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The Mirror of Dharma with Additions: How to Find the Real Meaning of Human Life
This book, The Mirror of Dharma With Additions--Dharma means the teachings of enlightened beings--gives practical advice on how we can solve our daily problems of uncontrolled desire, anger and ignorance, and how to make our human life meaningful.
The author, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, is an internationally renowned meditation master and scholar. In this book, he explains as practical instructions the complete path to enlightenment, based on his deep experience gained from a lifetime spent in meditation.
With this new edition, the author has added inspiring heartfelt advice on how to engage successfully in daily meditation, as well as instructions that clarify important aspects of spiritual practice.
"We can see and find the sun of the supreme happiness of enlightenment from The Mirror of Dharma. How fortunate we are."
-Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche
This practical guide includes:
Essential insights on the advice from Je Tsongkhapa's heart called The Three Principal Aspects of the Path to Enlightenment
How we can use the Request to the Lord of All Lineages prayer to contemplate and meditate on all the stages of the path of both Sutra and Tantra
How to train in the meditation practice of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion
A special presentation of the practice of the stages of the path to enlightenment, known as Lamrim
The author, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, is an internationally renowned meditation master and scholar. In this book, he explains as practical instructions the complete path to enlightenment, based on his deep experience gained from a lifetime spent in meditation.
With this new edition, the author has added inspiring heartfelt advice on how to engage successfully in daily meditation, as well as instructions that clarify important aspects of spiritual practice.
"We can see and find the sun of the supreme happiness of enlightenment from The Mirror of Dharma. How fortunate we are."
-Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche
This practical guide includes:
Essential insights on the advice from Je Tsongkhapa's heart called The Three Principal Aspects of the Path to Enlightenment
How we can use the Request to the Lord of All Lineages prayer to contemplate and meditate on all the stages of the path of both Sutra and Tantra
How to train in the meditation practice of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Compassion
A special presentation of the practice of the stages of the path to enlightenment, known as Lamrim
352 pages, Paperback
Published November 12, 2019
56 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Kelsang Gyatso
215 books219 followers*'Geshe' is a Tibetan Buddhist academic degree for monks and nuns.
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche is a fully accomplished meditation Master and internationally renowned Teacher of Buddhism who has pioneered the introduction of modern Buddhism into contemporary society. Presenting Buddha’s teachings in a way that is relevant and suitable for modern people with busy lives, he shows how these teachings can be used by anyone, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, to solve problems, improve relationships and eventually attain a deep and lasting inner peace and happiness.
He has also created all the conditions necessary to support the study and practice of Buddhism in modern society: writing 22 highly acclaimed books that perfectly transmit the ancient wisdom of Buddha; establishing over 1,200 Kadampa Buddhist centers and groups throughout the world; developing modern study programmes; training qualified Teachers; and establishing local, national and international courses, festivals and retreats. Through all these and other activities Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche is giving new life to Buddhism, enabling people everywhere to discover inner peace and happiness through Buddha’s teachings, thereby bringing greater peace to a troubled world.
The term "Rinpoche," added to Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's name, is a Tibetan word that means "Precious One," and has been added as a mark of deepest respect.
To discover more about Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche’s compassionate vision and activities visit http://tharpa.com/us/benefit-all-worl....
Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche is a fully accomplished meditation Master and internationally renowned Teacher of Buddhism who has pioneered the introduction of modern Buddhism into contemporary society. Presenting Buddha’s teachings in a way that is relevant and suitable for modern people with busy lives, he shows how these teachings can be used by anyone, Buddhist or non-Buddhist, to solve problems, improve relationships and eventually attain a deep and lasting inner peace and happiness.
He has also created all the conditions necessary to support the study and practice of Buddhism in modern society: writing 22 highly acclaimed books that perfectly transmit the ancient wisdom of Buddha; establishing over 1,200 Kadampa Buddhist centers and groups throughout the world; developing modern study programmes; training qualified Teachers; and establishing local, national and international courses, festivals and retreats. Through all these and other activities Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche is giving new life to Buddhism, enabling people everywhere to discover inner peace and happiness through Buddha’s teachings, thereby bringing greater peace to a troubled world.
The term "Rinpoche," added to Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's name, is a Tibetan word that means "Precious One," and has been added as a mark of deepest respect.
To discover more about Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche’s compassionate vision and activities visit http://tharpa.com/us/benefit-all-worl....
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 28, 2019
“Dharma” refers to Buddha’s teachings. The Mirror of Dharma is an overview of concepts from those teachings and the application of them into a framework of meditation sessions. This is not an introductory text, but is more like a textbook meant to further the education of serious students of Buddhism, as well as seekers of spiritual truth. It was written by the Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche, a scholar of the Kadampa Buddhist tradition whose life’s work has been to bring Buddhism, in an accessible form, to the western world.
This book presents its material in three parts. The first is called Training in Contemplation and explains some Buddhist basics such as samsara (cycles of impure life), renunciation (wanting to escape samsara), bodhichitta (wanting everyone to escape samsara), and emptiness (things aren’t what they seem—we live in delusion). The commentary on these is not exhaustive, but rather, presents enough about each to provide readers with a baseline of Buddhist theory. More thorough treatments can be found in other works by Geshe Gyatso, such as volumes one and two of Modern Buddhism.
Though he’s a native Tibetan, Geshe Gyatso’s written English is fluent and I’ve had no problem following the prose in any of his books, including this one. It’s not a difficult read, especially the opening section where humanity’s basic problem is explained and the solution is introduced. But though the prose is not difficult, the book is not a light read. If you’re not a student of Buddhism you may stumble on some of the technical concepts (such as “emptiness” and “samsara”). The included glossary, along with some Google searching, can help with that.
The book’s second part is called, Training in Meditation and contains commentary on some specific objects of mediation. These are presented within the context of three levels of spiritual progress for meditators (Initial, Middling, and Great). A working structure is described for the meditations that includes text to be recited and contemplated until the object for the meditation is realized (integrated, understood). Those objects are concepts that include suffering, self-grasping, death, karma, universal compassion, and emptiness.
The book’s third part is a collection of appendixes that contain the root text—the Buddhist sacred writing upon which the book is based—and many prayers and other sacred Buddhist writings. These appendixes take up half of the book’s length and include a glossary, Further Readings, and a bibliography. The latter two contain only books by Geshe Gyatso, which constitute a small library for Kadampa Buddhism study. Since Geshe Gyatso is a Buddhism master scholar, this makes for a considerable study for those who want to dive deep. In doing so, they should find these works helpful companions to broader works.
The Mirror of Dharma is a product of Buddhist scholarship and is meant to be a “working book.” At least it strikes me that way. The meditations and prayers it contains are to be recited, contemplated, and meditated upon. As such, it is a handbook for the Kadampa Buddhism practitioner and that is, I think, the intention of it.
You’ll note some repetition within the book. Phrases such as “There are no things other than their mere names,” and “…mistakenly believes that the things we normally see actually exist,” are repeated and rephrased. I think some reviewers have criticized this, but it strikes me as being a practice used for emphasis. This is, after all, a teaching book, and the practice helps when dealing with difficult concepts such as emptiness (which the preceding quotes refer to).
There is also a section (pp. 82-83) where the sufferings of physical life are described. I think there is some exaggeration for effect here, that may come from Geshe Gyatso trying to keep his prose accessible to western readers. Even so, the basic idea that this physical life is marked by suffering is pretty much beyond dispute.
In reading The Mirror of Dharma, I had the feeling of the ancient meeting the present. Its many references to the modern world of cars and computers are balanced with its easy assumptions of Buddha emanations, texts blessed by enlightened beings, and reincarnation into the six realms. Such assumptions may seem strange if you’re encountering this material for the first time, but there’s also a magic in it. Keep an open mind. Suspend your high-tech incredulity. Let the possibility and wonderment of an ancient wisdom speak to you.
And if you hear that ancient voice, you may find yourself inspired to check out The New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU), which is the organization Geshe Gyatso founded for promoting Buddhism in the western world. This book does contain a promotional section for the NKT-IKBU that describes its work and training programs. It also notes the NKT website, which contains some good study resources. I found this promotional section tastefully done and an adjunct to the book’s primary material.
The Mirror of Dharma’s subtitle is How to find the real meaning of human life. Finding that real meaning, as well as just what it is, is addressed in this book, though it may require some rereading and contemplation to find and understand. For spiritual seekers, however, that’s all part of the journey.
This book presents its material in three parts. The first is called Training in Contemplation and explains some Buddhist basics such as samsara (cycles of impure life), renunciation (wanting to escape samsara), bodhichitta (wanting everyone to escape samsara), and emptiness (things aren’t what they seem—we live in delusion). The commentary on these is not exhaustive, but rather, presents enough about each to provide readers with a baseline of Buddhist theory. More thorough treatments can be found in other works by Geshe Gyatso, such as volumes one and two of Modern Buddhism.
Though he’s a native Tibetan, Geshe Gyatso’s written English is fluent and I’ve had no problem following the prose in any of his books, including this one. It’s not a difficult read, especially the opening section where humanity’s basic problem is explained and the solution is introduced. But though the prose is not difficult, the book is not a light read. If you’re not a student of Buddhism you may stumble on some of the technical concepts (such as “emptiness” and “samsara”). The included glossary, along with some Google searching, can help with that.
The book’s second part is called, Training in Meditation and contains commentary on some specific objects of mediation. These are presented within the context of three levels of spiritual progress for meditators (Initial, Middling, and Great). A working structure is described for the meditations that includes text to be recited and contemplated until the object for the meditation is realized (integrated, understood). Those objects are concepts that include suffering, self-grasping, death, karma, universal compassion, and emptiness.
The book’s third part is a collection of appendixes that contain the root text—the Buddhist sacred writing upon which the book is based—and many prayers and other sacred Buddhist writings. These appendixes take up half of the book’s length and include a glossary, Further Readings, and a bibliography. The latter two contain only books by Geshe Gyatso, which constitute a small library for Kadampa Buddhism study. Since Geshe Gyatso is a Buddhism master scholar, this makes for a considerable study for those who want to dive deep. In doing so, they should find these works helpful companions to broader works.
The Mirror of Dharma is a product of Buddhist scholarship and is meant to be a “working book.” At least it strikes me that way. The meditations and prayers it contains are to be recited, contemplated, and meditated upon. As such, it is a handbook for the Kadampa Buddhism practitioner and that is, I think, the intention of it.
You’ll note some repetition within the book. Phrases such as “There are no things other than their mere names,” and “…mistakenly believes that the things we normally see actually exist,” are repeated and rephrased. I think some reviewers have criticized this, but it strikes me as being a practice used for emphasis. This is, after all, a teaching book, and the practice helps when dealing with difficult concepts such as emptiness (which the preceding quotes refer to).
There is also a section (pp. 82-83) where the sufferings of physical life are described. I think there is some exaggeration for effect here, that may come from Geshe Gyatso trying to keep his prose accessible to western readers. Even so, the basic idea that this physical life is marked by suffering is pretty much beyond dispute.
In reading The Mirror of Dharma, I had the feeling of the ancient meeting the present. Its many references to the modern world of cars and computers are balanced with its easy assumptions of Buddha emanations, texts blessed by enlightened beings, and reincarnation into the six realms. Such assumptions may seem strange if you’re encountering this material for the first time, but there’s also a magic in it. Keep an open mind. Suspend your high-tech incredulity. Let the possibility and wonderment of an ancient wisdom speak to you.
And if you hear that ancient voice, you may find yourself inspired to check out The New Kadampa Tradition – International Kadampa Buddhist Union (NKT-IKBU), which is the organization Geshe Gyatso founded for promoting Buddhism in the western world. This book does contain a promotional section for the NKT-IKBU that describes its work and training programs. It also notes the NKT website, which contains some good study resources. I found this promotional section tastefully done and an adjunct to the book’s primary material.
The Mirror of Dharma’s subtitle is How to find the real meaning of human life. Finding that real meaning, as well as just what it is, is addressed in this book, though it may require some rereading and contemplation to find and understand. For spiritual seekers, however, that’s all part of the journey.
September 8, 2025
"the happiness that comes from worldly enjoyments is not real happiness but only a reduction of our previous problems"....
this was a shorter one but no less dense than the rest. looking forward to dissecting this one.
this was a shorter one but no less dense than the rest. looking forward to dissecting this one.
February 3, 2021
Each book by Geshe Kelsang seems to get clearer and more moving.
February 21, 2021
This is not a book to read through from beginning to end. There are too many places where I need to stop and think, or meditate. It is full of deep, timeless wisdom. A long term project.
June 28, 2018
Amazing read. Enlightening
Best read so far this year. Blessings to all. Very inspiring. Upbeat resourceful uplifting . Truly a excellent read for anyone. Can or not.
Best read so far this year. Blessings to all. Very inspiring. Upbeat resourceful uplifting . Truly a excellent read for anyone. Can or not.
August 21, 2022
Una buena introducción al budismo desde la perspectiva de la escuela de kadampa. Al final hay algunas oraciones y prácticas que se escapan a la lectura novata
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews