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Tibetan Buddhism
Presents for Buddha by Tibet Institute Rikon & Rudolf Hogger
£46.99
The eight auspicious symbols, which play a central role in Tibetan Buddhism, have been considered since time immemorial as the original presents that the Vedic gods handed to the newborn Buddha.
The present book throws a different light on the millennia-old history of these auspicious symbols, retracing their origins in the Stone Age and revealing their earliest manifestations on various continents. The Tibetan auspicious symbols reflect a cultural world heritage of overwhelming colourfulness and almost inexhaustible richness of meaning. They are symbols of universal validity for outer, worldly realities as well as for inner, spiritual processes. In his preface, the Dalai Lama writes: I am glad that the Institute is coming out with this book that not only explains the meaning of the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism, but also places them in context with the cultures of other historical traditions. It thus symbolises the very objective behind the setting up of the Tibet Institute:
spreading awareness about Tibetan Buddhist cultural values and placing them in relation to the broader world. “Presents for Buddha” was first published in 2018 on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Tibet Institute Rikon (Switzerland), the first Tibetan monastery in Europe. The monastery is under the patronage of the Dalai Lama and, according to his wishes, “has been a facilitator of dialogue between Tibetan Buddhist and Western cultures”. This has become especially evident in this book: while in the first part Tibetan people, including the Abbot of the Rikon Monastery, explain the meaning of the auspicious symbols in their lives and their faith, in the second part Rudolf Högger leads through an illustrated cultural history of the symbols that goes far beyond Buddhism. Th us, the originality of this book lies in the combination of personal accounts of religious lives and a cultural-historical portray.
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Rainbow Body by Loel Guinness
£85.00
There is no better illustration of the radical transformative power of the ancient Tibetan contemplative teachings of Dzogchen than the extraordinary phenomenon of bodily disappearance or “rainbow body”, which is considered its ultimate fruit. In this groundbreaking study of rainbow body in the Bön tradition, which is the first of its kind in a western language, the neophyte reader is guided into the profound insights of Dzogchen, while all the components required to understand this most mysterious and enigmatic of phenomena are laid out gently and methodically.
Illustrated by unique thangkas commissioned especially for this study, the book’s emphasis is on clarity of exposition. Simple enough for the layman, but detailed enough to do justice to these ancient and subtle traditions, Rainbow Body serves both as an introduction to Bön Dzogchen, and also as a pioneering study of Tibetan textual sources related to the phenomenon of rainbow body. It is offered to the public in the hope that as many people as possible may benefit from the profundity of this ancient wisdom. For as Loel Guinness states in his preface, “Dzogchen is not just for monks. It is as suitable for the businessman, the academic, the adventurer, or the practitioner. The insights of Dzogchen are relevant for all”.
The 2021 edition is updated and revised in a smaller, more accessible format, of the 2018 edition.
Bo and Bon by Dmitry Ermakov
£34.99
Bѳ and Bön: Ancient Shamanic Traditions of Siberia and Tibet in their Relation to the Teachings of a Central Asian Buddha.
Hailed as a fascinating and unique book, this is the first in-depth study of its kind comparing the ancient Bon religion with the Siberian shamanic tradition of Lake Baikal. Combining scholarly research with spiritual insight and with over 200 illustrations, maps and diagrams, the information is presented in a clear and lively way, enabling the reader to navigate easily through the various topics dealt with and to follow the threads of the intricate tapestry which is woven as the parallels between the ancient shamanic traditions of Tibet and Siberia unfold.
A Treasure Trove of Scriptural Transmission by Longchen Rabjam
£46.99
Among the works in Longchen Rabjam's famous collection, The Seven Treasuries, is this book commonly known as the Chöying Dzod. The Chöying Dzod consists of two texts: a set of source verses entitled The Precious Treasury of the Basic Space of Phenomena and Longchenpa's own commentary on those verses, A Treasure Trove of Scriptural Transmission.
Padma Publishing is engaged in the long-term project of translating into English the revered Dzogchen commentaries known as the Seven Treasuries, authored by the fourteenth-century Nyingma master, Longchen Rabjam (Longchenpa). This masterpiece, admired by scholars for centuries, synthesizes more than 600 years of development in the spiritual tradition first brought to Tibet by Padmasambhava in the eighth century. Padma Publishing editions include the English translation as well as structural outlines, critical notes, lists of key terms, and glossaries.
Producing an English edition of the Seven Treasuries is a daunting task, both scholastically and linguistically. Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, late head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, felt that such a project would be an extremely important undertaking, but pointed out that these comprehensive and profoundly intricate texts presented enormous challenges to quality translation. Every line, and often each word, of Longchenpa's text presents challenges. The Padma Translation Committee established a multi-leveled editorial process, similar to the traditional manner of translation projects in Tibet's great monastic institutions. In addition to having received input and direction from Chagdud Rinpoche, the translators have benefited from several visiting scholars, who have lent their expertise in elucidating and clarifying difficult points in the texts.
It was Chagdud Rinpoche's vision that the Seven Treasuries of Longchenpa be made available to Western students of the Dzogchen tradition, and for this reason he founded the Translation Project in 1987, inviting Richard Barron (Lama Chökyi Nyima) to assist Padma in its endeavors. To date, the Padma Translation Committee has produced five of the Seven Treasuries, as well as numerous sadhana texts, ritual liturgies, prayers, and other practice materials.
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