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The Door of Liberation: Essential Teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition

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This book was written at the end of his lifetime by this extraordinary Mongolian Lama (teacher) who first brought Tibetan Buddhism to America in 1955. Geshe Wangyal was teacher to several generations of students, among them some of the most famous names of Tibetan Buddhist translation and exposition today. The book, a compilation of various translations from the Tibetan, was made under his supervision at the monastery he founded in New Jersey. It is his utterly straightforward, sincere, and authentic offering of the Teaching (Dharma). Geshe Wangyal does not hold back, giving us everything we need to know. "Do not just accumulate sensless bits of knowledge," he tells us, "when studying the Teaching, but try to increase your understanding."

Its contents (briefly summarized below) span the full range of Buddhist teachings:
1. Begins with an introductory by Geshe Wangyal in which he offers the unique pure presentation of the Tibetan overview of the Teachings revealing the hidden threads that link the various selections of his book together.
2. There is a colorful and fabulous history of the Dharma, featuring tales of the great teachers.
3. A section of eloquent, vivid, and touching stories of the previous lives of the Buddha, as well as of one of his female disciples.
4. Then a text of precepts -- kernel-like nuggets of advice from the spiritual lineage of teacher to student -- on the bringing of the practice of Dharma into one's everyday life. (When asked which was most important teaching a famous teacher replied, "The precept of the Lama.")
5. Finally the book concludes with a number of pivotal texts by Tsong-kha-pa, the 15th century founder of the Yellow Hat sect. These set forth his exquisite yet precise delineations clarifying the Buddhist path to enlightenment, some with commentaries. Included is the immensely beautiful and profound enlightenment poem, written upon his realization of emptiness and dependent origination as being the same, praising the teachings of the Buddha. "Such...[teachers]...as Tsong-kha-pa...did not create new teachings, but rather, clarified the original word of the Buddha...."

This is a real book. Its feet are firm upon the Earth, while it plumbs the depths and soars into the rainbow sky. Geshe Wangyal plainly gives us this gift without the least bit of technical language, allowing the book to be enthralling and enlightening for anybody, from the total newcomer to the most avid expert on the subject.

A treasury of delight, nutrition to the starving mind, contains the quintessence of Dharma. Conspire to share the thrill.

Enter the gateway to the Door of Liberation