Creation and Completion: Essential Points of Tantric Meditation

I truly recommend this book for everyone who practices vajrayana (specially mahayoga) and those interested in buddhist psychology!Kongtrul's text in verse is really profound and touches everyone's practice, clarifying the essential points. Of course it was composed by a practitioner for practitioners.Khenchen Thrangu's commentary is wonderful and enables us to grasp the full knowledge of the root text (which of course needs to be converted in realization through practice!).The explanations of the creation stage are succint but profound. If you want elaborate descriptions on that I would recommend Gyatrul Runpoche's "The Generation Stage..."On the other hand, the completion stage (here it refers to the dissolution of the visualization and the subsequent meditation on the nature of mind) is beautifully described, including practical techniques, common pitfalls, and both Mahamudra and Atiyoga approaches!Finally I was really impressed with the descpription of the 8 consciousnesses and the process of the "emergence of confusion". I hope western psychology reaches that level of insight someday, so even people with no faith in the Dharma can benefit!

For those of us who are of the Tibetan flavor of Buddhism, this is an essential text.Not for beginners at all (plenty of other things are).If you do any kind of deity practice, you want this. If you don't, it won't make any sense and isn't necessary.If the words in the title "Tantric Meditation" are attracting you, then you probably need a different test about Tibetan Buddhism, if you're curious and want to know what it's about. I would recommend "Contemplating Reality" by Karr. Or else "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism" by Chogyam Trungpa, if you can handle wisdom of a wilder, more original nature.Beautiful, powerful, genuinely inspiring and helpful.

Jamgon Kongtrul is the man!!! Good commentary by the other guy too. Peace and Blessings.

This is one of the books I recommend to Vajrayana practioners who sometimes feel they may have missed a point or need clarification on the generation stage after receiving oral instructions from a qualified teacher. Seasoned practitioners will likely again recognize no matter how many times they've heard a teaching each time brings something new and thus appreciate Thrangu Rinpoche's peerless commentary and Ms. Harding's unencumbered translation. I'm now happy I can add it to my Knindle library.

Great book on Tibetan Tantra. Please read it!!Now more than ever.

Absolutely a must read for all vajrayana practitioners. Clear, concise, practical. A joy.

excellent and invaluable guide to generation & completion phase practice. great commentaries and intro as well.

As a prelude to a teaching from a qualified Rinpoche indispensable.

Essential book for vajrayaana practitioners

tres bien

Very helpful handbook for perfecting one's visualization and understandingthe deeper reasons for doing it. The book provides a plausible argument as to why theancient spiritual practices work and the psychological reasons behind them.The text itself points out the nature of the mind in an immediate way, and the commentryby Thrangu Rinpoche provides a further lucid explanation of this.The book is also full of practical guidance as to how to sharpen one'svisualization, which applies to all practices.

Essential Points of Tantric MeditationCreation and Completion is a unique guide to the practice of Tibetan Buddhist tantra. Drawing on experiential explanations from two great masters, it is both concise and thorough, both authoritative and clear. In the creation stage of tantra, practitioners visualize themselves in the form of buddhas and other enlightened beings. This meditation practice prepares the mind for engaging in the completion stage, where one comes face to face with the ultimate nature of mind and reality.Jamgon Kongtrul, a pivotal figure in the Buddhist revival movement of nineteenth-century Tibet, was a master practitioner and one of Tibetan Buddhism's most prolific writers. His guide to tantric Buddhist meditation, translated here by Sarah Harding, was written in the style of the Tibetan songs of realization. The commentary by contemporary master Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche skillfully clarifies the nuances of Kongtrul's text, making the language come alive in a practical way for the modern reader. Harding's excellent introduction distills the essential features of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.The powerful meditation instructions, traditionally reserved for initiates alone, will be of immense value, both to aspiring and experienced practitioners alike.

Ein ideales Praxis(!)buch für alle, die die Essenz und tiefere Bedeutungen der Meditationstechniken der Erzeugungs- und Vollendungsstufe des buddhistischen Vajrayana erfassen wollen. Sowohl der Originaltext als auch die beiden Kommentare sprechen Leute an, die diese Visualisationstechniken praktizieren (wollen), und geben knapp, übersichtlich und äusserst klar den Kern dieser Meditationen wieder - und zeigen auch den (zum Teil subtilen) Unterschied zu ähnlichen Praktiken (Shamatha-Vipashyana, Mahamudra, Dzogchen)Für jeden Praktizierenden, der nicht nur Mantras stundenlang rezitieren und irgendwelche Yidams visualisieren, sondern der genaue Hintergründe und Tipps für die Praxis erfahren will, ein Muss !Es ist eine Freude, dieses Buch zu lesen, und mit eigenen Erfahrungen in der Praxis zu vergleichen !