Down to earth advice for cultivating happiness. Like wise old friends, two Tibetan masters explain to us how we can fill our lives with loving-kindness, compassion, and wisdom. By learning to respond to everyday difficulties with patience and joy, gradually changing our attitudes about ourselves and others, we can enjoy peace of mind in every situation. Based on practical Buddhist verses of 'thought transformation' composed centuries ago, this profound wisdom reaches out from every page to all types of people from all walks of life. No matter what your spiritual orientation, you will appreciate and benefit, as will those around you, from this sage advice on how to develop the inner skills that lead to contentment and happiness.
Advice from a Spiritual Friend, Geshe Rabten & Geshe Dhargyey, Wisdom Publications, $17.95
Geshe Rabten (1921 - 86) was born in Dargye in eastern Tibet. He studied at Sera Monastery in Lhasa, where he gained renown as a great scholar, debater, and meditation master. In 1959, he escaped to India, where he became the spiritual teacher of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche. In the mid 1960s Geshe Rabten was appointed as a religious assistant to His Holiness the Dalai Lama. On His Holiness�s request he began teaching Dharma to Westerners in Dharamsala in 1969, and he went to live and teach in Switzerland in 1974. He founded Rabten Choeling Center (originally Tharpa Choeling) in Switzerland in 1979, where he lived and worked as spiritual director until he passed away in 1986.
Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey taught Western students at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala. He moved to New Zealand in the early 1980s, where he lived until his death in 1995.
Stephen Batchelor has studied in Buddhist monasteries in India, Switzerland, and Korea. An accomplished writer and photographer, he has translated, written, and contributed to many books about Buddhism including After Buddhism, Buddhism Without Beliefs, Verses from the Center, and The Tibet Guide. He lives in the South of France.
Introduction ix Part 1 The Jewel Rosary of a Bodhisattva 1 The Root Text 3 The Commentary by Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey 9 Part 2 The Seven-Point Thought Transformation 47 The Root Text 49 The Commentary by Geshe Rabten 53 Introduction 55 1. The Preliminary Practices 59 2. The Main Practice 69 3. Changing Adverse Circumstances into the Path 97 4. Elucidating a Lifetime's Practice 103 5. The Measure of Having Transformed One's Thoughts 109 6. The Commitments of Thought Transformation 113 7. The Instructions on Thought Transformation 121 Conclusion 131 Appendix Thought Transformation in Eight Stanzas 133 Notes 137 Editor's Acknowledgments in the First Edition 142
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