The Guru Principle

The Guru Principle PDF Author: Lama Shenpen Hookham
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834843625
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
A clear-headed and relatable guidebook for navigating the student-teacher relationship by one of the first female Buddhist teachers in the West. All major forms of Buddhism stress the need for a teacher. However, the importance of having a guide or guru is sometimes a source of cultural and spiritual confusion as Buddhism expands in the West. A clear understanding of the Buddhist view of the guru is essential for the student-teacher relationship to be beneficial for one's spiritual growth. Collecting over fifty years of personal experiences as both a student and a teacher, Shenpen Hookham writes candidly of the opportunities and challenges facing modern Dharma students in the West who wish to study with a teacher. Traditional texts often do not reflect how the student-teacher relationship manifests in practice, which leaves many pressing questions and a great deal of confusion in communities taking root in the West. With honesty and clarity, Hookham discusses the roles of the teacher, practices related to the guru, and commonly asked questions she receives as a teacher. This handbook is the first of its kind, breaking down in a pragmatic and relatable way everything you need to know to enter a student-teacher relationship with open eyes and an open heart.

The Guru Principle

The Guru Principle PDF Author: Lama Shenpen Hookham
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834843625
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Get Book Here

Book Description
A clear-headed and relatable guidebook for navigating the student-teacher relationship by one of the first female Buddhist teachers in the West. All major forms of Buddhism stress the need for a teacher. However, the importance of having a guide or guru is sometimes a source of cultural and spiritual confusion as Buddhism expands in the West. A clear understanding of the Buddhist view of the guru is essential for the student-teacher relationship to be beneficial for one's spiritual growth. Collecting over fifty years of personal experiences as both a student and a teacher, Shenpen Hookham writes candidly of the opportunities and challenges facing modern Dharma students in the West who wish to study with a teacher. Traditional texts often do not reflect how the student-teacher relationship manifests in practice, which leaves many pressing questions and a great deal of confusion in communities taking root in the West. With honesty and clarity, Hookham discusses the roles of the teacher, practices related to the guru, and commonly asked questions she receives as a teacher. This handbook is the first of its kind, breaking down in a pragmatic and relatable way everything you need to know to enter a student-teacher relationship with open eyes and an open heart.

The Guru Principle

The Guru Principle PDF Author: Lama Shenpen Hookham
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781719363648
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
This book is currently intended as an internal training book for the Awakened Heart Sangha, the community of Lama Shenpen's students. It may be republished in another format later for the wider public.

The Buddha Within

The Buddha Within PDF Author: S. K. Hookham
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791403570
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 442

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Book Description
Tathagatagarbha -- Buddha Nature -- is a central concept of Mahayana Buddhism crucial to all the living practice traditions of Tibetan and Zen Buddhism. Its relationship to the concept of emptiness has been a subject of controversy for seven hundred years. Dr. Hookam's work investigates the divergent interpretations of these concepts and the way the Tibetan tradition is resolving them. In particular she does this with reference to the only surviving Indian commentary on the Tathagatagarbha doctrine, the Ratnagotravibhaga. This text addresses itself directly to the issue of how to relate the doctrine of emptiness (the illusory nature of the world) to that of the truly existing, changeless Absolute (the Buddha Nature). This is the first work by a Western writer to present an analysis of the Shentong tradition based on previously untranslated sources. The Shentong view rests on meditative experience that is inaccessible to the conceptualizing mind. It is deeply rooted in the sutra tradition of Indian Buddhism and is central to an understanding of the Mahamudra and Dzogchen traditions and Tantric practice among Kagyupas and Hyingmapas.

Stripping the Gurus

Stripping the Gurus PDF Author: Geoffrey D. Falk
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780973620313
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 536

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Book Description
"Armed with wit, insight, and truly astonishing research, Falk utterly demolishes the notion of the enlightened guru who can lead devotees to nirvana.--John Horgan, author of "Rational Mysticism."

Yogacara Texts: Indo-Tibetan Sources of Dzogchen Mahamudra

Yogacara Texts: Indo-Tibetan Sources of Dzogchen Mahamudra PDF Author: Rodney Devenish
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1304481921
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
The Yogacara Doctrine teaches one fundamental truth, namely that all beings are Buddha-'sattva Buddha evam'-or, in other words, all beings are aspects of one all-embracing absolute awareness, were they but to know it. This book sets a context for the study and meditation on ten pivotal texts of Yogacara. The source texts, translated from a practice perspective, derive from the Indo-Tibetan mahasiddha tradition and are presented with an ecumenical approach. As this collection of pithy Yogacara works will readily prove to the reader, the ancient 'Practice Tradition of the Yogin' (rnal-bhyor-pa'i sgrub-brgyud) is based on a clearly active realization of the essential nature of mind and consciousness gained through years of intensive examination and reflection. Yogacara approach advocates a dynamic form of meditation that is neither suppressive nor lethargic. The guide to this attainment, the mechanism that sharpens the mind's penetrative and illuminative qualities, is metaphysical inquiry.

Invincible Living

Invincible Living PDF Author: Guru Jagat
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 006241500X
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
From acclaimed yoga teacher Guru Jagat comes a wildly cool, practical, and beautifully illustrated guide to applying the simple and super-effective technology of Kundalini Yoga and Meditation to everyday life, upgrading your "operating system" inside and out. With Invincible Living, Guru Jagat shares a radical way of understanding yoga—not just as something to do in practice, but as a broader principle for living. Candid, encouraging, and irreverent, Guru Jagat shows how Kundalini Yoga—which forgoes complex poses for energy-boosting, breath-driven exercises, quick meditations, and simple poses most of which you can do at your desk—can reset your life and well-being, regardless of your age or background. Designed explicitly for everyday people, not ashram-going or gym-bodied yogis, fast, effective Kundalini techniques can be done anywhere, from the car to the conference room. There’s no need to have a bendy back or toned arms. You don’t even need a mat: just a quiet space to clear your head, and as little as a minute out of your day. From beauty and self-care to work and relationships, Invincible Living tackles both the mind—from mood elevation and stress reduction to renewed mental clarity—and the body—from anti-aging, and increased metabolism to amped up energy. Packed with tips, exercises, and step-by-step instructions and fully photographed and illustrated in Guru Jagat’s fresh, handmade-meets-hipster style, Invincible Living is fresh take on ancient wisdom: a must-have guide for anyone who wants simple, effective, tools for a supercharged life as taught by a uniquely compelling teacher who upends all preconceptions about yoga. Invincible Living includes 100 color photographs and illustrations.

In Defense of the Guru Principle

In Defense of the Guru Principle PDF Author: Andrew Cohen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781883929275
Category : Gurus
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
In this time of confusion and cynicism about spiritual authority, Andrew Cohen speaks with unusual candour and passion about his own experience as a spiritual mentor and the rare challenge that this role presents when lived without compromise.

Dakini's Warm Breath

Dakini's Warm Breath PDF Author: Judith Simmer-Brown
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 157062920X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 427

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Book Description
A fresh interpretation of the dakini—a Tibetan Buddhist symbol of the feminine—that will appeal to practitioners interested in goddess worship, female spirituality, and Tantric Buddhism The primary emblem of the feminine in Tibetan Buddhism is the dakini, or “sky-dancer,” a semi-wrathful spirit-woman who manifests in visions, dreams, and meditation experiences. Western scholars and interpreters of the dakini, influenced by Jungian psychology and feminist goddess theology, have shaped a contemporary critique of Tibetan Buddhism in which the dakini is seen as a psychological “shadow,” a feminine savior, or an objectified product of patriarchal fantasy. According to Judith Simmer-Brown—who writes from the point of view of an experienced practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism—such interpretations are inadequate. In the spiritual journey of the meditator, Simmer-Brown demonstrates, the dakini symbolizes levels of personal realization: the sacredness of the body, both female and male; the profound meeting point of body and mind in meditation; the visionary realm of ritual practice; and the empty, spacious qualities of mind itself. When the meditator encounters the dakini, living spiritual experience is activated in a nonconceptual manner by her direct gaze, her radiant body, and her compassionate revelation of reality. Grounded in the author's personal encounter with the dakini, this unique study will appeal to both male and female spiritual seekers interested in goddess worship, women's spirituality, and the tantric tradition.

The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent

The Feminine Principle in the Sikh Vision of the Transcendent PDF Author: Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521432871
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
This work is a critical analysis of Sikh literature from a feminist perspective. It begins with Guru Nanak's vision of Transcendent Reality and concludes with the mystical journey of Rani Raj Kaur, the heroine of a modern Punjabi epic. The eight chapters of the book approach the Sikh vision of the Transcendent from historical, scriptural, symbolic, mythological, romantic, existential, ethical and mystical perspectives. Each of these discloses the centrality of the woman, and show convincingly that Sikh Gurus and poets did not want the feminine principle to serve merely as a figure of speech or literary device; it was intended rather to pervade the whole life of the Sikhs. The present work bolsters the claim that literary symbols should be translated into social and political realities, and in so doing puts a valuable feminist interpretation on a religious tradition which has remained relatively unexplored in scholarly literature.

Into the Heart of Life

Into the Heart of Life PDF Author: Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 1559397373
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
A “down-to-earth, approachable, and deeply accessible” guide to applying Tibetan Buddhist practices to the everyday challenges of modern life—from one of the first Western Buddhist nuns (Huffington Post) The real test of our Buddhist practice happens not on the cushion or in the protected space of retreat, but moment-to-moment in daily life, particularly when we find ourselves in uncomfortable situations. How do we respond? In this book, one of the most respected Western figures of contemporary Buddhism, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, offers insights gleaned from more than forty years of engagement with Buddhist practice. Her perspective is vast, with a well-grounded understanding of how the timeless Buddhist teachings apply to the demands and challenges of modern life.