Whilst on the one hand, it is said that Mahamudra is a very advanced form of meditation, on the other, if one were already advanced one would not need any instructions. Mahamudra manuals often tend to explain everything step by step as if the reader does not know anything. Obviously then, they are meant for people like us. In the King Doha, Saraha gives a step by step account of the pitfalls a meditation practitioner can fall into and how to avoid them. With a background of practising extensively in the tantric tradition, he gives his reasons for considering the Mahamudra approach an appropriate path. Based on a commentary by Karma Trinleypa, Traleg Rinpoche gives a straightforward and clear explanation of Saraha's message to us as practitioners of Mahamudra.

Traleg Kyabgon skillfully illustrates how to incorporate the whole human experience onto the Buddhist path. With mastery of Western concepts, the author explains how to integrate traditional Buddhist philosophies, psychology, and Tibetan medicine in the service of reducing suffering and developing all aspects of ones personhood to overcome the confinement of a limited sense of self.

In this book Traleg Kyabgon discusses the notion of desire from Buddhist and other perspectives. He reviews commonly held beliefs of desire that are often misguided and can be diametrically opposed. On the one hand there is the belief that desire is an important human experience that is natural, which leads to happiness and pleasure. Then there is the juxtaposition that desire is a type of demon whose expression leads to diminishment and destruction. There has been a long standing belief in some Eastern and Western religious and philosophical traditions that all forms of desire are bad and that our ultimate goal is a state of complete desirelessness. The assumption of these traditions being, if we dont desire anything we will not have any concerns. If we dont have any concerns we will be completely content, and completely happy. That is not the view of Buddhism, particularly in relation to the distinction between the ultimate goal of attaining enlightenment and the relative, more immediate aim of wanting to improve and elevate oneself. There is a litany of human foibles, misdemeanors, and misconduct that comes from unmediated desire. When the desire is not controlled or managed effectively it can manifest as very destructive eruption. Nevertheless we should not then conclude that we have to extinguish desire altogether. To overcome destructive or demeaning desires requires one to harness a stronger desire to motivate oneself towards a more positive direction and goal. This requires insight and skill to overcome highly habitualized tendencies that can lead to a type of entrapment, to then produce a positively motivated approach that allows one to desire freely producing enriched meaning, outcomes and experiences. Traleg Kyabgon explores the Buddhist notion of desire within its positive and negative forms, seeking to explode some myths and clarify some misunderstandings. The book is also designed to inspire the passion of the readers to seek a fulfilling life without needing to demonise ones experience of desire.

Rinpoche explains the profound meaning of Vajrayana, inclusive of the Six Yogas of Naropa, demystifying the practices and providing the necessary elucidations. One of the six Yogas, Dream Yoga, is explored in depth, providing remarkable insight into the human condition, mind, and spirituality. The clarifications illuminate the tantric path, dispelling confusion and uncertainty about how to approach Vajrayana practices. Some key explanations for practicing the Vajrayana path are elucidated including the role of clear light, and the role of the tantric teacher. This work includes generous, rarely discussed aspects of this profound path by one of the worlds foremost masters of Tibetan Buddhism.

If emotions simply happened to us and we have no choice in the matter, we could not speak about creating good or bad karma. If there is no choice, then how can we support the idea of change, transformation, or progress? From a Buddhist perspective, we are responsible for our actions or experiences, including how we manage our emotions. One cannot be made responsible for something when one has no choice in the matter. Our range of emotional experiences, as well as being fuelled by past experiences, the content and quality of our thoughts, and our ethics and beliefs, are also related to outcomes that we wish to achieve. Emotions are more-often-than-not used in a strategic manner. We use our emotions to elicit certain responses and gain certain results from others. They are used to gain specific results within our interactions. Rather than being seen as something that happens to us, emotions are seen as something that we create and invariably use in a strategic manner, even if somewhat unconsciously. -- Traleg Kyabgon

In THE CIRCLE OF THE SUN, Traleg Rinpoche asks: What is the starting point on the spiritual journey? It is possible that it is seeing oneself as inadequate. It is heartening that the Dzogchen and Mahamudra approach says that what one wants to attain is already present. There is no gap between what one is and what one wants to attain. In Dzogchen, the starting point, which is also the end point of the spiritual journey is having an understanding of the nature of mind. Tsele Natsok Rangdrol's exposition of the Dzogchen path elucidates that the path rests on the practices of trekchö, which means "cutting through", and thögal, which means "leaping over". Trekchö practice entails settling the mind in its own natural state without effort and without the rejection of thoughts and emotions. Thögal practice makes use of images and visions to realize the innate wakefulness. Rinpoche explains there are many perspectives designed to help us uncover our authentic state, the ground-of-being, as it is often referred to in the Dzogchen tradition. A single perspective can never provide an all-encompassing view of the ground-of -being, because it is something that cannot be understood from any one perspective, in completeness. -- Susan Howes, Editor.

The Buddha’s teaching on karma (literally, "action") is nothing other than his compassionate explanation of the way things are: our thoughts and actions determine our future, and therefore we ourselves are largely responsible for the way our lives unfold. Yet this supremely useful teaching is often ignored due to the misconceptions about it that abound in popular culture, especially oversimplifications that make it seem like something not to be taken seriously. Karma is not simple, as Traleg Kyabgon shows, and it’s to be taken very seriously indeed. He cuts through the persistent illusions we cling to about karma to show what it really is—the mechanics of why we suffer and how we can make the suffering end. He explains how a realistic understanding of karma is indispensable to Buddhist practice, how it provides a foundation for a moral life, and how understanding it can have a transformative effect on the way we relate to our thoughts and feelings and to those around us.

This comprehensive guide to the Buddhist path from the Tibetan point of view is as accessible as it is complete. Traleg Kyabgon breaks the teachings down conveniently into the three traditional "vehicles," while never letting us forget that the point of all the Dharma is nothing other than insight into the mind and heart. Along the way he provides vivid definitions of fundamental Buddhist concepts such as compassion, emptiness, and Buddha-nature and answers common questions such as:    • Why does Buddhism teach that there is "no self"?   • Are Buddhist teachings pessimistic?   • Does Buddhism encourage social passivity?   • What is the role of sex in Buddhist tantra?   • Why is it said that samsara is nirvana?   • Does it take countless lifetimes to attain enlightenment, or can it be achieved in a moment?

"In this uniquely insightful overview and practice guide, Traleg Kyabgon presents a thorough introduction to the Kagyu lineage''s Mahamudra tradition. The author''s approach is straightforward—he presents the Mahamudra teachings as a means of seeing things in, as he says, "a positive and open light. Even things we might normally regard as bad and undesirable can be interpreted in a more uplifting way due to the expansiveness of the Mahamudra vision." Mahamudra—which means "great seal" or "great symbol," referring to the symbol or mark of ultimate reality, or emptiness—points to the true nature of mind as well as the ultimate insubstantiality of all things.

For many centuries Indian and Tibetan Buddhists have employed this collection of pithy, penetrating Dharma slogans to develop compassion, equanimity, lovingkindness, and joy for others. Known as the lojong—or mind-training—teachings, these slogans have been the subject of deep study, contemplation, and commentary by many great masters. In this volume, Traleg Kyabgon offers a fresh translation of the slogans as well as in-depth new commentary of each. After living among and teaching Westerners for over twenty years, his approach is uniquely insightful into the ways that the slogans could be misunderstood or misinterpreted within our culture. Here, he presents a refreshing and clarifying view, which seeks to correct points of confusion.

A master of Tibetan Buddhism cuts through prevalent misconceptions around karma and rebirth to get to the root cause of our suffering—and how we can end it The Buddha’s teaching on karma (literally, “action”) is nothing other than his compassionate explanation of the way things are: our thoughts and actions determine our future, and therefore we ourselves are largely responsible for the way our lives unfold. Yet this supremely useful teaching is often ignored due to the misconceptions found in popular culture, especially oversimplifications that make it seem like something not to be taken seriously. Karma is not simple, as Traleg Kyabgon shows, and it’s to be taken very seriously indeed. In this book, Kyabgon cuts through the persistent illusions we cling to about karma to show what it really is—the mechanics of why we suffer and how we can make the suffering end. He explains how a realistic understanding of karma is indispensable to Buddhist practice, how it provides a foundation for a moral life, and how understanding it can have a transformative effect on the way we relate to our thoughts and feelings and to those around us.

These pages represent the compendium of a long journey of more than twenty-five years. It would be simplistic to define this journey as exclusively intellectual, because it would be unthinkable without frequent visits to the Middle East, in particular to Turkey, the second Holy Land of Christianity, the ancient Asia Minor of biblical history, with its overwhelming Muslim population today. The fact is that, since many years now, the theme of hospitality has been the subject of numerous publications, studies, contributions and gatherings with protagonists of various opinions and expertise convening to give answers to questions related to the challenge of living together in the complex society of our contemporary world. It is precisely by letting ourselves be questioned by these complexities that we become aware that the challenge of hospitality is not merely economic or political but also spiritual. Claudio Monge addresses one of the key questions of today with an extremely ancient text from the deepest roots of our civilisation, Genesis 18, in which Abraham welcomes the three strangers who come to his tent and announce the conception of Isaac.  Today, when millions are in movement, fleeing war and poverty, the question of how we are to receive strangers is urgent and inescapable. Monge explores this text through the traditions of three religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - which claim the assent of approximately half of the population of the world. Yet these three religions, all looking back in one way or another to Abraham, are often strangers to each other. If we could offer welcome to each other, what a powerful sign of hope this would be for our conflict torn world! [from Timothy Radcliffe's Preface]

These pages represent the compendium of a long journey of more than twenty-five years. It would be simplistic to define this journey as exclusively intellectual, because it would be unthinkable without frequent visits to the Middle East, in particular to Turkey, the second Holy Land of Christianity, the ancient Asia Minor of biblical history, with its overwhelming Muslim population today. The fact is that, since many years now, the theme of hospitality has been the subject of numerous publications, studies, contributions and gatherings with protagonists of various opinions and expertise convening to give answers to questions related to the challenge of living together in the complex society of our contemporary world. It is precisely by letting ourselves be questioned by these complexities that we become aware that the challenge of hospitality is not merely economic or political but also spiritual. Claudio Monge addresses one of the key questions of today with an extremely ancient text from the deepest roots of our civilisation, Genesis 18, in which Abraham welcomes the three strangers who come to his tent and announce the conception of Isaac.  Today, when millions are in movement, fleeing war and poverty, the question of how we are to receive strangers is urgent and inescapable. Monge explores this text through the traditions of three religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - which claim the assent of approximately half of the population of the world. Yet these three religions, all looking back in one way or another to Abraham, are often strangers to each other. If we could offer welcome to each other, what a powerful sign of hope this would be for our conflict torn world! [from Timothy Radcliffe's Preface]

Whilst on the one hand, it is said that Mahamudra is a very advanced form of meditation, on the other, if one were already advanced one would not need any instructions. Mahamudra manuals often tend to explain everything step by step as if the reader does not know anything. Obviously then, they are meant for people like us. In the King Doha, Saraha gives a step by step account of the pitfalls a meditation practitioner can fall into and how to avoid them. With a background of practising extensively in the tantric tradition, he gives his reasons for considering the Mahamudra approach an appropriate path. Based on a commentary by Karma Trinleypa, Traleg Rinpoche gives a straightforward and clear explanation of Saraha's message to us as practitioners of Mahamudra.

Traleg Kyabgon skillfully illustrates how to incorporate the whole human experience onto the Buddhist path. With mastery of Western concepts, the author explains how to integrate traditional Buddhist philosophies, psychology, and Tibetan medicine in the service of reducing suffering and developing all aspects of ones personhood to overcome the confinement of a limited sense of self.

In this book Traleg Kyabgon discusses the notion of desire from Buddhist and other perspectives. He reviews commonly held beliefs of desire that are often misguided and can be diametrically opposed. On the one hand there is the belief that desire is an important human experience that is natural, which leads to happiness and pleasure. Then there is the juxtaposition that desire is a type of demon whose expression leads to diminishment and destruction. There has been a long standing belief in some Eastern and Western religious and philosophical traditions that all forms of desire are bad and that our ultimate goal is a state of complete desirelessness. The assumption of these traditions being, if we dont desire anything we will not have any concerns. If we dont have any concerns we will be completely content, and completely happy. That is not the view of Buddhism, particularly in relation to the distinction between the ultimate goal of attaining enlightenment and the relative, more immediate aim of wanting to improve and elevate oneself. There is a litany of human foibles, misdemeanors, and misconduct that comes from unmediated desire. When the desire is not controlled or managed effectively it can manifest as very destructive eruption. Nevertheless we should not then conclude that we have to extinguish desire altogether. To overcome destructive or demeaning desires requires one to harness a stronger desire to motivate oneself towards a more positive direction and goal. This requires insight and skill to overcome highly habitualized tendencies that can lead to a type of entrapment, to then produce a positively motivated approach that allows one to desire freely producing enriched meaning, outcomes and experiences. Traleg Kyabgon explores the Buddhist notion of desire within its positive and negative forms, seeking to explode some myths and clarify some misunderstandings. The book is also designed to inspire the passion of the readers to seek a fulfilling life without needing to demonise ones experience of desire.

Rinpoche explains the profound meaning of Vajrayana, inclusive of the Six Yogas of Naropa, demystifying the practices and providing the necessary elucidations. One of the six Yogas, Dream Yoga, is explored in depth, providing remarkable insight into the human condition, mind, and spirituality. The clarifications illuminate the tantric path, dispelling confusion and uncertainty about how to approach Vajrayana practices. Some key explanations for practicing the Vajrayana path are elucidated including the role of clear light, and the role of the tantric teacher. This work includes generous, rarely discussed aspects of this profound path by one of the worlds foremost masters of Tibetan Buddhism.

If emotions simply happened to us and we have no choice in the matter, we could not speak about creating good or bad karma. If there is no choice, then how can we support the idea of change, transformation, or progress? From a Buddhist perspective, we are responsible for our actions or experiences, including how we manage our emotions. One cannot be made responsible for something when one has no choice in the matter. Our range of emotional experiences, as well as being fuelled by past experiences, the content and quality of our thoughts, and our ethics and beliefs, are also related to outcomes that we wish to achieve. Emotions are more-often-than-not used in a strategic manner. We use our emotions to elicit certain responses and gain certain results from others. They are used to gain specific results within our interactions. Rather than being seen as something that happens to us, emotions are seen as something that we create and invariably use in a strategic manner, even if somewhat unconsciously. -- Traleg Kyabgon

In THE CIRCLE OF THE SUN, Traleg Rinpoche asks: What is the starting point on the spiritual journey? It is possible that it is seeing oneself as inadequate. It is heartening that the Dzogchen and Mahamudra approach says that what one wants to attain is already present. There is no gap between what one is and what one wants to attain. In Dzogchen, the starting point, which is also the end point of the spiritual journey is having an understanding of the nature of mind. Tsele Natsok Rangdrol's exposition of the Dzogchen path elucidates that the path rests on the practices of trekchö, which means "cutting through", and thögal, which means "leaping over". Trekchö practice entails settling the mind in its own natural state without effort and without the rejection of thoughts and emotions. Thögal practice makes use of images and visions to realize the innate wakefulness. Rinpoche explains there are many perspectives designed to help us uncover our authentic state, the ground-of-being, as it is often referred to in the Dzogchen tradition. A single perspective can never provide an all-encompassing view of the ground-of -being, because it is something that cannot be understood from any one perspective, in completeness. -- Susan Howes, Editor.

The Buddha’s teaching on karma (literally, "action") is nothing other than his compassionate explanation of the way things are: our thoughts and actions determine our future, and therefore we ourselves are largely responsible for the way our lives unfold. Yet this supremely useful teaching is often ignored due to the misconceptions about it that abound in popular culture, especially oversimplifications that make it seem like something not to be taken seriously. Karma is not simple, as Traleg Kyabgon shows, and it’s to be taken very seriously indeed. He cuts through the persistent illusions we cling to about karma to show what it really is—the mechanics of why we suffer and how we can make the suffering end. He explains how a realistic understanding of karma is indispensable to Buddhist practice, how it provides a foundation for a moral life, and how understanding it can have a transformative effect on the way we relate to our thoughts and feelings and to those around us.

This comprehensive guide to the Buddhist path from the Tibetan point of view is as accessible as it is complete. Traleg Kyabgon breaks the teachings down conveniently into the three traditional "vehicles," while never letting us forget that the point of all the Dharma is nothing other than insight into the mind and heart. Along the way he provides vivid definitions of fundamental Buddhist concepts such as compassion, emptiness, and Buddha-nature and answers common questions such as:    • Why does Buddhism teach that there is "no self"?   • Are Buddhist teachings pessimistic?   • Does Buddhism encourage social passivity?   • What is the role of sex in Buddhist tantra?   • Why is it said that samsara is nirvana?   • Does it take countless lifetimes to attain enlightenment, or can it be achieved in a moment?

"In this uniquely insightful overview and practice guide, Traleg Kyabgon presents a thorough introduction to the Kagyu lineage''s Mahamudra tradition. The author''s approach is straightforward—he presents the Mahamudra teachings as a means of seeing things in, as he says, "a positive and open light. Even things we might normally regard as bad and undesirable can be interpreted in a more uplifting way due to the expansiveness of the Mahamudra vision." Mahamudra—which means "great seal" or "great symbol," referring to the symbol or mark of ultimate reality, or emptiness—points to the true nature of mind as well as the ultimate insubstantiality of all things.

For many centuries Indian and Tibetan Buddhists have employed this collection of pithy, penetrating Dharma slogans to develop compassion, equanimity, lovingkindness, and joy for others. Known as the lojong—or mind-training—teachings, these slogans have been the subject of deep study, contemplation, and commentary by many great masters. In this volume, Traleg Kyabgon offers a fresh translation of the slogans as well as in-depth new commentary of each. After living among and teaching Westerners for over twenty years, his approach is uniquely insightful into the ways that the slogans could be misunderstood or misinterpreted within our culture. Here, he presents a refreshing and clarifying view, which seeks to correct points of confusion.

A master of Tibetan Buddhism cuts through prevalent misconceptions around karma and rebirth to get to the root cause of our suffering—and how we can end it The Buddha’s teaching on karma (literally, “action”) is nothing other than his compassionate explanation of the way things are: our thoughts and actions determine our future, and therefore we ourselves are largely responsible for the way our lives unfold. Yet this supremely useful teaching is often ignored due to the misconceptions found in popular culture, especially oversimplifications that make it seem like something not to be taken seriously. Karma is not simple, as Traleg Kyabgon shows, and it’s to be taken very seriously indeed. In this book, Kyabgon cuts through the persistent illusions we cling to about karma to show what it really is—the mechanics of why we suffer and how we can make the suffering end. He explains how a realistic understanding of karma is indispensable to Buddhist practice, how it provides a foundation for a moral life, and how understanding it can have a transformative effect on the way we relate to our thoughts and feelings and to those around us.

These pages represent the compendium of a long journey of more than twenty-five years. It would be simplistic to define this journey as exclusively intellectual, because it would be unthinkable without frequent visits to the Middle East, in particular to Turkey, the second Holy Land of Christianity, the ancient Asia Minor of biblical history, with its overwhelming Muslim population today. The fact is that, since many years now, the theme of hospitality has been the subject of numerous publications, studies, contributions and gatherings with protagonists of various opinions and expertise convening to give answers to questions related to the challenge of living together in the complex society of our contemporary world. It is precisely by letting ourselves be questioned by these complexities that we become aware that the challenge of hospitality is not merely economic or political but also spiritual. Claudio Monge addresses one of the key questions of today with an extremely ancient text from the deepest roots of our civilisation, Genesis 18, in which Abraham welcomes the three strangers who come to his tent and announce the conception of Isaac.  Today, when millions are in movement, fleeing war and poverty, the question of how we are to receive strangers is urgent and inescapable. Monge explores this text through the traditions of three religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - which claim the assent of approximately half of the population of the world. Yet these three religions, all looking back in one way or another to Abraham, are often strangers to each other. If we could offer welcome to each other, what a powerful sign of hope this would be for our conflict torn world! [from Timothy Radcliffe's Preface]

These pages represent the compendium of a long journey of more than twenty-five years. It would be simplistic to define this journey as exclusively intellectual, because it would be unthinkable without frequent visits to the Middle East, in particular to Turkey, the second Holy Land of Christianity, the ancient Asia Minor of biblical history, with its overwhelming Muslim population today. The fact is that, since many years now, the theme of hospitality has been the subject of numerous publications, studies, contributions and gatherings with protagonists of various opinions and expertise convening to give answers to questions related to the challenge of living together in the complex society of our contemporary world. It is precisely by letting ourselves be questioned by these complexities that we become aware that the challenge of hospitality is not merely economic or political but also spiritual. Claudio Monge addresses one of the key questions of today with an extremely ancient text from the deepest roots of our civilisation, Genesis 18, in which Abraham welcomes the three strangers who come to his tent and announce the conception of Isaac.  Today, when millions are in movement, fleeing war and poverty, the question of how we are to receive strangers is urgent and inescapable. Monge explores this text through the traditions of three religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - which claim the assent of approximately half of the population of the world. Yet these three religions, all looking back in one way or another to Abraham, are often strangers to each other. If we could offer welcome to each other, what a powerful sign of hope this would be for our conflict torn world! [from Timothy Radcliffe's Preface]