Mahamudra: The Moonlight—Quintessence of Mind and Meditation

by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, Dalai Lama XIV (Foreword), Lobsang P. Lhalungpa (Translator)

Mahamudra meditation is simultaneously the most profound of meditative disciplines and the most accessible for modern practitioners. Traditionally passed orally from teacher to disciple, mahamudra instructions point the meditator to the innate perfection of every experience. When it first appeared in 1986, The Moonlight - Quintessence of Mind and Meditation was the first presentation in English of a major Tibetan Buddhist work on meditation. This classic guide was composed in the sixteenth century by an eminent lama of the Kagyu school and is so comprehensive and practical that it is still widely used today as a manual. Divided into two major sections, it presents first the common approach and then the mahamudra approach to tranquility (shamatha) and insight (vipashyana) meditation.

Genres: Buddhism, Meditation, Spirituality

536 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1550

Reviews

[Mesoscope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Takpo Tashi Namgyal's magnificent "Moonbeams of Mahamudra" is wonderfully translated in this superb volume, which presents the complete path of calm abiding and special insight according to the Mahamudra traditions of sutra and tantra. This is one of my most prized works on meditation.

Fans of Takpo Tashi Namgyal should also check out the excellent "Mahamudra and Related Instructions" translated by Peter Alan Roberts, which contains Namgyal's 200+ page "Light Rays from the Jewel of the Excellent Teaching."

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful translation of this work. It would take a lifetime to digest it all and apply it appropriately. I prefer this translation over The Moonlight, it seems a bit clearer, and I think the translator spent more time trying to make sure the meanings resonated properly in English, which they may never fully. This a very detailed overview of how to dig into your mind, and the mind is very complex. Thus, this work has a lot of nuances to how individuals, approaches, and variations of interpretations of any of the various other Tibetan Buddhist writings on meditation should be interpreted themselves. I find myself going back to this work often for a refresh or a new perspective.

[Andrew Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

One hesitates to comment at all because the knowledge is so profound. It is written in a traditional scholarly style so is not a light read, nor one to be rushed through. I have found that reflecting on many of the passages has enhanced the quality of my own meditations as well as my understanding. Immense gratitude, therefore...and I continue to read! ..... Now having completed it, the old adage comes to mind: the more you know, the more you realise you don't know.

[Bean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to state upfront that I know I'm not going to be able to get through this. I don't think it's a book that should be read in one go cover-to-cover. It seems more useful to choose a section to study and meditate on.

This is hard to get through not only as a beginner, but moreso as a person who is not religious. When you haven't accepted many of the ideas and converted to a religion, it can be ever harder to try to make it through one of their harder philosophical texts. I can't lie and say I never wrote some snarky marginalia. I also have a hard time being interested in the endless numbered lists that seems to come with much Buddhism. Not only is there the 4 noble truths and the 8-fold path, there's the 3 whatchamcallits, the 9 thingamabobs, the 5 widgets, etc, etc. Perhaps useful as verbal lessons. Tiresome in text.

It's questionable to not rate a book well because you don't agree with religious concepts, so I want to add that the main reason I actually don't rate this book super highly is because I do not like that it drops bushels and bushels of weird concept words on you, and makes no effort to define what they consider the words to mean within the context of meditation, Buddhism, or Mahamudra. I'm not saying they should dumb the text down. I'm saying that when they drop a whole boatload of terms not necessarily common to all sects of Buddhism and thus Googleable and researchable, and hardly explain any of them, I give up on the idea of really understanding what the author meant.

I will cheerily keep this text in my library but move on to more digestible reading on Buddhism.

[Subramaniam Thirumeni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of deep insights into the human mind. Lots of contemplative time is needed when reading this book.

[Todd Mertz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not recommended for beginners, but if you know what you're getting into with Mahamudra, this is very good.

[Stephen Blache · Rating 5 out of 5]

An in-depth presentation of Mahamudra meditation with copious quotes from the sutras and tantras. A favorite text of the 16th Karmapa. A text worthy of repeated study.

[Subramaniam Thirumeni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and accessible translation. Worth reading and re-reading this Tibetan classic.

[Ted Osborne]

Not a beginners book--really too advanced for me at this time.