The premiere volume of Thupten Jinpa's thirty-two-volume Library of Tibetan Classics, inaugurated to coincide with the Dalai Lama's conferral of the initiation rite of Kalachakra in Toronto in April 2004.
The Kalachakra (literally, "Wheel of Time") tantra, a core practice of Tibetan Buddhism, is a method for transforming the universe by working with the body and mind. This first volume of the Library of Tibetan Classics series was hand-picked by the Dalai Lama--who recognized it as the finest explication of this practice--and overseen by Thupten Jinpa, whose work has been indispensable to Tibetan Buddhism, both in the West and on the whole. Gavin Kilty's fluid translation makes this volume a pleasure to read.

Like its classical Indian predecessor, Stainless Light or Vimalaprabha by Pundarika, Norsang Gyatso's commentary is divided into five sections: (1) the outer world, including the unique Kalachakra cosmology, (2) the inner world of the individual and the subtle nervous system, (3) the Kalachakra initiation rite, (4) the sadhana and generation-stage practices, and (5) the completion-stage practices, including pranayama. Ten appendixes plus a glossary, notes, and bibliography make this an indispensable reference volume on the Kalachakra tantra.

Here is a practical guide that introduces the reader to the Nyingma (ancient) tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. In a clear and accessible way, readers are given detailed instructions on how to meditate using different methods--calm abiding, visualization, mantra, and more. Beginners learn how the mind functions, and the proper way to cultivate intellect and heart so that our true nature can manifest. A helpful review for advanced practitioners.

An accessible and practical introduction to Tibetan Buddhism as practiced in the Nyingma, or "ancient," tradition, The Buddhist Path presents for us the proper way of cultivating intellect and heart so that our true nature can manifest. The authors provide clear explanations and methods that reveal how the mind functions and what its essence, our primordial nature, is. They impart detailed instructions on how to meditate using methods ranging from generating calm abiding through the tantric techniques of visualization, mantra, and formless meditation.

"A very practical guide to the Buddhist Dzogchen path. [Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche] have built a reputation for their vast knowledge of the Nyingma tradition and their pragmatic and lucid style of teaching."--Buddhadharma

Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche are founders and directors of Padmasambhava Buddhist Center, based at Padma Samye Ling in upstate New York. PBC is a worldwide Buddhist meditation and study network that includes local centers as well as retreat centers and monastic institutions.

In The Mirror of Mindfulness, seventeenth-century master Tsele Natsok Rangdröl teaches that there is an identical essence intrinsic to the heart, mind, and spirit in every human being. The realization of this essential oneness in humanity, he said, makes any man or woman a Buddha. The book focuses on how to reach this understanding through a system of training of timeless, universal value that has been developed in Tibet. According to editor Erik Pema Kunsang Schmidt, the truth such training conveys is as meaningful for a modern meditation practitioner as it was centuries ago for Buddhists in India and Tibet.

The Mirror of Mindfulness addresses the experiences of passing through the bardos into the next life. While relatively brief, the book fully expresses the depth of the spiritual lineage it springs from: a system of training that offers the possibility of enlightenment in a single lifetime. Newly designed, this book is the foundation for the often-cited commentary Bardo Guidebook by contemporary teacher Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche and is widely seen as indispensable for the serious study of Tibetan Buddhism. Included are contextualizing introductions, a foreword, preface, prologue, epilogue, appendix, and glossary.

"The most exciting Buddhist publication of the season is actually one of Snow Lion's more esoteric offerings, Rosemary Fuch's translation of commentaries on the Uttaratantra Shastra by Jamgon Kongtrul and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. The exciting thing about this translation is that it has succeeded where five previous efforts failed: it finally makes it possible for non-Tibetan speakers to study in traditional contemplative fashion one of Buddhism's principal philosophical works. In previous editions, the words were translated, but not in a form we could actually practice. Now thanks to Rosemarie Fuchs and the other learned students of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso, an important mahayana meditation practice is ours to use on the cushion in order to directly realize the teachings on the essence and source of buddhahood."--Robin Kornman, Shambhala Sun

The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra, one of the "Five Treatises" said to have been dictated to Asanga by the Bodhisattva Maitreya, presents the Buddha's definitive teachings on how we should understand this ground of enlightenment and clarifies the nature and qualities of buddhahood. This seminal text clearly details the view which forms the basis for Vajrayana, and especially Mahamudra, practice. Thus it builds a bridge between the Sutrayana and Vajrayana levels of the Buddha's teaching, elaborated here in Jamgon Kongtrul's commentary.

"This seminal text details with great clarity the view which forms the basis for Vajrayana, and especially Mahamudra, practice. Thus it builds a bridge between the Sutrayana and Vajrayana levels of the Buddha's teaching, elaborated here in Jamgon Kongtrul's commentary."--The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies

Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye(1813-1899), the profoundly learned and realized master who compiled what are known as the "Five Great Treasures," wrote the outstanding commentary to the Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra translated here. Called the Unassailable Lion's Roar, it presents Maitreya's text as a background for the Mahamudra teachings in a way that is especially clear and easy to understand.

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche provided the annotations and the explanations on which the present translation is based. A renowned scholar and highly accomplished yogi, he is a living example of the ongoing tradition of oral transmission. He first visited the West in 1977 at the request of H.H. the Sixteenth Karmapa.

Rosemarie Fuchs has been a student of Khen Rinpoche since 1978 and this translation was done upon his advice.

Seen as the culmination of all practice and study by the New Translation Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the experience of Mahamudra, or "great symbol," is an overwhelming sense of extraordinary clarity, totally open and nondualistic. Dzogchen, or "great perfection," is the ultimate teaching according to the Nyingma tradition and also represents the pinnacle of spiritual development.
Both lineages of meditation practice emphasize the ultimate state of awareness within and the clear and luminous nature of the mind. In this book, Dzogchen Ponlop, holder of the wisdom lineages of both Dzogchen and Mahamudra, presents the view and practices of these two traditions with a pragmatic approach and informal style. He teaches that by applying ourselves to these practices, we can all experience our world more directly.

Luminous Essence is a complete introduction to the world of tantric thought and practice. Composed by the renowned Tibetan master Jamgon Mipham (1846-1912), the text provides an overview of the theory and experiential assimilation of a seminal tantric scripture, the Tantra of the Secret Essence (Guhyagarbha Tantra). Embodying the essence of tantric practice, this text has been a central scripture in Tibetan Buddhism for well over a thousand years.

Mipham's explanation of this text, here translated for the first time, is one of the most celebrated commentaries on the Tantra of the Secret Essence, which today occupies an important place in the tantric curriculum of Tibetan monastic colleges. Luminous Essence is a specialized guide meant for initiated tantric practitioners. To fully appreciate and assimilate its message, it should be studied under the guidance of a qualified teacher by those who have received the appropriate empowerments, reading transmissions, and oral instructions.
Jamgon Mipham (1846-1912), one of the greatest scholars of nineteenth-century Tibet, displayed a universal genius, writing brilliant commentaries on all aspects of Buddhist theory and practice. A central master of the Rime movement, his significance for the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism can hardly be overestimated.

Calm and Clear is a unique exposition of the Nyingma method of meditation. Translated from the original Tibetan, it comprises two practice-oriented meditation texts by Lama Mipham (1846-1914) one of the most brilliant teachers in Tibet's history.

In search for the nature of reality, "The Wheel of Analytic Meditation" employs a traditional Buddhist analysis of the body and mind to dissolve conditioned concepts and unexamined assumptions which inhibit deep understanding. "Instructions on Vision in the Middle Way" is a continuation text which is intended to lead the serious student step-by-step in the practice of meditation.

The great sutras of the mahayana are repositories of extraordinary accounts of miracles and great deeds performed buddhas and bodhisattvas. Mipham's purpose in writing this book was to inspire us to emulate these great beings and to give us confidence in the effectiveness of the mahayana path.

Gyatrul Rinpoche explains the state of mind to be established at the beginning of the practice session, the details of the visualization sequences, the three types of offerings and proper mantra recitation, as well as mudras, tormas and malas. Practitioners from all lineages of Tibetan Buddhism will find that these teachings enhance their understanding of sadhana practice. Rinpoche's detailed explanations make it possible to practice these meditations as they were intended and as they were practiced in Tibet and ancient China.

This title was originally published as Generating the Deity.

"A superb resource and informational manual for students, scholars, and practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism."--Library Newsletter

"The Generation Stage in Buddhist Tantra is a spiritual practice manual for serious students. It provides step-by-step instruction on how to create complex visualizations within the mind. With this manual, Snow Lion Publications makes available material that Tibetans call 'whispered teachings' -- wisdoms so subtle that they are whispered into the disciple's ear. You... will appreciate this gourmet-quality nourishment for the soul."--Thomas Peter von Bahr, New Age Retailer

"A well-written book that will be invaluable to anyone practising this particular form of Tibetan Buddhism."--The Middle Way

Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche was appointed as spiritual representative for H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche in America in 1976. With His Holiness, he founded the Pacific Region Yeshe Nyingpo centers on the West Coast. During his thirty years of teaching experience in the West, Rinpoche has traveled extensively, touching the hearts of thousands. He is the author of Meditation, Transformation, and Dream Yoga.

"... when we study Buddhism we're studying ourselves--the nature of our body, speech and mind--the main emphasis being on the nature of our mind and how it works in everyday life. The main topic is not something else, like what is Buddha, what is the nature of God or things like that. Why is it so important to know the nature of our own mind? It's because we all want happiness, enjoyment, peace and satisfaction and these experiences do not come from ice cream but from wisdom and the mind. Therefore we have to understand what the mind is and how it works."

"... tantra is the right practice for Westerners and of the utmost need in this twentieth century. After all, the Buddha wanted us to have as much perfect pleasure as possible; he certainly didn't want us to be miserable, confused or dissatisfied. Therefore we should understand that we meditate in order to gain profound pleasure, not to beat ourselves up or to experience pain. If entering the Buddhist path brings you nothing but fear and guilt then it's certainly not worth the effort."

"Maitreya is the manifestation of the love of all the buddhas--the supreme beings who have achieved limitless, universal love. When we practice the yoga method of Buddha Maitreya we unify with the universal love energy that is Maitreya by developing to their ultimate extent the limited qualities of love, compassion and purity that presently lie within us."

--Lama Yeshe