The lineage of the reincarnated line of Dalai Lamas has held primary spiritual authority and, until recently, temporal power in Tibet since the beginning of the fifteenth century. The translations in this book represent a curated set of their writings specifically on tantra, the advanced path of Tibetan Buddhism in which practitioners use a variety of methods and techniques to directly overcome delusion and conflicting emotions. If one has the proper training in sutra and tantra, it is said that the path to enlightenment can be traversed swiftly. Glenn H. Mullin, one of the foremost translators of the Dalai Lamas, has selected key texts from eight of the Dalai Lamas that clearly elucidate the proper understanding and context of the tantric system in this lineage.
About the Author
Glenn H. Mullin is an internationally renowned Tibetologist, author, and expert on Buddhist meditation. Glenn lived in Dharamsala, India, the home of the Dalai Lama, for many years, where he studied Tibetan language, literature, yoga, and meditation under twenty-five of the greatest masters of Tibet. He is the author of over fifteen books on Buddhist topics and has led many pilgrimages to Nepal and Tibet in the last five years. He now divides his time between writing, lecturing, giving workshops, and leading pilgrimages to the power places of Central Asia.
Review
"...a wonderful array of writings by the Dalai Lamas, translated and annotated with Mullin's characteristic clarity and precision. -- Buddhadharma Magazine
"[Mullin's] work is valuable...the sections about ritual and Tibetan medicine will be informative for all. Recommended." -- Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries
...a wonderful, door-opening collection of original sources. -- Ashe Journal
From the Back Cover
Interest in Tantric Buddhism has grown tremendously in recent years, but authentic translations from classical sources remain difficult to find. The great popularity achieved by the early Dalai Lamas was due in part to the clarity and power of their tantric writings. Glenn Mullin's translations present this rich resource to a wider audience, offering a wealth of tantric materials, the most extensive such collection available in print.
Over the past five hundred years the Dalai Lamas have contributed works of vital importance to the library of tantric literature. Glenn Mullin, a translator and scholar of Tibetan texts and an acknowledged authority on the Dalai Lamas, has collected many of these writings here for the first time. His introduction situates the tantric tradition within overall Buddhist practice. The sweeping survey by the Thirteenth Dalai Lama which follows treats all the principal Tibetan Buddhist tantric systems found in all four categories of tantras.
The wonderful texts that follow include works on the powerful and profound systems of Avalokiteshvara, Kalachakra, Chakrasamvara, Hayagriva and Yamantaka, as well as other less widely-known practices such as the Six Yogas of Niguma and living on the essence of flowers. For the reader wishing to encounter Tantric Buddhism through authentic sources, this book is a must.
"It is nearly thirty years since Glenn H. Mullin first arrived in Dharamsala and began to take an interest in the works of the Dalai Lamas. I admire the persistence with which he has pursued this interest and have sometimes wondered if he has not found out more about them than even I know. Many people have told me that he reveals an ability in his books to make things Tibetan accessible and easily understood to ordinary readers."--H.H. the Dalai Lama
"...a wonderful array of writings by the Dalai Lamas, translated and annotated with Mullin's characteristic clarity and precision."--Buddhadharma
Glenn H. Mullin is an internationally renowned Tibetologist, author, and expert on Buddhist meditation. Glenn lived in Dharamsala, India, the home of the Dalai Lama, for many years, where he studied Tibetan language, literature, yoga, and meditation under twenty-five of the greatest masters of Tibet. He is the author of over fifteen books on Buddhist topics and has led many pilgrimages to Nepal and Tibet in the last five years. He now divides his time between writing, lecturing, giving workshops, and leading pilgrimages to the power places of Central Asia.