Enlightened Rainbows

Within the tradition of the "Great Perfection," the Works of Shardza Tashi Gyeltsen stand as textual references of an exceptional erudition. As a sign of realization, the author manifested the Rainbow Body, the ultimate fruit of Dzogchen, in 1934.

Envisioning a Tibetan Luminary examines the religious biography of Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen (1859-1934), the most significant modern figure representing the Tibetan Bön religion-a vital minority tradition that is underrepresented in Tibetan studies. The work is based on fieldwork conducted in eastern Tibet and in the Bön exile community in India, where traditional Tibetan scholars collaborated closely on the project. Utilizing close readings of two versions of Shardza's life-story, along with oral history collected in Bön communities, this book presents and interprets the biographical image of this major figure, culminating with an English translation of his life story. William M. Gorvine argues that the disciple-biographer's literary portrait not only enacts and shapes religious ideals to foster faith among its readership, but also attempts to quell tensions that had developed among his original audience. Among the Bön community today, Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen has come to be unequivocally revered for an impressive textual legacy and a saintly death. During his lifetime, however, he faced prominent critics within his own lineage who went so far as to issue polemical attacks against him. As Gorvine shows, the biographical texts that inform us about Shardza's life are best understood when read on multiple registers, with attention given to the ways in which the religious ideals on display reflect the broader literary, cultural, and historical contexts within which they were envisioned and articulated.

Buddhism is often portrayed as a universalising religion that transcends the local and directs attention toward a transcendent dharma. Yet, wherever Buddhism spreads, it also sparks local identity discourses that, directly or indirectly, root the dharma in native soil and history, and, in doing so, frame ‘the local’ in Buddhist discourse. Occasionally, notably in Japanese Shinto and Tibetan Bön, this localising variety of ‘framing of discourse’—here tentatively termed ‘nativism’—leads to the establishment of independent traditions that break free from Buddhism; yet, in other contexts, localising trends remain firmly embedded within Buddhism. In Challenging Paradigms: Buddhism and Nativism Teeuwen and Blezer offer a comparative study of localising responses to Buddhism in different Buddhist environments in Japan, Korea, Tibet, India and Bali.

The most comprehensive collection of classic Tibetan works in any Western language.

The acclaimed English translation of this masterpiece of world literature - prepared with the participation of the Dalai Lama One of the greatest works created by any culture and one of the most influential of all Tibetan Buddhist texts in the West, The Tibetan Book of the Dead has had a number of distinguished translations, but strangely all of these have been partial abridgements. Now the entire text has not only been made available in English but in a translation of quite remarkable clarity and beauty. A comprehensive guide to living and dying, The Tibetan Book of the Dead contains exquisitely written guidance and practices related to transforming our experience in daily life, on the processes of dying and the after-death state, and on how to help those who are dying. As originally intended this is as much a work for the living, as it is for those who wish to think beyond a mere conventional lifetime to a vastly greater and grander cycle. 'Extraordinary ... this work will be a source of inspiration and support to many' His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The exhilarating story of an atheist who accidentally experienced enlightenment because of dietary changes. Katie Player, PhD was a left-brained economist and a lifelong atheist. She had chronic fatigue, asthma, allergies, and sinus infections, among other maladies. Everything changed when her husband suddenly got sick. Doctor after doctor failed to diagnose him; Player became increasing frustrated and decided to figure out the cause herself. She discovered he was nutritionally bankrupt. Players background in economics, statistics and research gave her a unique perspective that enabled her to create an Equilibrium Dieta way of eating that yields health for a lifetime, and the couple began the journey to nutritional solvency. In the early morning hours that December, Players atheist world shattered forever in a terrifying and wonderful spiritual encounter. She was left wondering who, or what, she was, and she spent years integrating the spiritual knowledge she received that morning. This is the testimony of a diet so efficient, and so powerful that it can bring anyone, even an atheist, face-to-face with the Great Mystery of All That Is. In Part 2, Player explains the Equilibrium Diet and provides a blueprint for you to follow. The resultthe end of nutritional bankruptcy for all willing to try it. Nutritional bankruptcy [noun]1. condition of dis-ease that results when foods are consumed that cost the body more to digest than it provides in available nutrients. 2. nutritional depletion. 3. the state resulting from repeatedly negative returns on nutritional investments.

Francis V. Tiso, a noted authority on the rainbow body, explores this manifestation of spiritual realization in a wide-ranging and deeply informed study of the transformation of the material body into a body of light. Seeking evidence on the boundary between physical science and deep spirituality that might elucidate the resurrection of Jesus, he investigates the case of Khenpo A Chö, a Buddhist monk who died in eastern Tibet in 1999. Rainbow Body and Resurrection chronicles the dissolution of Khenpo's material body within a week of his death, including eye-witness interviews. Tiso describes the spiritual practices that give rise to the rainbow body and traces their history deep into the encounter of religions in medieval Central Asia. His erudite exploration of the Tibetan phenomenon raises the fascinating question of whether there is a connection between the rainbow body and the dying and rising of Jesus. Drawing on a wealth of recent research, Tiso expands his discussion to include the contemplative geography out of which Dzogchen arose some time in the eighth century along the great Silk Road across Central Asia. The result is an illuminating consideration of previously unimagined relationships between spiritual practices and beliefs in Central Asia. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Deepen your meditation with advice on Buddhist practice from celebrated masters of Tibet’s nonsectarian rimé tradition. For generations, Buddhist masters in Tibet have composed sheldam, poignant instructions tailored to the needs of their disciples in the form of short works of advice. Often difficult to find in publication, these works cover topics ranging from practicing while ill to sitting in solitary retreat to recognizing the nature of mind. This collection focuses on an influential and inspiring generation of Buddhist teachers: the nineteenth-century ecumenical, or rimé, tradition of eastern Tibet. A Gathering of Brilliant Moons provides lively translations of nineteen pithy and profound works by these great masters, along with essays by their translators which explore the aesthetic qualities of their chosen works, highlight their ecumenical features, and comment on the journey of translation. Includes works from Jamgon Kongtrul, Dza Patrul Rinpoché, Ju Mipham Rinpoché, Dudjom Lingpa, The Third Dodrupchen, Do Khyentsé, Tokden Sakya Sri, Jikmé Lingpa, Shardza Tashi Gyaltsen, Getsé Mahapandita, Shangton Tenpa Gyatso, and Bamda Thupten Gelek Gyatso. This book arose from a unique conference on Tibetan translation, where the fourteen translators shared their process with each other and received feedback from their peers with a special focus on the literary aspects of the source texts. As a reflection of this genesis, the accompanying essays in this volume by the translators explore the aesthetic qualities of their chosen works, highlight ecumenical features in them, and comment on the journey of translation. This unique book will be welcomed by religious scholars, Buddhist practitioners, and meditators.