Customer Reviews

Creation and Completion: Essential Points of Tantric Meditation

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This book is, indeed, a unique guide to the fundamental practice of Tibetan Buddhist tantra.

Basic to tantra is deity practice in devotional rituals and meditation techniques, and it consists of two stages: the creation stage and the completion stage. In the creation stage, practitioners visualise themselves in the form of the enlightened deity. In the completion phase this visualisation is subseqently dissolved.
As such, "creation" and "completion" of tantric mahayana (or vajrayana) are the equivalents of "shamatha" (tranquillity meditation) and "vipashyana" (insight meditation) of sutra mahayana.

The book is a translation of an exposition by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye, who designed this text as a guide to meditation practice. It was originally written entirely in verse, in the style of the songs of realization and other inspiration spiritual literature of Tibet.

This book is very accessible and clear, and it will certainly give the reader a better understanding of what tantric practice is all about. A must-read, for sure.

There is one book which is very useful to continue on this subject (as a companion book): "Generating the Deity" by Gyatrul Rinpoche (ISBN 1559390557).

Another excellent book, "Tsongkhapa's Six Yogas of Naropa" (ISBN 1559390581), in a translation by Glenn Mullin, is a comprehensive treatise on the completion stage of Highest Yoga Tantra (according to the Geluk transmission). This book is both unique and excellent!

It is hard, in my opinion, to overstate the usefulness of this book for beginners in the Kagyu or Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. I cannot speak to its usefulness for those in the Sakya or Gelug, although it may be quite useful for them as well. Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye's root text is accessible, potent and brilliant. Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche's commentary is compassionate, clear, thorough, and incredibly helpful. This book contains key points for Creation and Completion and also for Dzogchen and Mahamudra. There are several pith instructions and accessory instructions I haven't seen explained elsewhere, as well as fascinating discussions of Yogacara, Abhidharma, and Vajrayana technique. I think every Western Nyingma or Kagyu undertaking these practices, especially those with limited access to a teacher, should read this book.

I do not know how much training the previous reviewer has in esoteric Tibetan Buddhist practices, but for me this book was anything but clear.

First off, any potential buyer ought to know that of the book's already brief 170-odd pages, almost half of this is a reproduction of the original text in Tibetan - charming and pretty to look at, but utterly useless unless you know the language (incidentally I now do, but I doubt this applies to most readers). I suspect the translation is well-done, but the text is clearly intended for very advanced adepts; every line almost is a reference to other practices that should be continued or built upon, or refers to loaded philosophical terms. There are no practical instructions whatsoever in terms of actual 'generation and completion' -- this is of the class of pithy instructions given by a master to those who are on their way to becoming masters and are nearly there. It is more of the "Don't mess it up now that you've come so far" variety than "Here is how to begin."

I picked this up expecting I might be able to begin generation and completion practices with it, but alas.

Interesting perhaps to the scholar or highly advanced practitioner, but opaque and mostly meaningless for beginners or even intermediate students.