Vajrayāna and the Culmination of the Path

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“Wow! This is the most comprehensive and inclusive text on the practice of Tibetan Vajrayāna. Throughout, the Dalai Lama gives personal advice and unique comparative insights that go beyond, far beyond, very far beyond the usual rehearsals. Vast tangles of tantric terminology and technique—as represented in diverse Tibetan traditions—are illuminated and clarified in this masterful work.” —Guy Newland, Professor of Religion and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion, Central Michigan University

“In this final volume of the monumental series, His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron once again present an important aspect of the Buddhist path in precise language that is accessible to the general reader. This volume, like its predecessors, will be valuable to scholars and practitioners alike. The presentation of Vajrayāna Buddhism demonstrates both its continuity with the broader Buddhist path and the distinctiveness of Tantric practice and the theory that underlies it. This library is now complete, and what a gift it is to the world!” —Jay Garfield, Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities and Professor of Philosophy and Buddhist Studies, Smith College and the Harvard Divinity School

“This work is breathtaking, indispensable for anyone who wants to know what is possible for human beings to do with their lives in this astonishing day and age. Words fail to convey my admiration for the authors and the work, and my confidence in the boon of clarity and delight it grants its thoughtful readers." —Robert A. F. Thurman, Professor Emeritus of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies, Columbia University

“This series of volumes presents an engaging, methodical, step-by-step guide for the whole of the Buddhist path to awakening. The foremost aim of this tenth volume is “to demystify Vajrayãna—to clarify what it is and what its practice entails.” And in clear, immediate, and fluid language, the volume more than delivers on that objective! Apart from Lama Thubten Yeshe’s Introduction to Tantra and His Holiness’s own discussion of Tantric practice in The World of Tibetan Buddhism, this comprehensive treatment is the absolute best we have! Moreover, this distinctive and fundamental series of teachings, taught by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and assisted by Venerable Thubten Chodron, is a publishing triumph for our time.” —Jan Willis, professor of religion, emerita, Wesleyan University

“His Holiness explains Buddhist tantra like no one else. The mysteries of tantra are clarified for all to comprehend, and are expressed as a path clearly accessible to those with the right qualification and right motivation.” —Gavin Kilty, translator of Tsongkhapa’s Lamp to Illuminate the Five Stages

VAJRAYāNA AND THE CULMINATION OF THE PATH

His Holiness the Dalai Lama Thubten Chodron

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The final volume of the Library of Wisdom and Compassion by His Holiness the Dalai Lama takes us to the uncommon practices and realizations of Vajrayāna and the culmination of the path to the full awakening of a buddha.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama skillfully illuminates the unique qualities and complexities of Vajrayāna, as practiced in Tibet, and illuminates the method to eradicate the subtlest obscurations preventing the full awakening of a buddha. Speaking to newcomers and advanced students alike, he explains the similarities and differences of the Sūtra and Tantra paths. Having gathered many of the doubts and difficult points concerning the tantric path, he clarifies the purpose of receiving proper empowerment by qualified gurus and the ethical restraints and commitments required to enter the path of secret mantra. The paths and stages of the four tantric classes are explained, as are the generation-stage and completion-stage practices of Highest Yoga Tantra. You are introduced to the practices of clear appearance and divine identity common to all tantric sādhanas, as well as the unique practices of illusory body and actual clear light that overcome the subtlest defilements on the mind and eliminate all obscurations quickly.

The understanding of emptiness in Sūtra and Tantra is the same, but the consciousness perceiving emptiness differs. In Highest Yoga Tantra that consciousness is great bliss, which arises from knowing the methods to manipulate the channels, winds, and drops of the subtle body. In short, in Vajrayāna and the Culmination of the Path the Dalai Lama sets out the path that leads to blissful awakening and enables us to be of great benefit to all sentient beings.

Learn more about the Library of Wisdom and Compassion series.

book information
  • Hardcover
  • 464 pages, 6 x 9 inches
  • $44.95
  • ISBN 9781614299578
about the author
Vajrayāna and the Culmination of the Path

Tenzin Gyatso, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. He frequently describes himself as a simple Buddhist monk. Born in northeastern Tibet in 1935, he was as a toddler recognized as the incarnation of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama and brought to Tibet’s capital, Lhasa. In 1950, Mao Zedong’s Communist forces made their first incursions into eastern Tibet, shortly after which the young Dalai Lama assumed the political leadership of his country. He passed his scholastic examinations with honors at the Great Prayer Festival in Lhasa in 1959, the same year Chinese forces occupied the city, forcing His Holiness to escape to India. There he set up the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, working to secure the welfare of the more than 100,000 Tibetan exiles and prevent the destruction of Tibetan culture. In his capacity as a spiritual and political leader, he has traveled to more than sixty-two countries on six continents and met with presidents, popes, and leading scientists to foster dialogue and create a better world. In recognition of his tireless work for the nonviolent liberation of Tibet, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. In 2012, he relinquished political authority in his exile government and turned it over to democratically elected representatives.
His Holiness frequently states that his life is guided by three major commitments: the promotion of basic human values or secular ethics in the interest of human happiness, the fostering of interreligious harmony, and securing the welfare of the Tibetan people, focusing on the survival of their identity, culture, and religion. As a superior scholar trained in the classical texts of the Nalanda tradition of Indian Buddhism, he is able to distill the central tenets of Buddhist philosophy in clear and inspiring language, his gift for pedagogy imbued with his infectious joy. Connecting scientists with Buddhist scholars, he helps unite contemplative and modern modes of investigation, bringing ancient tools and insights to bear on the acute problems facing the contemporary world. His efforts to foster dialogue among leaders of the world’s faiths envision a future where people of different beliefs can share the planet in harmony. Wisdom Publications is proud to be the premier publisher of the Dalai Lama’s more serious and in-depth works.

Photo of His Holiness provided by Olivier Adam.

Other books by His Holiness the Dalai Lama:
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s Stages of the Path, Volume 2
Appearing and Empty
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 4
Realizing the Profound View
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 3
The Extraordinary Life of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama – Tibetan Edition
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama’s Stages of the Path, Volume 1
Searching for the Self
The Extraordinary Life of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Courageous Compassion
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 2
In Praise of Great Compassion
Mastering Meditation
Following in the Buddha’s Footsteps
The Essence of Tsongkhapa’s Teachings
The Compassionate Life
The Life of My Teacher
The Life of My Teacher (Paperback)
Ecology, Ethics, and Interdependence
Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature
The Foundation of Buddhist Practice
Buddhism
Approaching the Buddhist Path
Science and Philosophy in the Indian Buddhist Classics, Vol. 1
Kalachakra Tantra
MindScience
The World of Tibetan Buddhism
Sleeping, Dreaming, and Dying
Practicing Wisdom
Meditation on the Nature of Mind

Vajrayāna and the Culmination of the Path

Venerable Thubten Chodron is an author, teacher, and the founder and abbess of Sravasti Abbey, the only Tibetan Buddhist training monastery for Western nuns and monks in the US. She graduated from UCLA, and did graduate work in education at USC. Ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun in 1977, she has studied extensively with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tsenzhap Serkong Rinpoche, and Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche.
Ven. Chodron teaches worldwide and is known for her practical (and humorous!) explanations of how to apply Buddhist teachings in daily life. She is also involved in prison outreach and interfaith dialogue. She has published many books on Buddhist philosophy and meditation, and has co-authored a book with His Holiness the Dalai Lama—Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions. Visit thubtenchodron.org for a media library of her teachings, and sravasti.org to learn more about the Abbey.
Thubten Chodron featured in Tricycle: “Tibetan Buddhist Nun Blazes Trail for Others to Follow.”
See Thubten Chodron’s teaching schedule here.
ONLINE COURSE WITH VEN. THUBTEN CHODRON

Other books by Thubten Chodron:
Appearing and Empty
Realizing the Profound View
Searching for the Self
Courageous Compassion
In Praise of Great Compassion
Following in the Buddha’s Footsteps
Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature
The Foundation of Buddhist Practice
Buddhism
Approaching the Buddhist Path
Insight into Emptiness
Practical Ethics and Profound Emptiness

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