In this book two great Tibetan Buddhist masters of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries challenge us to critically examine our materialistic preoccupations and think carefully about how we want to spend the rest of our lives. At the same time, they provide practical guidance in following the Buddhist path, starting from the most basic motivation and culminating in the direct experience of reality beyond the reach of conceptual mind.
The root text is a masterful teaching in verse written in the nineteenth century by PatruI Rinpoche, one of the outstanding teachers of his day. In the accompanying commentary, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910-1991)--lineage holder of the Nyingma school and one of the great expounders of the Dharma in Europe and North America--expands upon the text with his characteristic compassion and uncompromising thoroughness. Patrul Rinpoche's fresh and piercing verses combined with Khyentse Rinpoche's down-to-earth comments make a concise whole that is unusually complete in its scope.

The The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones, Dilgo Khyentse, Shambhala Publications, 260 pages, $24.95

Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche (1910-1991), whose remarkable life came to an end in September, 1991, was one of the foremost poets, scholars, philosophers and meditation masters of the Mahayana, Mahamudra and Great Perfection traditions of Vajrayana Buddhism. He was highly respected by thousands of students in Tibet and throughout the world. He was a lineage holder of the Nyingma school and one of the great expounders of the Dharma in Europe and North America.

	Contents: THE HEART TREASURE OF THE ENLIGHTENED ONES - The Practice of View, Meditation and Action
	Foreword by the Dalai Lama	v
	Translators' Preface	xi
	Translators' Acknowledments	xv
	INTRODUCTION	1
	The Right Motivation for Receiving and Studying the Teachings	1
	How to Study These Teachings	6
	What These Teachings Contain	6
	OPENING VERSES	11
	The Homage	11
	The Author's Motive in Writing This Text	14
	Part One. THE SHORTCOMINGS OF OUR DECADENT AGE	19
	Part Two.. THE VIEW, MEDITATION, AND ACTION OF THE MAHAYANA	55
	The Three Paths	56
	THE PATH OF THE SUTRAS	57
	Taking Refuge	57
	The Thought of Enlightenment	64
	Purification	68
	Offering	71
	Guru Yoga	75
	THE PATH OF THE TANTRAS	79
	Empowerment	79
	Pure Perception	82
	The Development Stage	84
	Vajra Body	85
	Vajra Speech	88
	Vajra Mind	91
	Postmeditation	94
	The Completion Stage	103
	The Nature of Mind	103
	The Four Yogas	106
	One-Pointedness	107
	Simplicity	110
	One Taste	113
	Nonmeditation	114
	Transformation of the Senses, Emotions, and Aggregates	116
	The Six Sense Objects	117
	Forms	117
	Sounds	119
	Smells	121
	Flowers	121
	Sensations	122
	Mind	123
	The Five Emotions	125
	Hatred	125
	Pride	127
	Desire	128
	Jealousy	130
	Ignorance	131
	The Five Aggregates	133
	Form	133
	Feeling	133
	Appraisal	135
	Impulse	138
	Consciousness	139
	The Four Essential Points Related to Body, Speech, Mind, and Dharmakaya	140
	Body	140
	Speech	141
	Mind	142
	Dharmakaya	143
	Conclusion of the Second Discourse	144
	PART THREE. DETERMINATION TO BE FREE FROM SAMSARA	147
	Leaving Samsaric Activity Behind	149
	Actions	149
	Speaking	150
	Moving Around	151
	Eating	151
	Thinking	152
	Possessions	154
	Sleeping	155
	The Urgent Need to Practice	156
	Mastering the Mind	159
	CONCLUDING VERSES	162
	DEDICATION OF MERIT	165
	EPILOGUE	166
	The Root Text in Tibetan and English	169
	Notes	213
	Bibliography	229
	About Patrul Rinpoche	231
	About H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche	238
	Index	245