Teachings From Tibet: Guidance from Great Lamas

This is a collection of 16 talks (with mini-bios & photos of lecturers) mostly given at Tushita Mahayana Meditation Center & originally published as "Talks at Tushita." It also includes an introduction, 4 Appendices (Mahayana Equilibrium Meditation, The 8 Verses of Thought Transformation, The Foundation of All Good Qualities, & Sources for these teachings), bibliography & 11-page Glossary. It was designed as a propagation tool for the West. One chapter each are by the authors of the lovely, "Advice from a Spiritual Friend." Three are by HH the 14th Dalai Lama & reflect his gentle understanding & wisdom--I liked them best. As HH states: pp. 44-5: "Accepting any doctrine or aspect of a doctrine without 1st scrutinizing it analytically is like building a castle upon ice--one's practice will be unstable & lack fundamental strength & depth...Buddha's last advice to his disciples was that they should never accept anything on faith alone but only through rational investigation...Many of the findings of modern science such as those of nuclear physics, which are considered new discoveries, have long been discussed in ancient Buddhist scripture." He also discusses pure motivation & Bodhichitta, how to help others, & the problematic translation of certain Tibetan words into English. HH also states that: p. 168: "In lower texts it will say that certain actions are prohibited while higher ones tell you that those same actions are allowed. The more you know about all of this the easier it will be to decide what to do in any situation." Many of the other chapters are mostly descriptive rather than explanatory & even a bit parochial IMHO. Of course, this is a Gelug, Lamrim, gradualist book & many of the authors may not have had much familiarity with Western thinking; they rely much on Tibetan/Buddhist mythology. As a proponent of Rime, I think it highly valuable to investigate all 4 schools of Vajrayana, & this is probably a good introduction to the Gelugpa school. Indeed, this book does have some very useful IMHO insights: p. 101: Ngawang Norbu Gomchen Khampala: "while the teacher is giving the commentary the disciples try to gain experience of it. That's a wise & excellent way to practice," p. 123: Geshe Lhundub Sopa: "Yogis who through meditation have developed higher insight have realized the true nature of the self & seen that the `I' exists totally in another way," & Gehlek Rinpoche's story on utilizing mental wandering. I think the practical Dalai Lama provided a terrific motto too: p. 160: "Mentally putting ourselves last & others 1st is the way to come out ahead."