Contents
Foreword by the Seventh Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche, Gyurme Chökyi Sengye ix
Introduction by Matthieu Ricard xi
Translator’s Introduction xvii
Opening Homage and Prologue 1
1. The Necessity of Giving Up the World 5
2. How to Rely upon a Spiritual Teacher: A Ninefold Perception 13
3. Identifying a Precious Human Birth: The Eight Freedoms and Ten Endowments 17
4. Death and Impermanence: Three Roots, Nine Reasons, and Three Conclusions 23
5. Basic Ethics: The Ten Virtuous Actions and Their Counterparts, the Ten Negative Actions 29
6. The Dissatisfactory Nature of Samsara 35
7. The Importance of Ethics 39
8. How to Establish Genuine Compassion 43
9. Nurturing Love and Compassion: The Eight Thoughts of a Great and Noble Being 61
10. The Cultivation of Bodhichitta 65
11. On Taking the Bodhisattva’s Vow: The Four Black and Four White Deeds 71
12. The Bodhisattva’s Vow: The Six Perfections and the Four Means of Gathering Disciples 75
13. An Explanation of Langri Thangpa’s
Eight Verses of Mind Training 81
14. The Cultivation of Calm Abiding 87
15. Methods for Achieving Special Insight 95
16. The Need for Both Calm Abiding and Special Insight 105
17. How to Practice a Union of Relative and Ultimate Bodhichitta 113
18. Ultimate Bodhichitta 117
19. Mahamudra: A Teaching on the Nature of Mind, Based on the Songs of Milarepa 129
20. Buddhahood without Meditation 135
21. How to Prepare for, Practice in, and Gain Accomplishment in the Various In-between Bardo States 155
22. The Benefit of Retreat 161
23. Encouragement to Adopt a Nonsectarian Outlook and Concluding Advice 171
24. Conclusion of the Teachings at Kailash 177
25. Afterword 181
Notes 183
Bibliography 191
Index 195
Copyright © 2019 by Shabkar; translated by Sean Price. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
