Machig Labdron and the Foundations of Chod

by Jerome Edou

Machig Labdron is popularly considered to be both a dakini and a deity, an emanation of Yum Chenmo, or Prajnaparamita, the embodiment of the wisdom of the buddhas. Historically, this Tibetan woman, a contemporary of Milarepa, was an adept and outstanding teacher, a mother, and a founder of a unique transmission lineage known as the Chöd of Mahamudra. This translation of the most famous biography of Machig Labdron, founder of the unique Mahamudra Chöd tradition, is presented together with a comprehensive overview of Chöd's historical and doctrinal origins in Indian Buddhism and its subsequent transmission to Tibet.Chöd refers to cutting through the grasping at a self and its attendant emotional afflictions. Most famous for its teaching on transforming the aggregates into an offering of food for demons as a compassionate act of self-sacrifice, Chöd aims to free the mind from all fear and to arouse realization of its true nature, primordially clear bliss and emptiness.

Genres: Buddhism, Nonfiction

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 25, 1995

About the author

Jérôme Edou has been studying with Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche since 1976. He has been an interpreter for various lamas for more than ten years and is an author and translator of works on Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism.

Reviews

[Stephen Blache · Rating 5 out of 5]

A learned introduction to the Mahamudra Chod tradition. A special book for those looking for significant females that have influenced Buddhism! Full of.wonderful quotes to study and contemplate.

[Hayden Wawzonek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential reading for anybody interested in the Chöd tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, and even moreso for those researching Machig Labdrön. As a note for any aspiring Chöd researchers: This is much more a biography of the dakini and yogini in question than it is an overview of Chöd, which is somewhat unfortunate as Chöd itself is a very under-documented tradition. This is made worse as there is a dearth of scholarly literature on Chöd (I've counted a whole two articles, and one very poorly written dissertation). This was the one book I could find that outlines Chöd (and happily so, as a brand new copy at my university library that I had the pleasure of breaking in myself) without the silly Western colouring of the subject matter that focuses exclusively on the taboo aspects that, in the grand scheme of things, are evidently minor features of the tradition. I wish the book had more to offer with its description of Chöd, but that was never the book's ultimate intention, and the associated disappointment was my own fault. Additionally, the book does not elaborate much in the way of Chöd's practical connection to Mahamudra. At the end of the day, Chöd is related to Mahamudra, so I thought that was quite an odd omission. I also wish Edou better explained the difference between "cutting through" vs. "cutting out", but we can't all get what we want /shrug

[Thomas Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

The translation feels a little old now, but it's generally quite a gem, and of course essential reading for Chöd practitioners. DO NOT BUY THE KINDLE EDITION: It clearly hasn't been proof read and is riddled with orthographic errors.

[Nathan Springer]

Good Book.