The Mahamudra Eliminating the Darkness of Ignorance & Fifty Stanzas of Guru-Devotion

Book excerpt: Mahāmudrā or the great Seal, refers to a Mahayana Buddhist system of meditation on nature of the mind and is undertaken for realising Enlightenment. Taught by Buddha manifesting in the form of Vajradhara, its lineage was passed in India from Tilopa to Naropa to Marpa, and then in Tibet to Mila-repa and Gompa-pa, author of The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. The specific lineage represented here is that of the Karma Ka-gyü which passed from Gampo-pa to the First Karmapa and then through successive Gurus until the present day. This text by the Ninth Karmapa (1556-1603) is one of the most famous expositions of this meditational system. It covers both the preliminary practices as well as the actual Mahāmudrā meditations of mental quiescence (samatha) and penetrative insight (Vipasyana). Explaining the stages and paths as travelled in this system, it represents a complete path to Enlightenment. Accompanying the root text is a commentary given orally by Beru Khyentse Rinpoche, based on the teachings of his Guru, His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa. As a proper relation with a Guru is essential for realising Mahāmudrā, also included is the basic text on Guru-devotion by the first century B.C. Indian Master Aśvaghoṣa with an oral commentary by Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey. This work is published under the auspices of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to make available living teachings from the many traditions of Buddhism as preserved in Tibet.