Mahasiddha Practice: From Mitrayogin and Other Masters, Volume 16 (The Treasury of Precious Instructions)

by Jamgon Kongtrul, Padmakara Translation Group (Translator)

Overview

In this volume of The Treasury of Precious Instructions, Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye compiles teachings and practices by and about the renowned Indian Buddhist masters known as mahāsiddhas, recognized in all eight practice lineages of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Treasury of Precious Instructions by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye, one of Tibet's greatest Buddhist masters, is a shining jewel of Tibetan literature, presenting essential teachings from the entire spectrum of practice lineages that existed in Tibet. In its eighteen volumes, Kongtrul brings together some of the most important texts on key topics of Buddhist thought and practice while also authoring significant new sections of his own.

This volume presents a selection of teachings and practices centered on the mahāsiddhas, Indian masters of tantric Buddhism, some of whom were of vital importance in transmitting the Vajrayāna teachings to Tibet. The mahāsiddha Mitrayogin, whose work forms the majority of this volume, visited Tibet in the late twelfth century. His ritual texts and instructions are translated from Tibetan, including sādhanas, empowerments, guru yogas, authorization rituals for protector deities, and detailed compositions on Mahāmudra practice, or resting in the nature of mind.

In addition to instructions given by mahāsiddhas, this volume includes ritual practices to visualize them and transmit their blessings, including a devotional text composed by Jamgön Kongtrul himself. This translation, which may be engaged as a practice manual, preserves ancient teachings significant to the literature and history of world religions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780834843974
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	02/01/2022
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	832
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Jamgon Kongtrul was a versatile and prolific scholar. He has been characterized as a "Tibetan Leonardo" because of his significant contributions to religion, education, medicine, and politics.

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 renowned for its clear and accurate literary style.

Table of Contents

Foreword by the Seventeenth Karmapa ix

Series Introduction xi

Translator's Introduction xv

Technical Note xxi

Part 1 The Eight Great Chariots of the Practice Lineage

1 The Source of All Blessings, Accomplishments, and Qualities 3

Part 2 The Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas

2 The Stream of Accomplishment 49

3 The Source of Accomplishments 99

4 Collecting the Essence Drops of Accomplishment 145

5 A Precious Necklace 165

Part 3 Mitrayogin's Empowerments and Authorization Rituals for the Six Deities

6 A River of Great Compassion 213

7 An Offering Arrangement for the Empowerment Ritual of Noble Avalokiteshvara, "The Glowing Jewel," together with the Revelation of the Mandala 249

8 Authorization Ritual for Lord Manjughosha 257

9 A Mine of Blessings: Authorization Ritual for Lord Vajrapani 269

10 Authorization Ritual for Lord Amitayus 279

11 Authorization Ritual for Tara 289

12 Authorization Ritual for Noble Jambhala 295

13 Routing the Hordes of Obstacle Makers 305

Part 4 Mitrayogin's Instructions on the Practices of the Six Deities

14 Vajra Verses on the Graded Path of Avalokiteshvara 315

15 A Stream of Nectar 319

16 A Banquet of Nectar 351

17 The Luminous Golden Wand of Pith Instructions 389

18 The Wheel of Ornaments of Gnosis That Makes Wisdom Grow 401

19 The Spreading Rays of Light That Vanquish the Hordes of Demons 417

20 Accomplishing the Immortal Vajra Body 439

21 Liberation from the Perilous Path of Samsara 455

22 A Shower of Accomplishments 471

23 Ocean of Blessings 485

24 Sadhana of the Dharma Protector Draklha Gönpo 489

Part 5 Mitrayogin's Mahamudra Instructions

25 Resting in the Nature of One's Own Mind 499

26 The Quintessence 505

27 Correlations between the Root Verses of the Great Seal Text Resting in the Nature of Mind and the Scriptural Sources in the Sutras and Tantras 535

28 Notes on Resting in the Nature of Mind 551

29 Nectarous Moonbeams 569

30 The Nectarous Light of the Words of the Teacher 573

31 A Prayer to the Lineage Teachers of Resting in the Nature of Mind in the Places Associated with Them 589

32 A Supplement for the [Visualization of the] Lineage Teachers in the Guru Yoga 595

33 Thirty Verses Expressing Realization 599

34 An Explanation of the Words of the Vajra Song Thirty Verses Expressing Realization 605

35 Three Essential Introductions: A Pith Instruction That Is Like Distilled Ambrosia 623

36 Cherished Essence: The Most Precious Pith Instruction, Also Called The Three-by-Three Pith Instruction 627

37 The Root Vajra Verses of the Pith Instruction on the Three Quintessential Points 635

38 Bestowal of the Supreme Blessings 639

39 The Chariot of Supreme Accomplishment 643

40 An Essential Recitation Text for the Daily Practice of Mitrayogin's Tradition of the Great Compassionate One's Direct Instructions 651

Appendix 655

Abbreviations 661

Notes 663

Bibliography 689

Index 697

Editorial Reviews

In his vast work The Treasury of Precious Instructions, Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye, that most eminent of Tibetan Buddhist masters, collected together all the empowerments, instructions, and practices of the eight great chariots of the practice lineages. Not only that, but he himself received the complete transmissions for all the practices, accomplished them including the retreats, and preserved them in his own mindstream. He then passed on the transmissions to his own students and all who requested them. The Treasury of Precious Instructions exemplifies how Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye’s whole life was dedicated to teaching and spreading the Dharma, whether it be sutra or mantra, kama or terma, old or new translation school, free of sectarian bias. Without his supreme efforts, many traditions of Tibetan Buddhism would have been lost.”—from the foreword by His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje

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