Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
The only book in English on a popular Tibetan Buddhist lineage prayer that explains how it can be used as a guide to practice. In 29 lines, the "Mahamudra Lineage Prayer" lists the great adepts of the Karma Kagyu lineage, reviews the common and special preliminaries, provides instructions for calm abiding and special insight meditation, sets forth the essentials of Mahamudra meditation, and finally makes an aspiration to achieve enlightenment. It thus summarizes the key elements of the path to enlightenment. Khenchen Thrangu's oral teachings on this prayer have been collected and edited to form a complete commentary on the prayer that emphasizes Mahamudra meditation as especially suitable for Western practitioners who complain of having little time for practice. Many chapters include questions from the audience and his replies, which give the book an intimate feeling. Appendices that give details on related topics and the explanatory endnotes make this an invaluable resource for Mahamudra practitioners.
Synopsis
The only book in English on a popular Tibetan Buddhist lineage prayer that explains how it can be used as a guide to practice. One of the most beloved and oft-recited prayers in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, The Mahamudra Lineage Prayer combines a supplication to the Mahamudra lineage with a concise guide to Mahamudra practice and the stages of the path to enlightenment. In this commentary on the prayer, Thrangu Rinpoche teaches in his down-to earth yet direct manner the importance of the Mahamudra lineage, how to develop renunciation and devotion through the common and uncommon preliminary practices, and how to practice calm abiding (Shamatha) and insight (Vipashyana) meditation in the Mahamudra tradition. He explains that Mahamudra teachings are easy to practice yet are very powerful, and are especially appropriate for serious Western Dharma students.