ESSENCE OF AMBROSIA: A Guide to Buddhist Contemplations, by Taranatha, translated by Willa Baker

ESSENCE OF AMBROSIA: A Guide to Buddhist Contemplations

by Taranatha, translated by Willa Baker

Essence of Ambrosia is a guide to Buddhist meditation, composed by the prolific and eclectic Tibetan scholar and practitioner Taranatha (1575-1634). Following the lead of Atisha, Taranatha expounds a graduated approach (known as lam rim) to cognitive and meditative development designed to address the needs of three types of person: the person of lesser, average and greater capacity.

Taranatha's innovative contribution to this genre is to instruct the student in "contemplation sessions", that specifically guide a beginning Buddhist practitioner through the traditional practices of meditation, beginning with devotional reflection up to the apex of Buddhist meditation, insight (vipassana) meditation. The result is a remarkably accessible and concise insider's guide to the Mahayana Buddhist path.

"A valuable meditation manual vividly bringing to life the stages of path."--Jeffrey Hopkins, University of Virginia, author of Maps of the Profound

"This is an exceptionally lucid translation of a seminal work on the principal practices and ideas in Tibetan Buddhism. An excellent resource for students, scholars, and practitioners alike."--Janet Gyatso, Hershey Professor for Buddhist Studies, Harvard Divinity School

"Taranatha's Essence of Ambrosia is one of the most accessible and practical of Tibetan spiritual path manuals... As a scholar deeply knowledgeable of the text and its genre, Baker's voice makes a profound bridge between the world of our seventeenth century author and the twenty-first century. Her translator's introduction, annotations, and glossaries deserve close attention."--John Makransky, Professor of Buddhism and Comparative Theology, Boston College

Willa Baker (Lama Palmo) holds an M.A. degree from the University of Virginia. She completed two three-year retreats at Kagyu Thubten Choling Monastery in New York. She currently resides in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she translates, teaches meditation and is working towards a doctorate at Harvard University.