List of Illustrations xvii
Foreword by Alak Zenkar Rinpoche xix
Translator's Introduction xxi
Introduction 3

Part One: The Ordinary or Outer Preliminaries 13

Chapter One: The Difficulty of Finding the Freedoms and Advantages 17
I. The Proper Way to Listen to Spiritual Teaching 18
1. Attitude18
2. Conduct 35

II. The Teaching Itself 39
1. Reflecting on the Nature of Freedom 44
2. Reflecting on the Ten Particular Advantages Related to Dharma 47
3. Reflecting on Images That Show How Difficult It Is to Find the Freedoms and Advantages 50

Chapter Two: The Impermanence of Life 55
I. The Impermanence of the Outer Universe in which Beings Live 55

II. The Impermanence of Beings Living in the Universe 57

III. The Uncertainty of the Circumstances of Death 58

IV. Intense Awareness of Impermanence 61

Chapter Three: The Defects of Samsara 62
I. The Defects Of Samsara In General 64

II. The Particular Sufferings Experienced by the Beings of Each of the Six Realms 64

Chapter Four: Actions: The Principle of Cause and Effect 67
I. Negative Actions to Be Abandoned 74
1. Explanation of the Negative Actions to be Abandoned 74
2. Explanation of Their Effects 74

II. Positive Actions to Be Adopted 75

III. The All-Determining Quality of Actions 75

Chapter Five: The Benefits of Liberation 83

Chapter Six: How to Follow a Spiritual Friend 87
I. Examining the Teacher 87

II. Following the Teacher 89

III. Emulating the Teacher's Realization and Actions 89

Part Two: The Extraordinary or Inner Preliminaries 91

Chapter One: Taking Refuge, the Foundation Stone of All Paths 93
I. Approaches to Taking Refuge 95

II. How to Take Refuge 99

III. Precepts and Benefits of Taking Refuge 128
1. The Precepts of Taking Refuge 128
2. The Benefits of Taking Refuge 130

Chapter Two: Arousing Bodhichitta, the Root of the Great Vehicle 133
I. Training The Mind in the Four Boundless Qualities 134
1. Impartiality 137
2. Love 145
3. Compassion 148
4. Sympathetic Joy 150

II. Arousing Bodhichitta, The Mind of Supreme Enlightenment 151

III. Training in the Bodhichitta Precepts 162
1. Training in the Precepts of the Bodhichitta of Aspiration 162
2. Training in the Precepts of the Bodhichitta of Application 181

Chapter Three: Meditating on the Teacher as Vajrasattva and Reciting His Mantra so as to Cleanse All Adverse Circumstances, Negative Actions, and Obscurations 221
I. How Negative Actions Can Be Purified Through Confession 221

II. How to Confess Negative Actions 226

III. The Actual Meditation and Recitation on Vajrasattva 227

Chapter Four: Offering the Mandala to Accumulate Merit and Wisdom 233
I. The Need for the Two Accumulations 233

II. The Accomplishment Mandala 239

III. The Offering Mandala 240

Chapter Five: The Kusali's Accumulation: Destroying the Four Demons at a Single Stroke 244
I. Giving One's Body 245

II. The Meaning Of Chö 246

III. The Actual Practice of Offering the Body 249

Chapter Six: The Profound Guru Yoga, the Ultimate Method for Arousing the Wisdom of Realization in One's Mind 253
I. The Reason For Guru Yoga: A Comparison of the Role of the Teacher In the Nine Yanas 253

II. How to Practice Guru Yoga 265
1. Visualizing the Field of Merit 266
2. Offering the Seven Branches 267
3. Praying with Resolute Trust 274
4. Taking the Four Empowerments 277

Part Three: The Swift Path of Transference 281

I. The Five Kinds of Transference 282
1. Superior Transference to the Dharmakaya through the Seal of the View 282
2. Middling Transference to the Sambhogakaya through the Union of the Generation and Perfection Phases 283
3. Lower Transference to the Nirmanakaya through Immeasurable Compassion 283
4. Ordinary Transference Using Three Images 283
5. Transference Performed for the Dead 284

II. The Practice of Transference Using Three Images 284
1. Training for Transference 284
2. Actual Transference 284

Concluding Instructions 287
Prayers 289
Notes 295
Glossary 319
The Three Worlds 327
The Five Bodhisattva Paths and the Thirty-seven Elements Leading to Enlightenment 329
Comparative Glossary 331
Bibliography 341
Index 347