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Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā

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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)

Citation	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.

Table of Contents About the Book Texts Translated Quotes

Outlines of Texts ix Foreword by His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa xxiii Foreword by Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche xxv Translator’s Introduction xxix An Abbreviated Biography of Dakpo Tashi Namgyal lxv Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā Introduction 3 Part One: Common Samādhis 13 1. Śamatha and Vipaśyanā 15 2. Śamatha 47 3. Vipaśyanā 63 4. Removing Doubts 87 Part Two: Uncommon Mahāmudrā 111 5. Generating Confidence 113 6. Preliminaries 149 7. Mahāmudrā Approaches 175 8. Śamatha 179 9. Vipaśyanā 215 10. Pointing-Out Instructions 259 11. Sustaining Mahāmudrā 305 12. Eliminating Deviations and Strayings 355 13. Enhancement 381 14. Realization and the Four Yogas 421

15. The Four Yogas in Detail 447 Colophon 485 Mahāmudrā: Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance Introduction 491 1. Preliminaries 493 2. Main Practices 501 Śamatha 501 Vipaśyanā 508 3. Conclusion 523 Abbreviations 537 Notes 539 Glossary 635 Glossary of Enumerations 643 Translation Equivalents 657 Tibetan Transliterations 683 Bibliography 693

Index 729

1. Dwags po bkra shis rnam rgyal. Phyag chen zla ba'i 'od zer, (Nges don phyag rgya chen po'i sgom rim gsal bar byed pa legs bshad zla ba'i 'od zer). Rigpe Dorje Study Series, Vol. 21. Darjeeling: Rigpe Dorje Publications, 2015. Download text at Timeless Treasuries
2. Karmapa, 9th, (Dbang phyug rdo rje). Phyag rgya chen po ma rig mun sel. Swayambhu: Karma Leksheyling, 2012. Electronic Edition.