A new translation of Tibet's most important manual for Mahamudra view and meditation.
DAKPO TASHI NAMGYAL (1513-1587) was the first recognized
reincarnation of Gampopa and an important master of the Dakpo Kagyu
tradition. He wrote two highly acclaimed texts on Mahamudra
practice- Moonbeams of Mahamudra and Clarifying the Natural
State.
ELIZABETH M. CALLAHAN is a Tibetan translator of the Kagyu
tradition. She completed two three-year retreats at Kagyu Thubten
Ch ling in New York, is a student of Khenpo Ts ltrim Gyamtso
Rinpoche, and has been a Tsadra Foundation Fellow since 2002. Her
previous translations include The Treasury of Knowledge- Frameworks
of Buddhist Philosophy by Jamg n Kongtrul and The Profound Inner
Reality by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje.
“This remarkable text, Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā, contains the essence
of the entire Buddhist tradition as it has come to us from India
and Tibet. The author, Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, clearly lays out the
profound path of Mahāmudrā with both the analytical style of a
scholar and the experiential style of a meditator. This unique
approach is, at the same time, profound, practical, and completely
accessible. It is my sincere wish that this new translation will
inspire and benefit all who encounter it.”—Yongey Mingyur
Rinpoche
“Dakpo Tashi Namgyal’s Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā is a fine piece of
traditional scholarship that is, at the same time, a clear manual
for beginners as well as advanced Mahāmudrā meditation
practitioners. With her extensive introduction and new annotated
translation of Moonbeams, Elizabeth M. Callahan renders an enormous
service for scholars and practitioners alike. The introduction does
not only cover a comprehensive history of the relevant transmission
lineages, but also discusses in an academically balanced and
well-documented way the major issues of current research, such as
the controversy around the attempts to justify sūtra-based
Mahāmudrā. The new translation of Moonbeams profits from Callahan’s
exemplary mastery of classical Tibetan philology as well as her
long-standing experience of Mahāmudrā meditation. This rare
combination of skills shines throughout the highly readable text,
making Dakpo Tashi Namgyal’s Mahāmudrā classic for the first time
easily accessible.”—Klaus-Dieter Mathes, Professor of Buddhist
Studies, University of Vienna
“Mahāmudrā, the “great seal” of empty and blissful awareness, was a
crucial concept and meditative practice in late Indian Buddhism and
lies at the very heart of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.
No Kagyu text on the great seal is more important that Dakpo Tashi
Namgyal’s Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā, and with Elizabeth Callahan’s
superb new translation, this masterwork receives the full scholarly
treatment it deserves. Her fresh translation of the shorter but
equally influential Mahāmudrā: Dispelling the Darkness of
Ignorance, by the Ninth Karmapa, only adds to the richness of this
spiritual and intellectual feast—which will be savored by any
scholar or practitioner seeking a lucid explanation of some of the
deepest explorations the nature of mind and reality ever
undertaken.”—Roger Jackson, Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies and
Religion, Carleton College
"Moonbeams of Mahāmudrā is not only a meditation instruction manual
but a lucid explanation of Ground, Path, and Result Mahāmudrā in
the context of the Buddhist path. Dakpo Tashi Namgyal taught it so
well that he came to be known as the reincarnation of Gampopa.
Elizabeth Callahan spent her entire life studying and translating
Mahāmudrā texts. There is no doubt that anybody who wishes to study
Mahāmudrā will need to read this book."—Ringu Tulku
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