The Words of My Perfect Teacher, Revised Edition (Sacred Literature Series)

A favorite of Tibetans—and of the Dalai Lama himself— The Words of My Perfect Teacher is a practical guide to the spiritual practices common to all Tibetan Buddhist traditions. It is the classic commentary on the preliminary practices of Longchen Nyingthig, a cycle of teachings of the Nyingmapa school. Patrul Rinpoche makes his subject accessible through a wealth of stories, quotations, and references to everyday life, giving the text all the life and atmosphere of a compelling oral teaching.

This second, revised edition (of the book originally published by HarperSanFrancisco in 1994) is the result of a detailed and painstaking comparison of the original Tibetan text with the English translation by the Padmakara Translation Group. The new edition also includes translations of a postface to the text written a century ago for the first printed Tibetan edition by the first Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, and a new preface by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

Patrul Rinpoche (1808–1887) was one of the greatest Tibetan teachers of the nineteenth century. Famous for his precise and direct style, he shunned high monastic office and lived the life of a homeless wanderer, writing his book in a rustic hermitage under an overhanging rock.