Anyen Rinpoche

Anyen Rinpoche

Anyen Rinpoche, a tulku from Amdo, is a Tibetan master of Dzogchen meditation as well as a seasoned scholar. He has taught extensively in Tibet, China, and throughout Southeast Asia, Japan, and North America. He lives primarily in Denver, Colorado, where he founded Orgyen Khamdroling Center with a shedra (college) for Westerners.

Anyen Rinpoche

Anyen Rinpoche, a tulku from Amdo, is a Tibetan master of Dzogchen meditation as well as a seasoned scholar. He has taught extensively in Tibet, China, and throughout Southeast Asia, Japan, and North America. He lives primarily in Denver, Colorado, where he founded Orgyen Khamdroling Center with a shedra (college) for Westerners.

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GUIDES

The State of Buddhist Publishing

[Note: This article on Buddhist publishing was originally written by Nikko Odiseos, president of Shambhala Publications for the blog Vajrayanaworld.com as requested by Lama Dechen Yeshe Wangmo.  As the blog is no longer, we are hosting it here with a few small updates.] 

My longtime friend Lama Wangmo asked if I would pen a few words on the state of Buddhist publishing, wearing my hat as the president of Shambhala Publications since 2010 and Snow Lion Publications since we acquired them in 2011. Given the audience of Vajrayana World, my emphasis here will be on works specifically of interest to Tibetan Buddhists, but will stray a bit where appropriate.

Below I will touch on the state of publishing in general and then dive into the specifics of the Buddhist book publishing world. I will talk about what it means to read a Dharma book and how this might be substantively different from how we consume other types of books.  I will then get into some of challenges of Buddhist publishing such as authentically transmitting the Dharma and how it can contribute to the building of an English-speaking Buddhist culture.

You will find no shortage of my personal opinions and perhaps some over-generalizations below—some of which you may agree with, but hopefully all of which you will find thought-provoking. They do not necessarily represent the views of Vajrayana World or Shambhala Publications as a whole.

Bookstore Picture
Shambhala Publication's bookstore with over 1,800 titles over half of which are Buddhist

The State of  Publishing

First a bit about the state of publishing in general. When I started at Shambhala in 2010—which incidentally is not related to the Shambhala International organization nor the Shambhala Sun magazine, now known as Lion’s Roar—there was a lot of industry-wide doom and gloom echoing around. E-books would kill print, piracy will be publishers’ undoing, Amazon will ruin publishing, and bookstores will disappear. That pessimism was mostly overwrought; book publishers of all sizes are, overall, doing OK. E-books are just another format, and a shrinking one at that, with about 15% of books like ours being read digitally. While it’s true that piracy does have a negative effect, the experience of reading a scanned PDF is pretty unappealing for most readers. The fact that it is taking what is not given deters many Buddhists, and that the likelihood of contracting a virus from a pirate site is just not worth it.

The relationship between Amazon and the publishing industry is a complex one. By making close to every title available to anyone, readers around the world can absolutely benefit—and that’s great for publishers, too. At the same time, supporting an organization who sees precious Dharma books in the same light as laundry soap, lightbulbs, and Legos, and whose might and vision afford little room for the cultural touchstones that enrich communities—from publishers to bookstores—may have its consequences.

Still, I remain quite optimistic and feel things look positive for publishers in general. The enduring attraction of the book remains, perhaps even growing as exhaustion from screens and the barrage of disparate information wears on people. Publishers have, with varying degrees of success, also found ways to diversify through apps, online learning, and more. And despite the infatuation with screens, people realize the final product of authors’ and publishers’ labors can be a beautiful, reliable, accurate, immersive object that can be a more fulfilling experience than many of the alternatives.

Buddhist  Publishing

In many ways right now is the golden age of Buddhist publishing in English. When I first started reading deeply into the extant Buddhist works a little over a quarter century ago, choices were really limited. Patrul Rinpoche’s Words of My Perfect Teacher and Tsongkhapa’s Lam Rim Chenmo had yet to come out. Gampopa’s Jewel Ornament of Liberation only existed in a translation that was nearly impenetrable. There was almost nothing from the Sakya tradition.

Now it’s a different world. In 2019, Shambhala alone published 34 titles for Tibetan Buddhists (and a bunch more for Zen and Pali traditions), bringing us to over 600 Tibetan Buddhist titles in print. While we have by far the largest list, the other Buddhist-centric publishers add a bit over two hundred more to the total. Some of the greatest works of the Indian and Tibetan traditions are coming out on an almost monthly basis.

There are many really experienced translators who have good retreat experience and who work closely with lamas who have traversed the path.Vast, multi-volume works are available for many traditions, such as the ten-volume Treasury of Knowledge, the Complete Nyingma Tradition (eventually seven volumes and by far the largest work on a single tradition), the Treasury of Precious Instructions (eventually eighteen volumes) and the Library of Tibetan Classics series (Wisdom Publications). There are multiple translations and commentaries on the five Maitreya texts, the core of the Mahayana. There is the 84000 project  committed to translating the entire Kangyur (the words of the Buddha) and Tengyur (the commentaries from India), even if few teachers teach those texts and few people read them.

Other publishers including Wisdom, Rangjung Yeshe, Padma Publishing, KTD, Vajra Books, Dharma Publishing (despite nothing new in years), and a few others have very dedicated people producing some important books. Even some of the university presses (Oxford, Columbia, Chicago, SUNY, and Hawaii in particular) are making some great contributions beneficial—or at least of interest—to practitioners, not just academics. There are also some very important behind-the-scenes organizations that really enable a lot of the important works coming out to happen—the Tsadra Foundation, the Hershey Foundation, the Khyentse Foundation, the Ho Foundation, and more, as well some private donors supporting translators and publishing projects. Tibetan texts are also widely available to translators and readers thanks in particular to the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (formerly TBRC) online library.

Thanks to our many teachers, translators, scholars, and sponsors, we have so much Buddhist material at our fingertips. There is a lot to feel very hopeful and positive about, not just about the books, but about authentic Dharma being made available both inside and outside of Asia.

Yet, as I survey the landscape of Buddhism in the West through the lens of Buddhist publishing in English, at times I have a lot of trepidation—as a publisher and also as a Buddhist. We have a long way to go.

My concerns focus on how we read, what we read, and who is reading—or not.

Treasury of Knowledge, Jamgön Kongtrül presents a complete account, thought and practice, Tibetan Buddhism
Some of the 2019 releases from Shambhala & Snow Lion
Some of the 2019 releases from Shambhala & Snow Lion

How We Read

I was recently talking to Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche, author of the superb Our Pristine Mind, and he described to me the curriculum at Larung Gar, the Buddhist center of learning and practice founded by the great Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche. The way many of us read Dharma books in the West would be regarded as pretty superficial and foreign to them. There, they are introduced to a text in a teaching context that may last for weeks or months, and still they revisit parts of it again and again. Every year, for three months the entire community of thousands would study a particular section of Patrul Rinpoche’s The Words of My Perfect Teacher and, of course, put it into practice. Then there are those on a particular track who are presented texts and topics—by authors such as Asanga, Nagarjuna, Shantideva, Longchenpa, Tsongkhapa, Mipham Rinpoche, and many more—and spend months or more on each one, studying and practicing, often returning to the same text the following year. Consistent, repeated, in-depth attention and application allow the students to thoroughly internalize the works. I think of how many teachers trained in Tibet could recall and recite quotes at will, appropriate for the topic at hand. Not many can do that here, but perhaps that will change. During a recent event at Shambhala in Boulder, Anyen Rinpoche talked about how he encourages some of his students to read the Way of the Bodhisattva 108 times. This is encouraging.

I feel that until we western Buddhists embrace this more immersive way of studying the core texts and teachings of whatever traditions we are in, it will be harder for the Dharma to really take root in the soil here, like it has wherever it has gone, taking on its own characteristics reflecting our culture but not budging an inch in its authenticity and potency. What Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche discussed above comes out of a Buddhist culture that has been gestating in Tibet for 1,400 years. While we do not have the institutional and social constructs that can instantly support something like this, it is still important to study the authentic texts ourselves in a format that fits our culture (perhaps like bible reading study groups). It is my opinion that we don’t emphasize that enough in our developing Buddhist culture—actually reading the foundational texts. Of course many teachers recommend to individual students that they focus on practice and not studying, and that advice, of course, is primary. But as a Buddhist subculture forming within our society, I still think it is vital for this to happen.

Larung Gar

What We Read

There is no shortage of great books available and the list keeps growing, from translations of Indian and Tibetan foundational texts, commentaries both new and old, and contemporary approaches that try, often very successfully, to speak to the modern-day needs of readers from the experienced to the curious. But, it is this last category of reader I worry about. There is so much other material out there that I think many reading this would agree may not be beneficial for someone predisposed to a particular tradition, whether the Pali traditions, Zen/Chan, or Vajrayana. Go into any bookstore with a decent Buddhist section (assuming of course it is not mixed up with new-age and other wares from the spiritual marketplace) and we see plenty that would likely raise eyebrows amongst those reading this—from the “Secular Buddhist” works whose earnest Humanist approach may depart from what many consider authentic Buddhism to the works of the “New Kadampa” organization. There is a lot of material someone without much guidance can get lost in.

An extension of this confusion of what to read is issues around restricted texts.  The word “restricted” is a bit tricky—it’s sort of a flashing light saying READ ME, whereas the intention is the opposite. The point, as most readers here will know, is that those kind of texts are not beneficial unless the reader has the appropriate transmission, initiation, permission, and fulfilled any practice prerequisites. I am disheartened to see some translators go the self-publishing route with texts that should be handled in a more considered manner. There is nothing wrong with self-publishing, but what I worry about is the plethora of works now on tantra, Dzogchen, etc., many of questionable quality that have been rejected by publishers, available to anyone without any warning or context given. This is not sour grapes from a publisher—if they were done well and care was taken, more power to them. After all, publishers generally cannot take on even a great work if the readership is only a few hundred. Rather, this is concern from someone who has tried to absorb the teachings about samaya, etc. and is worried about this trend and its effect on sincere, well-intentioned readers who may not yet have the background to fully appreciate the implications.  Lama and translator Sangye Khendro explains this well in a video we recorded.

I do think we publishers can try to do more by directing people.  Assuming we can get people to our websites, we can provide better guidance for people at various levels of interest and commitment for where to go deeper. A lot of “bedside table” Buddhists who like what they read and are gaining familiarity with practice would like to explore further but do not know where to start. While the best approach is to follow the guidance of a dependable teacher, many Westerners do not have that option in their present circumstances and books are their primary resource.

At Shambhala we feel this is a responsibility we need to take seriously given that we have published the majority of English-language Buddhist books. We want to make sure that the rich depth and breadth of quality authentic books are accessible and discoverable. We are currently developing material to give more guidance to people—not just for our books but for everything that is available in English. For a few recent though simple examples, see our Reader’s Guides for people like Milarepa, TsongkhapaJamgön Kongtrul the Great and Dudjom Rinpoche; texts like the Heart Sutra and the Mahayanasutralamkara; traditions like the Drikung Kagyu; as well as the immersive online workshops on The Way of the Bodhisattva and the Treasury of Precious Instructions, available to the public for free. And more come out every month.

tibetan buddhist books collection
Part of the Tibetan Buddhist section at Shambhala Publications’ office store in Boulder

Sidebar: How Teachings Become Books

One challenge we have as publishers is the stream of submissions we get by dedicated students of excellent teachers who have been tasked with creating a book from oral teachings. This is not a simple matter. Invariably, a transcript from an oral teaching has a long way to go before it can be a coherent, impactful book. Transcripts require an immense amount of work, eliminating what is extraneous or repeated (which works in a teaching context, but less so on paper), moving things around, changing the sentence structure. It can work, but those involved have to have a clear vision and be a little brave.

The elements that make it work are people who understand this, have the mandate from their teacher—alive or not —to have some latitude, and have the ability to really channel the teacher’s voice. This is a tradition that goes back to the Buddha of course. A recent excellent example of this is Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s Profound Treasury, a three-volume set that his student Judy Lief brought from many teachings and stitched together. It’s 100% the teachings that were presented, missing nothing, but orchestrated in a way that works as a reading experience—as a transcript really never can.

The Competition

Recently I was asked who our biggest competitor was. This is an easy answer. It’s not another book publisher, On the contrary, having a healthy ecosystem of publishers passionate about the kind of books we do is good for all practitioners. And it is not self-publishing, which is a great way for works that have a very small, specialized, or sangha-specific audience to be available. It’s also not Amazon (at least for now).

The real competition is the host of distractions we are all bombarded with constantly. Before I ended up in publishing I was a technologist, so I am not speaking as a Luddite. But with the barrage of information we subject ourselves to and with the universe at our iPhone-gripping fingertips, focus and immersion are rarer, especially to younger people. We all have so many demands on our attention, a deluge of distractions that is really unprecedented. It’s hard to practice lojong slogans or keep the four thoughts constantly in mind, let alone have pure vision when we are bombarded by the world around us in a way that is harsher and louder than any time in the past. While the flow of ceaseless concepts is nothing new to human beings, somehow now it seems harder to turn the volume down.

And with all this noise, younger students may not have the habit of reading books and people who grew up reading a lot may do so less now. So now we have a situation where many of these key translations, as close to canonical as there can be in a tradition without an agreed-upon canon, for one of the world’s largest religious traditions barely sell 1,000 copies in total. These works would be impossible to publish without support from organizations like those already mentioned. A couple decades ago, I felt that the roots of dharma in the West were growing wider and deeper. At that time, I would have thought that by 2017, when something like our recent translation of Asanga’s Bodhisattvabhumi or the Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sutras—one of the most quoted of all Buddhist texts—or Wisdom’s recent Stages of the Buddha’s Teachings came out, thousands would leap at the chance to immerse themselves in these incredible works. But currently these kinds of projects have pretty limited audiences. And they do not seem to be growing.

While there are many younger sanghas and lamas, as well as western teachers with a lot of young students, the preponderance of grey hair at many Dharma centers indicates these are exceptions rather than the norm. I believe that if we published twenty years ago much of what we published today, they would sell 3–4 times more than they do now. This is partly due to the sheer quantity of great works available. No one can read it all, and “reading it all” is not the point. But to me—and yes, I am over-generalizing—it seems interest in really learning the Buddhist textual traditions has waned.

The Future

I also want to address another area where I feel we—publishers, practitioners, parents, and sanghas—have failed. Rather miserably. And that is providing good training and resources for children. I remember being at a tsok some years ago where at the end there was a group of young children exuberant from a rush of sugar in their blood, behaving wildly. A friend leaned over to me and whispered, “Good lord, these are the people who are going to be doing phowa for us”. Good lord indeed.

But of course this is about a lot more than phowa; this is about fostering our own version of Buddhist culture based on the wisdom passed down to us and sustaining the tradition for generations. And training our children is at the heart of this.

Some sanghas have summer retreats where children get plopped into a kids’ retreat with some level of instruction, but I’m not sure how deeply the Buddhist basics—let alone deep faith and devotion—get instilled at many of these. While there are a lot of great books with Buddhist-ish lessons or morals, the options for Buddhist parents who want to really help their kids understand and learn dharma in-depth are quite weak. So much of what is out there is just cultural baggage—-bouncing cherubic monks may not be the easiest to relate to. Or the art is unappealing. Or there is too much text for little kids to be able to connect. Or the kids need a ton of context or they won’t “get” what the books are trying to convey.

How can we change this? How can we help create the circumstances when instead of going to summer camp or soccer practice, our thirteen-year-olds want to complete their ngöndro? Given social pressures, a lack of institutional support, and cultural norms, it’s an uphill journey.

On the publishing side, there is plenty we can do. We now are very focused on producing some really excellent children’s books that have meaningful lessons, good art, foundational concepts, and are complementary components of a larger vision. It will take a while but we are moving in a good direction. Ultimately, all of us Buddhist publishers need to have a comprehensive list of books that build on each other: great board books for little ones up to three years old, chapter books for six–ten-year–olds, and young adult books for ages twelve and up. And these need to be generated as a group—not just one-offs, or it becomes too hard for the kids to relate to, connect with, and assimilate into their milieu, culture and value systems.  Our initial foray into this area is with our new imprint for children, Bala Kids.

While publishers obviously play an important role in this, for this to really have an effect requires the concerted, sustained efforts and long-term vision of teachers, writers, sanghas, and parents to create the resources and structure that parents can use with their kids day-in and day-out throughout the year. I was encouraged to see the Khyentse Foundation is turning its attention to this area and I have spoken at length about this recently with several lamas who also are concerned and have aspirations to change this. But we are at the very beginning of this endeavor.

Beyond the Book

Publishers are, more and more, looking to other areas to engage with people, and connect them to the wisdom and teachings.

Audio versions of our books is one obvious example, and we have begun to go back to some of  our classics and produce them, along with newer books as well.  We have a couple dozen and it is growing quickly.  The experience of listening to some of these, like Dudjom Rinpoche''s Counsels of My Heart, read below by actor Simon Callow, produuce a complementary experience, and one very friendly to those of us constantly on the go.

We started in 2013 developing online courses and have been expanding that branch of our company ever since. Everyone and their mother-in-law are putting a form of these online now, with a wide variety of quality. Done well, these can be such a great resource for people, for example those in remote areas where teachers or even sangha are not easily accessible. We have some exceptional courses with excellent lamas filmed and in production for 2017. But we have taken a conservative approach—the Buddhist courses that we have for 2017 are foundational. These are not only for beginners (though I expect they will find them excellent) but are from the likes of Kilung Rinpoche and Anyen Rinpoche that, in different but complementary ways, really are meant to invigorate viewers’ practice at whatever level they are at.

Outside of very general overviews of higher teachings, we are uncomfortable having a course presenting tantric, Dzogchen, or Mahamudra teachings in a context that is not observant of the intimacy and secrecy that these traditions require. I hope others producing these have or can adopt the same approach.

Anyen Rinpoche and Allison
Anyen Rinpoche and Alison Zangmo during filming for an upcoming online course

In Conclusion

So those are some of my views as I see the world of Buddhist publishing from my desk. My aspiration is that many of the good works that present-day authors, translators, and publishers have been dedicated to producing and are serving us well and will find the wider audiences they deserve: wave after wave of generations of committed, accomplished practitioners.

In the meantime, there are things you can do to help keep the Buddhist publishing ecosystem vibrant:

  • Support the Buddhist publishers directly or your local bookstores when possible. If you call your local bookstore, they can generally get a book they do not have within a day or two.
  • Join Goodreads, connect with your friends, and share with others the works that had an impact on you.
  • Start a reading and study group—in person, at your center if you have one nearby, by phone, or online using Skype, Zoom, or another tool. Here is one way to do it online.
  • Share what you read on social media.
  • Sign up for newsletters from Buddhist publishers. Here is ours. You can set it up so you only receive books about Tibetan Buddhism if that is all you are interested in.
  • Review books you like on Amazon, even if you did not buy it there.
  • Read more and practice it!

I’ll conclude with this passage, included in The Nectar of Manjushri’s Speech, from Patrul Rinpoche’s biography by Minyak Kunzang Sonam:

Thanks to the kindness of Patrul Rinpoche, the entire region became filled with the explanation and study [of the great texts] and very many people, down to ten-year-old monks, were able to adorn their mouths with the recitation of the Bodhicharyavatara . . . As a result, the whole land was gloriously transfigured through the enormous numbers of people who, from being complete beginners, aspired and turned their minds to the systematic implementation of the practice of the complete Mahayana path . . . And the members of the black-clothed laity, both men and women, by attending for just a few moments the explanation of the Bodhicharyavatara, came to understand that the good heart and bodhichitta are the living roots of the Mahayana teachings.

Thanks for reading. If you have any thoughts, feel free to share them. I may not be able to reply to everything but I will read it.

Nikko

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A Talk on the Importance of Sangha

The following talk is from Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo’s Course: Living the Dharma: How to Practice Buddhism and Make It Count.  We have made this final talk available here as a podcast as we think this is one of the most important, powerful, and clear presentations on the importance of Sangha, or spiritual community, we have ever heard.

For many in the West, taking refuge in the Buddha and the Dharma is really easy, but the third jewel, the Sangha, can feel more challenging and perhaps less necessary.  This talk will almost certainly shift this perception.

Here you will listen to Rinpoche explain how essential sangha is, the reason so many communities face hardship after a lama passes away, and how each of us can be a part of creating communities even stronger than before by employing the methods taught in The Way of the Bodhisattva, the 37 Practices of the Bodhisattva and Lojong, or Mind-Training practices.

Many of us here at Shambhala Publications have found this to be eye-opening, a cause of self-reflection, and a call to action.  We hope you enjoy it.

Living the Dharma

$129.00 - Online Course

By: Anyen Rinpoche & Allison Choying Zangmo

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Lojong / Mind Training Reader's Guide

Lojong, or mind training, is a core practice in all the lineages of the Tibetan tradition. They can perhaps best be characterized as a method for transforming our mind by turning away from self-centeredness and cultivating instead the mental habits that generate bodhicitta, the awakened mind that puts the benefit of others above all else. The teachings on it are more diverse than many people realize, so we thought we would lay out a map of its origins and development for our readers, with some recommendations along the way for books through which the practice can be explored.

New and Recent Releases on Lojong

Paperback | eBook

$18.95 - Paperback

The Heroic Heart: Awakening Unbound Compassion

by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

Just as the archetypal hero possesses the heart to face trials and tribulations for the sake of helping others, the bodhisattva has a remarkable resolve to free others from suffering so that all may achieve true happiness and awakening. Through each challenge, the Buddhist hero of compassion develops rich inner qualities that empower them to be of true benefit to others.

In The Heroic Heart, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, an esteemed spiritual teacher with a lifetime of experience, illuminates the heart of Mahayana Buddhism—bodhichitta—describing it as “the selfless expression of boundless compassion.” Jetsunma uses as a touchstone the famous Tibetan Buddhist text The Thirty-Seven Verses on the Practice of a Bodhisattva. Here, she reveals how to become such a compassionate hero, the bodhisattva in training, and helps us to face the uncertain tides of the world, however joyful or dangerous, with a deep wish to find meaning and uncover the ultimate heart of wisdom and compassion.

Paperback | eBook

$18.95 - Paperback

The Power of Mind: A Tibetan Monk’s Guide to Finding Freedom in Every Challenge

by Khentrul Lodrö T'hayé Rinpoche

A modern guidebook based on ancient Buddhist techniques for transforming emotional pain, anxiety, and stress into complete mental well-being that benefits us and the people around us.

We’ve all heard platitudes about cultivating love and compassion, but how can we really develop these qualities in ourselves and—crucially—share them in our world? The Power of Mind provides a proven path.

Khentrul Rinpoche teaches that regardless of what’s unfolding in our lives, our route to freedom lies in our minds—and how we work with them. A thousand years ago, the Indian saint Atisha endured great hardship to bring the Buddha’s teachings to Tibet, where they flourished. This book introduces a primary text that emerged—the Seven Key Points of Mind Training.

Khentrul Rinpoche learned these practices from teachers who faced innumerable hardships during the Cultural Revolution. Rinpoche was moved by the ability of these teachers who, like alchemists, were able to follow these techniques to transform their suffering into something good.
The Power of Mind shares instructions that we can work through, one by one—from recognizing the preciousness and impermanence of our lives to avoiding drama and self-centeredness—along with meditations and practices. This wisdom is accessible to anyone seeking inner transformation—whether Buddhist or not. As Khentrul Rinpoche states, “Peace and happiness can be attained, but not by searching for something in the outside world. They start within us then extend out to the entire globe.”

Paperback | eBook

$24.95 - Paperback

The Art of Transforming the Mind: A Meditator’s Guide to the Tibetan Practice of Lojong

By B. Alan Wallace

Includes three new translations of Atisha’s source material including Pith Instructions on a Single Mindfulness and Pith Instructions on the Middle Way.

The purpose of lojong, a traditional Mahayana Buddhist practice of training the mind, is about transforming one’s attitude and expanding one’s sense of self to encompass the greater whole. In this modern presentation of lojong practice and Atisha’s Seven-Point Mind Training, author, translator, and Buddhist practitioner B. Alan Wallace gives readers a framework from which they may cultivate the qualities of loving-kindness, compassion, and insight while diminishing harmful habits and ways of thinking. “All of us have attitudes,” Wallace explains, and “attitudes need adjusting.” The practice of lojong is therefore presented as a method to shift our attitude away from our problems, anxieties, hopes, and fears toward an expansive sense of joy and well-being that springs from the very essence of Mahayana—bodhichitta.

The Origins of Lojong

The origin of lojong as a codified system is generally attributed to Atisha, the eleventh-century Bengali master who came to Tibet and founded the Kadampa tradition and whose influence on all the Tibetan lineages was profound. Some teachers identify the actual origin of lojong with Atisha's teachers-Maitriyogi, Dharmarakshita, and Serlingpa-while others attribute the teachings to Atisha's main student, Dromtonpa (1005-64).

In fact, Thubten Chodron's  Good Karma:  How to Create the Causes of Happiness and Avoid the Causes of Sufferingis based on a text called  The Wheel of Sharp Weapons  that is generally attributed to Dharmarakshita.

Whatever the case, it is reasonable to think of Atisha as the anchor of these teachings.

A full, fascinating biography along with a great array of translations of his work was published as Atisa Dipamkara: Illuminator of the Awakened MindThe author and translator, James Apple, is one of the foremost scholars of Atisha  and his works.

Paperback | Ebook

$24.95 - Paperback

In 2016 in Boulder, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a talk on the lojong text  The Eight Verses (see below) and explained how Atisha and his teachers took this from Shantideva, in both his  Way of the Bodhisattva classic(for example in the eighth chapter where he presents the lojong practice of exchanging self and others, known as tonglen in Tibetan)  as well as in his Compendium of Training (a new translation of which is available from Oxford  2016). Shantideva in turn looked back to Nagarjuna, particularly in his  Precious Garlandand his Bodhicittavivarna, or Exposition on Enlightened Mind, which is discussed at length in In Praise of DharmadhatuAnd Nagarjuna himself used the sutras as his sources, in particular the Avatamsaka, known in English as The Flower Ornament Scripture.

Paperback | Hardcover | eBook

$16.95 - Paperback


$24.95 - Hardcover

The Way of the Bodhisattva

By Shantideva
Translated by Padmakara Translation Group

Treasured by Buddhists of all traditions, The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara) is a guide to cultivating the mind of enlightenment, and to generating the qualities of love, compassion, generosity, and patience. This text has been studied, practiced, and expounded upon in an unbroken tradition for centuries, first in India, and later in Tibet. Presented in the form of a personal meditation in verse, it outlines the path of the Bodhisattvas—those who renounce the peace of individual enlightenment and vow to work for the liberation of all beings and to attain buddhahood for their sake.

This version, translated from the Tibetan, is a revision by the translators of the 1997 edition. Included are a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a new translator's preface, a thorough introduction, a note on the translation, and three appendices of commentary by the Nyingma master Kunzang Pelden.

Paperback

$24.95 - Hardcover

Nagarjuna's Precious Garland: Buddhist Advice for Living and Liberation

By Nagarjuna
Translated by Jeffrey Hopkins

Treasured by Buddhists of all traditions, The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicharyavatara) is a guide to cultivating the mind of enlightenment, and to generating the qualities of love, compassion, generosity, and patience. This text has been studied, practiced, and expounded upon in an unbroken tradition for centuries, first in India, and later in Tibet. Presented in the form of a personal meditation in verse, it outlines the path of the Bodhisattvas—those who renounce the peace of individual enlightenment and vow to work for the liberation of all beings and to attain buddhahood for their sake.

This version, translated from the Tibetan, is a revision by the translators of the 1997 edition. Included are a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, a new translator's preface, a thorough introduction, a note on the translation, and three appendices of commentary by the Nyingma master Kunzang Pelden.

Paperback | eBook

$29.95 - Paperback

In Praise of Dharmadhatu: Nagarjuna and Rangjung Dorje on Buddha Nature

By Nagarjuna and Rangjung Dorje
Translated by Karl Brunnhölzl

Nāgārjuna's works sit at the heart of Mahāyāna Buddhist thought and practice, but he was renowned in Asia not only for his Madhyamaka work, but also his poetic collection of praises, most famously In Praise of Dharmadhatu. This book explores the scope, contents, and significance of Nāgārjuna’s scriptural legacy in India and Tibet, focusing primarily on this seminal work. The translation of Nāgārjuna’s hymn to buddha nature—here called dharmadhatu—shows how buddha nature is temporarily obscured in the experience of ordinary sentient beings, gradually uncovered through the path of bodhisattvas, and finally revealed in full bloom as buddhahood. Included is a translation of the text’s earliest and most extensive commentary by the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje (1284–1339), supplemented by relevant excerpts from all other available commentaries.

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The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra

Translated by Thomas Cleary

Known in Chinese as Hua-yen and in Japanese as Kegon-kyo, the Avatamsaka Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture, is held in the highest regard and studied by Buddhists of all traditions. Through its structure and symbolism, as well as through its concisely stated principles, it conveys a vast range of Buddhist teachings.

This one-volume edition contains Thomas Cleary's definitive translation of all thirty-nine books of the sutra, along with an introduction, a glossary, and Cleary's translation of Li Tongxuan's seventh-century guide to the final book, the Gandavyuha, "Entry into the Realm of Reality."

The Heirs of Atisha

From Atisha and the Kadampa masters who followed him, we have received a rich array of core lojong texts that form the basis for the commentaries and teachings we have today. Originally the lojong teachings-often just collections of short sayings-were considered secret and were not widely disseminated, but this changed with the works of two Kadampa masters in particular.

The first was Langri Thangpa (1054-1123), whose teacher, Geshe Potawa (1027-1105), was one of the three main disciples of Dromtonpa and whose succinct Eight Verses on Training the Mind continues to be widely taught-recently by His Holiness the Dalai Lama to over ten thousand people in New York's Central Park. His Holiness has taught this text on numerous occasions and has published three works on it: a section in An Introduction to Buddhism,  the audio recording Eight Verses for Training the Mind  (an mp3 download of which is expected soon), and a section in Kindness, Clarity, and Insight. Another commentary is from the late Geshe Sonam Rinchen, also called Eight Verses for Training the Mind.

An Excerpt on Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment from An Introduction to Buddhism by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Thought to be an image of Dromtonpa
Introduction to Buddhism

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An Introduction to Buddhism

By H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

There is no one more suited to introduce beginners—and remind seasoned practitioners—of the fundamentals of Tibetan Buddhism than His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Speaking to an audience of Western students, the Dalai Lama shows us how to apply basic Buddhist principles to our day-to-day lives. Starting with the very foundation of Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths, he provides the framework for understanding the Buddha’s first teachings on suffering, happiness, and peace. He follows with commentary on two of Buddhism’s most profound texts: The Eight Verses on Training the Mind and Atisha’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, often referring to the former as one of his main sources of inspiration for the practice of compassion. With clear, accessible language and the familiar sense of humor that infuses nearly all of his work, the Dalai Lama invites us all to develop innermost awareness, a proper understanding of the nature of reality, and heartfelt compassion for all beings.

This book was previously published under the title Lighting the Way.

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Kindness, Clarity, and Insight: The Fundamentals of Buddhist Thought and Practice

By H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

This beloved classic brings together in one volume all the major themes of the Dalai Lama’s teachings. Drawn from the lectures he gave during his first three visits to North America, the book covers the core subject matter of Tibetan Buddhism, as presented for the first time to an English-speaking audience. The chapters are arranged developmentally from simple to complex topics, which include the luminous nature of the mind, the four noble truths, karma, the common goals of the world’s religions, meditation, deities, and selflessness. Central to all these teachings is the necessity of compassion, which the Dalai Lama declares is “the essence of religion” and “the most precious thing there is.”

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Eight Verses for Training the Mind

By Geshe Sonam Rinchen
Edited and Translated by Ruth Sonam

How do we free ourselves from the demon of self-concern? These instructions are found in Eight Verses for Training the Mind, one of the most important texts from a genre of Tibetan spiritual writings known as lojong (literally "mind training"). The root text was written by the eleventh-century meditator Langritangpa. His Holiness the Dalai Lama refers to this work as one of the main sources of his own inspiration and includes it in his daily meditations.

The Seven Points of Mind Training

One of the earliest commentaries on Langri Thangpa's Eight Verses was by Geshe Chekawa Yeshe Dorje (1102-76), who devoted twelve years to putting the teachings into practice. After seeing the effect of the teachings on a village of lepers who were cured by them-and experiencing the teachings' remarkable effect on the mind of his unsavory brother-Chekawa decided to share them widely. He became the first to break the teachings down into the now-familiar seven points. Though this model became common, when people refer to The Seven Points of Mind Training, it is almost always Chekawa's text to which they refer (even if they call it Atisha's Seven Points of Mind Training). His text consists of fifty-nine aphorisms or slogans that encapsulate the essence of lojong.

There are many commentaries on Chekawa's text. One of the more famous is by Ngulchu Thogme Zangpo, the early fourteenth-century Kadampa master who also authored the renowned Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva. In Enlightened Courage, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche teaches on Thogme Zangpo's commentary on Chekawa's text.

The great nineteenth-century master Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye also included a commentary on Chekawa's text in his Treasury of Special Instructions. It is available in English as The Great Path of Awakening.

And there are many contemporary masters who teach on this text because it is so easy to put into practice and can have such a profound effect:

In The Practice of Lojong, Traleg Rinpoche calls the practices "a profound antidote to the victim mentality that has become so prevalent in our times. "

Ringu Tulku received his training in lojong from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and wrote Mind Training, which is a succinct presentation of the slogans.

B. Alan Wallace wrote two books on the text: Seven-Point Mind Training and his newest release, The Art of Transforming the Mind (see above).

Chogyam Trungpa based his Training the Mind on both Chekawa's text and Jamgon Kongtrul's commentary. He said that this practice of training the mind-which follows taming the mind-is an antidote to the main obstacle for Mahayana practitioners: not having enough sympathy for others and for oneself.

Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche's  The Intelligent Heart: A Guide to the Compassionate Life  is another excellent book on The Seven Points of Mind Training  with an emphasis on tonglen.

The most recent - and superb - addition is by the teaching duo Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo, Stop Biting the Tail You Are Chasing: Using Buddhist Mind Training to Free Yourself from Painful Emotional Patterns. Not only is this an excellent reminder for those with experience, it can serve as an excellent introduction to Buddhist teachings in general.  A great "starter" book but that in no way indicates its depth which is vast.

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Enlightened Courage: An Explanation of the Seven-Point Mind Training

By Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Translated by Padmakara Translation Group

Highly respected by thousands of students throughout the world, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was one of the foremost poets, scholars, philosophers, and meditation masters of our time. Here he speaks frankly, drawing on his own life experience. Condensing the compassionate path to Buddhahood into practical instructions that use the circumstances of everyday life, Rinpoche presents the Seven-Point Mind Training—the very core of the entire Tibetan Buddhist practice.

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The Great Path of Awakening: The Classic Guide to Lojong, a Tibetan Buddhist Practice for Cultivating the Heart of Compassion

By Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye
Translated by Ken McLeod

Here is a practical Buddhist guidebook that offers techniques for developing a truly compassionate heart in the midst of everyday life. For centuries, Tibetans have used fifty-nine pithy slogans—such as "A joyous state of mind is a constant support" and "Don't talk about others' shortcomings"—as a means to awaken kindness, gentleness, and compassion. While Tibetan Buddhists have long valued these slogans, recently they have become popular in the West due to such books as Start Where You Are by Pema Chödrön and Training the Mind by Chögyam Trungpa.

This edition of The Great Path of Awakening contains an accessible, newly revised translation of the slogans from the famous text The Seven Points of Mind Training. It also includes illuminating commentary from Jamgon Kongtrul that provides further instruction on how to meet every situation with intelligence and an open heart.

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The Practice of Lojong: Cultivating Compassion through Training the Mind

By Traleg Kyabgon

For many centuries Indian and Tibetan Buddhists have employed this collection of pithy, penetrating Dharma slogans to develop compassion, equanimity, lovingkindness, and joy for others. Known as the lojong—or mind-training—teachings, these slogans have been the subject of deep study, contemplation, and commentary by many great masters.

In this volume, Traleg Kyabgon offers a fresh translation of the slogans as well as in-depth new commentary of each. After living among and teaching Westerners for over twenty years, his approach is uniquely insightful into the ways that the slogans could be misunderstood or misinterpreted within our culture. Here, he presents a refreshing and clarifying view, which seeks to correct points of confusion.

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Mind Training

By Ringu Tulku

This small accessible book contains the essence of the Seven-Point Mind Training, expressed in the intimate colloquial style that distinguishes Ringu Tulku's teachings. The Seven-Point Mind Training, a lojong practice, assumes no prior special training or preparation. It does not require practitioners to enter seclusion or change the way they live their lives. It asks that they examine their relationships with all those around them and make a strong determination to become enlightened for others' sake rather than for their own. It gives instructions for tonglen breathing practice that ties the concepts of lojong to the physical act of breathing. Mind Training focuses simply on giving up, self-cherishing, and transforming self-centered thinking into compassion, egoistic feelings into altruism, desire into acceptance, and resentment into joy.

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Seven-Point Mind Training: A Tibetan Method for Cultivating Mind and Heart

By B. Alan Wallace
Edited by Zara Houshmand

In this society, with its hurly-burly pace demanding of our time, it is ever so easy to let life slip by. Looking back after ten, twenty, thirty, years—we wonder what we have really accomplished. The process of simply existing is not necessarily meaningful. And yet there is an unlimited potential for meaning and value in this human existence. The Seven-Point Mind Training is one eminently practical way of tapping into that meaning. At the heart of the Seven-Point Mind Training lies the transformation of the circumstances that life brings us, however hard as the raw material from which we create our own spiritual path. The central theme of the Seven-Point Mind Training is to make the liberating passage from the constricting solitude of self-centeredness to the warm kinship with others which occurs with the cultivation of cherishing others. This Mind Training is especially well-suited for an active life. It helps us to reexamine our relationships—to family, friends, enemies, and strangers—and gradually transform our responses to whatever life throws our way.

Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness Chogyam Trungpa

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Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness

By Chogyam Trungpa

Warning: Using this book could be hazardous to your ego! The slogans it contains are designed to awaken the heart and cultivate love and kindness toward others. They are revolutionary in that practicing them fosters abandonment of personal territory in relating to others and in understanding the world as it is.

The fifty-nine provocative slogans presented here—each with a commentary by the Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa—have been used by Tibetan Buddhists for eight centuries to help meditation students remember and focus on important principles and practices of mind training. They emphasize meeting the ordinary situations of life with intelligence and compassion under all circumstances. Slogans include, "Don't be swayed by external circumstances," "Be grateful to everyone," and "Always maintain only a joyful mind."

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The Intelligent Heart: A Guide to the Compassionate Life

By Dzigar Kongtrul
By Joseph Waxman

Compassion arises naturally when one comes to perceive the lack of solid distinction between self and other. The Buddhist practice known as tonglen—in which one consciously exchanges self for other—is a skillful method for getting to that truthful perception. In this, his commentary on the renowned Tibetan lojong (mind training) text the Seven Points of Mind Training, Dzigar Kongtrul reveals tonglen to be the true heart and essence of all mind-training practices. He shows how to train the mind in a way that infuses every moment of life with uncontrived kindness toward all.

Stop Biting the Tail You're Chasing

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Stop Biting the Tail You're Chasing: Using Buddhist Mind Training to Free Yourself from Painful Emotional Patterns

By Anyen Rinpoche
By Allison Choying Zangmo

Are emotions our friends or our enemies? Is it possible to free ourselves from emotional conflict? The Buddhist practice of lojong is a way of letting go of attachment to both “positive” and “negative” emotions and leads to profound insight and compassion, unbounded by our habitual reactions. This book provides a set of tools that you can apply in daily life to gradually relieve your own suffering and extend that relief to everyone you encounter.

Lojong Beyond the Kadampa School

While the core Kadampa lojong texts are taught throughout the Tibetan schools, some schools gave them their own unique expression. In the Sakya tradition, a core lojong teaching is Drakpa Gyaltsen's Parting from the Four Attachments. The Nyingma and Kagyu traditions have lojong built into the Ngondro practices in the form of meditations and reflections on the "Four Thoughts " and on generating bodhicitta. Khandro Rinpoche's This Precious Life provides a good example of this. Perhaps the most famous Ngondro commentary is Patrul Rinpoche's Words of My Perfect Teacher, which constantly refers back to Atisha, Dromtonba, Chekawa, Drakpa Gyaltsen, and others. Khenpo Ngwang Pelzang's Guide to the Words of My Perfect Teacherdoes the same.

However, there is a particular and very unique Nyingma presentation of lojong and that is Steps to the Great Perfection:  The Mind-Training Tradition of the Dzogchen Masters.  In this unique and masterful work, Jigme Lingpa presents mind training from the core teachings familiar in all the above works and then introduces the  Dzogchen-specific instructions.

The evolution and influence of lojong is not limited to Tibetan Buddhism. Zen teacher Norman Fischer has introduced it to his Zen and interfaith audiences in Training in Compassion, seeing that Zen practitioners can benefit from its explicit teachings in compassion-and that the lojong practitioners can also benefit from the Zen perspective.

jigme lingpa
The great master Jigme Lingpa from the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism

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Parting from the Four Attachments: A Commentary on Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen's Song of Experience on Mind Training and the View

By Chogye Trichen Rinpoche

The teaching on Parting from the Four Attachments is universally regarded as one of the jewels of Tibetan Buddhism. Rinpoche leads the reader through a detailed and lucid exploration of the nature of mind, pointing out inevitable pitfalls in spiritual practice and showing how they can be avoided.

This Precious Life

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This Precious Life: Tibetan Buddhist Teachings on the Path to Enlightenment

By Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche

Using the traditional Tibetan Buddhist framework of the Four Reminders—the preciousness of human birth, the truth of impermanence, the reality of suffering, and the inescapability of karma—Khandro Rinpoche explains why and how we could all better use this short life to pursue a spiritual path and make the world a better place. The book includes contemplative exercises that encourage us to appreciate the tremendous potential of the human body and mind.

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A Guide to The Words of My Perfect Teacher

By Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang
Translated by Padmakara Translation Group

This guide provides readers with essential background information for studying and practicing with Patrul Rinpoche's Words of My Perfect Teacher—the text that has, for more than a century, served as the reliable sourcebook to the spiritual practices common to all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. By offering chapter-by-chapter commentary on this renowned work, Khenpo Pelzang provides a fresh perspective on the role of the teacher; the stages of the path; the view of the Three Jewels; Madhyamika, the basis of transcendent wisdom; and much more.

Steps to the Great Perfection

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Steps to the Great Perfection: The Mind-Training Tradition of the Dzogchen Masters

By Jigme Lingpa
Translated by Cortland Dahl

A compilation of teachings on the seven contemplations, an ancient system of mind-training (lojong) teachings that has been preserved as part of a rare set of instructions on Dzogchen, or the Great Perfection, this book is unique because although the lojong teachings of the Kadam tradition are well known, this is the first time the mind-training teachings from the Dzogchen tradition have been presented in an English translation, and most Western scholars and practitioners are unaware that such mind-training techniques even exist in Dzogchen. The contemplations themselves are vividly described, and some unfold as dramatic stories in which the meditator imagines himself or herself as the main character. Thus, they are quite accessible for beginning practitioners.

Training in Compassion

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Training in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong

By Norman Fischer

Lojong is the Tibetan Buddhist practice that involves working with short phrases (called "slogans") as a way of generating bodhichitta, the heart and mind of enlightened compassion. Though the practice is more than a millennium old, it has become popular in the West only in the last twenty years or so—and it has become very popular indeed, because it's a practice that one can fit very well into an ordinary life, and because it works.Through the influence of Pema Chödrön, who was one of the first American Buddhist teachers to teach it extensively, the practice has moved out of its Buddhist context to affect the lives of non-Buddhists too.

It's in this spirit that Norman Fischer offers his commentary on the lojong slogans. He applies Zen wisdom to them, showing how well they fit in that related tradition, but he also sets the slogans in the context of resonant practices throughout the spiritual traditions. He shows lojong to be a wonderful method for everyone, including those who aren't otherwise interested in Buddhism, who don't have the time or inclination to meditate, or who'd just like to morph into the kind of person who's focused rather than scattered, generous rather than stingy, and kind rather than thoughtless.

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Good Karma: How to Create the Causes of Happiness and Avoid the Causes of Suffering

By Thubten Chodron

Why do things happen the way they do in our lives? How do we create the causes for a happy life? The Buddhist practice of mind training gives us the answer to these questions: it involves overcoming our self-centered attitude and replacing it with an attitude that cherishes others. This, in turn, leads us to act in ways that naturally lead away from suffering and toward happiness—in short, to create good karma. Thubten Chodron offers a commentary on one of the great Tibetan Buddhist poems, The Wheel of Sharp Weapons, which shows, clearly and practically, how to eliminate the causes of anxiety, fear, and depression and to create the causes of joyful liberation for oneself and all others.

And, of course, Pema Chodron has brought lojong teachings to a very broad audience with her book Start Where You Are, probably the most widely read book on lojong in English.

And if you love Start Where You Are, you will also love her latest,  Pema Chodron's Compassion Cards: Teachings for Awakening the Heart in Everyday Life  and The Compassion Book which is a great way to really ingrain the  lojong slogans by interacting with them ,testing yourself.  This deck includes Pema's  introduction to the practice, fifty-nine cards representing the full set of lojong teachings for daily inspiration and contemplation, a practical commentary from Pema on the reverse of each card, a card stand for easy display, and an audio download of Pema's teachings on the related practice of tonglen.

We hope you enjoy learning about the lojong tradition from some of these wonderful teachers and that they help us all to open our hearts and minds, and become more generous, flexible, and tame.

Start Where You Are

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Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living

By Pema Chodron

We all want to be fearless, joyful, and fully alive. And we all know that it’s not so easy. We’re bombarded every day with false promises of ways to make our lives better—buy this, go here, eat this, don’t do that; the list goes on and on. But Pema Chödrön shows that, until we get to the heart of who we are and really make friends with ourselves, everything we do will always be superficial. Here she offers down-to-earth guidance on how we can go beyond the fleeting attempts to “fix” our pain and, instead, to take our lives as they are as the only path to achieve what we all yearn for most deeply—to embrace rather than deny the difficulties of our lives. These teachings, framed around fifty-nine traditional Tibetan Buddhist maxims, point us directly to our own hearts and minds, such as “Always meditate on whatever provokes resentment,” “Be grateful to everyone,” and “Don’t expect applause.” By working with these slogans as everyday meditations, Start Where You Are shows how we can all develop the courage to work with our own inner pain and discover true joy, holistic well-being, and unshakeable confidence.

Compassion Cards

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Pema Chödrön's Compassion Cards: Teachings for Awakening the Heart in Everyday Life

By Pema Chodron

Let compassion and fearlessness guide you and you’ll live wisely and effectively in good times and bad. Here Pema Chödrön offers a powerful method to awaken these qualities using a practice called lojong, which has been a primary focus of her teachings and personal practice for many years. In this boxed set, she provides all the tools needed to practice it in your own life. It includes:

    • an introduction to the practice
    • fifty-nine cards representing the full set of lojong teachings for daily inspiration and contemplation
    • practical commentary from Pema on the reverse of each card
    • a card stand for easy display
    • and an audio download of Pema’s teachings on the related practice of tonglen
The Compassion Book

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The Compassion Book: Teachings for Awakening the Heart

By Pema Chodron

Let compassion and fearlessness guide you and you’ll live wisely and effectively in good times and bad. But that’s easier said than done. Here Pema Chödrön introduces a powerful, transformative method to nurture these qualities using a practice called lojong, which has been a primary focus of her teachings and personal practice for many years. This book presents fifty-nine pithy slogans from the lojong teachings for daily contemplation and includes Pema’s clear, succinct guidance on how to understand them—and how they can enrich our lives. It also features a forty-five minute downloadable audio program entitled “Opening the Heart.”

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