Due to the diversity in Buddhism, its essence remains a puzzle. This book investigates the Buddhist path to liberation from a practical and critical perspective by searching for patterns found in the Pāli Nikāyas and the Chinese Āgamas. The early discourses depict the Buddhist path as a network of routes leading to the same goal: liberation from suffering. This book summarizes various teachings in three aspects, provides a template theory for systematically presenting the formulas of the sequential training of the path, and analyses the differences and similarities among diverse descriptions of the path in the early Buddhist texts. By offering a comprehensive map of the Buddhist path, this book will appeal to scholars and students of Buddhist studies as well as those practitioners with a serious interest in the Buddhist path.

Second volume of a compilation of Ch'ogyam Trungpa Rinpoche's Vajradhatu Seminary teachings in three volumes.

Buddhism, with its numerous schools and teachings, can feel daunting. How can one practise Buddhism in a systematic way? Profoundly experienced in Buddhist practice, intimately familiar with its main schools, and founder of the Triratna Buddhist Community, an international movement, Sangharakshita is the ideal guide. In this highly readable, reliable and far-reaching guide, he sorts out fact from myth and theory from practice to reveal the principal ideals and teachings of Buddhism.

The Buddhist tradition has taken a new turn as its followers seek to apply the Buddhist ideals of wisdom and compassion to the social, political and environmental issues we face today. Kraft has drawn a map of these issues.

Pabongka Rinpoche was one the twentieth century's most charismatic and revered Tibetan lamas, and in Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand we can see why. In this famous twenty-four-day teaching on the lamrim, or stages of the path, Pabongka Rinpoche weaves together lively stories and quotations with frank observations and practical advice to move readers step by step along the journey to buddhahood. When his student Trijang Rinpoche first edited and published these teachings in Tibetan, an instant classic was born. The flavor and immediacy of the original Tibetan are preserved in Michael Richards' fluid and lively translation, which is now substantially revised in this new edition.

The three volumes of this extraordinary work present a complete map of the Tibetan Buddhist path from beginning to end, as taught by the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. It is based on the teachings presented at the annual three-month meditation and study retreats known as the Vajradhatu Seminaries, which he led every summer from 1973 to 1986. This remarkable material - which has never before been published - presents Trungpa Rinpoche's teaching on the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana in a way that joins the traditional concepts with contemplative understanding.