Mahamudra practice can lead to a profound realization, but it is also a peaceful and gentle practice.

Mahamudra is the first English translation of a major Tibetan Buddhist presentation of the theory and practice of meditation-a manual detailing the various stages and practices for training the advanced student. The original Tibetan text of nearly 800 pages was composed by Takpo Tashi Namgyal (1512-1587), a great lama and a scholar of the kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. His text is so vast and thorough in scope that it is still the primary source used by living Tibetan meditation masters in instructing their disciples. The first major text representing the meditational methods of both mahayana and vajrayana Buddhism to appear in English, Mahamudra is an invaluable guide for advanced students, scholars, and Buddhist practitioners. Mahamudra is the first english translation of a major Tibetan Buddhist presentation of the theory and practice of meditation-a manual detailing the various stages and practices for training the advanced student. The original Tibetan text of student. The original Tibetan text of nearly 800 pages was composed by Takpo Tashi Namgyal (1512-1587) a great lama and a scholar of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The first major text representing the meditational methods of both mahayana and vajrayana Buddhism to appear in english. Mahamudra is an invaluable guide for advanced students, scholars, and buddhist practitionaers.

Relish these direct, experiential meditation instructions from the author of the bestselling Introduction to Tantra. Lama Yeshe tells us that mahamudra is “the universal reality of emptiness, of nonduality” and its unique characteristic is its emphasis on meditation: “With mahamudra meditation there is no doctrine, no theology, no philosophy, no God, no Buddha. Mahamudra is only experience.” He relies on the First Panchen Lama’s well-known Root Text of Genden Mahamudra, which in a few short pages provides the pith instructions for, first, overcoming distraction and resting in meditative stillness on the clarity of one’s own mind, and then by using a subtle wisdom, penetrating its ultimate nature, its emptiness. As always, Lama Yeshe’s words are direct, funny, and incredibly encouraging. He gets us to go beyond ego’s addiction to a limited sense of self and to taste the lightness and expansiveness of our own true nature.

Tharpa Publications is delighted to announce The Oral Instructions of Mahamudra Second Edition. In this special edition, Venerable Geshe-la has made numerous revisions and clarifications to guide the reader ever more confidently through the profound and world-transforming practice of Mahamudra – the very essence of Buddha’s teachings of Sutra and Tantra. This precious book reveals the uncommon practice of Tantric Mahamudra of the Ganden Oral Lineage, which the author received directly from his Spiritual Guide, Vajradhara Trijang Rinpoche. It explains clearly and concisely the entire spiritual path from the initial preliminary practices to the final completion stages of Highest Yoga Tantra that enable us to attain full enlightenment in this life.

This book is by a Tibetan lama who spent three decades in meditation retreat in Tibet and India and then 22 years teaching Buddhism in Europe. It contains teachings that he considered vital for treading the Buddhist path to liberation, especially for westerners, and that he gave again and again to his Western students. His advice on Buddhist practice is simple and yet profound; it extends from the basics all the way up to the highest teaching of Mahamudra. His words are imbued with an authority and authenticity that comes from having tested these teachings and practices in the fire of his own extraordinary meditative experience. There is no dogma or display of rote learning in this book - everything offered here is heartfelt advice coming from personal experience and constitutes essential fare for the practitioner. The outstanding characteristic of the book is its singular power to inspire the reader to dedicate themselves seriously to Buddhist practice. It will be helpful to newcomers to Buddhism who want a practical and authoritative introduction to its key themes. It will also be of great value to experienced practitioners who will find in it countless gems of advice to help them resolve remaining uncertainties about their Dharma practice. Also included in the book is a lengthy chapter that tells the fascinating tale of Gendun Rinpoche's life and practice in the monasteries and mountains of Tibet, his escape to India, his interactions with the 16th Karmapa, and his powerful impact on his numerous Western students.

In Tibetan Buddhism, Mahamudra represents a perfected level of meditative realization: it is the inseparable union of wisdom and compassion, of emptiness and skillful means. These eighty-four masters, some historical, some archetypal, accomplished this practice in India where they lived between the eighth and twelfth centuries. Leading unconventional lives, the siddhas include some of the greatest Buddhist teachers; Tilopa, Naropa, and Marpa among them. Through many years of study, Keith Dowman has collected and translated their songs of realization and the legends about them. In consultation with contemporary teachers, he gives a commentary on each of the Great Adepts and culls from available resources what we can know of their history. Dowman's extensive Introduction traces the development of tantra and discusses the key concepts of the Mahamudra. In a lively and illuminating style, he unfolds the deeper understandings of mind that the texts encode. His treatment of the many parallels to contemporary psychology and experience makes a valualbe contribution to our understanding of human nature.

A Buddhist Classic A practical manual for both teacher and student alike, Clarifying the Natural State covers the path from mindfulness to complete enlightenment, simply and methodically. Presenting the profound and ultimate instructions of Mahamudra, it embodies the realization of India and Tibet's greatest masters. The words of Dakpo Tashi Namgyal are unique. Adorned with plenty of pithy advice out of his personal experience, practitioners are greatly benefited by his instructions on how to remove hindrances and progress further. His methods for practicing Mahamudra are preeminent. This book is indispensable as it focuses exclusively on practice. -Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche Elevate your experience and remain wide open like the sky. Expand your mindfulness and remain pervasive like the earth. Steady your attention and remain unshakable like a mountain. Brighten your awareness and remain shining like a flame. Clear your thought free wakefulness and remain lucid like a crystal. - Dakpo Tashi Namgyal 16th Century

Mahamudra, the great sealing nature, refers to systems of meditation on both the conventional and ultimate natures of the mind. These have been transmitted through the Kagyu, Sakya, and Gelug traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Within the Gelug, Mahamudra teachings occur in a combined Gelug/Kagyu tradition exemplified in the First Panchen Lama's Root Text for the Precious Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra. The work presented here contains two brilliant commentaries by the Dalai Lama. The first is a teaching based directly on the First Panchen Lama's root text. In the second, His Holiness bases his discussion on the First Panchen Lama's own commentary to this text. The book opens with an overview of Mahamudra by Alexander Berzin that discusses the relation of mind appearances and reality and offers practical techniques for overcoming problems of excessive worry, anxiety, and disturbing thoughts. This treasury of practical instruction contains extensive teachings on the nature of mind, the development of shamata, sutra and tantra levels of Mahamudra, and the compatibility of Dzogchen and Anuttarayoga Tantra.

The Tibetan Buddhist teachings on the freedom that comes from perceiving the emptiness of all phenomena—teachings known collectively by the name Mahamudra—are presented here with remarkable clarity through commentary on a twelfth-century text. The text is "Gampopa's Great Teachings to the Assembly," by Gampopa, the foremost disciple of the legendary figure Milarepa and founder of Tibetan Buddhism's Kagyu school. The commentary is by Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, a contemporary teacher of deep learning and profound practice with a remarkable gift for presenting these traditional teachings in a way that is accessible to Western hearts and minds. Gampopa in his teaching combined the general Mahayana teachings he received from the Kadampa tradition of Atisha with the quintessential Vajrayana teachings, which he received from his teacher, Milarepa. These became the basis of the Kagyu lineage teachings that he founded. This particular text, which includes both Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings, is representative of the classic teachings of the Kagyu tradition in general.