritious food. In keeping with this simple truth, Veggiyana provides 108 tasty, beloved, and simple recipes from around the world—one for every bead on a mala. And generously sprinkled throughout are perfectly spiced morsels of time-tested wisdom on how to live a life that nourishes both body and spirit. Veggiyana brings the vitality of the world's kitchens to your own kitchen with timeless wisdom and recipes to nourish, delight, and inspire. More ... | |
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WISDOM'S PILL: A Tibetan Folk Tale by Tsewang Gyalpo Arya 24 pp., paper, 7" x 9", 21 color illustrations, has Tibetan text as well. #WIPITI - $ 6.95 Here is an old Tibetan folk tale which has not been published. The tale tells us about a time when all the animals, including men, lived together, and how a wisdom's pill granted by God changed everything. It tell us about how humans became as we are; why rabbit has a cleft lip; why it is said that Demong, a Tibetan bear has a short intestine etc. The book is bilingual, Tibetan and English with color illustrations. More ... | |