Reddit mentions: The best tibetan buddhism books

Sure thing!

tl;dr Tibetan Buddhism is complex and it helps to have context before reading the books I've linked at the bottom. Also Twin Peaks is great.

I’m not sure how familiar you are with the general principles/history of early Buddhisms across Asia, but it’ll be helpful to have some context. Before you even dive into a book, there are loads of resources online to help you begin to understand the philosophy, and by extension, the practices of all Buddhisms. I find that having a frame of reference of other traditions helps place the Tibetan schools in context, giving you an enriched understanding.

First, read up on the differences on the “Vehicles” in Buddhism - the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Understanding these will provide the framework to understand the various philosophies and practices you’ll inevitably encounter.

Much like the Catholic tradition, there have been several councils of Buddhist philosophers and teachers who gathered to make some kind of assertive statement about what the dharma is and means. The first council began shortly after Gautama Buddha’s death and they kept evolving through the years both in representation and thought. As the distinctions in practice and interpretations of the teachings emerged, so too did varying traditions.

Hinayana Buddhism is what you see in Shri Lanka, which sticks very near the ribs of the original teachings of Gautama Buddha. The foundations of Mahayana Buddhism began, arguably, with Gautama Buddha’s Flower Sermon (which is absolutely beautiful) and gave rise to traditions like Soto, Chan (Zen), etc. Tibetan Buddhism is in the Vajrayana vehicle, and is actually considered an extension of Mahayana. My teacher looks at our tradition as both requiring and encompassing the Hinayana and Mahayana elements of practice to thrive.

Feel free to check out more on r/Buddhism, but it tends to be a lot of fluff. You can also check out r/vajrayana, but it tends to be more technical. If you’re interested in Zen, r/zen is probably one of the more contentious subs on reddit, but I like how crazy it is so I am a regular contributor there.

Back to the big picture here, the main distinction between Tibetan Buddhism and the rest of Mahayana is the use of tantras or secret mantra. Get ready for some potentially new terms. Although there are some other schools outside of Tibet that do practice tantra, such as the Japanese Shingon and Tendai schools, Vajrayana Buddhism considers itself Mahayana Buddhism with a richer treasury of skillful means than the "common Mahayana" schools. That is a gross oversimplification, but hopefully you get the gist. Actually, nearly all major branches of Buddhism have used tantras at some point or another, but what that looks like in their cultural and particular spiritual tradition’s context varies.

Anyway, Tibetan Buddhism descended from medieval Indian Buddhism later than when Buddhism left India for China and Sri Lanka. In India, the Madhyamaka and Yogacara schools eventually came about, which carefully explained the view taught by the Buddha in the Mahayana sutras. The pandita style of the Tibetan schools to this day places a strong emphasis on studying Madhyamaka and Yogacara shastras and commentaries.

There are shamanistic elements of the Tibetan traditions of Bön (opposed to the spiritual tradition of Yungdrung Bön) incorporated in Tibetan Buddhism, but this is a common thing everywhere: in Thai Buddhist temples you'll find shrines to local protective deities and Hindu gods and the same goes for Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. This does not affect the more central Vajrayana methods such as the Yidam practices though. Besides, you also find Vajrayana in China and Japan, and previously in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and of course earliest in India.

Tantra is a complicated subject although you can naively think of it as a category of teachings that emphasize how one can come into contact with, recognize, and accomplish the Mahayana doctrines of Shunyata (emptiness) and Tathagatagarbha (Buddha nature). Tantric teachings are said to be much swifter than common Mahayana, and can lead to Buddhahood in a short number of lifetimes, or even in this very life. Whereas in the common Mahayana sutra teachings, it takes three incalulable eons to become a Buddha.

The Nyingma school is the old school of Tibetan Buddhism, and it has a distinct transmission of tantra that came from the land of Oddiyana. King Ja discovered the first tantras in 853 B.C. I forget when the Nyingma school dates Shakyamuni Buddha, but it should be after this date. Sometime around the 8th century, King Trisong Deutsen of Tibet requested Shantarakshita and Padmasambhava to bring Buddhism to Tibet. Shantarakshita was an Indian Buddhist monk, the abbot of Nalanda University. He was the prime figure in establishing the Yogacara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka school, which assimilated both Madhyamaka and Yogacara philosophy. Padmasambhava was the great Lotus-Born Guru, the second Buddha who brought tantra from the land of Oddiyana to Tibet.

The Nyingma tantras teach something called Dzogchen, which is an entire subject in itself. The Nyingma school is really diverse and is not exactly a school in the sense of a clearly defined clerical establishment. 'Nyingma' is more of an umbrella term for all of the old traditions of Buddhism in Tibet and there are six major monastic traditions that are the most prominent. There is now a head of the Nyingma school, but it is more of an iconic position of solidarity that has only existed since the Tibetans went into exile.

The Sarma (New) schools of Tibetan Buddhism are a little different. They also descended from medieval Indian Buddhism, although a few hundred years later.They generally do not practice the tantras from Oddiyana and only practice the ones originating from India in the traditional locations. The Sarma schools have a practice called Mahamudra, which may be seen as rougly analogous to Dzogchen.

As far as Zen-style “meditation” goes, the Kagyu school is probably the only school that would offer something like that. The other schools tend to focus on sadhana practice. Sadhana practice in the Tibetan schools mainly comes from the Highest Yoga Tantras. Highest Yoga Tantras include practices of the two stages: Generation and Completion Stage. It also includes the Dzogchen or Mahamudra teachings. These kinds of practices usually involve things like: mantra, mudra, deity visualization, vajra and bell, musical instruments, dance, etc. Each individual's path will be different, but in general, most Tibetan Buddhist practitioners will focus on this category of practice, which is distinct from East Asian Mahayana Buddhism.

That’s a very broad strokes contextual explanation and I hope it’s helpful. If you really want to dig in and read a book, there are some excellent works out there that get to the essence of what I think Tibetan Buddhism is trying to communicate - a rich, sensorial experience of your own life in a full state of wakefulness. Imagine if the next drink of water you took was so fulfilling that you had the subtle and emotional sense that you’d never need another thing in your entire life. That kind of equanimity doesn’t operate in a vacuum in Tibetan Buddhism though. We regularly deal directly with strong emotions and psychological states that cause us all to suffer, rather than using meditation as a form of escape. Everything in your life can be used as a vehicle to wake up.

Uma Thurman’s dad, Robert, is a wonderful scholar and practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism and he wrote a book called The Jewel Tree of Tibet: The Enlightenment Engine of Tibetan Buddhism. My teacher wrote one called Turning The Mind Into An Ally. Although it doesn’t explicitly deal with Tibetan philosophy so much as it does the practical application of Tibetan practices in contemporary life.

Again, I find it kind of hilarious that this topic is getting fleshed out in the Twin Peaks sub, but I'm glad it is. lol.

One of the lamas I studied with once joked, in an unguarded moment, "Monks have a lot of time on their hands. They like to make things complicated." I share your desire to cut through all the complexity to the heart of the matter (which is the title of a very short book you might like).

But you know that you can't just pick it up from a book, right? Traditionally in Tibet you wouldn't even try to read a book until you had been given the reading transmission ("lung") by a lama. (Not to mention the "wang" - empowerment for the practice - and "tri" - verbal instruction - for practices)

The late great Lama Tharchin once said lineage is like electrical wires. Our devotion upwards to an enlightened being is like one wire we pick up. Our compassion downwards towards suffering sentient beings is the other wire. When we pick up both these wires we complete the circuit and the compassion of all the enlightened beings flows through us to suffering beings and lights up our practice.

All Vajrayana practices - every single one - begins with devotion (refuge) and compassion (bodhichitta) because of this. There's a great short piece by Tulku Urgyen you should read. It's not some cold calculating meditation technique. It's powered by love, which is what stops the mind. "Once we have a heavy investment in taking refuge and generating bodhichitta, we have the capital to be able to do the business of the higher practices and gain the profit of the development stage, the completion stage, and the three great practices - Mahamudra, Dzogchen, and Madhyamika. Without the capital, we won't be able to do any business at all. Devotion and compassion are the basic capital for Buddhist practice."

So are we clear that you need to find a flesh-and-blood lama to study with, and that devotion and compassion come first? Then I'll suggest some other stuff you might find interesting...

Dudjom Rinpoche on Dzogchen:
http://www.keithdowman.net/dzogchen/dudjom_counsel.htm
Lama Tharchin improved the translation of one bit - "Don't claim to be a great Dzogchen yogi when your heart smells like farts and your crotch stinks of sex and booze"

Dudjom Rinpoche's mountain retreat manual:
http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/A%20-%20Tibetan%20Buddhism/Authors/Dudjom%20Rinpoche/Mountain%20Retreat%20Instructions/mountain_retreat.pdf

I haven't read it, but you might find Dzongsar Khyentse R's Not for Happiness: A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practices easier to read. Yeah, actually, just read the "look inside" on amazon to see if it might be a good fit for you.

There's a great old Dzongsar Khyentse piece which compares the three "yanas" or vehicles (hinayana, mahayana, vajrayana) to being in a movie theater. Very short. Very helpful in explaining vajrayana. Here

Gosh, I wish I liked to practice as much as I liked buying and reading books. Is any of this helpful?

Edit: I decided the following would be too much for you and moved it to the bottom, below. Maybe for later.

Jamgon Kongtrul's Creation and Completion: Essential Points of Tantric Meditation might interest you, but it's got a lot of jargon. You might need a glossary of enumerations like from The Life of Shabkar... It might be a little much for you at first. I think I read it after my first ngondro retreat.

Dzogchen and Mahamudra are two different sets of practices that aim at something quite similar. Dzogchen is seen to be the pinnacle of the Nyingma (old school) and Mahamudra of the Sarma schools (Kagyu, Gelug, etc.). Open presence does play a role in such practices, depending on what you mean by "open presence" and which practice you are referring to.

There are a number of different practices in each school. Probably the best technical instructions on Mahamudra are now available in a book titled Moonbeams on Mahamudra.

Clear Dzogchen instructions are harder to find, but I like the book Perfect Clarity which has a selection of Dzogchen and Mahamudra pith instructions, at least for trekchod. Finding clear togal practice instructions is very difficult, but the main practices seem to be sky gazing, dark retreat where you see light in the darkness, seeing rainbow halos (tigles) around light sources such as the sun or a light bulb (NEVER STARE DIRECTLY INTO THE SUN, OK?), and similar things like that. But you shouldn't be practicing togal anyway until stabilizing trekchod, according to the classic instructions at least.

Now some people will tell you "you need a teacher/guru" and even "you have to complete the preliminary practices (ngondro) first." No doubt having a qualified teacher who has experienced the territory they are teaching can be useful, and some preliminary practices may benefit some people.

That said, most Dzogchen teachers are highly inaccessible. Good luck ever getting a single 1-on-1 session with one, let alone ongoing personalized support for the idiosyncrasies of your practice. So "having a teacher" in practical terms often means going to a retreat or two, never interacting with them personally, and reading their books, with them never even knowing your name. And some teachers have strange views or run cults (see Sogyal Rinpoche as an example), so you might even get messed up from following a teacher if you're not careful.

In terms of preliminaries, personally I think traditional ngondro is highly inappropriate for Westerners, and my teachers (Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Anam Thubten, etc.) agree, so I disagree that traditional preliminary practices (such as doing 100,000 prostrations and 1 million vajrasattva recitations) are necessary or even good for Westerners, with our already busy minds and achievement orientations.

There can be a practical reason for preliminaries however, which is that many people cannot simply rest their mind in an open, spacious, unwavering presence, vivid and clear and luminous, even with pointing out instructions, because their mind is too agitated or dull, or because they lack sufficient insight into emptiness. This was certainly the case for me before doing a bunch of S.N. Goenka style vipassana and some other practices that allowed me to develop sufficient concentration, clarity, and insight. Moonbeams on Mahamudra touches on the need for "common" concentration and insight before practicing "uncommon" mahamudra, and I think this is indeed important for most people.

If you want a taste of what the instructions are like, there are many pith instructions published freely on the internet. For instance, here are mahamudra instructions from the 9th Karmapa. Or here are some classic mahamudra instructions from Tilopa. The Song of Mahamudra from Saraha is great too. Here are some Dzogchen trekchod pith instructions. The Bön tradition also has Dzogchen instructions which can be found in this book.

Good luck!

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    Thanks for the Awesome Contest!!!
    
    Edit: Updated!
    2nd Edit: #18

No, starting at about 3:00 where he taught that giving without expectation -- the practice of Bodhisattvas -- is a "low view" of a "lower school", and giving with expectation is the highest view. Is that taught anywhere else?

"But it is maintained in the suttas (A.iv,62) that alms should be given without any expectations (na sapekho danam deti). Nor should alms be given with attachment to the recipient. If one gives with the idea of accumulating things for later use, that is an inferior act of giving. If one gives with the hope of enjoying the result thereof after death, that is also an inferior act of giving. The only valid motive for giving should be the motive of adorning the mind, to rid the mind of the ugliness of greed and selfishness." -Bhikkhu Bodhi


"Also you must practice giving without expecting anything in return, or any [karmic] ripening effects." -Pabongka Rinpoche



"The practice of all the Bodhisattvas is to give out of generosity, with no hopes of karmic recompense or expectation of reward.” -Gyalse Tokme Zangpo (1297-1371)

"Generosity is said to be the best family and relative. But we should do good deeds without any expectation of gain.... The definition of generosity is giving fully without attachment or expectation. Generosity is defined as a mind co-emergent with non-attachment and with the motivation of giving." -Kenchen Konchog Gyaltsen

"Both virtuous and nonvirtuous actions are formed in the mind. Actions, though more apparent, are secondary to our motivation. Even an apparently virtuous action is of little benefit if the root of our motivation is selfishness." -Mindrolling Trichen Rinpoche

"When you persevere in Dharma practice, it is essential to always train in turning any virtuous root of action, through body, speech, or mind, to be for the benefit of others. First, train gradually in this with the smallest deeds. From time to time, check to see whether or not you are tainted by the defilement of self-interest. You will not be successful if you retain even the tiniest taint of selfishness. Make sure not to be tainted by the defilement of self-interest." -Padmasambhava

So why does GMR teach the opposite to tens of thousands of people every year? Is it because otherwise people will see that his Four-Step method would fall apart at the very first step?

Eastern Philosophy is a huge subject. You only mentioned Chinese philosophers. Are you interested in Indian, Tibetan, etc?

For a good intro to practical Indian Sanatana Dharma (Hindu) philosophy, try Vivekananda: The Yogas and Other Works. He (along with Paramahansa Yogananda) were instrumental in bringing Indian philosophy and culture to the West, and remains one of it's best representatives. The book doesn't focus on the Vedic or Puranic traditions as much as the Yogic, but it's the Yogic that speaks to the modern mind the best, and makes the older texts more digestible and relevant to it.

Also, the Bhagavad Gita is essential. My favorite translation is Sri Aurobindo's with Bhagavad Gita and it's Message.

For Tibetan Buddhism, read the works of its founder - Padmasambhava, aka Guru Rinpoche. The Lotus Born and Advice from the Lotus Born are two of my favorites.

And The Teachings of the Buddha by Jack Kornfield is a good well-rounded introduction to the teachings of the various schools of Buddhism.

And one of my absolute favorite Lao Tzu works is the Hua Hu Ching, particularly the Brian Walker translation. Beautiful and very profound. I actually prefer it over the Tao Te Ching.

Edit: added a book.

"Our basic nature is in no way different from that of a buddha. It’s like pure space, which, whether it is obscured by clouds or is a cloudless and clear sky, remains the same in its basic, essential nature. But if you pretend that your nature is already enlightened and don’t progress along the path of removing the obscurations, then your enlightened nature doesn’t become realized. Therefore, we must truly consider what is actual, what the facts are. Do we have obscurations or not? If you see that there still are obscurations, there is no way to avoid having to remove them by gathering the two accumulations [merit and wisdom].

If our nature wasn’t already enlightened, we couldn’t awaken to it no matter how hard we tried. Buddha nature cannot be fabricated. Our nature is primordially enlightened, but at present our ordinary body, speech and discursive thinking obscures it. The nature of our mind, buddha nature, is like space itself, but it is space obscured by clouds. The whole point of Dharma practice is to remove the clouds and allow the actualization of what already is – the awakened state of mind, the buddha nature. The nature of our mind is primordially pure, primordially enlightened. The way to remove our two obscurations is to train in conditioned virtue and the unconditioned training in original wakefulness – the two accumulations.

We awaken to enlightenment by recognizing and fully realizing the primordially pure essence already present as our nature. That’s how to be an awakened buddha. Even though the enlightened state is actually already present, imagining or forming a thought-construct of enlightenment doesn’t make you enlightened. It’s the same as when you are really hungry and you look at a plate of food and try to imagine what it taste like. Does it work to then imagine, “Mmmmm, I’m eating the food, I’m no longer hungry.” You can think this for a very long time – forever, in fact – but it still doesn’t dispel your hunger. Once you actually put the food in your mouth, it tastes delicious, and your hunger is satiated. It’s the same with experience. Experience only occurs in a direct way, in practical reality, not through a theory about taste. If your meditation practice is merely an exercise in imagining and keeping something in mind, it is only a theory, and not direct experience." - Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche

Dad's a (recovering) alcoholic, younger sister's one too (with other stuff mixed in), and I'm an addict too to boot.

If you think treatment is right, do it. You are your top priority, take care of yourself. I've found taking care of myself (working out, eating healthy) to be 100% helpful. I've kicked cigarettes, drugs, most alcohol, most video games, and television: I allow myself two vices, beer and coffee.

If anything, I'd recommend the following: read. Find topics that interest you and dive in. Include Buddhism; this is a great resource that has hugely impacted how I view the world and also how I act within it. I cannot recommend it more highly.

Lastly, ID the negative effects of your addiction and substance of choice. Remind yourself why you want to control it, because you cannot without truly wanting to. Learn to appreciate feelings of longing, craving, etc: make them your bitch. Remember they're a part of life, enjoy them. This is what's worked for me, I hope it can work for you. Good luck!

> Thank you, I am doing okay. Much better mental states yesterday and today. I am able to see the impermanence.

Glad to hear it!

> It's just the necessity to stay aware beyond my capacity that's tiring.

That makes sense. Hopefully you're finding the restful aspect of mindfulness, or are otherwise taking a break when you feel you've gone beyond your capacity. Glad to hear that sitting softens things, is the resource you can recharge from.

If you want the commentary that goes alongside with the translation check out this book.

Take care!

Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World

One of my favorite excerpts:

>"Fortunately, there is now a reasonably substantial body of evidence in evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and other fields suggesting that, even from the most rigorous scientific perspective, unselfishness and concern for others are not only in our own interest but also, in a sense, innate to our biological nature. Such evidence, when combined with reflection on our personal experiences and coupled with simple common sense, can, I believe, offer a strong case for the benefits of cultivating basic human values that does not rely on religious principles or faith at all. And this I welcome."

The best part of Buddhism is the experience of the teachings. In my opinion, that either happens through faith or with the help of a teacher, so in that context, reading about Buddhism is much like talking about sex - doesn't really do it. That said, here is my favorite book on the foundations of good practice: Chagdud Tulku's, Gates to Buddhist Practice.

The Penguin Classics version is pretty good and, unlike some of the others, is a complete translation. Leary's The Psychedelic Experience is definitely worth reading as well. When you're done with those, the Tibetan Book of Living and Dying is quite interesting as well.

This is a great book: [Essential Writings by Thich Nhat Hanh.] (https://www.amazon.com/Thich-Nhat-Hanh-Essential-Spiritual-ebook/dp/B008GVR53K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1524433891&sr=8-2&keywords=thich+nhat+hanh+essential)

It's not about religion or belief or anything -- zen buddhism is basically an agnostic philosophy. This book is about finding mindfulness and peace in our everyday lives.

Hanh was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King. Dude is legit

Meditation is powerful and is not in-and-of-itself good or bad. That said, a fair number of people end up in mental health wards because of certain types of meditative practices. I wrote a book about it once. It's called "The Enlightenment Trap". (I've also written a much more popular book about the benefits of meditation).

In general people only want to talk about the positive side of spiritual practices.

If you are looking for good reading on Buddhism, I cannot recommend enough a book called, "The Way of the Bodhisattva", by Shantideva.

Another favorite is, " Gates to Buddhist Practice ", by Chagdud Tulku

( an excerpt )

Best of luck.

I read this book on Buddhism long ago. One thing I took from it was the idea of impermanence.

When you're happy, cherish that happiness because it won't always be there. When you're sad, just know that these bad moments will pass. Nothing is forever. That principle has helped me so much in life, and I'm super thankful for it.

The Case for God and The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong are both good. The God Delusion is a simple breakdown and explanation of most major religious claims. Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World by the Dalai Llama is an interesting book on ethics. The Koran: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Cook is 150 funny and insightful pages on Islam. Under the Banner of Heaven is a shocking and fascinating account of fundamentalist Mormonism. The Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan discusses religion, and Cosmos and Pale Blue Dot are my secular versions of holy books. And of course given the occasion, I can't leave out God is Not Great.

I recommend avoiding authors like Lee Strobel and Deepak Chopra. Both are essentially liars for their causes, either inventing evidence, or deliberately being incredibly misleading in how they use terms. Popularity in those cases definitely doesn't indicate quality.

There's not too much online. The stuff spread throughout the west was intentionally watered down to be more palatable to a rationally trained, scientific mind. Here's what I've got to share, though:

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https://rubinmuseum.org/spiral/war-magic-the-wizarding-world-of-tibetan-sorcery

https://library.brown.edu/cds/BuddhistTempleArt/buddhism3.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulpa

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And a good book on the matter: https://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Magic-Mysticism-J-Brennan/dp/0738707139

I haven't read it myself but I would imagine The Tibetan Book of The Dead would be an interesting read, and I'm fairly sure it has a lot about 'reincarnation' in it.

If anyone is turned on by stuff like this, Dakini Teachings may be up your alley. Just a thought.

Gates to Buddhist Practice, Chagdud Rinpoche.

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.

Read this! It really helped me: http://www.amazon.com/Thich-Nhat-Hanh-Essential-Spiritual/dp/1570753709?tag=780065172-20

If anyone else wants a copy you can just order it on Amazon.

He wrote a book on the subject.

He actually has a whole book on the subject. Been meaning to read it, just never got around to it.