The commentary translated in these pages is unusual and rare. But if the commentary is a rarity, its subject matter--the seven-line invocation of Padmasambhava--is one of the best-known prayers in the Tibetan Buddhist world.

The overall significance of the Seven-Line Prayer is perhaps best appreciated in relation to a practice called guru-yoga, or "union with the nature of the guru." The purpose of guru-yoga is to purify and deepen the student's relationship with his or her teacher. It is introduced as one of the preliminary practices, and it remains crucial--in fact, its importance increases--as one progresses through the more advanced levels of the tantric path. The cultivation of devotion to the guru and the blending of one's mind with his or her enlightened mind is, in the words of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, "the most vital and necessary of all practices and is in itself the surest and fastest way to reach the goal of enlightenment."

Regarding the origin of this commentary, Mipham refers in the colophon to an event that triggered the abrupt appearance in his mind of the hidden meaning of the prayer. It is interesting to note that the language Mipham uses suggests that the commentary itself is not an ordinary composition but perhaps a treasure teaching, specifically a "mind-treasure" or gongter.

White Lotus: An Explanation of the Seven-line Prayer to Guru Padmasambhava, Jamgon Mipham, Padmakara Translation Group, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 2007/2016, 127 pp, $18.95

JAMGON MIPHAM (1846-1912) was one of the great lum inaries of Tibetan Buddhism in modern times. He has had a dominant and vitalizing influence on the Nyingma school and beyond. A scholar of outstanding brilliance and versatility, his translated works are eagerly anticipated by English-language readers.

The PADMAKARA TRANSLATION GROUP, based in France has a distinguished reputation for all its translations of Tibetan texts and teachings. Its works has been published in several languages and is renowned for its clear and accurate literary style.

	Contents: White Lotus
	Foreword by Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche	xi
	Translators' Introduction	1
	White Lotus
	Prologue	21
	An explanation of the outer, literal meaning of the Seven-Line Prayer	26
	An explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer according to its hidden meaning	46
	An explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer according to the teachings of the path of liberation	46
	An explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer according to the path of skillful means	58
	An explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer according to the general perfection stage of the unsurpassable Secret Mantra	58
	An explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer according to the innermost, secret Great Perfection, the Heart-Essence of Luminosity	65
	An explanation of the Seven-Line Prayer according to the conclusive pith instructions related to the achievement of the practice of the path of liberation and skillful means previously explained	74
	A brief explanation of how the foregoing expositionmay be implemented as a practice	86
	Colophon	89
	The Rain of Blessings: A Guru Yoga Based on the Seven Line Prayer	93
	Notes	97
	Glossary	107
	Bibliography	121
	Index	123