Gampopa's Mahamudra - Tony Duff

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Résumé :
Five-Part Mahamudra is a specific way of practising Mahamudra that is used in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It was first taught by Gampopa to his disciple Phagmo Drupa more than nine centuries go and since then has become one of the main ways that Mahamudra is transmitted and practised in the Kagyu lineage. This book presents the teaching and system of instruction that goes with it through actual Tibetan sources and culminates in a modern-day oral commentary given by one of the contemporary masters of the tradition. The sources consist of six texts by various masters of the tradition, texts that were written during the nine-hundred year period since the teaching was first given by Gampopa. Through the texts, the reader not only gets to see all of the details of the Five-Part Mahamudra practice, but also gets to see the writings of the masters of various Kagyu lineages--Karma Kagyu, Drukpa Kagyu, Drigung Kagyu, and Throphu Kagyu. The reader also gets to see their different styles of presentation as the styles changed through the centuries. A long introduction that informs the reader of the details of each of these authors and their styles of presentation is included. The book finishes with a long oral commentary by one of today's great Karma Kagyu masters, Bengchen Tenga Rinpoche. The book is unique in the way that it presents all the details of Mahamudra practice, with nothing left out or hidden from view, as presented by the very greatest of authors of the Tibetan tradition over many centuries.

Biographie:
Tony Duff has spent a lifetime pursuing the Buddha's teaching and transmitting it to others. In the early 1970's, during his post-graduate studies in molecular biology, he went to Asia and met the Buddhist teachings of various South-east Asian countries. He met Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal and has followed it since. After his trip he abandoned worldly life and was the first Tibetan Buddhist monk ordained in his home country of Australia. Together with several others, he founded the monastery called Chenrezig Institute for Wisdom Culture where he studied and practised the Gelugpa teachings for several years under the guidance of Lama Yeshe, Lama Zopa, Geshe Lodan, and Zasep Tulku. After that, he offered back his ordination and left for the USA to study the Kagyu teachings with the incomparable Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. Tony was very active in the community and went through all possible levels of training that were available during his twelve year stay. He was also a core member of the Nalanda Translation Committee. After Chogyam Trungpa died, Tony went to live in Nepal where he worked as the personal translator for Tsoknyi Rinpoche and also translated for several other well-known teachers. He also founded and directed the largest Tibetan text preservation project in Asia, the Drukpa Kagyu Heritage Project, which he oversaw for eight years. He also established the Padma Karpo Translation Committee which has produced many fine translations and made many resources for translators such as the highly acclaimed Illuminator Tibetan-English Dictionary. After the year 2000, Tony focussed primarily on obtaining Dzogchen teachings from the best teachers available, especially within Tibet, and translating and teaching them. He has received much approval from many teachers and has been given the titles lotsawa and lama and been strongly encouraged by them to teach Westerners. One way he does that is by producing these fine translations.

Sommaire:
Five-Part Mahamudra is a specific way of practising Mahamudra that is used in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It was first taught by Gampopa to his disciple Phagmo Drupa more than nine centuries go and since then has become one of the main ways that Mahamudra is transmitted and practised in the Kagyu lineage. This book presents the teaching and system of instruction that goes with it through actual Tibetan sources and culminates in a modern-day oral commentary given by one of the contemporary masters of the tradition. The sources consist of six texts by various masters of the tradition, texts that were written during the nine-hundred year period since the teaching was first given by Gampopa. Through the texts, the reader not only gets to see all of the details of the Five-Part Mahamudra practice, but also gets to see the writings of the masters of various Kagyu lineages--Karma Kagyu, Drukpa Kagyu, Drigung Kagyu, and Throphu Kagyu. The reader also gets to see their different styles of presentation as the styles changed through the centuries. A long introduction that informs the reader of the details of each of these authors and their styles of presentation is included. The book finishes with a long oral commentary by one of today's great Karma Kagyu masters, Bengchen Tenga Rinpoche. The book is unique in the way that it presents all the details of Mahamudra practice, with nothing left out or hidden from view, as presented by the very greatest of authors of the Tibetan tradition over many centuries....