Thrangu Rinpoche

This extensive set of teachings was one of Thrangu Rinpoche's introductions to the basic concepts of the three vehicles of Buddhism. When Buddhism came to Tibet, the great masters of meditation determined that to practice Buddhism properly, all three vehicles or levels of Buddhism had to be studied and practiced. The first vehicle of this practice includes the careful examination of the self, the meticulous accumulation of merit, and of course, the meditation on the Buddha's first teaching—the four noble truths. The practice of this vehicle is basic Shamatha and Vipashyana meditation. The second vehicle of this practice is the mahayana path which involves the understanding of the emptiness of phenomena and understanding of the ultimate and the conventional truth. The practice of the mahayana is embarking upon the bodhisattva path, engendering great compassion, and practicing the six perfections. Finally, Thrangu Rinpoche, a well known teacher, explains the third vehicle of the vajrayana which involves doing the preliminary preparations, engaging in meditation on the yidams, and doing the meditation of looking directly at mind called the mahamudra.

Four basic practices of Buddhist for turning the mind towards Dharma.

On Mahamudra tantric practice according to Karma Bkaʼ-rgud-pa tradition of Tibet.

Commentary on Vinayasūtra (Buddhist disciplinary treatise) of Guṇaprabha.

Mipham Rinpoche, a 19th century Tibetan scholar and practitioner, gives a definitive explanation of the Middle-way Instructions. For a few years of his life he stayed at the Tenth Thrangu Rinpoche's monastery where he was supplied with the materials for his prolific writing. One of Mipham Rinpoche's encyclopedic works on Buddhism was the Gateway to Knowledge and it is from this text that the Middle-Way Instructions come. In this exposition Mipham Rinpoche explains the meditation techniques for developing compassion and expanding this state into the aspiration of bodhichitta. Having reached the clarity of this vision prajna begins to manifest. This text gives a detailed explanation of how one meditates to develop this wisdom. While all three vehicles were practiced in Tibet, the Middle-Way Instructions are like the background of a tapestry that allows the integration and display of its parts into a whole. Carrying out these instructions is what leads to the culmination of the vajrayana path.

"This new translation of Padampa Sangye's One Hundred Verses, beautifully rendered into English, provides timely guidance for people trying to practice the Buddhist path in the workaday world. This commentary on Padampa Sangye's classic verses of advice to Tibetan villagers of Dingri by the renowned and beloved meditation master Khenchen Thrangu offers guidance for people trying to practice the Buddhist path in the midst of a busy life. These hundred verses, studied for centuries by Tibetans and students of Buddhism, contain all the elements of the Tibetan Buddhist path. Khenchen Thrangu's lively explication of each stanza brings to light their subtleties and amplifies their relevance to our lives. These two venerable teachers show us that being mindful of the truth of impermanence and the inescapability of death is the key to working with everyday difficulties such as loneliness, craving, family squabbles, competition in business, disagreements with neighbors, and betrayal by friends--as challenging to us now as they have been to meditators for centuries"--

Exegetical notes on Abhidharmakośa of Vasubandhu.

The entire path of Buddhism can be characterized as a quest for understanding the mind and then ridding the obstacles to mind. While the mind is the foundation of Buddhism, it is rarely and directly described in its complexity. For this reason the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, wrote a treatise called Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom which describes the eight consciousnesses in great detail and explains how we as ordinary beings are deluded by them. He then describes how to transcend ego and transform these consciousnesses into the five enlightened wisdoms. Transcending Ego: Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom presents a translation of Rangjung Dorje’s brilliant 36 verse doha spanning this topic and includes a lucid and accessible commentary on these verses by Thrangu Rinpoche. This book is a virtual textbook of Buddhist psychology by an authentic teacher from a lineage that continues to be alive today even though it is a thousand years old. “An illuminating text which provides the ‘missing link’ between Yogacara philosophy and Mahamudra practice, demonstrating how we might transform our confusion and emotional obscurations into wisdom. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche has lucidly and generously provided a commentary which will deepen your understanding and enliven your practice. A must for all practitioners of Vajrayana!” Judith Simmer-Brown, Ph.D. Professor of Buddhist Studies Naropa University

The Mahayana path of Buddhism requires the development of vast loving-kindness and compassion. The foundation for developing impartial compassion for all sentient beings is based on understanding the emptiness of self and the emptiness of phenomena. In Shentong and Rangtong Thrangu Rinpoche begins with a lucid description of the four major schools of Buddhism and their tenents. Each school had its own view of reality and Rinpoche describes the similarities and differences of these views. The Middle-way path had two important schools in Tibet: the Shentong and the Rangtong. In the discussion of the Rangtong, Rinpoche shows how important it is to understand the emptiness of persons and of phenomena because this understanding helps develop an accurate view of the world and thus how to proceed in one's practice. In the discussion of Shentong, Rinpoche describes the empty, luminous clarity of mind and how this is developed in meditation. This clarity is also closely related to understanding Buddha-nature and meditation in the Vajrayana. Thrangu Rinpoche bases this discussion on Jamgon Kongtrul's encyclopedic text The Treasury of Knowledge. If you liked Khenpo Tsultrim's Progressive Stages of Meditation you will like this book because it is the same topic but in much, much more detail and tied more to how this topic relates to one's practice.

On three basic disciplinary codes (trayavastu) practiced by Buddhist monks and nuns during gso sbyong (poṣoda), dbyar gnas (varśika), and dgag dbye (pravāraṇa) observance periods and its associated rituals by renown Kagyudpa scholar.