Advice from the Lotus-Born: A Collection of Padmasambhavas Advice to the Dakini Yeshe Tsogyal and Other Close Disciples

Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, is credited as being the main person who brought Buddhism to Tibet, and is also understood by Tibetan Buddhists to have been a Buddha himself.In some contexts, one approaches teachings directly at their source first, and then looks to commentaries, explanations, etc. For example, in Protestant Christianity, one is often encouraged to go straight to the New Testament and read that. Then one reads the works of theologians, biblical scholars, preachers, and so on.However, in Buddhism the approach is often the opposite. First one goes to a teacher who is a contemporary of yours. Then, having gained some confidence from that teacher, and having put into practice some of the teachings and having seen their effectiveness and practicality, one then turns to some other writings of an introductory nature. After having gained some grounding in those, one may then turn to a commentary on a root text. Then, one may read the root texts oneself. Lastly, one may turn to the sutras and words of the Buddha himself. Trying to start there, however, would not be advised -- as anyone who has tried to read the Tripitaka (the three baskets of teachings of the Buddha) or the tantras can attest!Similarly in the case of this text -- one should have a good grounding before attempting very difficult texts, and they should in all cases be read while one is studying with a lama. Otherwise, misunderstandings may occur, and these may be worse than not having encountered the text in the first place. But if one does have that grounding, what greater treasure is there than to read such wonderful texts?I write this review, and give it five stars, in part because I saw that there are already three reviews and even though each one praised the book, for some reason one of the reviews shows up as having no stars (a bug in Amazon's system, I suppose), and so the general rating of this book was only three and a half. Yet, clearly, stars cannot estimate the value of such works...

Wonderful. Having the Kindle version of this book is good, but I want the printed version so I don't need contraption to read.

Padmasambhava as most of you know was completedly enlightened. So, what a blessing it is to have access to material writen and dictated by himself. Under his immedeate counsel.This book is good for practioners of every level. But, specially for those who are midway their paths. The direct advices will cut straight through the BS still there. And for begginers I think it definitely will inspire them.This is an absolutely must have.Hope that this review will drive you to read this book and the merit you'll collect bring us all to perfect liberation.

Pith.

This is a golden book for anyone on the dzogchen path. Padmasambhava ' s teachings, written down by his consort Yeshe Tsogyal, is as important today as then - if not more.

An outstanding presentation of Guru Rinpoche's wisdom and "advice"; an absolutely essential source of wisdom for any serious practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism.

"Don't mistake mere words to be the meaning of the teachings. Mingle the practice with your own being and attain liberation right now." It really is advice, in plain English.

Another important volume, also important to remember that intent is the crux of any action. Inspiring regardless of how much the advice is put into practice, and of course, this lifetime isn't quite over yet.

Perfect!

If you find normal buddhist stuff to be too-many-words & not-enough-directness, THIS is what you've been waiting for!If, however, you like lots of explanation & background, this isn't what you've been waiting for.Sometimes you have to go digging into the Notes, at the back of the book, to discover that the translator seems to have used the *authoritative*, rather than the *clear* basis for the translation ( for instance, note 2 is of a passage where one is warned against conviction, but the alternate source warns against *distraction*, which makes much more sense, in the context... and only when one understands the sense of it meaning distraction, can "conviction" make any sense as a deeper layer of meaning: conviction in distraction, if you see what I mean. ).This book is for anyone who has good shraddha ( gnostic intuition ) &understands the Eastern assumptions enough to make-sense of a glorious dollop of raw/deep/pure truth enrobed in Eastern culture/belief/language.I've never encountered such direct "gold" before...here's a couple of quotes:"This life is crossed in a brief moment, but samsara is endless. What will you do in the next life? Also, the length of this life is not guaranteed: the time of death lies uncertain, and like a convict taken to the scaffold, you draw closer to death with each step.All beings are impermanent and die. Haven't you heard about the people who died in the past? Haven't you seen any of your relatives die? Don't you notice that we grow old? And still, rather than practicing the Dharma, you forget about past grief. Rather than dreading future misery, you ignore the suffering of the lower realms."pretty direct, eh?".. when you see other people committing evil, feel compassion for them"echoing the Excellent Jew's admonition, in essence"It is entirely possible that you will feel attachment to or aversion for certain sense objects. Give that up. When you feel attachment towards something attractive or aversion towards something repulsive, understand that to be your mind's delusion, nothing but a magical illusion.""Remember the meditation training as clearly and vividly as flowers in autumn! Like a healer, take instructions from all directions and apply them whenever they are needed! Be moderate, as when using salt on your food!Cut directly through misfortune, like a wild yak heading straight to the top of the valley! When encountering disturbing emotions, abandon them as you would your hated enemies! When their antidote, original wakefulness, has taken birth within you, protect it within your stream of being as carefully as your eyes!When clearing misconceptions and doubt through learning and reflection, serve a master with the flexibility of a young deer! Concerning worldly affairs, be as stubborn as an old bull, not allowing anyone to lead you along by the nose! When training in the four immeasurables, equalize all with the endurance of a sheep!"Those quotes should give you the tone of this works refreshing DIRECTNESS.To me, this book is my heart's bible.No other work I've dug into gives me such glorious solace, or such great interest in realizing my Soul/Mind, "the Kingdom of God, WITHIN".Some items in it are reminders to us stuck/forgetful beings, some are deeply-rooted explanations, all are "gold".There are other works containing Padmakara's/Padmasambhava's teachings, advices, etc. of course,and now I'll be digging into 'em,to discover as much of the healing salve of Guru Rinpoche's meanings, as I can...Blessings & Gnosis Realizations,( :

se tutti gli altri testi di Dharma scomparissero e rimanesse solo questo, il sentiero del Budda sarebbe Salvo. Infatti, qui si trova l'intero lamrim, dagli insegnamenti iniziali dei primi veicoli ai pinnacoli dello dzogchen - con particolare attenzione a quest'ultimo. Un vero tesoro, di valore inestimabile, a livello di Treasures from juniper Ridge.

A wonderful book with the Wisdom of Padmasambhava

Wonderful edition.