Enlightened Journey_ Buddhist Practice as Daily Life

Abstract

Prifact ; Acknowledgments ; PART ONE. INTRODUCTION ; I. USING DAILY LIFE AS THE PRACTICE OF DHARMA ; 2. OPENING THE HEART WITH COMPASSION ; Enlightened Mind ; Conceptual Mind ; Compassion ; 3. A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY IN A TURBULENT LIFE ; 4. BUDDHIST ARTIFACTS AS THE SUPPORT OF SPIRITUAL REALIZATION ; 5. TIBETAN BUDDHIST THANGKAS AND THEIR RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE ; The Historical Tradition of Thangkas: The Pictorial Scrolls of Tibet ; Varieties of Thangkas ; The Religious Significance of Thangkas ; 6. PREPARING FOR THE BARDO: THE STAGES OF DYING AND AFTER DEATH ; The Bardo of Life ; The Bardo of Dying ; The Bardo of Ultimate Nature ; The Bardo of Becoming ; PART TWO. MEDITATION ON NGCNDRQ: THE ESSENTIAL TRAINING ; 7. THE NYINGMA ScHooL OF TIBETAN BuDDHISM ; Contribution of Nyingma to Tibetan History and Culture ; Unique Nyingma Lineage Teachings ; Longchen Nyingthig Lineage ; 8. THE TERMA TRADITION OF THE NYINGMA ScHooL ; Transmission of Ter ; Two Major Categories of Ter ; Earth Ter ; Mind Ter ; 9. THE EMPOWERMENTS AND PRECEPTS OF ESOTERIC TRAINING ; Empowerments 106 Qualities of the Tantric Teacher ; The Nature of the Mandala ; Qualities of the Disciple Ill Caegorization of Empowerments ; Effects of Empowerment ; The Two Causes and Four Conditions of Empowerment ; The Actual Empowerment ; Preliminary Section ; Main Section ; The Five Common Empowerments of the Five Buddha Families ; The Four Uncommon Empowerments ; Precepts ; Three Divisions of Precepts ; Time of Taking the Precepts ; Precepts Common to Both Old and New Tantric Traditions ; The Fourteen Root Infractions ; The Eight Gross Infractions ; The Uncommon Precepts of Dzogpa Chenpo ; General Precepts of Dzogpa Chenpo ; Special Precepts of Dzogpa Chenpo ; Two Precepts of Thregcho ; Two Precepts of Thogal ; Conclusion ; Restoring Broken Precepts ; 10. THE MEDITATION ON NGONDRO: THE ESSENTIAL TRAINING OF THE LONGCHEN NYINGTHIG TRADITION ; Prayers to the Lineage Masters ; The Four Preliminary Practices ; Difficulties of Obtaining a Precious Human Life ; Impermanence ; Karma: Cause and Effect ; The Suffering Character of Samsara ; The Four Essential Trainings ; Going for Refuge ; Developing Bodhichitta ; Purification: Yajrasattva Recitation ; Mandala Offering ; The Main Practice: Guru Yoga ; The Vajra Seven-Line Prayer ; The Seven Aspects of Devotional Practice ; Devotional Prayers ; Mantra of Guru Rinpoche ; Four Empowerments ; Unification ; Conclusion ; II. THE MEANING OF THE VAJRA SEVEN-LINE PRAYER TO GURU RINPOCHE ; Structure of the Text ; History of The Vajra Seven-Line Prayer ; The Common Meaning ; The Path of the Hidden Meaning ; The Path of Liberation ; The Path of Skillful Means ; According to the Perfection Stage ; According to the Nyingthig of Dzogpa Chenpo: The Direct Realization of the Spontaneous Presence ; The Accomplishment of the Result 185 Conclusion of the Practices ; 12. RECEIVING THE FOUR EMPOWERMENTS OF NGCNDRO MEDITATION ; Eleven Divisions of Receiving the Four Empowerments ; The Three (or Four) Syllables ; The Three (or Four) Vajras ; Blessing Lights ; The Four (or Three) Centers of the Body ; The Four Karmas ; The Four Obscurations ; The Four Vajra Blessings ; The Four Tantric Practices ; The Four Stages of Attainment ; The Four Buddha Bodies ; The Four Empowerments ; 13. A BRIEF MEDITATION ON GURU RINPOCHE; PADMASAMBHAVA ; Relaxation ; Preliminary ; Main Practice ; Some Details of the Visualization and Their Meaning ; Conclusion ; The Prayer Mantra of Guru Rinpoche ; The Meaning ; Recollection of the Qualities of Guru Rinpoche ; Praying to Bestow the Wishes and Attainments ; In Brief ; A Short Meditation ; 14. EVALUATING THE PROGRESS OF DHARMA PRACTICE ; 15. A PRAYER SONG TO THE ABSOLUTE LAMA ; Notes ; Key to Abbreviations of Works Cited ;