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The Essence of Buddhism

An Introduction to Its Philosophy and Practice

Author Traleg Kyabgon
Foreword by Sogyal Rinpoche, The Seventeenth Karmapa
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Paperback
$19.95 US
Shambhala
On sale Nov 11, 2014 | 208 Pages | 9781590307885
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This lucid overview–which has come to be regarded by many as the best introductory book on Tibetan Buddhism–looks at its subject from the perspective of the three traditional “vehicles”: the Hinayana, the Mahayana, and the Vajrayana. These divisions are often presented as a historical development, but here Traleg Kyabgon equates them with the attitudes that people bring to their Buddhist practice. Basic to them all is the need to understand one’s own immediate condition. The primary tool for achieving this is meditation, and The Essence of Buddhism serves as a handbook for the various meditative approaches of Buddhist practice.

Beginning with the most basic teaching of the Four Noble Truths, Traleg Rinpoche goes on to incorporate the expansive vision of the bodhisattva path and the transformative vision of Tantra. The final chapters present the transcendent view of Mahamudra. Along the way, the author provides vivid definitions of fundamental concepts such as compassion, emptiness, and Buddha-nature.

Includes a foreword from Sogyal Rinpoche.
Foreword by H.H. the Seventeenth Karmapa
Foreword by Sogyal Rinpoche
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Fundamentals: The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Noble Path
2. Ethical Conduct: Doing What Is Truly Beneficial
3. Meditation: Changing Our Mental Outlook
4. Karma and Rebirth: Everything Is in Relationship
5. Mahayana Buddhism: Helping Others Is Helping Onself
6. The Way of the Bodhisattva: Meditation and Action Go Together
7. Realizing Wisdom and Compassion: Bodhichitta and the Paramitas
8. The Link between Wisdom and Compassion: The Paramita of Meditation and the Nine Stages of Shamatha
9. Insight Meditation: The Paramita of Wisdom and the Madhyamaka School
10. The Role of the Mind: The Yogachara School and Buddha-Nature
11. Spiritual Progress: The Five Paths and the Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva
12. Buddhahood: The Three Kayas
13. Sutra and Tantra: The Tantric Levels of Attainment
14. Supreme Yoga Tantra: Becoming a Total Person
15. The Six Yogas of Naropa: Dealing with Conflicting Emotions
16. Mahamudra and the Nature of Mind: Going beyond Duality
17. Mahamudra Meditation: Allowing the Mind to Rest in Its Natural State
Index
TRALEG KYABGON (1955–2012) was born in eastern Tibet and educated by many great masters of all four major lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the founder of the Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute, which is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with a major practice center in New York City. Rinpoche was well known for his erudition and understanding of Western psychology and culture, and comparative religion. He taught extensively at universities and Buddhist centers in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia, and he is the author of Mind at Ease and The Practice of Lojong.
Traleg Kyabgon View titles by Traleg Kyabgon

About

This lucid overview–which has come to be regarded by many as the best introductory book on Tibetan Buddhism–looks at its subject from the perspective of the three traditional “vehicles”: the Hinayana, the Mahayana, and the Vajrayana. These divisions are often presented as a historical development, but here Traleg Kyabgon equates them with the attitudes that people bring to their Buddhist practice. Basic to them all is the need to understand one’s own immediate condition. The primary tool for achieving this is meditation, and The Essence of Buddhism serves as a handbook for the various meditative approaches of Buddhist practice.

Beginning with the most basic teaching of the Four Noble Truths, Traleg Rinpoche goes on to incorporate the expansive vision of the bodhisattva path and the transformative vision of Tantra. The final chapters present the transcendent view of Mahamudra. Along the way, the author provides vivid definitions of fundamental concepts such as compassion, emptiness, and Buddha-nature.

Includes a foreword from Sogyal Rinpoche.

Table of Contents

Foreword by H.H. the Seventeenth Karmapa
Foreword by Sogyal Rinpoche
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Fundamentals: The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Noble Path
2. Ethical Conduct: Doing What Is Truly Beneficial
3. Meditation: Changing Our Mental Outlook
4. Karma and Rebirth: Everything Is in Relationship
5. Mahayana Buddhism: Helping Others Is Helping Onself
6. The Way of the Bodhisattva: Meditation and Action Go Together
7. Realizing Wisdom and Compassion: Bodhichitta and the Paramitas
8. The Link between Wisdom and Compassion: The Paramita of Meditation and the Nine Stages of Shamatha
9. Insight Meditation: The Paramita of Wisdom and the Madhyamaka School
10. The Role of the Mind: The Yogachara School and Buddha-Nature
11. Spiritual Progress: The Five Paths and the Ten Stages of the Bodhisattva
12. Buddhahood: The Three Kayas
13. Sutra and Tantra: The Tantric Levels of Attainment
14. Supreme Yoga Tantra: Becoming a Total Person
15. The Six Yogas of Naropa: Dealing with Conflicting Emotions
16. Mahamudra and the Nature of Mind: Going beyond Duality
17. Mahamudra Meditation: Allowing the Mind to Rest in Its Natural State
Index

Author

TRALEG KYABGON (1955–2012) was born in eastern Tibet and educated by many great masters of all four major lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the founder of the Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute, which is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with a major practice center in New York City. Rinpoche was well known for his erudition and understanding of Western psychology and culture, and comparative religion. He taught extensively at universities and Buddhist centers in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia, and he is the author of Mind at Ease and The Practice of Lojong.
Traleg Kyabgon View titles by Traleg Kyabgon

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