Awakening Wisdom
Heart Advice on the Fundamental Practices of Vajrayana Buddhism
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- 15,99 €
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- 15,99 €
Descrizione dell’editore
A clear, short, and delightful guide to practicing Vajrayana Buddhism, covering everything a beginner needs to know to get started, including instructions on the Vajrayana preliminary practices.
If you are new to Tibetan Buddhism, this short work will help you get started with your practice, and if you are well steeped in these teachings, it will remind you of the essentials points. Framed as a commentary on the Tersar Ngondro by Dudjom Rinpoche, Awakening Wisdom is geared toward connecting people with practice.
Part I covers motivation, posture and breathing, mantra practice, and the four reflections that turn the mind toward Buddhist practice. Part II covers mantras and tonglen, the compassion practice that helps us connect to the suffering of others. Part III provides guidance about the preliminary practices themselves: the practice of the threefold refuge; generating the altruistic mind, or bodhichitta; purification practice; mandala offering; and Guru Yoga, explaining how each practice is the antidote to a particular cause of suffering, or “poison.” Part III also includes precious guidance about the Vajra Guru mantra and the transference of consciousness at the moment of death.
While these may seem like technical subjects—and this is indeed a traditional presentation—Pema Wangyal’s writing is suffused with warmth and tenderness, making this book quite accessible and inviting to beginners.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this concise, motivating introduction to Tibetan Buddhist practices, Buddhist teacher Wangyal invites readers to heal and spread goodness through meditation. Wangyal puts forth a practice of Buddhism rooted in kindness, care "for all beings," and positive motivation based on five "purification practices" that serve as antidotes to human weaknesses: taking refuge in Buddha (the antidote to pride), bodhichitta (to jealousy), guru yoga (to ignorance), offering the "mandala" (to materialism), and the practice of Vajrasattva (to anger). Each chapter dissects central concepts and provides practical suggestions. On the mandala, for instance, Wangyal suggests exercising generosity by "mentally offering the buddhas everything we find pleasing" and giving food to the hungry, while taking refuge in the Buddha can help turn "pride into wisdom" via targeted mantras and the inclusion of one's enemies in personal prayers. As well, the author reflects on tonglen (taking on others' suffering) and powa (the transfer of consciousness at the point of death), giving readers tools to better connect with others. Wangyal makes a convincing case that anyone can learn to be more generous and wise through sustained effort, and frames lessons in ways that are inspiring and digestible without dumbing down spiritual principles. Those eager to learn about Tibetan Buddhism will find this an accessible way in.
