About His Holliness the 14th Dalai Lama

For this latest installment of our Great Masters series, we turn to a contemporary master, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, often referred to by Tibetans as Gyalwa Rinpoche or Kundun. As with previous posts, this is not intended to be a complete biography but rather a look at His Holiness's teachings through the lens of his books, mostly the two dozen books published by us, though a few others are also included here. For those looking for more in-depth a biography, His Holiness's autobiography, Freedom in Exile, is an excellent starting point.

While His Holiness is not formally the head of Tibetan Buddhism (there never was one) nor even of the Gelug tradition (that title belongs to the head of Ganden Monastery, the Ganden Tripa), he is regarded as the figurehead and ambassador of Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan people. Considered the emanation of Avalokiteshvara, he is beloved by practitioners of all the Tibetan traditions. He has taken initiations and teachings from the many branches of the Tibetan Buddhist tree and has worked tirelessly to preserve the rich set of lineages. Most importantly, His Holiness is a living example of the Buddha's teaching that through study and practice, we can all embody the sublime qualities that are to be cultivated on the path.

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama is considered the foremost Buddhist leader of our time.

About the Dalai Lama's Books

His Holiness's books in English fall into two general categories: books for general readers who may be interested in what Buddhism has to say about contemporary issues like ethics, science, how the mind works, the environment, etc., and secondly, books specifically for Buddhists on the path. This latter category can be further broken down into overviews of the Buddhist path; the bodhisattva path of the Mahayana; Tantra; and finally Dzogchen and Mahamudra

Core Teachings of the Dalai Lama series

For General Readers

The Pocket Dalai Lama, which can fit in a shirt pocket, is a sampler of His Holiness's writings across the many more secular topics he often addresses to broader audiences, including religion, happiness, democracy and human rights, forgiveness, nonviolence, and world peace.

Policy of Kindness: An Anthology of Writings by and about the Dalai Lama, published shortly after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, is an introduction to his background and daily life and his views and teachings. Currently available only as an eBook.

Pocket Dalai Lama spine

Paperback

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The Pocket Dalai Lama

One of the most influential Buddhist leaders of our time, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama is a Nobel Peace Laureate and the exiled spiritual head of the Tibetan people. A tireless teacher and writer, he is the author of dozens of widely acclaimed works, including The Art of Happiness and The Heart of Meditation—and this compact collection brings together a selection of inspiring short teachings from many of his popular books. Addressing a broad range of subjects, such as nonviolence, impermanence, religion, politics, and human rights, these wise words show the power of goodness even in the most uncertain of times.

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A Future We Can Love: How We Can Reverse the Climate Crisis with the Power of Our Hearts and Minds

While A Future We Can Love is not authored by His Holiness, it is based on a conversation between he and Greta Thunberg.  He appears throughout the book, and the audiobook includes him speaking passages that are quoted at length in the book.

A Future We Can Love shares the words of these two great figures, generations apart, bringing them into dialogue with cutting-edge climate scientists, activists, and spiritual leaders to start a world-changing conversation. Listeners embark on a four-part journey toward active hope in the face of the climate crisis: from knowledge of climate science through the capacity for change, to the will that is needed and the actions we can take.

Policy of Kindness

This book offers a comprehensive view of the Dalai Lama—both his personal life and his thoughts on issues of global concern. It provides an engaging picture of a man whose goodwill, understanding, and practicality have brought him respect from world leaders and the acclaim of millions around the world.

Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Science and Buddhist Fundamentals

The following titles are more specific on what the teachings of the Buddha and his spiritual heirs offer to humanity.

Where Buddhism Meets Neuroscience (previously published as Consciousness at the Crossroads: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Brain Science and Buddhism) records the Dalai Lama's conversations with many leading scientists who specialize in how the brain works. The Western approach of the scientific method meets the Buddhist approach of the science of experience. Questions of perception, dualism, categories of consciousness, memory, dreams, the nature of mental illness, and the mind during and after death are all explored. Discussing the difference between the brain and the mind, he states,

"Generally speaking, awareness, in the sense of our familiar, day-to-day mental processes, does not exist apart from or independent from the brain, according to the Buddhist view. But Buddhism holds that the cause of awareness is to be found in a preceding continuum of awareness from one life to another. Whence does this awareness arise initially? It must arise fundamentally not from a physical base but from a preceding continuum of awareness. "

In Answers: Discussions with Western Buddhists, His Holiness responds to a wide range of questions (from Western non-Buddhists as well!), on topics such as the idea of a creator god, how to reconcile Western physics and Buddhist teachings, Buddhism's essence versus its cultural forms, vipassana in sutra and tantra, tantric meditation, and guru devotion.

Kindness, Clarity, and Insight, one of the most widely read of His Holiness's books, includes a series of talks covering the fundamentals of Buddhism (the four noble truths, karma, the six perfections) as well as topics appropriate for a general audience, like religious values, compassion in global politics, and religious harmony. On this latter topic, he says,

"Philosophical teachings are not the end, not the aim, not what you serve. The aim is to help and benefit others. . . . If we go into the differences in philosophy and argue with and criticize each other, it is useless. . . . Better to look at the purpose of the philosophies and to see what is shared-an emphasis on love, compassion, and respect for a higher force."

Where Buddhism Meets Neuroscience

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Where Buddhism Meets Neuroscience: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on the Spiritual and Scientific Views of Our Minds

Is the mind an ephemeral side effect of the brain’s physical processes? Are there forms of consciousness so subtle that science has not yet identified them? How does consciousness happen? Organized by the Mind and Life Institute, this discussion addresses some of the most troublesome questions that have driven a wedge between Western science and religion. Read More

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Answers: Discussions with Western Buddhists 

In India, at the place where the Buddha attained enlightenment, it became a well-established tradition for the Dalai Lama to spend several days each year giving teachings to Buddhists from all over the world. Following his teachings, he held informal group discussions with Western students of Buddhism. In these lively exchanges, the Dalai Lama exhibits clear and penetrating insight into issues that are most important to Western students. Read More

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

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. Read More

In the groundbreaking Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health, the Dalai Lama discusses this range of topics with Daniel Goleman, Jon Kabat-Zin, Sharon Salzberg, and many leading scientists.

His Holiness' further ideas about the intersection of Buddhism and science, and how the former can inform the latter are captured in Gentle Bridges: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on the Sciences of Mind.

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Healing Emotions: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Psychology, Meditation, and the Mind-Body Connection

Can the mind heal the body? The Buddhist tradition says yes—and now many Western scientists are beginning to agree. These discussions between the Dalai Lama and this group of prominent physicians, psychologists, philosophers, and behaviorists shed new light on the mind-body connection. Read More

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Gentle Bridges: Conversations with the Dalai Lama on the Sciences of Mind

What is the essence of the mind? Could computers ever have consciousness? Can compassion be learned? When does consciousness enter the human embryo? These are just some of the many questions that were discussed during a historic meeting that took place between several prominent Western scientists and the Dalai Lama. Gentle Bridges is a chronicle of this extraordinary exchange of ideas. Read More

Books for Buddhists

For Buddhists, His Holiness's books fall roughly under the following categories (click to jump to each one): overviews of the Buddhist path; the Great Vehicle of the Mahayana; Tantra; Dzogchen and Mahamudra.

Lam Rim (Stages of the Path)

Several of His Holiness's books fall specifically under the category of Lam Rim teachings, or graduated stages of the path to enlightenment. Lam Rim teachings combine all the core practices of the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhist traditions as taught in unbroken succession from the Buddha down to today. The Lam Rim teachings are a corpus of teachings that began with Atisha's The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, which is itself based on the Maitreya/Asanga text the Abhisamayalamkara, or Ornament of Clear Realization, on which there is a rich body of literature in Tibetan. What many consider the most detailed of Lam Rim teachings is Tsongkhapa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment.

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Volume I

This first of three volumes covers all the practices that are prerequisite for developing the spirit of enlightenment (bodhicitta).

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Volume II

This second of three volumes covers the deeds of the bodhisattvas, as well as how to train in the six perfections.

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Volume III

This third and final volume contains a presentation of the two most important topics in the work: meditative serenity (śamatha) and supramundane insight into the nature of reality (vipaśyanā).

Refining Gold: Stages in Buddhist Contemplative Practice (previously published as The Path to Enlightenment) is His Holiness's section-by-section commentary on The Essence of Refined Gold, penned by the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso, which itself is a distillation of Tsongkhapa's Great Treatise. As with other Lam Rim texts, it covers the entire path, and while Lam Rim is typically considered specific to the Gelug tradition, as His Holiness says, "in that its source is none other than the doctrines of the Buddha as gathered and clarified by prophesied Indian masters such as Nagarjuna and Asanga, every Buddhist tradition should be able to see reflections of their own practices through the Lam Rim. "

In The Complete Foundation: The Systematic Approach to Training the Mind (previously published as The Path to Bliss: A Practical Guide to Stages of Meditation), His Holiness presents the Lam Rim of the Fourth Panchen Lama, Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen, entitled The Path to Bliss Leading to Omniscience. He gives the origin of Lam Rim teachings and then goes into the preliminary practices followed by the main meditation practices of the Lam Rim.

Another recent book on Lam Rim is From Here to Enlightenment: An Introduction to Tsong-kha-pa's Classic Text The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. This is a concise distillation of the entire work and a great starting point.  There is a very moving, short video of His Holiness explaining how precious Tsongkhapa's text is to him. This is a great way to approach this classic text, and His Holiness makes it very accessible.

Refining Gold

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Refining Gold: Stages in Buddhist Contemplative Practice

In this extensive teaching, the Dalai Lama beautifully elucidates the meaning of the path to enlightenment through his own direct spiritual advice and personal reflections. Based on a very famous Tibetan text, this teaching presents in practical terms the essential instructions for the attainment of enlightenment. Its direct approach and lucid style make Refining Gold one of the most accessible introductions to Tibetan Buddhism ever published. Read More

The Complete Foundation

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The Complete Foundation: A Systematic Approach to Training the Mind

Clear, eloquent, simple, and profound, His Holiness’s teachings are easily accessible to beginning practitioners yet richly nourishing to those more advanced in practice. In The Complete Foundation, the Dalai Lama shows how visualization, reason, and contemplation can be systematically crafted to enhance personal development. Beginning with practices designed to create an effective mental outlook, His Holiness skillfully guides the student to more advanced techniques for developing the mind’s deepest potential and happiness. Read More

From Here to Enlightenment

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From Here to Enlightenment

When the Dalai Lama was forced into exile in 1959, he could take only a few items with him. Among these cherished belongings was his copy of Tsong-kha-pa’s classic text The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. This text distills all the essential points of Tibetan Buddhism, clearly unfolding the entire Buddhist path. Read More

Multi-Theme Works

The Buddhism of Tibet  begins with a concise overview of the entire Tibetan Buddhist path from sutra to tantra. This is followed by a translation of His Holiness's text explicating the meaning of emptiness entitled The Key to the Middle Way. Supplementing these two sections is a translation of Nagarjuna's Precious Garland-a text also published as a book by Snow Lion under the same title  with more extensive background and including the Tibetan-and finally the Seventh Dalai Lama's The Song of the Four Mindfulnesses, a short poem encapsulating the essentials of both sutra and tantra.

While addressing a Western audience, the lectures contained in Our Human Potential: The Unassailable Path of Love, Compassion, and Meditation (previously published as The Dalai Lama at Harvard)  go deep into the fundamental teachings of Buddhism and its philosophy. He presents the ground of the path, covering topics such as the condition of cyclic existence, karma, emptiness, and the meditation techniques for liberation, but then he bridges these topics to the universal ideals of altruism, love for enemies, and wisdom.

Perfecting Patience: Buddhist Techniques to Overcome Anger (previously published as Healing Anger)  covers the whole Buddhist path but focuses on the specific topic of overcoming the powerful emotion of anger by cultivating patience as prescribed in Shantideva's classic text, The Way of the Bodhisattva.

The Buddhism of Tibet By H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama Translated by Jeffrey Hopkins and Anne Carolyn Klein Edited by Jeffrey Hopkins and Anne Carolyn Klein

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The Buddhism of Tibet

Unlike most books by the Dalai Lama which are edited compilations of talks that he has given, this book consists of two texts that he himself wrote and two that he chose—all especially aimed at helping Western readers become better grounded in Buddhism. He wrote "The Buddhism of Tibet" and "The Key to the Middle Way" sections to explain the principal topics and central practices of Buddhism. Read More

Our Human Potential

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Our Human Potential

(previously published under the title The Dalai Lama at Harvard)

When His Holiness the Dalai Lama gave a series of lectures at Harvard University, they fulfilled magnificently his intention of providing an in-depth introduction to Buddhist theory and practice. He structured the presentation according to the teachings of the Four Noble Truths and expanded their meaning to cover most of the topics of Tibetan Buddhism.  Read More

Perfecting Patience

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Perfecting Patience: Buddhist Techniques to Overcome Anger

All of the world’s major religions emphasize the importance of love, compassion, and tolerance. This is particularly true in the Buddhist traditions, which unanimously state that compassion and love are the foundation of all paths of practice. To cultivate the potential for compassion and love inherent within us, it is crucial to counteract their opposing forces of anger and hatred. In Perfecting Patience, the Dalai Lama shows how, through the practice of patience and tolerance, we can overcome the obstacles of anger and hatred. Read More

In the first half of An Introduction to Buddhism(previously published as Lighting the Way), His Holiness covers the Four Noble Truths and mind training, or lojong, as laid out by Kadampa master Langri Tangpa. The second half is devoted to a commentary on Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, the source text upon which the Lam Rim, or graduated stages of the path, is based. A longer commentary on this text by the late Geshe Sonam Rinchen is also available.

An Introduction to Buddhism is also is available as an audiobook:

Introduction to Buddhism

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The audio book is available on Audible and Apple and is read by the actor Roger Allam (of Endeavor and much more).

Audible
Apple

Mahayana

While many of the books above also include presentations of the Mahayana, the following are deep dives into some of the most important Mahayana texts and ones His Holiness has returned to many times in his teachings around the world.

His Holiness has frequently taught on Shantideva's Bodhicaryavatara, or Way of the Bodhisattva, sometimes translated as Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life, considered one of the most important texts of the Mahayana canon. The Dalai Lama said that Shantideva "turned his own weapons upon himself, doing battle with his negative emotions. Therefore, when we teach or listen to this text, it is important that we do so in order to progress spiritually, rather than making it simply a subject of academic study. " Having received the transmission of this text from Khunu Rinpoche, who received it from Patrul Rinpoche (whose teachings on the text were said to be accompanied by auspicious signs like the blossoming of flowers with an incredible number of petals), His Holiness has prized this text and taught it widely.

In For the Benefit of All Beings, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, who also translated one of the most popular versions of the Way of the Bodhisattva, His Holiness gives an overview and commentary on each chapter of the text, distilling the key messages on the benefits of bodhichitta, offering and purification, carefulness, attentiveness, patience, endeavor, concentration, wisdom, and dedication.

This is also available in our Pocket Series as The Bodhisattva Guide and as an audio download.

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For the Benefit of All Beings: A Commentary on The Way of the Bodhisattva

The fourteenth Dalai Lama, a living embodiment of the bodhisattva ideal, presents here detailed practical guidance based on sections of The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantideva, the best-known text of Mahayana Buddhism. The Dalai Lama explains this classic and beloved work, showing how anyone can develop a truly "good heart" and the aspiration for the enlightenment of all beings. Read More

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The Bodhisattva Guide

One of the most beloved of all Buddhist texts, The Way of the Bodhisattva is a practical guide to generating the qualities of love, compassion, generosity, and patience. In this commentary on key sections of the text, the Dalai Lama shows how any of us can develop a truly “good heart,” and why aspiring toward the happiness and enlightenment of others is central to any genuinely spiritual path. Read More

*Note: This is the small format edition of For the Benefit of Beings

Perfecting Wisdom

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The ninth chapter or "Wisdom Chapter" of the Bodhicaryavatara, is considered one of the most profound and requires deep study and practice to truly understand. In Perfecting Wisdom: How Things Appear and How They Truly Are (previously published as Transcendent Wisdom), the focus is this chapter. Here His Holiness goes deep into the subjects of the methods needed to cultivate wisdom, what identity-less-ness means, and how the notion of true existence is refuted.

Another set of texts His Holiness has taught on are the so-called Bhavanakrama ( "Stages of Meditation ") texts of Kamalashila, who composed three versions of this text in Tibet. In Stages of Meditation: The Buddhist Classic on Training the Mind, the Dalai Lama gives the fundamental teachings on how to meditate, based on the middle-length version of these texts. He also relates very moving circumstances about how he came to receive the transmission of this text from the Sakya abbot Sangye Tenzin in Bodhgaya.

On a related note, another text His Holiness frequently teaches on is the Eight Verses for Training the Mind, written by Langri Tangpa. The most common teachings on lojong, or mind training, are the Seven-Point Mind Training, by Chekawa Yeshe Dorje. Both of these texts derive from the teaching of Atisha Dipankara Shrijnana, the great Bengali master who went to Tibet and reinvigorated the traditions there. Atisha's famous Bodhipathiapradipa or A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment is discussed above.

stages of meditation

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Tantra

In the foreword to The Practice of Kalachakra, the Dalai Lama explains the importance of tantra:

"Tantric practice is more powerful than the general sutra trainings for a number of reasons. One of these is that it fully integrates the factors of method and wisdom. In the sutra path one meditates on emptiness, or the non-inherent existence of phenomena, within the framework of the compassionate aspiration to highest enlightenment. Meditation on emptiness is the factor of wisdom, and the bodhisattva aspiration is method. However, in the sutra path these two cannot be generated simultaneously within one moment's consciousness by a practitioner on ordinary levels. In the tantric path, as method one generates the mandala and deities, and then focuses on their empty nature. In this way method and wisdom arise simultaneously in the entity of one mind."

While traditionally works on this subject were kept secret and not distributed widely, the fact that there has been so much misunderstanding and misappropriation of tantra and its methods made the Dalai Lama felt that "translating and distributing an authoritative book may help to clear away the false superimpositions." The books resulting from this wish are below.

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A key element in tantric practice is guru yoga, as it acts as a foundation upon which the rest of the tantric framework is built. In The Union of Bliss and Emptiness: Teachings on the Practice of Guru Yoga,  the Dalai Lama explains this practice, using the Lama Chopa of Lobsang Chokyi Gyalsten, the Fourth Panchen Lama, as the vehicle.

great exposition

There are three books by His Holiness that form a series focused on Tsongkhapa's Great Exposition of Secret Mantra, sometimes translated as The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra, which, along with his Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, is considered by many his most important work. In this text Tsongkhapa presents the differences between sutra and tantra and the main features of various systems of tantra. Each of the three books below begins with the Dalai Lama contextualizing and commenting on the points presented in Tsongkhapa's text, followed by a translation of the corresponding part of the text itself.

In Volume 1, Tantra in Tibet, His Holiness first lays out the foundation of motivation, refuge, and the Hinayana and Mahayana paths. He then gives an overview of tantra, the notion of Clear Light, the greatness of mantra, and initiation or empowerment.

$29.95 - Paperback

Continuing his commentary in Volume II Deity Yoga, His Holiness discusses deity yoga at length with a particular focus on action and performance tantras (the first two categories of tantra as it is described in the sarma, or "new translation " schools).

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Then in Volume III Yoga Tantra the Dalai Lama details the practice of the next level of tantra, yoga tantra. With a preliminary overview of the motivation, His Holiness explains this level, which focuses on internal yoga, which here means the union of deity yoga with the wisdom of realizing emptiness. He details the yoga, both that with and that without signs, and then briefly explains how gaining stability in these practices is the foundation for some other practices that lead to mundane and extraordinary "feats."

$27.95 - Paperback

An explanation of highest yoga tantra is not included in these works, but an excellent resource is Daniel Cozort's Highest Yoga Tantra.

His Holiness, who has given the Kalachakra empowerment to hundreds of thousands of the devoted in Asia and the West, discusses the practice in From the Heart of Chenrezig, a collection of teachings on Tantra by eight of the Dalai Lamas.

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Dzogchen and Mahamudra

Dzogchen and Mahamudra are two related bodies of teachings and practices that are considered by many  to be the pinnacle of Vajrayana Buddhism.

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Mahamudra, or The Great Seal, while often associated in the West with the Kagyu school, has a rich set of traditions in the Sakya and Gelug schools as well. The latter tradition, which has both sutra- and tantra-level teachings on the subject, is revealed in The Gelug/Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra. This book is based on the text by the First Panchen Lama, Khedrup Je, entitled The Main Road of the Triumphant Ones, which is included in translation. His Holiness presents a commentary both on the root text and Khedrup Je's auto-commentary.

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The Dalai Lama has received empowerments from all the main Tibetan lineages, including, extensively, that of the Nyingma. He is a student of the late Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, who gave him extensive instruction in the practices of Dzogchen, or Great Perfection.

His Holiness has said,

As is said in an oral transmission by the great lama Jamyang Khyentse Chokyi Lodro, when the great Nyingmapa adept Longchen Rabjam gives a presentation of the ground, path, and fruit, he does so mainly from the perspective of the enlightened state of a Buddha, whereas the Sakyapa presentation is mainly from the perspective of the spiritual experience of a yogi on the path, and the Gelukpa presentation is mainly from the perspective of how phenomena appear to ordinary sentient beings. His statement appears to be worthy of considerable reflection; through it many misunderstandings can be removed.

Longchen Rabjam's view is implicitly presented in Dzogchen: The Heart Essence of the Great Perfection, in which His Holiness teaches on Patrul Rinpoche's commentary to Garab Dorje's famous Three Words That Strike the Vital Point, also using other texts such as Longchenpa's Cho Ying Dzod, or Precious Treasury of the Fundamental Nature.

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His Holiness' latest book, The Heart of Meditation: Discovering Innermost Awareness,  he teaches on Dzogchen (rendered by the translator here as the Great Completeness) simply but thoroughly, using as his reference a visionary poem by the nineteenth-century master Patrul Rinpoche to show that insight can never be separated from compassion. Through the practice, we can access our innermost awareness and live our lives in a way that acknowledges it and manifests it. The wisdom and compassion that arise from such insight are critical, His Holiness teaches, not only to individual progress in meditation but to our collective progress toward peace in the world.

We will close this Great Masters post with a quote from His Holiness included in Matthieu Ricard's anthology On the Path to Enlightenment:

"When the teachings say we need to reduce our fascination with the things of this life, it does not mean that we should abandon them completely. It means avoiding the natural tendency to go from elation to depression in reaction to life's ups and downs, jumping for joy when you have some success, or wanting to jump out the window if you do not get what you want. Being less concerned about the affairs of this life means assuming its ups and downs with a broad and stable mind."