Voula Zarpani

Principles of Buddhist Tantra

Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche was a renowned teacher of Tibetan Buddhism with students worldwide. Revered as a teacher by even the Dalai Lama, he was known especially as a master of Buddhist tantra, the powerful esoteric methods for attaining enlightenment swiftly. The teachings in this book are a singular record of his deep learning in that field. Originally delivered in California to a group of Western students, the teachings comment on a classic introduction to tantra by the nineteenth-century Mongolian lama Chöje Ngawang Palden. The work, Illumination of the Tantric Tradition: The Principles of the Grounds and Paths of the Four Great Secret Classes of Tantra, is a staple even today of the curriculum for training young monastics.

Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche explains the distinctive features of the four classes of tantra—action tantra, performance tantra, yoga tantra, and highest yoga tantra—by describing the way to progress through the tantric paths and grounds (sa lam). He illuminates key issues in tantric practice that are still a matter for debate within the tradition. Finally, he gives a special treatment of the unique methods of Kalacakra tantra, which is regularly taught around the globe by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

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The Guru Yoga of Jé Tsongkhapa

Available early! Take 20% off with code GY20 through October 28.

Explore the guru yoga practice of Jé Tsongkhapa with a legendary meditation master.

The Hundreds of Deities of Tuṣita is an inspiring and well-loved guru yoga practice that originated from Jé Tsongkhapa himself and was disseminated by the First Dalai Lama. In this book, Chöden Rinpoché—a celebrated scholar who was chosen as a debate partner for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as well as an accomplished yogi who spent nineteen years in solitary retreat—offers two different commentaries to guide the reader’s understanding. 

Rinpoché’s first commentary is based on the tantric oral tradition as presented by the great lama and scholar Pabongkha Dechen Nyingpo in his own inspired commentary on The Hundreds of Deities of Tuṣita, called A Treasury of Precious Jewels, which is presented here in full. Rinpoché adds clarifying instruction to Jé Pabongkha’s work, bringing out the deeper meaning of the text and revealing how ordinary practitioners may understand and apply Pabongkha’s instruction. The second commentary from Rinpoché is a condensed commentary based on the sūtra tradition. Thus, the reader is treated to two different perspectives of the guru yoga practice of Jé Tsongkhapa.

Previously published as Opening the Door of Blessings, this edition has been revised and updated, and is an essential edition to any practitioner’s library.

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