- Vajrayana and the Culmination of the Path
- Cover Page
- Title Page
- Contents
- Preface by Bhikṣuṇī Thubten Chodron
- Abbreviations
- Introduction by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
- 1 Method and Wisdom in Sūtra and Tantra
- 2 Introduction to Tantra
- 3 Entering Tantrayāna
- Empowerment, Permissory Rites, and Oral Transmission
- Preliminary Practices
- Empowerment
- Rituals
- After Receiving Empowerment
- Tantric Ethical Restraints and Commitments
- Empowerment Taken Prematurely
- The Practice of Sādhanas
- Women and Vajrayāna
- Unusual Behavior
- The Four Classes of Tantra and the Nine Vehicles
- Practicing Vajrayāna in a Gradual Manner
- 4 All-Encompassing Yoga
- 5 The Path of Kriyā Tantra
- 6 The Paths of Caryā Tantra and Yoga Tantra
- Caryā (Performance) Tantra
- Becoming a Suitable Vessel
- Keeping the Ethical Restraints and Commitments Purely
- Practicing the Close Approximation
- Achieving the Actual Attainments (Siddhi)
- Yoga Tantra
- Becoming a Suitable Vessel
- Purely Keeping the Ethical Restraints and Commitments
- Practicing the Close Approximation
- Achieving the Actual Attainments (Siddhi)
- Concluding Comments on the Three Lower Tantras
- Vajrayāna and the Five Paths and Ten Grounds
- 7 Highest Yoga Tantra
- Levels of Meaning
- Distinguishing the Four Classes of Tantra
- How Vajrayāna Brings Awakening
- Meditational Deities and the Ultimate Nature of Desire
- Excellent Features of Highest Yoga Tantra
- Utilizing Afflictions in the Path
- Cultivating Serenity and Insight in Highest Yoga Tantra
- Meditation on Emptiness in Vajrayāna
- Bliss and Emptiness
- Meditation Sessions in the Generation Stage
- Post-Meditation Time
- Meditation Sessions in the Completion Stage
- 8 The Tantric Perspective of Body and Mind
- The Tantric View of Body and Mind
- The Body
- The Mind
- Mental Consciousness
- Knowing an Object
- Supersensory Perception and Karmic Winds
- Death, Bardo, and Rebirth
- Taking Death, Bardo, and Rebirth into the Path to the Three Buddha Bodies
- Purifying the Basis of Purification
- Near-Death Experiences and the Illusory Body
- Preserving Good Qualities from Life to Life
- 9 The Path of Highest Yoga Tantra
- 10 Introduction to the Completion Stage
- 11 Going Deeper into the Completion Stage
- Isolated Body
- Isolated Speech
- Isolated Mind
- Practice with a Mudrā
- The Inseparability of Bliss and Emptiness
- The Completion-Stage Practice of the Two Truths
- Illusory Body
- Correlations between the Basis, Path, and Result
- Conduct Enhancing the Path
- Meanings of “Clear Light”
- Actual Clear Light
- Learners’ Union—the Inseparability of the Two Truths
- The Union of the Two Truths
- The Five Paths according to Vajrayāna
- The Completion Stage according to Other Highest Yoga Tantras
- How to Manifest the Results
- 12 The Path of Kālacakra Tantra
- 13 The Four Tibetan Traditions
- Nālandā and the Four Tibetan Traditions
- The Texts Shared in Common in the Four Tibetan Traditions
- How to Approach the Various Tibetan Buddhist Traditions
- The Nyingma Tradition
- The Kagyu Tradition
- The Sakya Tradition
- The Gelug Tradition
- Similarities among Traditions
- Are Sentient Beings Already Awakened?
- Sūtra and Tantra Methods to Meditate on Emptiness
- Dzogchen, Highest Yoga Tantra, and Madhyamaka
- 14 Coming to the Same Point
- 15 A Song of the Four Mindfulnesses and the Culmination of the Path
- 16 Epilogue: Advice for My Disciples
- Notes
- Glossary
- Recommended Reading
- Index
- About the Authors
- Copyright
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