A Trackless Path - Ken McLeod

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Résumé :
18th century Tibetan mystic Jigm? Lingpa wrote a number of poems on the practice of Dzogchen, one of the great wisdom traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. In A Trackless Path renowned translator and teacher Ken McLeod offers a beautiful and evocative translation of one of these poems. Illumined by his own lucid commentary, McLeod makes this ancient poem relevant and accessible to today's seeker.The Jigm? Lingpa poem has three sections: how conceptual thinking corrupts deep contemplative practice; the timeless freedom of direct awareness (the Buddhist equivalent of gnosis in Christianity); and subtle errors one often makes in this practice and how to correct them. McLeod's book is likewise divided into three sections. The first is a thoughtful introduction to the text and McLeod's relationship with it; the second is his beautiful and evocative translation of Jigm? Lingpa's poem; the third and main part of the book is his verse-by-verse commentary through which he illuminates the meaning of the poem. McLeod is clearly writing (and writing clearly) for the seeker in today's world who is called to pursue the awareness that Jigm? Lingpa describes.McLeod's lucid practice-oriented commentary is enriched by the seamless interweaving of experiences from his own spiritual journey. What emerges is a picture of a person who felt a profound calling to pursue contemplative practice and the direct and personal ways he found to meet the challenges and he encountered. With great clarity, McLeod communicates the central theme of the poem - namely, that when you rest and do nothing, you find the wisdom of the ages present within you. This is a book for the practitioner of any contemplative tradition--Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, Judaism or non-dual awareness.

Biographie:
Ken McLeod is one of the more innovative teachers of Buddhism in the West. He studied and trained in the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism under Kalu Rinpoche beginning in 1970 and subsequently became his translator for two North American tours, 1972-3 and 1974-5. Under Kalu Rinpoche's tutelage, he completed two three-year retreats (1976-1983) and in 1985 was appointed as the resident teacher of Kalu Rinpoche's center in Los Angeles. After Kalu Rinpoche's passing in 1989, Ken established Unfettered Mind and pioneered a one-on-one consultancy model for spiritual guidance, a model that was quickly adopted by Buddhist teachers around the world. He has translated and written several books including. He has applied his training in a variety of contexts, including business consulting and leadership training, working with executives at HBO, TimeWarner, ReadyPac, and Volvo. Currently, he resides in Northern California where he continues writing about Buddhist practice. An archive of his work can be found at http://unfetteredmind.org