Essential Tibetan Buddhism - Hardcover

Thurman, Robert A. F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062510487 ISBN 13: 9780062510488

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1995

Synopsis

Robert Thurman expertly and lucidly surveys the basic teachings and varieties of Tibetan Buddhism. A concise summary of Buddhism's development across Asia, with particular emphasis on its evolution in Tibet, provides a vital orientation, but the core of this much-needed volume is the first-ever collection of key Tibetan teachings on Buddhism and attaining enlightenment. Here are all the essential texts, freshly translated: the hymns to Tara, the liberator goddess; the riddle-like songs of Milarepa, the wandering poet-saint of the Himalayas; instructions for living the compassionate Bodhisattva Way of Life; selections from The Tibetan Book of the Dead; and more.
Excerpts from rarely published tantric practice texts complement Geshe Chaykawa's Seven Point Mind Training and selections from Nagarjuna's Five Stages. Master teachers from all the major schools - Longchempa, Nagarjuna, Shantideva, Atisha, and Tsong Khapa - speak to the modern reader, providing advice on how to integrate Tibetan Buddhism into daily life.
Further enhanced by explanatory notes and a bibliography designed to serve as an introductory course, Essential Tibetan Buddhism is a unique guide to this rich spiritual tradition, invaluable to newcomers and seasoned students alike.

About this title

Review:

In this highly readable collection, Robert Thurman brings together the jewels of Tibetan literature that have made their own distinctive contribution to "the great river of Buddhism." He introduces the selection with an overview of essential Buddhist thought, orienting the reader with a history of Buddhism's development, from its origins in India, expansion across Asia, and flowering on Tibetan soil. Explaining the distinctive attainment of Tibetan Buddhist civilization as "the vivid sense of Buddhas in ordinary, daily reality," Thurman guides readers through selections that speak to the possibility of liberation for all beings. Stressing also the importance of the teacher or mentor figure in Tibetan Buddhist practice, he presents key texts from teachers whose words serve as inspiration to those seeking the path toward enlightenment. Excerpts culled from the vastness of the Tibetan canon include the hymns to the liberator goddess Tara, pieces from The Tibetan Book of the Dead, writings on mentor worship from the first Panchen Lama, and selections from esoteric tantric practice texts. The volume ends with the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize lecture by Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, illustrating the enduring relevance of this ancient wisdom for modern life. --Uma Kukathas

From the Publisher:

From the foremost Western Tibetan Buddhist scholar--and the first American Tibetan Buddhist monk--comes a comprehensive essential guide to the incomparable riches of Tibetan Buddhism.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0062510487
• ISBN 13: 9780062510488
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336