Biography
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A SPIRITUAL BIOGRAPHY OF MARPA, THE TRANSLATOR by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche #SPBIMA - $ 19.95 How did the 11th-century saint Marpa make his trips to India to receive the complete Buddhist teachings? As a householder, how did he practice and relate to his teachers? This spiritual biography of Milarepa's teacher is invaluable in understanding the roots of the Kagyu tradition. | |
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THE TIBETANS by Matthew Kapstein Cloth. 304 pp., 45 b&w photos, maps. #TIBE - $ 29.95 A comprehensive introduction to Tibet, orienting the reader to the Tibetan geographical region and its inhabitants, this well-researched book discusses Tibetan religious and political history, together with major aspects of Tibetan culture: social institutions, religious and philosophical traditions, literature, and the arts. A concluding chapter discusses the fragile position of Tibetan civilization in the modern world, surveying events that have transpired since Tibet's incorporation into the People's Republic of China. More ... | |
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THE VAJRA GARLAND: THE LOTUS GARDEN; Treasure Biographies of Padmakara and Vairochana trans. by Yeshe Gyamtso, fore. by HE 4th Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Chokyi Nyima Cloth, 192 pp. #VAGALO - regular price $ 21.95 Our Price $17.56 These two biographies are treasures revealed by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye, who was himself an emanation of Vairochana, the subject of the second biography. The first is of Padmasambhava, and both biographies--with their tales of extraordinary beings--vividly encourage and uplift us on our paths. More ... | |
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WARRIOR KING OF SHAMBHALA: A Memoir of Chogyam Trungpa by Jeremy Hayward, foreword by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, preface by Diana Mukpo 476 pp. #WAKISH - $ 18.95 A loving—but truthfully warts-and-all—memoir of one of Buddhism’s greatest modern teachers, by one of his most influential students. A pioneer in introducing Tibetan Buddhism to the West, Chogyam Trungpa is also one of its most controversial figures—considered one of Buddhism’s finest teachers by some, and viewed with suspicion by others. More ... | |
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WELLSPRINGS OF THE GREAT PERFECTION: The Lives and Insights of the Early Masters compiled and trans. by Erik Pema Kunsang Cloth. 454 pp. #WEGRPE - $ 35.00 Documenting the original sources that explain how the dzogchen teachings came into this world, this impressive collection of translations includes a vast number of classical Tibetan documents many of which have never appeared in English before. The selection helps make the reader feel privy to conversations between celestial beings, the buddhas and bodhisattvas, as well as the original Indian masters. Also included are rare samples of the mystical script of the dakinis. More ... | |
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WHEN A WOMAN BECOMES A RELIGIOUS DYNASTY: The Samding Dorje Phagmo of Tibet by Hildegard Diemberger Cloth. 394 pp. #WHWOBE - $ 49.50 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. | |