To Tibetan Buddhists, Guru Rinpoche is a Buddha. This book recounts Guru Rinpoche's historic visit to Tibet and explains his continuing significance to Buddhists. In doing so, it illustrates how a country whose powerful armies overran the capital of China and installed a puppet emperor came to abandon aggressive military campaigns: this transformation was due to Guru Rinpoche, who tamed and converted Tibet to Buddhism and thereby changed the course of Asian history.

Four very different accounts of his story are presented: two Buddhist (one by Jamgon Kongtrul and one by Dorje Tso); one according to the pre-Buddhist Tibetan religion, Bon; and one based on Indian sources and early Tibetan historical documents. Also included are a set of supplications to Guru Rinpoche, as well as Jamgon Kongtrul's visualizations written to accompany these supplications. The result is the most extensive set of materials on Guru Rinpoche ever to appear in a Western language.

Guru Rinpoche: His Life and Times, Ngawang Zangpo, Snow Lion Publications, Hardcover, 362 pages, $29.95

Ngawang Zangpo (Hugh Leslie Thompson) completed two three-year retreats under the direction of the late Kalu Rinpoche. He is presently working on a number of translation projects that were initiated under the direction of Chadral Rinpoche and Lama Tharchin Rinpoche. His previous works include Sacred Ground: Jamgon Kongtrul on "Pilgrimage and Sacred Geography," Jamgon Kongtrul's Retreat Manual, and Enthronement: Recognition of Reincarnate Masters of Tibet and the Himalayas. He has also contributed to the work of Kalu Rinpoche's translation group's books Myriad Worlds and Buddhist Ethics.

CONTENTS: Guru Rinpoche: His Life and Times
Preface	9
Acknowledgments	11
A Note on Phonetic Renderings	15
Introduction	19
Buddhism, History, and the Truth	27
Buddhist History after the Buddha	49
Tibet and Asia on the Eve of Guru Rinpoche's Arrival	57
India in Guru Rinpoche's Era	73
Guru Rinpoche Now--in Print	89
Timeless Guru Rinpoche and Wisdom Bridges to the Present	99
Translations of Texts on Guru Rinpoche	107
A Biography of Guru Rinpoche by Jamgon Kongrul	113
The Immaculate White Lotus by Dorje Tso	129
The Indian Version of the Life of Guru Rinpoche by Tarantata	151
The Bon Version of the Life of Guru Rinpoche by Jamyong Kyentse Wongpo	183
Supplications to Guru Rinpoche in Seven Chapters by Guru Rinpoche	207
Visualizations to Accompany the Supplications by Jamgon Kongtrul	269
Appendix 1: Notes to the Supplications	295
Appendix 2: Buddhism and Poetry	315
Appendix 3: A Lotus-Born Master before Guru Rinpoche	329
Notes	349
Bibliography	357