Table Of ContentB U D D H I S M / T I B E TA N M A H Å M U D RÅ
“Mahåmudrå: The Moonlight . . . has helped numerous serious
Dharma students. It is excelent that the second edition is now – T H E M O O N L I G H T –
being brought out.”
— from the foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama Quintessence of Mind
Mahåmudrå meditation is simultaneously the most profound of
and Meditation
meditative disciplines and the most accessible for modern prac-
titioners. Traditionally passed orally from teacher to disciple,
mahåmudrå instructions point the meditator to the innate per-
fection of every experience.
When it first appeared in , Mahåmudrå: The Moonlight –
Quintessence of Mind and Meditation was the first presentation in
English of a major Tibetan Buddhist work on meditation. This clas-
sic guide was composed in the sixteenth century by an eminent
lama of the Kagyü 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 mahåmudrå approach to tranquility (≈amatha) and insight
(vipa≈yanå) meditation.
As befits a work of such distinction, this special edition is pro-
duced on premium paper and is sewn to facilitate extended use.
DA K P O TA S H I N A M G YA L ( – ), a lineage holder of the
Drukpa Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism who also trained in
the Sakya school, was renowned as both a scholar and meditator.
During his later years he served as chief abbot of Daklha Gampo
in southern Tibet.
LO B S A N G P. L H A LU N G PA ( ‒) was born in Lhasa, Tibet. Dakpo Tashi Namgyal
From until , he was a monk-official in the service of His
Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and the Tibetan govern-
ment. He is also the translator of The Life of Milarepa and author T R A N S L AT E D A N D A N N O TAT E D B Y
of Tibet – the Sacred Realm, and his translations of Dharma vers-
es appear in Scared Traditions and Living Culture. He lives in L O B S A N G P. L H A LU N G PA
Santa Fe, New Mexico.
W I T H A F O R E WO R D B Y
‒‒‒ .
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Wisdom Publications • Boston H I S H O L I N E S S T H E DA L A I L A M A
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M A H Å M U D R Å
The Moonlight – Quintessence of Mind and Meditation
M A H Å M U D R Å
The Nine Stages of Tranquility
M A H Å M U D RÅ
– T H E M O O N L I G H T –
Quintessence of Mind
and Meditation
DA K P O TA S H I N A M G YA L
Translated and Annotated by
LO B S A N G P. L H A LU N G PA
Foreword by His Holiness the
Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Wisdom Publications Inc.
Elm Street, Somerville, Massachusetts , ...
www.wisdompubs.org
Second Edition: © copyright Lobsang P. Lhalungpa
First published as Mahåmudrå, The Quintessence of Mind
and Meditation by Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston & London.
Translation © copyright Lobsang P. Lhalungpa.
Wisdom Edition
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form by any means without permission of the copyright owner.
Enquiries should be addressed to the publisher.
‒ ‒‒ (paperback)
--
Bkra-≈is rNam-rgyal, Dwags-po Pañ-chen, or –.
[ıes don Phyag rgya chen po’i sgom rim gsal bar byed pa’i
legs bsad zla ba’i ’od zer. English]
Mahåmudrå, the moonlight, quintessence of mind and meditation /
Dakpo Tashi Namgyal ; translated and annotated by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa.— nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
‒ ‒‒ (pbk. : alk. paper)
. Mahamudra (Tantric rite) . Spiritual life —Tantric Buddhism.
. Spiritual life—Bka’-rgyud-pa (Sect) I. Lhalungpa, Lobsang Phuntshok, – II. Title.
. . '— dc
Cover and interior design by Eleanor Caponigro.
Set in Minion and Diacritical Minion.
Photograph page : © copyright John Bigelow Taylor.
Drawings of the endless knot and the eight auspicious symbols
used courtesy of Robert Beer.
Wisdom Publications’ books are printed on acid-free paper and meet the guidelines
for permanence and durability set by the Council of Library Resources.
This book was produced with Environmental Mindfulness. We have elected to print this title
on 50% PCW recycled paper. As a result, we have saved the following resources: 30 trees, 21
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C O N T E N T S
Dedication
Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Preface to the First Edition
Acknowledgements to the Second Edition
Translator’s Introduction
The Foundation of Buddhist Studies
The Contemplative Foundation
Tranquility and Insight: The Basic Stage of Mahåmudrå Meditation
Meditation on Tranquility
The role of mindfulness
Timely vigilance
The nine stages of tranquility
Meditation on Insight (into the True Reality)
Mahåmudrå, the Quintessence of Reality
The Four Yogas of Mahåmudrå
M A H Å M U D R Å
Introduction by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal
Homage
The Resolution to Compose this Work
The Reasons Why the Meditation on the True Nature of Mind Is Essential
. All Realities Are But Mental Phenomena
. The Deficiencies Arising from Not Meditating on the True Nature
of Mind
. The Benefits Arising from Meditation
B O O K O N E
A Concise Elucidation of the Common System
of Tranquil Equipoise
The Outline of Tranquil Equipoise in General
and the Removal of Doubts
The Meditation on Tranquility and Insight
C H A P T E R O N E
The Ordinary Meditation of Tranquility and Insight
. The Cause of Tranquility and Insight
. The Elimination of Hindrances to Tranquility and Insight
. The Recognition of Hindrances
. Instructions in the Remedies Necessary to Remove the Hindrances
. The general elucidation of remedies for hindrances
. The specific means for removing dullness and sensual incitement
. Refraining from the causes of dullness and sensual
incitement
. The elimination of dullness and sensual incitement
. Identification of the True Nature of Tranquility and Insight
. Distinctions of Tranquility and Insight
. Examination of the Stages of Tranquility and Insight
6. Meditation on Joint Tranquility and Insight
. The Reason One Needs Both Tranquility and Insight
. The Method of Combining These Two
. The Result of Tranquility and Insight
C H A P T E R T W O
The Stages of Tranquility and Insight:
Part One, Tranquility
. The Preparation for Achieving Tranquility
. The Elucidation of Its Mental Images
. Elucidation of General Concentration
. Comprehensive visualization
. Analytical meditation
. Skillful investigation
. Meditation on the elimination of mental defilements
. Different Meditations to Meet Differing Needs
. Visualization at the Initial Stages of Practice [Tranquility]
. Maintaining a Visualized Image through Mindfulness and Vigilance
. The Methods of Realizing Tranquility
. The Eight Points of Mental Processes for Stability
. The Nine Stages of Settling the Mind
. The Six Powerful Methods for Achieving These Stages
. The Four Mental Applications for These Principles
C H A P T E R T H R E E
The Stages of Tranquility and Insight:
Part Two, Insight
. General Meditation on Insight
. Developing the Perfect View of Insight
. Establishing the Perfect View [of Selflessness]
. The General Meditation on Selflessness
. The reason for meditating on selflessness
. Ways of meditating on the two kinds of selflessness
. The negation of the self of personality
. The negation of the self of phenomenal reality
. Emergence of perfect view through meditating on selflessness
. The Specific Methods of Meditating on the Perfect View of
Ultimate Reality
. Identification of the perfect view of reality
. Meditation upon tranquil absorption
. Achieving a postabsorptive perception
