Tara is one of the most inspiring of Buddhist deities, embodying the most compelling and vital qualities of the feminine: beauty, grace, and the ability to nurture, care for, and protect. This complex goddess, whose practice transcends sect and class, is also a true warrior, vanquishing fear and ignorance, in a sense the earliest known incarnation of Buddhist feminism. Skillful Grace is an elegant introduction to practice and meditation techniques based on the Vajrayana path.
The book is divided into three main sections. The first contains the basic text of Tara practice, The Essential Instruction on the Threefold Excellence, which connects the seeker to the profound essence of Tara as revealed by Chokgyur Lingpa. The other two sections feature enlightening commentaries on the text by Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, Jamgon Kongtrul, and Adeu Rinpoche.
Skillful Grace includes all the preliminaries of Tara practice, as well as its main part and the subsequent yogas. Tara Bennett Goleman's foreword, Marcia Schmidt's introduction, and various appendixes and footnotes add useful context.

Skillful Grace: Tara Practice for Our Time, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche & Adeu Rinpoche, Rangjung Yeshe Publications, Paperback, 184 pages, $15.95

Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche was a Buddhist master of the Kagy� and Nyingma lineages who lived at Nagi Gompa hermitage in Nepal. Urgyen Rinpoche was considered one of the greatest Dzogchen masters of his time.


Adeu Rinpoche was an extremely important master of the Drukpa Kagy� lineage, especially following the Cultural Revolution, during which many great Drukpa lineage masters passed away.

	Contents: Skillful Grace: Tara Practice for Our Times
	Foreword	9
	Preface	13
	Introduction	17
	THE ESSENTIAL INSTRUCTION ON THE THREEFOLD EXCELLENCE	37
	AN OVERVIEW OF THE THREEFOLD EXCELLENCE	37
	SKILLFUL GRACE	55
	Introduction	55
	Historical Background	64
	Stepping Stones for the Path: Hinayana	67
	Preliminaries for the Session	68
	Preliminaries for the Teaching	70
	Refuge	81
	For Those of Medium Capacity	83
	THE EXCELLENCE OF THE MIDDLE - MAHAYANA	91
	Bodhichitta of Aspiration	96
	Bodhichitta of Application	99
	Prajna	115
	THE EXCELLENCE OF THE END - VAJRAYANA	125
	Approach	125
	Acomplishment	130
	Sadhana Retreat	142
	ANUTTARA YOGA	149
	Special Preliminaries	149
	The Main Part	153
	The Subsequent Yoga	168
	The Exquisite Yoga	169
	The Great Yoga	171
	Conclusion	172
	APPENDIX	175
	A description of Tara by the 15th Gyalwang Karmapa	175
	The Twenty-One Taras described by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo	176
	Endnotes	181