In this book, subtitled "A Guide to Awareness, Self-healing, and Meditation," Tarthang Tulku applies his simple,  radically honest and direct teaching style to the question of how to attain meditative equanimity, whether on the cushion or in the rest of our lives.

     It is taken for granted in American culture that the individual will identify with his/her emotions and follow their dictates.  In recent decades,  such dubious cultural values have infected more and more people, with access to greater material wealth, at the same time that the business/religions of our culture have evolved ever more cunning pitches to our emotions. This dynamic is now fueling the disintegration of that culture, heedless of the long range consequences as long as the short-term balance sheet looks good.  We are effectively hostages of a military-industrial complex that brooks no exceptions to its rules; hence the Inquisition over drugs, the burgeoning prison population, the murders at Waco. We are so brainwashed that most people take their captivity for granted, and spend their time deeply involved in television, romance novels, and sports.   Every now and again, like matter appearing in empty space, a rare individual starts to notice the cycle of his/er pain.  Gesture is an excellent set of instructions for such an awakening. It is applied Buddhism; nothing is said about prayers or deities, though a wealth of non-verbal information can be absorbed from the splendid cover and the line drawings that adorn the book.  After all, not everything can be said--but even that which is totally ineffable can be implied:
 

 When we learn to deal directly with our complaints and difficulties, romanticized ideas about the spiritual path are no longer meaningful.  We see that what is important is to take responsibility for ourselves, and to always be aware of our thoughts, feelings, and actions.  We can deal effectively with our problems, develop our potential, and discover meaning and value in our lives.  This may  sound simplistic, but it sometimes is helpful to just forget our problems for a short time.  In the process we see that much of what we have been caught up in has narrowed our perspective. Our worry, anxiety and unhappiness have themselves become an obstacle to our inner balance and development and have prevented us from dealing constructively with our difficulties.

Emotional cycles and habit patterns are difficult to break, for our mental confusion often makes it hard to distinguish what is healthy from what is harmful.  This is particularly evident where people live in crowded conditions and are exposed to diverse and conflicting influences; the confusion and negativity can  be overwhelming.  People develop a sense of hopelessness--a feeling that there is no alternative, no way out.  Eventually, such an attitude causes loss of vitality and total indifference.

Therefore, it is important to recognize the power of our emotions--and to take responsibility for them by creating a light and positive atmosphere around ourselves.  This attitude of joy that we create helps alleviate states of hopelessness, loneliness, and despair.  Our relationships with others thus naturally improve, and little by little the whole of society becomes more positive and balanced.
 

     The only defenses against such accurate social commentary are to dismiss its solutions as trite or to ignore it entirely.  Tarthang Tulku is largely ignored; you wonât be reading about him in People any  time soon. He (to his credit, really) makes no effort at mass marketing his wisdom, but works directly with a small enough group of students that everyone has access to him.   Meanwhile, the sheer utility of what he has to impart in this and his other books has spread them widely through  our culture.  The dough is rising.....

---

FOOTSTEPS
on the
DIAMOND PATH

ed. by Tarthang Tulku

    This book is a treasure trove.  Tarthang Tulku, (who wrote a lot of this, as well as editing it) works closely with a small group of students in Northern California.  His teachings are expounded more fully in such books as Gesture of Balance, Knowledge of Freedom, Time, Space, and Knowledge, and Mastering Successful Work. He is an extraordinarily lucid writer, especially considering that English is his second language.  In Footsteps,  he gives his own instructions and also introduces us to classic Buddhist teachers like Shantideva, Patrul Rinpoche, Mipham, and Machig Labdron.

One of the features of this book is a series of illustrations of Tarthang Tulkuâs lineage, done in classic  Tibetan line drawing style, beginning with Kuntuzangpo proceeding through Garab Dorje and other classical-era Tibetan teachers, into 18th- and 19th-century teachers,  finishing with a teacher of Tarthang Tulkuâs who was born in 1907--which would be impossible to tell from the drawing, which is stylistically identical to those of such semi-legendary figures as Garab Dorje.  Will contemporary teachers be portrayed in this style?  I would guess some of those alive will be.
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

His Holiness Dar-thang mChog-sprul Rinpoche (b. 1894-1959) An incarnation of Manjusri, supreme abbot of Dar-thang Monastery in 'Gu-log and an essential carrier of dPal-yul's 300 year old lineage of Terma which is mainly based upon Padmasambhava's eight Heruka Sadhanas. His coming was predicted by many Tertons; finally, lHa-sprul Rinpoche (1862-1945) the founder of Dar-Thang, discovered the boy in Gyal-rong and brought him to the monastery. Under his care, the Monastery flourished and greatly expanded. One of seven principal teachers of Tarthang Tulku, his offerings included personal meditation instruction and many sNying-thig initiations. He also gave Tarthang Tulku valuable advice as to who should be his next teachers and what subjects he should focus on.
 

Footsteps on the Diamond Path, Crystal Mirror Series, Volumes I-III, Dharma Publishing, 1992
Lineage of Diamond Light, Crystal Mirror Series, Volume V, Dharma Publishing, 1991
Masters of the Nyingma Lineage, Crystal Mirror Series, Volume Eleven, Dharma Publishing, 1995
Gesture of Balance, Tarthang Tulku, Dharma Publishing, 1977