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Generating the Deity
These are step-by-step teachings on the genereation stage practices of deity yoga as they were practiced in Tibet.
- GenresBuddhism
139 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
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75 people want to read
About the author
Gyatrul Rinpoche
14 books8 followersVenerable Dhomang Gyatrul Rinpoche was a senior lama of the Palyul and Dudjom lineages of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was recognized at a young age by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö as the incarnation of Sampa Künkyap, and is also held to be the incarnation of Kunzang Sherab, the first throne-holder of the Palyul lineage.
After training at Palyul Domang Monastery, he fled the Chinese Cultural Revolution in Tibet in 1959, serving as an elected representative of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism who had congregated in Buxa, India. In 1972, he was appointed by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche as the spiritual director and representative of the Yeshe Nyingpo centers on the west coast of the United States and of Tashi Choling Center for Buddhist Studies in southern Oregon, where he remains as of 2012.
After training at Palyul Domang Monastery, he fled the Chinese Cultural Revolution in Tibet in 1959, serving as an elected representative of the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism who had congregated in Buxa, India. In 1972, he was appointed by H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche as the spiritual director and representative of the Yeshe Nyingpo centers on the west coast of the United States and of Tashi Choling Center for Buddhist Studies in southern Oregon, where he remains as of 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 4, 2018
This book gets 5 stars because holy shit, after looking through dozens of books on tibetan buddhism trying to find out what the hell this part of tantra actually is in practice, this book delivers, and now I know why it's so difficult to find this stuff!
"Inside an infinitely vast skull cup is the essence of the five types of flesh and the five types of nectar. The first flesh is human flesh and the first nectar is feces, both of which appear in the center of the skull cup."
An infinitely vast skull cup!!! The other nectars are semen, urine, human bone marrow, and menstrual blood, if you were wondering. The imagery in this book is amazing.
Now let me tell you about Skull Mansion. "The walls are made of dry, moist and fresh skulls." The canopy is made of human skin. "The wrathful mansion looks like a burial ground inside and out. Still pools of blood lie everywhere and a black, violent wind is blowing like a tornado. A terrifying firelight pervades the environment."
It sits within 8 "cremation grounds" which are named: "gruesome", "burning with a 'wur wur' sound", "the terrible cremation ground", "ever gloomy", "perfectly endowed", "dense jungle", "resounding with the cries of 'killy killy'", and "resounding with the wild laughter of 'ha, ha'".
If this works for symbolizing compassion and the 8 fold path for people, more power to them! Though apparently if you visualize skull mansion without the proper symbolism in mind you'll be reborn as a demon, so sorry about that.
I find it strange how this branch of tibetan buddhism is usually presented to westerners under a very secularized veneer. If you wanna visualize infinite fresh cut skulls and wrathful gods dancing in killing fields then go ahead and let your potential followers know what they're in for. It's not like Christianity hides the fact that they symbolize eating the flesh and blood of Jesus.
"Inside an infinitely vast skull cup is the essence of the five types of flesh and the five types of nectar. The first flesh is human flesh and the first nectar is feces, both of which appear in the center of the skull cup."
An infinitely vast skull cup!!! The other nectars are semen, urine, human bone marrow, and menstrual blood, if you were wondering. The imagery in this book is amazing.
Now let me tell you about Skull Mansion. "The walls are made of dry, moist and fresh skulls." The canopy is made of human skin. "The wrathful mansion looks like a burial ground inside and out. Still pools of blood lie everywhere and a black, violent wind is blowing like a tornado. A terrifying firelight pervades the environment."
It sits within 8 "cremation grounds" which are named: "gruesome", "burning with a 'wur wur' sound", "the terrible cremation ground", "ever gloomy", "perfectly endowed", "dense jungle", "resounding with the cries of 'killy killy'", and "resounding with the wild laughter of 'ha, ha'".
If this works for symbolizing compassion and the 8 fold path for people, more power to them! Though apparently if you visualize skull mansion without the proper symbolism in mind you'll be reborn as a demon, so sorry about that.
I find it strange how this branch of tibetan buddhism is usually presented to westerners under a very secularized veneer. If you wanna visualize infinite fresh cut skulls and wrathful gods dancing in killing fields then go ahead and let your potential followers know what they're in for. It's not like Christianity hides the fact that they symbolize eating the flesh and blood of Jesus.
September 22, 2018
An essential source for understanding the detail of Mahayoga sadhana practice, especially within the Nyingma schools of Tibetan Buddhism, and with particular application to the Longchen Nyingthig terma tradition of Longchenpa (via Jigme Lingpa) and the Nam Chö terma tradition of the Palyul Lineage (via Tulku Migyur Dorje). And probably incomprehensible babble to anyone who does not understand at least a little of this review.
[Edited for links and typos 2018-09-21]
[Edited for links and typos 2018-09-21]
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews