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Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind

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Longchenpa’s classic Buddhist manual for attaining liberation teaches us how to familiarize ourselves with our most basic nature—the clear, pristine, and aware mind. Written in the fourteenth century, this text is the first volume of Longchenpa’s Trilogy of Rest, a work of the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition. This profound and comprehensive presentation of the Buddhist view and path combines the scholastic expository method with direct pith instructions designed for yogi practitioners.

This first part of the Trilogy of Rest sets the foundation for the following two volumes: Finding Rest in Meditation, which focuses on Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice, and Finding Rest in Illusion, which focuses on post-meditation yogic conduct. The Padmakara Translation Group has provided us with a clear and fluid new translation to Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind along with selections from its autocommentary, The Great Chariot, which will serve as a genuine aid to study and meditation.

Here, we find essential instructions on the need to turn away from materialism, how to find a qualified guide, how to develop boundless compassion for all beings, along with the view of tantra and associated meditation techniques. The work culminates with pointing out the result of practice as presented from the Dzogchen perspective, providing us with all the tools necessary to traverse the Tibetan Buddhist path of finding rest. Shambhala Publications

Citation	Fletcher, Wulstan, and Helena Blankleder (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind. Volume 1 of The Trilogy of Rest. By Longchenpa (klong chen rab 'byams pa dri med 'od zer). Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2017.

Longchenpa on Buddha-Nature

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ContentsSources

• Foreword by Alak Zenkar Rinpochexiii
• Foreword by Jigme Khyentse Rinpochexv
• Translators' Introductionxix
  

• Part One: Finding Rest in the Nature of the Mind
• Prologue3
  • 1. The Freedoms and Advantages of Human Birth So Hard to Find5
  • 2. Impermanence11
  • 3. The Sufferings of Samsara17
  • 4. The Karmic Law of Cause and Effect35
  • 5. The Spiritual Master51
  • 6. Refuge67
  • 7. The Four Unbounded Attitudes75
  • 8. Cultivating the Attitude of Mind Oriented toward Enlightenment85
  • 9. The Generation and Perfection Stages and Their Union103
  • 10. The View That Dwells in Neither of the Two Extremes, the Wisdom      whereby the Nature of the Ground Is Realized115
  • 11. The Path: Stainless Meditative Concentration127
  • 12. The Three Aspects of Meditative Concentration143
  • 13. The Great, Spontaneously Present Result151
• Conclusion163

• Part Two: Excerpts from The Great Chariot
• The Mind Is the Root of All Phenomena167
• Mind, Intellect, and Consciousness171
• The Eight Consciousnesses as the Basis of Delusion175
• The Three Natures179
• The Universal Ground191
• The Universal Ground, the Eight Consciousnesses, and the State of Sleep201
• The Tathagatagarbha205
• Refuge243
• The Three Concentrations of the Generation Stage253
• The Simple Practice of the Generation and Perfection Stages257
• The Mind and the Objects That Appear to It261
• The Omniscient Longchenpa Speaks about His Realization265

• Notes269
• Texts Cited in The Great Chariot301
• Bibliography305
• The Padmakara Translation Group Translations into English309
• Index311

1. Klong chen pa. Sems nyid ngal gso and Shing rta chen po. Root text and autocommentary. Gangtok: Dodrupchen, 1975? See
2. _____. Ngal gso skor gsum gyi spyi don legs bshad rgya mtsho. Gangtok: Dodrupchen, 1975? See

Dzogchen - Dzogchen is an advanced system of meditation techniques to reveal the innate state of perfection primarily, but not exclusively, espoused by the Nyingma Buddhist tradition and the Tibetan Bön tradition. Skt. महासन्धि Tib. རྫོགས་ཆེན།

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tantra - Tantra, when juxtaposed with Sūtra, generally refers to the scriptures and texts which discuss esoteric topics. While the term is used to refer to texts on other topics, it is mostly used to refer to the genre of scriptures and texts on themes and topics associated with Vajrayāna Buddhism. Skt. तन्त्र Tib. རྒྱུད། Ch. 密宗

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