Great Masters Guides

This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series or simply explore from here. The Works of Zen in the Tang Dynasty Shakyamuni Emerging from the Mountains China, Zen in the Song dynasty Image from the Cleveland Museum of Art Explore...
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This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series or simply explore from here. The Samurai and Zen Samurai and Zen: The Third Matsumoto Koshiro as a Samurai Standing1769 or 1770 From the Met Explore Zen Buddhism: A Reader's Guide to...
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This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series or simply explore from here. Dogen: A Guide to His Work Dogen, from the cover of Essential Dogen. Explore Zen Buddhism: A Reader's Guide to the Great Works Overview Zen Buddhism: A...
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This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series or simply explore from here. Early Zen in Japan Three Poems from the “Later Collection of Japanese Poems” (Gosen wakashū), or “Shirakawa Fragment” (Shirakawa-gire) late 12th century, early Zen in Japan. Traditionally...
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This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series or simply explore from here. The Works of the Chan and Zen Patriarchs Hear a description of this statue of the First Patriarch Bodhidharma from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://images.metmuseum.org/CRDImages/as/audio/5TH-7436-ENG-42547-1.mp3 Explore...
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This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series or simply explore from here. The Tang Dynasty (618–907) is considered the zenith of Chinese history and culture, often referred to as a "Golden Age." And Chan was woven very deeply into...
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This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series or simply explore from here. The Seon Tradition of Zen in Korea Portrait of the Great Master Seosan From the Met Explore Zen Buddhism: A Reader's Guide to the Great Works Overview...
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This is part of a series of articles on the arc of Zen thought, practice, and history, as presented in The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World. You can start at the beginning of this series or simply explore from here. Ten Verses on Oxherding, included in many gongan or koan collections. From the the Met Explore Zen Buddhism: A Reader's Guide to the Great Works Overview Zen...
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There have been surprisingly few clear introductions to the full range of the East Asian tradition of what is popularly commonly referred to, in its Japanese variant, as Zen Buddhism but also known as Chan, Soen, and Tien in original Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. All these names stem from the Sanskrit word jhana or dhyana which was rendered as Chan, but all share a fundamental set of practices and views, though with a stunning variety of creativity and approaches. In...
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The Treasury of Precious Instructions Learn More The eighteen volumes of the Treasury of Precious Instructions or Dam-ngak Rinpoché Dzö by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye, one of Tibet’s greatest Buddhist masters, is a shining jewel of Tibetan literature Palpung Monastery, Tibet Explore the Treasury of Precious Instructions Page Navigation Menu Home Page of the Treasury History of the Treasury of Precious Instructions The Books: Overviews of Each Volume Jamgön Kongtrul's Descriptive Catalog (Karchag) Video Series (for the Treasury of Precious...
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Chan Master Sheng Yen (1930–2009) was a widely respected Taiwanese Chan (Chinese Zen) master who taught extensively in the West during the last thirty-one years of his life. He had numerous teaching centers throughout North America, as well throughout the world. He co-led retreats with the Dalai Lama, and he is the author of numerous books in Chinese and English, including Song of Mind, The Method of No-Method, and his autobiography, Footprints in the Snow. This reader’s guide offers a...
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In the eleventh century, the great Tibetan scholar-practitioner Gampopa (1079–1153) began his composition known as The Jewel Ornament of Liberation with an exposition on the cause for awakening. What is the cause for awakening? In the Vajrayana and third turning traditions of Buddhism it is buddha nature. Buddha nature is our innate potential for awakening and the root of many Buddhist paths. Zen, Yogacara, and all Tibetan traditions of Buddhism teach that the goal of enlightenment is not some distant...
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See More: Lives of the Masters Series | Atisha | Rangjung Dorje | Aryadeva | Jamgon Kongtrul | Jigme Lingpa | Patrul Rinpoche | Mipham Rinpoche The Life of Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa (1357-1419) Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa (1357–1419), was one of the most important figures in Tibet, historically and philosophically. As the founder of the Gelug school he made an enormous contribution to revitalizing Buddhism in Tibet. Regarded as an emanation of Manjushri--the bodhisattva of wisdom and discerning intelligence, Tsongkhapa was of...
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Chögyam Trungpa's legacy is nearly impossible to measure, but one gauge is his literary output. Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s impact on the transmission of Buddhism to the West cannot be overstated. In the quarter century he spent in the West, he taught tens of thousands of students, in many cases introducing them to Buddhism for the first time. His legacy is nearly impossible to measure, but one gauge is his literary output. Shambhala has published about three dozen unique books by,...
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See also our Reader Guide to Milarepa. Milarepa, the famous Tibetan yogi, lives on through his joyous, instructional songs and poetry. Both the new translation of The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, from Christopher Stagg, and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s exploration of his life in Milarepa: Lessons from the Life & Songs of Tibet's Great Yogi bring new light to the resonance Milarepa’s story still carries centuries later. Milarepa is remembered for his remarkable determination and personal growth. His inspiring story traces the very familiar, human progression from confusion...
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Jigten Sumgon, from The Buddhist Art Coloring Book 2 What follows is a guide to some of our books and other resources available on Shambhala.com that relate to the Drikung Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The Drikung lineage comes from Marpa, Milarepa, and Gampopa through Phagmo Drupa and Jigten Sumgön, who is considered the root of the tradition. His most famous work, the Gongchik, or “Single Intention,” is a collection of profound statements summarizing the entirety of the Buddhist path for which...
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Sakyasribhadra: A Reader’s Guide to the 12th Century Kashmiri Pandita
Image from HAR Sakyasribhadra, also known as Sakyasri or Khache Panchen, was an important Kashmiri pandita in the 12th and early 13th centuries who came to Tibet. His full biography is on the Treasury of Lives site. He has a connection with many of the lineages in Tibet extant during his visit. He is well known in the Sakya tradtion for being one of Sakya Pandita's teachers. Together they translated Dharmakirti's Pramanavarttika which Saypan then taught extensively. As described in...
The family here at Shambhala Publications is deeply saddened by the loss of the incredible master, teacher, and author Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche, who passed away in Australia at 12:10 a.m. on July 24, 2012, the Fourth Day of the Sixth Month of the Tibetan calendar in the Year of the Dragon. Rinpoche was a close friend and teacher of some of us and his breadth and depth of knowledge and experience on the path to enlightenment was tremendous. We will...
Continue Reading >> "At 12:10 am on July 24, Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche passed into parinirvana. His death was not only a deep shock, but a truly tragic loss to the world of spirituality in general and Buddhism in particular-well, actually a tragic loss to the world, period. Traleg was one of what can truly be called a genuine Kosmopolitan-a truly universal human who had a deep understanding not only of Eastern culture and practices, but a genuinely profound grasp of the West and...
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Image from http://www.rigpashedra.org/ His Holiness the Dalai Lama has often said that Tibetan Buddhism is none other than the Buddhism of India in the tradition of Nalanda, the great center of Buddhist learning that was located in present-day Bihar, India. Many of the greatest masters and scholars in Indian Buddhism resided-and often presided-at this monastic center of learning which in its heyday included thousands of monks, dozens of temples and an enormous library. While we do not know with...
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The following is an account of the discovery and recognition of the Seventeenth Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje, excerpted from The History of the Karmapas: The Odyssey of the Tibetan Masters with the Black Crown The Last Testament Most of his previous reincarnations left behind a Last Testament giving indications of their rebirth. But in 1981, when the sixteenth Karmapa died, no one was able to find a Last Testament. For nine long years everyone searched, hoping for a sign that...
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Mahayana Buddhist philosophy This article for the Great Masters Series focuses on Aryadeva, the second of what His Holiness the Dalai Lama refers to as the Seventeen Pandits of Nalanda, whose works form the foundation for Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. Birth and Training While early biographies vary in detail and timing, traditional accounts such as those by Taranatha, Butön in his History of Buddhism, and Chandrakirti identify Aryadeva as being born in Sri Lanka in a royal family in the late...
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Normalcy at Its Best: An Interview with David Chadwick, Biographer of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Shambhala: Your teacher Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has now been in print for more than forty years, and is still often recommended as the best first book to read about Zen practice. Why do you think its popularity has endured throughout the explosion of Buddhist publishing the last few years? David Chadwick: Hard to say. It's just got a unique chemistry that has worked in many ways for many people. ZMBM can be a warm, inviting introduction to...
The great, perhaps the greatest living yoga master, B.K.S. Iyengar died today in Pune, India, at the delightfully advanced age of 95. There will be many public tributes and even more private tributes as his innumerable devoted students honor his legacy. In memoriam, we offer Iyengar in his own words, from his classic work, The Tree of Yoga: "Death is unimportant to a yogi; he does not mind when he is going to die. What happens after death is immaterial...
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From Butön's History of Buddhism in India and Its Spread to Tibet Four hundred years after the Buddha passed away, in the southern country of Vidarbha, there lived a prosperous Brahmin who was childless. In a dream, gods foretold that if he invited one hundred Brahmins to a religious festival, a son would be born to him. He did as he was told, made prayers, and ten months later a son was born. When he showed the child's distinguishing marks...
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by Nikko Odiseos The text with the Sanskrit title Bodhicharyavatara (shortened from the longer Bodhisattvacharyavatara) - usually known in English as either The Way of the Bodhisattva or A Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life - is by far the best-known work attributed to the eighth-century Indian monk Shantideva. It would be impossible to adequately summarize its importance and impact in this small space, but what follows is a brief account of the origin of this classic that...
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