The instructions in this book are a distillation of the essential points of the esoteric Tibetan Buddhist practices of Mahamudra and Dzogchen. Intended to help people to face life's difficulties, they include essentials of Buddhist philosophy, contemplations on the ephemeral nature of both joy and suffering, meditations for resting the mind, and guidance for maintaining equanimity in real-life circumstances. Khenchen Thrangu, a modern meditation master, describes in this book his studies with a teacher of great renown who remained in Tibet after the Chinese invasion.
The deceased elder master, known as Khenpo Gangshar, is still renowned as a dynamic, unconventional teacher, widely respected for his spiritual achievement. He foresaw the difficulties coming in Tibet and realized that he had to give people some straightforward instructions that would be easy to remember and to use, because the country would soon be engulfed in turmoil and be in need of spiritual help.
Vivid Awareness: The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Gangshar, Thrangu Rinpoche, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 242 pp, $29.95
Khenchen Thrangu was born in Tibet in 1933. He has founded numerous monasteries and nunneries, schools for Tibetan children, and medical clinics. He conducts yearly Dharma seminars in the United States, Canada, and Europe. He was appointed by the Dalai Lama to be the personal tutor for the Seventeenth Karmapa.
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CONTENTS: Vivid Awareness: The Mind Instructions of Khenpo Gangshar
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Foreword
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vii
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Translator's Introduction
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ix
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Preface
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xiii
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PART ONE
Helpful Advice for Good Times and Bad
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1.
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Prophecies of Hidden Lands
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3
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2.
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Recognizing Our Good Fortune
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19
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3.
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The General Preliminaries
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30
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PART TWO
The Special Preliminaries: The Analytic Meditation of a Pandita
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4.
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The Foundation: Karma, Cause, and Result
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45
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5.
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The Importance of Mind
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62
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6.
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Appearances and Mind
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78
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7.
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Looking at the Mind
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94
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8.
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A Summary of the Analytic Meditation of a Pandita
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107
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PART THREE
The Resting Meditation of a Kusulu
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9.
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Devotion and Stability
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113
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10.
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Getting Right Down to Meditation
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121
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11.
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The Benefits of the Kusulu's Meditation
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133
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12.
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Distinguishing Mind and Awareness
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154
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PART FOUR
Following Through in Our Lives
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13.
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Taking the Situations of our Lives as the Path
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169
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14.
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Taking Joy and Sorrow as the Path
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175
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15.
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Taking Pain and Illness as the Path
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179
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16.
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Taking Afflictions and Emotions as the Path
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182
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17.
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Taking the Bardo as the Path
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199
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18.
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Closing Words
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210
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Appendix: The Texts of Khenpo Gangshar
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215
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The Concise Mind Instructions Called Naturally Liberating Whatever You Meet
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217
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Naturally Liberating Whatever You Meet: Instructions to Guide You on the Profound Path
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221
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Bibliography
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234
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Index
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235
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