PLEASE NOTE: The teachings and practices presented in this book are Secret Mantra Vajrayana teachings. As such, to benefit from this volume and the practices it contains, it is essential to first receive from a qualified master the Gesar Dorje Tsegyal empowerment or "entrustment with his life force," the reading transmission of the practice, and the associated instructions. If you have yet to receive the empowerment and reading transmission, it is best to keep this book on your shrine as an object of veneration until you receive them. The empowerment is required in order to properly practice the teachings in this book.

A selection of 52 short prayers and practices devoted to Tibet's cultural hero Gesar of Ling as an enlightened tantric deity to generate positive circumstances and increase one's experiences and realization in Buddhist practice.

Gesar of Ling is widely known as the hero of Tibet's national oral epic, considered the longest in the world. He is also the focus of Buddhist practices in which the visualization and invocation of his enlightened form is used as a tantric method to progress towards buddhahood.

This work contains fifty-two prayers, practices, and instructions compiled by Ju Mipham Rinpoche (1846 - 1912) meant to be practiced under the guidance of an authentic spiritual teacher. These practice texts detail poetic imagery and include guru yoga, praises, invocations, and divinations. Central to all of these practices is raising what is known in Tibetan as lungta, or "windhorse," a dignified energy that propels and enhances one's wisdom, compassion, and power to benefit all beings.

Gesar: Tantric Practices of the Tibetan Warrior King, Jamgon Mipham, Snow Lion Publications, Paperback, 368 pages, $29.95

Jamgon Mipham (1846 - 1912), one of the great luminaries of Tibetan Buddhism in modern times, has had a dominant and vitalizing influence on the Nyingma School and beyond. He was an important member of the Rime, or nonsectarian movement, which did much to strengthen and preserve the entire tradition. A scholar of outstanding brilliance and versatility, his translated works are eagerly anticipated by English-language readers.