Nyingma: Mahayoga, Anuyoga, and Atiyoga, Part Two

Description

This collection of texts and commentaries from the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism on Dzogchen, or Great Perfection teachings, which introduce us to our most basic nature—the clear and pristine awareness that is the nature of the mind.

This series, The Treasury of Precious Instructions, presents practice texts and commentaries of the eight great practice lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. The first of the eight lineages is preserved in the first and second volumes of the series, the second one of which is translated here. This lineage is also the one that historically appeared first: the Nyingma, or Old Translation, school. In his autobiography, the series compiler Jamgön Kongtrul records that he selected texts from what he regarded as the most important and representative elements of the Nyingma school. These texts are all related to what he called the “three yogas.” The first Nyingma volume includes works that are representative of the first two yogas, and those belonging to the “pith-instruction class,” specifically those related to the unsurpassed secret section—the Heart Essence, or Nyingtik—form, for the most part, the contents of this volume. 

The most profound and essential tenet of the Buddha’s teachings, according to the understanding of the Nyingma school, is that within the mind of every being, as its bedrock, fundamental stratum, or element, lies the buddha nature. The teachings of this volume each present this essential tenet in a variety of ways, by various Tibetan and Indian masters—primarily the eighth-century Indian Padmasambhava and the fourteenth-century Tibetan Longchenpa.JAMGÖN KONGTRUL LODRÖ TAYE (1813–1900) was a versatile and prolific scholar and one of the most outstanding writers and teachers of his time in Tibet. He was a pivotal figure in eastern Tibet’s nonsectarian movement and made major contributions to education, politics, and medicine. The PADMAKARA TRANSLATION GROUP, based in France, has a distinguished reputation for its translations of Tibetan texts and teachings. Its work has been published in several languages and is renowned for its clear and accurate literary style.US

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