Table Of Content-
Bruce Net~man
A Beainner ' G u i d e
S
to ~ i b e t a nB uddhism
A Beginner's Guide
to Tibetan Buddhism
Notes from a Practitioner's journey
A Beginner's Guide
to Tibetan Buddhism
Notes from a Practitioner's Journey
Bruce Newman
Snow Lion Publications
Ithaca, New York
Boulder, Colorado
Snow Lion Publications
P.O. Box 6483
Ithaca, NY 14851 USA
(607) 273-85 19
www.snowlionpub.com
Copyright O 2004 Bruce Newman
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any
means without prior written permission from the publisher.
Printed in Canada on acid-free recycled paper.
ISBN 1-55939-2 1 1-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Newman, Bruce, 1950-
A beginner's guide to Tibetan Buddhism : notes from a practitioner's journey / Bruce
Newman.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-55939-2 1 1-8 (alk. paper)
1. Spiritual life--Buddhism. 2. Buddhism--China--Tibet. I. Title.
BQ7805.N348 2004
294.3'923--dc22
2004006388
Contents
Dedication vi
Preface by Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche vii
Acknowledgments viii
Introduction ix
Buddha-Nature: The Ground
The Teacher
Finding a Teacher
Empowerment
Centers
Path Buddha-Nature: Instruction and Practice
Getting Started
Getting It Wrong
Systems and Stages of Practice
The Four Noble Truths
The Four Thoughts
Ngondro: Refuge and Bodhichitta
Ngondro: Vajrasattva Practice and Mandala Offerings
Ngondro: Guru Yoga and Devotion
Kyerim
Rituals
Dzogrim and the Body
The Path of Liberation
Fruition
Appendix: The Future
Notes
Dedication
The book is humbly and devotedly dedicated to the long life and enlight-
ened activities of my two primary teachers, Venerable Chokyi Nyima
Rinpoche and Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche.
Preface
Bruce Newman has been my close student for almost thirty years. Having
resided in both India and Nepal for many years, Bruce spent many years
seriously studying and practicing Tibetan Buddhism with a number of
well-known, highly qualified Buddhist meditation masters.
Being a diligent practitioner, Bruce successfully completed the tradi-
tional four-year retreat at Samye Ling in Scotland and thus qualifies for
the designation of "lama."P resently, he resides at Tashi Choling Retreat
Center, founded by H. H. Dudjom Rinpoche, in Ashland, Oregon where
Bruce has been teaching meditation and guiding others in general
Buddhist practices for almost a decade.
Given Bruce's exceptionally kind nature, stable disposition, and
innate intelligence, I am confident that he will be able to share his
insights with others and help them on the Buddhist path. I am pleased
that his new book will soon be published and wish him all the best.
Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche
Acknowledgments
This book would not be possible without the help and inspiration of a
great number of people. Foremost are my teachers. I've been very fortu-
nate to have many, but my two primary teachers are Venerable Chokyi
Nyima Rinpoche and Venerable Gyatrul Rinpoche.
Many people suggested that I write a book. Most importantly, my
wife, Susan Bosworth, and my root teacher, Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche, who
basically ordered me to write it and wouldn't let me quit!
Also, many people read the various drafts of the manuscript and
offered suggestions. Here, the two most helpful have been my dear
friends Gaea Yudron and Barbara Caselli.
I also extend my heartfelt appreciation to the patrons and sponsors,
both past and present, whose generosity and trust has made it possible
for me to devote my time fully to the Dharma. I won't mention any
names, but you know who you are. Thanks again.
Thanks also go to my agent, limmie Young, who showed up seem-
ingly out of nowhere and to all the good folks at Snow Lion who have
made so much of the precious Dharma available to us over the years.
Lastly, to all my friends and students along the way. Through our
connection, I have learned a great deal about the manifold ways that
buddha-nature unfolds in different practitioners; the lessons have been
invaluable.
Introduction
I wanted to call this book Tantra for Dummies. Unfortunately, the ...for
Dummies name is trademarked. Nevertheless, this is going to be that kind
of book.
When you buy a computer, it comes with an instruction manual. It is
usually too brief, obtuse, and never talks about the stuff you're really
interested in. So you go buy a book like Windows for Dummies or Macs for
Dummies, and it leads you through everything you have to do, step by
step. It doesn't assume you know anything, and it leaves nothing out.
When you study Tibetan Buddhism, either by reading books, listen-
ing to teachings, or participating in a center, a lot goes unsaid. A great
deal of background knowledge is assumed by the author, the speaker, the
older students running the center. It takes awhile for the neophyte to
gather this background and to learn the ropes, and by then, who knows?
You may have become discouraged and quit.
I don't want you to quit. Tibetan Buddhists have a system of wisdom
and technique that is just amazing. The more I learn about it, the more
impressed I am. Also, I'm sure your interest is sincere-you really want
to better yourself and perhaps attain a level of realization. So in this
book, we'll try to make the pieces match.
Perhaps it would make things clearer if I begin by talking about
myself and how I got involved in Tibetan Buddhism and how I've strug-
gled and persevered, zigged and zagged, over the years. I feel some reser-
vations about talking too much about myself, that as a Buddhist I should
be more anonymous and self-effacing and make the presentation more
traditional and less personal. However, when I was struggling at the
beginning of the task of writing this book, my primary teacher, Chokyi
Nyima Rinpoche, advised me to make the book more personal and auto-
biographical. When I took his advice, the material seemed to just pour
out of me. With time I've come to believe that as much as anything else
what we older students have to offer is our own personal story of prac-
ticing the path. Tibetans have been enthralled by the stories and songs
of Milarepa for centuries; they've served as models and guides for count-
less followers. I'm no Milarepa, but perhaps the reader will be able to
X A Beginner's Guide to Tibetan Buddhism
learn and benefit from reading about my limitations and the errors I've
made along the way. I strongly feel that by sharing experiences that are
unique to Westerners in our modern age, we are offering support to all
Western practitioners.
With that said, here's my story.
I was never a very good sixties person. In many ways my heart wasn't in it.
In some ways I didn't believe the jargon. And I was just too shy and with-
drawn to truly participate. But in any case, that's where my story starts.
I went to the University of California in beautiful Santa Barbara from
1968 to 1972. My major field of study was theoretical chemistry, that is,
applying quantum mechanics to explain chemical phenomena. I truly fell
in love with quantum mechanics with its paradoxes and seeming paral-
lels to Asian thought.
1 also began a major love affair with drugs, especially smoking mari-
juana, but whatever positive or consciousness-expanding effects drugs
may have had on me were soon overshadowed by the increasing numb-
ness, depression, dullness, and withdrawal that smoking caused me.
My first exposure to Buddhism was through my best friend's older
brother who began an involvement with Buddhism that led him to a cen-
ter in Scotland (where twenty years later I did a four-year retreat) and a
monastery in Thailand. I developed both an interest in Buddhism and a
fear of it. It just didn't seem like something you could do in your spare
time. If one truly believed its premises, that we are suffering in illusion,
then it seemed that one would abandon everything and commence
intensive practice immediately, which is, of course, what many have done
over the centuries. Buddhism seemed to demand a little more than
going to church on Sundays and being a nice person. Nonetheless, its
analysis of phenomena in terms of emptiness seemed to agree with the
insights of quantum mechanics with one major difference: Buddhism
offered a path to experience these truths rather than just speculation
about them. No matter how profound the insights of scientists, science
doesn't claim to offer a path of personal transformation.
By the time I graduated in 1972, I was really torn. My involvement in
drugs made continuing my education problematic and rendered my
social life disastrous. Also, my interest in Asian spirituality made
Western science seem irrelevant to a life bent on understanding reality.
