Free Downloads Mind Training: The Great Collection (Library Of Tibetan Classics)
Compiled in the fifteenth century, Mind Training: The Great Collection is the earliest anthology of a special genre of Tibetan literature known as "mind training," or lojong in Tibetan. The principal focus of these texts is the systematic cultivation of such altruistic thoughts and emotions as compassion, love, forbearance, and perseverance. The mind-training teachings are highly revered by the Tibetan people for their pragmatism and down-to-earth advice on coping with the various challenges and hardships that unavoidably characterize everyday human existence. The volume contains forty-four individual texts, including the most important works of the mind training cycle, such as Serlingpa's well-known Leveling Out All Preconceptions, Atisha's Bodhisattva's Jewel Garland, Langri Thangpa's Eight Verses on Training the Mind, and Chekawa's Seven-Point Mind Training together with the earliest commentaries on these seminal texts. An accurate and lyrical translation of these texts, many of which are in metered verse, marks an important contribution to the world's literary heritage, enriching its spiritual resources.
Series: Library of Tibetan Classics (Book 1)
Hardcover: 720 pages
Publisher: Wisdom Publications; 1st edition (November 28, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0861714407
ISBN-13: 978-0861714407
Product Dimensions: 6 x 2 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #323,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #124 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Sacred Writings #319 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Asian #396 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Tibetan
If I could own only one book on Buddhism, this would be my choice. Translated by Thupten Jinpa, the principal English translator for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this work is a gift to those of us who speak English. The passages are clear and lucid. The elements of verse flow and the prose is elegant in its force and simplicity. This book could have been a nightmare to read, because the subject matter is not simple, and anyone who has read translations of Sanskrit, Pali or Tibetan knows that many texts come across twisted and convoluted in English. As such, it can be difficult to ascertain meaning. Such is not the case here. This book can be read at long sittings, or picked up and perused for 5 minutes to create grist for your meditative practice. Either way, it is an indispensible reference for serious students of Tibetan Buddhism, with extensive end notes and a comprehensive glossary.
This book is an excellent example of the new wave of English translations of classical Tibetan Buddhist literature, spurred on by recent and unfortunately grim developments in Tibet. The Mind Training literature, first anthologized in the fifteenth century, is homely advice in the form of traditional Buddhist enlightenment stories of wealth and renunciation, and devotional verses. A central idea is the practice of total altruism: all of my assets unto all other beings, and all of the woes of all other beings unto myself. This mental exercise is both a recipe for peace and tolerance (and thus calmness of mind) and also a technique for cultivating mindfulness (awareness of the state of one's own consciousness), something that cannot be done from an ego-centered standpoint. It is an early volume in the Library of Tibetan Classics, a project of the Institute of Tibetan Classics. A real joy and "jewel," in the traditional Tibetan sense of jewels as symbols of wish-fulfillment.
I thought the book would be on Tonglen or Lojong, and am an advanced student and read many texts on the subject, and was pleasantly surprised to find this is a great work covering many many original texts, and the translators are very good. Maybe not for a beginning student -- though I find that one should buy the book that they are drawn to. It isn't that the texts are over anyone's head, but there are so many and if you are tryng to learn to practice one then it may just be too much and end up sitting on a shelf.
It's a difficult subject to study on your own, but this collection is excellent because many of the 40 texts are commentaries on some of the other texts. For example, six of the texts (50 pages) are on "Parting from the Four Clingings". Roughly 200 pages are devoted to Sangye Gompa's "Public Explication of Mind Training" and a companion text, Konchok Gyaltsen's "Supplement to the Oral Tradition".Every text is a wonderful treasure. There's several lifetimes of study and practice for you here.
Be kind to yourself, study and practice with this treasure, from beginning to end it is a true source of blessings. Enlightenment is our natural birth right to pursue, at hand to all, these precious heart teachings will open many doors to practice. A superbly beautiful collection of mind transforming portals. Don't hesitate to be blessed by this great work.
Simply the best compendium of original (aka classic) Tibetan teachings on the topic of training the mind. Lucid, well annotated, and nicely organized this is a 'desert island'' book (or a Mount Kailash book)! I regularly give this book to aspiring students; if they put it down, they are unlikely to pursue a serious study of Buddhism; if they devour it--they are well on their way to a lifetime of discipline and discovery!
This review is for the kindle edition...The print version of this book is an excellent, clearly rendered text with an accessible index and informative notes. Unfortunately, the kindle version inexplicably does not have the "search" feature enabled at this time. This renders it nearly useless to me as a scholar, as the lack of clear pagination in kindle books is usually offset by the convenience of being able to search them.
A truly amazing resource of primary materials from the Tibetan on the Mind Training (Lojong) tradition. If you have an interest in Tonglen meditation or Lojong slogans, this book provides a very deep and extensive collection of texts for studying the range of practical methods and mental trainings in that tradition.
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