Meditation

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Topic: Meditation

Books

Book
Awakening the Sleeping Buddha
The great Karma Kagyu master, the Twelfth Tai Situ Pema Donyo Nyinje, discusses Mahayana Buddhist thought, focusing first on buddha-nature and bodhicitta.
Tai Situpa, 12th (pad+ma don yod nyin byed). Awakening the Sleeping Buddha. Edited by Lea Terhune. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1996.
Book
Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation Practice
This publication presents the academic papers presented at the 2nd International Association of Buddhist Universities Conference which took place at Mahachulalongkornraja-
vidyalaya University in Wang Noi, Ayutthaya, Thailand, in 2012. The theme of this large conference was "Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation Practice" and it brought together over 33 Buddhist studies scholars. Of particular relevance to the topic of buddha-nature is Tadeuz Skorupki's paper, "Consciousness and Luminosity in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism" (43–64).
Dhammasami, Khammai, Padmasiri de Silva, Sarah Shaw, Dion Peoples, Jamie Cresswell, and Toshiichi Endo, eds. Buddhist Philosophy and Meditation Practice: Academic Papers Presented at the 2nd IABU Conference, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, Main Campus, Wang Noi, Ayutthaya, Thailand. Ayutthaya, Thailand: Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, 2012. http://btmar.org/files/pdf/buddhist_philosophy_and_meditation_practice.pdf.
Book
Esoteric Instructions
This volume, Esoteric Instructions, deals with meditation—specifically tantric meditation. Esoteric Instructions is a collection of intimate records of personal teachings by masters that simplify tantric meditations by providing pertinent examples and very personal and helpful hints to disciples based on the master's own experience. Although originally oral in nature, they have been codified and passed down through specific lineages from teacher to student. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Harding, Sarah (Kalu Rinpoché Translation Group), trans. Esoteric Instructions: A Detailed Presentation of the Process of Meditation in Vajrayāna. Book Eight, Part Four of The Treasury of Knowledge. By Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Tayé ('jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas). Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2007.
Book
Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā
This classic Buddhist work, written in the sixteenth century, comprehensively presents the entire scope of the Tibetan Kagyu Mahāmudrā tradition. These profound yet accessible instructions focus on becoming familiar with the nature of one’s mind as the primary means to realize ultimate reality and thus attain buddhahood. Dakpo Tashi Namgyal’s manual for the view and practice of Mahāmudrā is widely considered the single most important work on the subject, systematically introducing the view and associated meditation techniques in a progressive manner. Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā, along with the Ninth Karmapa Wangchuk Dorje’s Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance, are to this day some of the most studied texts on Mahāmudrā in the Kagyu monasteries throughout Tibet and the Himalayas. Elizabeth M. Callahan, a renowned translator of classical Kagyu literature, has provided new translations of these two texts along with ancillary materials and annotations, making this a genuine resource for both scholars and students of Tibetan Buddhism. This historic contribution therefore offers the necessary tools to properly study and apply the Mahāmudrā teachings in a modern context. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Callahan, Elizabeth M., trans. Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā. By Dakpo Tashi Namgyal (dwags po bkra shis rnam rgyal). With Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance by Wangchuk Dorje (dbang phyug rdo rje), the Ninth Karmapa. Tsadra Foundation Series. Boulder, CO: Snow Lion Publications, 2019.
Book
Samdhinirmocana Sutra - L'Explication des Mysteres
Lamotte, Étienne, trans. Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra - L'Explication des Mystères. Louvain: Presses universitaires de Louvain, 1935.
Lamotte, Étienne, trans. Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra - L'Explication des Mystères. Louvain: Presses universitaires de Louvain, 1935.
Book
Silent Illumination
Our natural awakening—or buddha-nature—is inherent within all of us and waiting to be realized. Buddha-nature has the qualities of both silence and illumination, and by working with silent illumination meditation you can find your own awakening. Distinguished Chan Buddhist teacher Guo Gu introduces you to the significance and methods of this practice through in-depth explanations and guided instructions. To help establish a foundation for realizing silent illumination, he has translated twenty-five teachings from the influential master Hongzhi Zhengjue into English, accompanied by his personal commentary. This book will be an indispensable resource for meditators interested in beginning or deepening their silent illumination practice. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Gu, Guo. Silent Illumination: A Chan Buddhist Path to Natural Awakening. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2021.
Book
Soûtra du dévoilement du sens profond
The Sūtra of the Unveiling of the Profound Meaning or Saṃdhinirmocana is one of the most important sūtras of the Great Vehicle. It is considered to be the founding text of one of the two main philosophical currents of the Indian Mahâyâna, the idealist current of "Mind-Only" which developed from the 4th century onwards under the influence of Asanga and Vasubandhu. The Sūtra of the Unveiling of the Profound Meaning emphasizes the role of consciousness in the genesis of illusion and a more moderate interpretation of emptiness. But it is presented above all as a meditation manual that will inspire many Indian, Chinese and Tibetan practitioners. The meditations of tranquility (shamatha) and eminent vision (vipashyanâ) are described here with precision, in their relation to the Ten Stages that bodhisattvas must go through to attain the ultimate awakening. The translation presented in this volume was made from the Tibetan version of the 8th century. (Source: Fayard)
Cornu, Philippe. Soûtra du dévoilement du sens profond. Paris: Fayard, 2005.
Book
The Elements of Tantric Practice
Jamgön Kongtrül's Treasury of Knowledge in ten volumes is a unique encyclopedic masterpiece embodying the entire range of Buddhist teachings as they were presented in Tibet. Tibetan Buddhist teachers expected their students to study Buddhist philosophical texts as well as practice reflection and meditation; present-day students have also realized that awakening has its source in study as well as in reflection and practice. The Elements of Tantric Practice sets forth the essential components of the path of highest yoga tantra, a system of meditation that unites wisdom and compassion in its two phases of practice. The first phase, that of creation, relies primarily on the use of the imagination to effect personal transformation. The phase of completion allows the practitioner to perfect the process of transformation by training in methods that manipulate the energies and constituents of the mind and body. The result of this path is the direct experience of the fundamental nature of mind and phenomena. The Elements of Tantric Practice concerns the meditative processes of the inner system of secret mantra—that of highest yoga tantra—and is based primarily on tantric sources. The author introduces the subject by describing the path of tantra and its underlying principles. The main body of the book deals with two major elements essential to all highest yoga tantras: the practice of the creation phase and that of the completion phase. For the first phase, Kongtrül describes the visualization sequences in which ordinary perceptions are transformed into the forms of awakening and explains how these practices purify the stages of cyclic existence—life, death, and rebirth. The creation phase prepares the practitioner for the techniques of the completion phase, which entail focusing directly on the channels, winds, and vital essences that form the subtle body. Kongtrül presents the key elements of a variety of tantras, including the Guhyasamaja and Yamari, belonging to the class of father tantras and the Kalachakra Hevajra Chakrasamvara Mahamaya Buddhakapala and Tara mother tantras. All these tantras share a common goal: to make manifest the pristine awareness that is the union of emptiness and bliss. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Guarisco, Elio, and Ingrid McLeod (Kalu Rinpoché Translation Group), trans. The Elements of Tantric Practice: A General Exposition of the Process of Meditation in the Indestructible Way of Secret Mantra. Book Eight, Part Three of The Treasury of Knowledge. By Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé ('jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas). Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2008.
Book
Unraveling the Intent: Saṃdhinirmocana (Forgues, G.)
Translation of the Saṃdhinirmocana sutra
Forgues, Gregory, trans. Unraveling the Intent: Saṃdhinirmocana, v 1.0.0. 84000.co, 2020. https://read.84000.co/translation/toh106.html.

Articles

Article
Four Steps to Magical Powers
Before you fully embark on the path of the bodhisattvas and buddhas, says Chan master Sheng Yen, you must first practice the four steps to magical powers. What are these steps and what are the magical powers you need?
Sheng-Yen. "Four Steps to Magical Powers." Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly. (July 13, 2018).,Sheng-Yen. "Four Steps to Magical Powers." Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly. (July 13, 2018).
Article
Is Mindfulness Buddhist? (and Why It Matters)
Modern exponents of mindfulness meditation promote the therapeutic effects of “bare attention”—a sort of non-judgmental, non-discursive attending to the moment-to-moment flow of consciousness. This approach to Buddhist meditation can be traced to Burmese Buddhist reform movements of the first half of the 20th century, and is arguably at odds with more traditional Theravāda Buddhist doctrine and meditative practices. But the cultivation of present-centered awareness is not without precedent in Buddhist history; similar innovations arose in medieval Chinese Zen (Chan) and Tibetan Dzogchen. These movements have several things in common. In each case the reforms were, in part, attempts to render Buddhist practice and insight accessible to laypersons unfamiliar with Buddhist philosophy and/or unwilling to adopt a renunciatory lifestyle. In addition, these movements all promised astonishingly quick results. And finally, the innovations in practice were met with suspicion and criticism from traditional Buddhist quarters. Those interested in the therapeutic effects of mindfulness and bare attention are often not aware of the existence, much less the content, of the controversies surrounding these practices in Asian Buddhist history.
Sharf, Robert H. "Is Mindfulness Buddhist? (and Why It Matters)." Transcultural Psychiatry 52, no. 4 (2014): 470–84. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8gm9g5ss
Article
Luminous Clarity and the Completion Phase of Union
Chapter 12 of The Treasury of Knowledge Book Eight, Part Three: The Elements of Tantric Practice, by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé
Guarisco, Elio, and Ingrid McLeod (Kalu Rinpoché Translation Group), trans. "Luminous Clarity and the Completion Phase of Union." Chapt. 12 in The Elements of Tantric Practice: A General Exposition of the Process of Meditation in the Indestructible Way of Secret Mantra, edited by Ingrid McLeod. Book Eight, Part Three of The Treasury of Knowledge. By Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé ('jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas). Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2008.
Article
Reading the Writing on the Wall: "Sengchou's" Cave at Xiaonanhai, Early Chinese Buddhist Meditation, and Unique Portions of *Dharmakṣema's Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra
The Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra (particularly in the version entitled Da banniepan jing 大般涅槃經 T374, translated by *Dharmakṣema ca. 421-432) features centrally in the textual and iconographic programme of a remarkable cave at Xiaonanhai 小南海 in northern Henan 河南, which was rediscovered in the 1980s. The cave has close connections with Sengchou 僧稠 (480-560), a famous meditator, and one of the leading clerics in Northern China in the sixth century. This paper argues for a new interpretation of the programme of the cave, and considers what it allows us to see about religious life and practice in Sengchou's time. An appendix examines implications of the textual material featured at the cave for the nature and provenance of the bulky portions of Dharmakṣema's version of the Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra that are unparalleled in our other three main independent witnesses. (Source: Peeters Online Journals)
Radich, Michael. "Reading the Writing on the Wall: 'Sengchou's' Cave at Xiaonanhai, Early Chinese Buddhist Meditation, and Unique Portions of *Dharmakṣema's Mahāparinirvāṇamahāsūtra." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 42 (2019): 515–632.
Article
Rest in the Sky of Natural Mind
The tantric path of Buddhism is complex and arduous, but its surprising culmination is the practice of spaciousness, ease, and simplicity known as Dzogchen, the Great Perfection.
Mingyur, Yongey. “Rest in the Sky of Natural Mind.” Lion's Roar, July 1, 2007. https://www.lionsroar.com/rest-in-the-sky-of-natural-mind/.
Article
The Dust Contemplation: A Study and Translation of a Newly Discovered Chinese Yogācāra Meditation Treatise from the Haneda Dunhuang Manuscripts of the Kyo-U Library
In this article I introduce a previously unknown, late seventh-century (as I shall argue) Buddhist text from this collection: Hane[da] manuscript no. 598, a single scroll bearing at its conclusion the title "Method for the Contemplation of Dust4 as Empty" (Chen kong guan men).5 The Dust Contemplation, as I will call it, is a unique and surprisingly concrete set of instructions for the practice of Buddhist meditation based on the doctrines and technical vocabulary of the early Chinese Yogācāra tradition, particularly (but not exclusively) those often linked by modern scholars to the so-called Shelun commentarial tradition (Shelunzong), which drew primary inspiration from the Yogācāra scriptures translated by Paramārtha (Zhendi; 499–569) and which flourished during the late sixth and early seventh centuries.6
Greene, Eric M. "The Dust Contemplation: A Study and Translation of a Newly Discovered Chinese Yogācāra Meditation Treatise from the Haneda Dunhuang Manuscripts of the Kyo-U Library." The Eastern Buddhist 48, no. 2 (2020): 1–50.
Article
The Lamp of Zazen
The point of zazen, says Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, is to live each moment in complete combustion, like a clean-burning kerosene lamp. In this talk at the Tassajara sesshin in the summer of 1969, the great Zen master explains Dogen’s teaching on practicing within imperfection and warns against the arrogance of the false self.
Suzuki, Shunryu. "The Lamp of Zazen." Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, June, 1, 2006.
Article
This Is My Mind, Luminous and Empty
According to Vajrayana Buddhism, the fast track to awakening is to look directly at your own mind and discover its true nature. Tsoknyi Rinpoche shows us how to experience two of mind’s most profound qualities.
Tsoknyi Rinpoche. "This Is My Mind, Luminous and Empty." Lion's Roar, March 20, 2012.

Interviews

Interview
Interview with Venerable Dhammadipa
In this interview during a Salon Tibétain event on January 30, 2019 at the Tsadra Foundation in Boulder, Venerable Dhammadipa discusses a variety of topics but especially the Yogacāra tradition and its primary texts.

Multimedia

Video
On Yogachara, Shamatha and Vipashyana Meditation, and Tathāgatagarbha as Skillful Means by Venerable Dhammadipa
Venerable Dhammadipa discusses the Yogachara tradition and some of its main texts, touching upon the importance of Shamatha and Vipashyana meditation.
Thero, Ven. Dhammadipa. "On Yogachara, Shamatha and Vipashyana Meditation, and Tathāgatagarbha as Skillful Means." Interview by Marcus Perman. Salon Tibétain, Tsadra Foundation, Boulder, CO, Jan 30, 2019. Video, 3:22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl18UDkaB-4.
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