Calm Abiding And Special Insight

Calm Abiding and Special Insight presents an intimate and detailed picture of the intricacies of meditation so vividly that the reader is drawn into a Tibetan worldview of spiritual development. Geshe Gedün Lodrö, one of the foremost scholars of Tibet, reveals methods for overcoming afflictive states and disorders to create a mind which is stable, calm, and alertly clear. This book illustrates the mind's potential for profound transformation. The dangers of not recognizing states contrary to successful meditation are great, and the possibilities of implementing the wrong antidote, or of overextending an appropriate one until it becomes counterproductive, are many. Through such detail, Geshe Gedün Lodrö makes vividly clear a Tibetan approach to meditative transformation. This is a completely revised new edition of Walking Through Walls.

A comprehensive meditation manual.

A legendary contemporary meditation master illuminates practices that are essential to Tibetan Buddhists everywhere. Tibetan Buddhism is estimated to have 18 million followers worldwide. Mastering Meditation gives you the experience of studying with one of the greatest meditation masters of the modern age. His Eminence Chöden Rinpoché was not only a celebrated scholar, honored by selection as a debate partner to His Holiness the Dalai Lama, but he was also an accomplished yogi who spent nineteen years in solitary meditation retreat. In this thorough and thoroughly clear book, Rinpoché offers meticulous explanations and profound practical instructions on two essential practices in Tibetan Buddhism: calm abiding and mahamudra. The first part of this book contains instructions for developing calm abiding, an unshakable single-pointedness of mind. The second part, Rinpoché’s direct commentary on the Fourth Panchen Lama’s foundational text, offers advanced instructions on using calm abiding as a platform to develop mahamudra. Rinpoché elucidates both sutra-system mahamudra—meditation on the emptiness of the mind—as well as mantra-system mahamudra, a specialized meditation that uncovers subtle, hidden levels of mind to pierce into the ultimate nature of self and reality, leading finally to complete enlightenment. Drawing from his vast learning and personal experience, Rinpoché provides readers with an open gateway to remarkable states of lucidity and peace.

The three main aspects of the Buddhist path of practice are morality, concentration, and wisdom. Each of these aspects is dependent on the former. Therefore, wisdom is dependent on the mind's ability to be calm and concentrate. For the mind to be calm, a firm basis of morality must be present in the person's life. Calm abiding refers to techniques which calm of the mind. Through the meditative development of calm abiding the practitioner is able to overcome five faults. With the removal of these hindrances, the cultivation of insight results in liberating wisdom. "Calm Abiding is a fascinating practice. The newly gained clarity that results from it leads us to develop our buddha nature" --Geshe Gyalten

An accessible translation of the ancient classic handbook on Buddhist meditation by Kamalashila—with commentary from everyone’s favorite Buddhist teacher, the Dalai Lama Based upon the middle section of the Bhavanakrama by Kamalashila—a translation of which is included—this is the most extensive commentary given by the Dalai Lama on this concise but important meditation handbook. It is a favorite text of the Dalai Lama, and he often takes the opportunity to give teachings on it to audiences throughout the world. In his words, “This text can be like a key that opens the door to all other major Buddhist scriptures.” Topics include the nature of mind, how to develop compassion and loving-kindness, calm abiding wisdom, and how to establish a union of calm abiding and special insight.

Everything you know, feel, think, dream, remember, fear, and hope for is made that way by your mind. Your entanglement in the subjective experience concocted by mind rules your conduct and obscures your true nature. Your being is subjugated to the reality imposed upon it by mind. In this condition, you are anything but free. Your liberation from this predicament, the freedom to live as who you truly are, depends upon coming face-to-face with the true nature of your mind. Ancient traditions of calm-abiding concentration practice prepare your mind for insight. The subsequent insight practices reveal to you in your own direct experience the qualities of mind that will first undo and then remake your world. As the veil of entanglement parts, everything will be just as it has always been, but you will be living at last from the ground of being. Your freedom will save your life and create the opportunity for you to become an agent of compassionate action in this broken world.

Meditation is the key to meaningful Buddhist practice, but establishing a solid foundation requires skill and sustained effort. In simple and inviting language, this book shows how to develop a successful meditation practice. In Tibetan Buddhism, developing a consistent and sustained meditation practice is the first step toward discerning the true nature of reality as taught by the Buddha. Lama Dudjom Dorjee encapsulates the Buddha's teaching in terms that are accessible and encouraging for beginning meditators, covering topics from establishing a proper meditation posture to realizing the luminous and spacious qualities of the mind. Chapters discuss •The life of the Buddha •The first turning of the wheel of dharma •The four noble truths and the eightfold path •Proper meditation posture •The nine stages of shamatha, or resting the mind •Common obstacles to shamatha and their antidotes •Benefits of developing shamatha •The subsequent stages of practice, including insight/vipashyana meditation and mahamudra

“When something is bothering you—a person is bugging you, a situation is irritating you, or physical pain is troubling you—you must work with your mind, and that is done through meditation. Working with our mind is the only means through which we’ll actually begin to feel happy and contented with the world that we live in.” —Pema Chödrön Pema Chödrön is treasured around the world for her unique ability to transmit teachings and practices that bring peace, understanding, and compassion into our lives. With How to Meditate, the American-born Tibetan Buddhist nun presents her first book exploring in depth what she considers the essentials for a lifelong practice. More and more people are beginning to recognize a profound inner longing for authenticity, connection, and aliveness. Meditation, Pema explains, gives us a golden key to address this yearning. This step-by-step guide shows readers how to honestly meet and openly relate with the mind, embrace the fullness of our experience, and live in a wholehearted way as we discover: The basics of meditation, from getting settled and the six points of posture to working with your breath and cultivating an attitude of unconditional friendlinessThe Seven Delights—how moments of difficulty can become doorways to awakening and loveShamatha (or calm abiding), the art of stabilizing the mind to remain present with whatever arisesThoughts and emotions as “sheer delight”—instead of obstacles—in meditation “I think ultimately why we practice is so that we can become completely loving people, and this is what the world needs,” writes Pema Chödrön. How to Meditate is an essential book from this wise teacher to assist each one of us in this virtuous goal.