Free Downloads The Great Path Of Awakening: A Commentary On The Mahayana Teaching Of The Seven Points Of Mind Training
At the core of spiritual development in Mahayana Buddhism is the arousal of bodhicitta, "awakened heart." Bodhicitta is the unconditional intention to help all sentient beings become free of suffering. It is the complete abandonment of any sort of personal territory, both in our relationships with others and in our understanding of the world as it is. It begins with the development of love and compassion for others and matures into the full resolution to help them as much as possible. This theme is the focus of The Seven Points of Mind Training as taught by Chekawa Yeshe Dorje, a twelfth-century master of the Kadampa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. "The Great Path of Awakening" is a new translation of this basic teaching with the illuminating commentary of Jamgon Kongtrul, a great nineteenth-century scholar. Kongtrul provides clear and concise instructions for practicing the techniques of mind training, with an emphasis on meeting the ordinary situations of life, employing intelligence and compassion under all circumstances. Also included, in an appendix, is a translation of the root text of the Seven Points of Mind Training by the Nalanda Translation Committee under the direction of Chogyam Trungpa.
Paperback: 90 pages
Publisher: Shambhala; 1st edition (December 12, 1987)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0877734208
ISBN-13: 978-0877734208
Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.8 x 8.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #723,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #54 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Eastern > Buddhism > Mahayana #1939 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Comparative Religion
The underlying text of this commentary is a deeply inspired canon on ethics. This work is as groundbreaking as the New Testament but is born from an eastern perspective. It is hard to understand that this text is so little known in the west. I would rate this, along with the Sermon on the Mount and the Tao and Kant's categorical imperative, as one of the definitive works on ethics and spirtual insight. Part of the commentary is colored by Buddhist beliefs which I personally substract from its general message (as I would with Christian dogma from the New Testament).
This text, and others like it, give in a very few words the most directly applicable Buddhist training that I have ever seen in a simple textual form. You can just read it, and do what it suggests, and it will accomplish the goal. Wonderful. I would recommend starting with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's "Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness", which is his own commentary on the same root text, and feels a little more up-to-date. Once having read and been blown away by that, however, definitely get a copy of this text by another master, for comparison and further learning. If you're going to be a Buddhist in the Mahayana tradition(s), you can't and shouldn't avoid this teaching, which was brought to Tibet by Atisha, one of the early masters from India. According to the story, Atisha was told by Tara herself that he should go to Tibet and give teachings, and this is what he taught.
The Great Path of Awakening by Jamgon Kongtrul is a great book on Mahayana Buddhism. Jamgon Kongtrul is a unbiased recorder of the teachings of all lineages and is called a gem of endless light. The book is small and to the point. The teachings is from the Kadampa Master Atisha. The teachings are with in all lineages of the gradual paths. The commentary is spot on, based the root text. When reading the book to quickly, one can miss the hidden meaning of the words. The text points to relative and ultimate emptiness. The book is best read by a topic a month. This is to let the words sink into the heart and find the destination. The seven points is a road signs on the path to enlightenment. The relative view of emptiness will lead to ultimate enlightenment, just like a small child will gladly embrace a mother.
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