Synopses & Reviews
A perfect companion to the well-known
Tibetan Book of the Dead.
In life and in death, in meditation and in sleep, every transitional stage of consciousness, or bardo, provides an opportunity to overcome limitations, frustrations, and fears. The profound teachings in this book provide the under- standing and instruction necessary to turn every phase of life into an opportunity for uncontrived, natural liberation.
Like the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Natural Liberation is a term, a "hidden treasure" attributed to the eighth-century master Padmasambhava. Gyatrul Rinpoche's lucid commentary accompanies the text, illuminating the path of awakening to the point of full enlightenment. Natural Liberation is an essential contribution to the library of both scholars and practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism.
Review
"This teaching of Padmasambhava, the founder of Buddhism in Tibet, is finally here for English readers as the heart of this book. This teaching illuminates the most profound questions about who we are and provides a map for the journey through life, death, and rebirth in great depth and simplicity."--
Synopsis
Includes meditation instructions and edifying anecdotes.
Synopsis
In the spirit of the Buddhist tantric tradition, Natural Liberation examines how to take the commonplace states of consciousness experienced in life and death and turn them into opportunities for the highest liberation. In this work, Padmasambhava, the great 9th century Indian master who established Buddhism in Tibet, describes in detail six life-processes, or bardos, and how to transform them into vehicles for enlightenment. This most extraordinary teaching is here accompanied by meditation instructions and edifying anecdotes in a lucid commentary by Gyatrul Rinpoche, an esteemed teacher of the Nyingma tradition.
About the Author
Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche was born in 1924 in China near the Tibetan border. At the age of seven he was recognized to be a reincarnate tulku and trained at Payul Dhomang Monastery in eastern Tibet. Rinpoche spent many years in solitary retreat before fleeing the Communist invasion of Tibet in 1959. After living in India for twelve years, Rinpoche moved to America and in 1976 was appointed as H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche's spiritual representative in America. Rinpoche has founded many Buddhist centers, including Tashi Choling in Oregon, Orgyen Dorje Den in the San Francisco Bay area, Norbu Ling in Texas, Namdroling in Montana, and a center in Ensenada, Mexico.B. Alan Wallace is president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. He trained for many years as a monk in Buddhist monasteries in India and Switzerland. He has taught Buddhist theory and practice in Europe and America since 1976 and has served as interpreter for numerous Tibetan scholars and contemplatives, including H. H. the Dalai Lama. After graduating summa cum laude from Amherst College, where he studied physics and the philosophy of science, he earned his MA and PhD in religious studies at Stanford University. He has edited, translated, authored, and contributed to more than thirty books on Tibetan Buddhism, medicine, language, and culture, and the interface between science and religion.