People/Callahan, E.

Elizabeth Callahan

Elizabeth Callahan began her contemplative training and study in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism in 1977 and completed two three-year retreats at Kagyu Thubten Chöling, New York, under the direction of Kalu Rinpoche. She is a student of Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche and has translated key texts of the Kagyu tradition, including Mahamudra: Ocean of Definitive Meaning, Profound Inner Principles (2015), Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā (2019), and, most recently, The Treasury of Precious Instructions: Marpa Kagyu, Part One (2023) and Part Two (2026-7). She has been a Tsadra Foundation Fellow since 2002 and is a director of Marpa Foundation.

Current Projects as a Tsadra Foundation Fellow:

• The Treasury of Precious Instructions: Essential Teachings of the Eight Practice Lineages of the Tibetan Buddhism, Vol. 9 & 10 – Marpa Kagyu Tradition, various authors collected by Jamgön Kongtrul.

Completed Projects as a Tsadra Foundation Fellow:

• Marpa Kagyu: Methods of Liberation - Part 2. DNZ Volume 8. The Treasury of Precious Instructions: Essential Teachings of the Eight Practice Lineages of the Tibetan Buddhism, Vol. 8 – Various authors collected by Jamgön Kongtrul. (2026 or 2027)
• Marpa Kagyu: Methods of Liberation - Part 1. DNZ Volume 7. The Treasury of Precious Instructions: Essential Teachings of the Eight Practice Lineages of the Tibetan Buddhism, Vol. 7 – Various authors collected by Jamgön Kongtrul. (Shambhala, 2023)
• Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā, Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, with Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance by Wangchuk Dorje, the Ninth Karmapa. (Shambhala, 2019)
• The Profound Inner Principles, Karmapa Rangjung Dorje, with commentary by Jamgön Kongtrul. (Shambhala, 2015)
• The Treasury of Knowledge: Book VI, Part 3; Frameworks of Buddhist Philosophy, Jamgön Kongtrul. (Shambhala, 2007)

Previously Published Translations:

• Mahamudra: Ocean of Definitive Meaning, the Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje Source: Tsadra.org

Affiliations & relations

• Tsadra Foundation · workplace affiliation
• Director of Study Scholarships · workplace affiliation
• Marpa Foundation · secondary affiliation
• Tsadra Advisory Board Member · secondary affiliation
• Kagyu · religious affiliation
• Tibetan Buddhism · religious affiliation
• Gyamtso, Khenpo Tsultrim · teacher
• http://www.tsadra.org/translators/elizabeth-callahan/ · websites

Kagyu - The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa. Tib. བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་

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Mahāmudrā - Mahāmudrā refers to an advanced meditation tradition in Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna forms of Into-Tibetan Buddhism that is focused on the realization of the empty and luminous nature of the mind. It also refers to the resultant state of buddhahood attained through such meditation practice. In Tibet, this tradition is particularly associated with the Kagyu school, although all other schools also profess this tradition. The term also appears as part of the four seals, alongside dharmamūdra, samayamudrā, and karmamudrā. Skt. महामुद्रा Tib. ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ།

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DNZ - The Treasury of Precious Instructions Cataloging Project: Tsadra Foundation's Treasury of Precious Instructions cataloging project includes the full text of all eighteen volumes of the Shechen Publications edition of Jamgon Kongtrul's gdams ngag rin po che'i mdzod. http://dnz.tsadra.org/

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