Translation of
Kun bzang bla ma'i zhal lung
Patrul Rinpoche's famous contemplative guidebook to the preliminary practices of the Longchen Nyingthig he wrote based on the teachings he repeatedly received from his teacher, Jigme Gyalwai Nyugu.
Kun bzang bla m a'i zhal lung. (Kunzang Lame Shelung). In Tibetan, "Words of My Perfect Teacher," a popular Buddhist text, written by the celebrated nineteenth- century Tibetan luminary Dpal sprul Rinpoche during a period of prolonged retreat at his cave hermitage above Rdzogs chen monastery in eastern Tibet. It explains the preliminary practices (sngon 'gro) for the klong chen snying thig ("Heart Essence of the Great Expanse"), a system of Rnying ma doctrine and meditation instruction stemming from the eighteenth-century treasure revealer (gter ston) 'Jigs med gling pa. The work is much loved for its direct, nontechnical approach and for its heartfelt practical advice. Dpal sprul Rin po che's language ranges from lyrical poetry to the vernacular, illustrating points of doctrine with numerous scriptural quotations, accounts from the lives of past Tibetan saints, and examples from everyday life— many of which refer to cultural practices specific to the author’s native land. While often considered a Rnying ma text, the Kun bzang bla m ai zhal lung is read widely throughout the sects of Tibetan Buddhism, a readership presaged by the author's participation in the Ris med or so-called nonsectarian movement of eastern Tibet during the nineteenth century. (Source: "Kun bzang bla ma'i zhal lung" In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 455. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
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Other editions
The Words of My Perfect Teacher (1998)
A favorite of Tibetans and recommended by the Dalai Lama and other senior Buddhist teachers, this practical guide to inner transformation introduces the fundamental spiritual practices common to all Tibetan Buddhist traditions. The Words of My Perfect Teacher is the classic commentary on the preliminary practices of the Longchen Nyingtig—one of the best-known cycles of teachings and a spiritual treasure of the Nyingmapa school—the oldest Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Patrul Rinpoche makes the technicalities of his subject accessible through a wealth of stories, quotations, and references to everyday life. His style of mixing broad colloquialisms, stringent irony, and poetry has all the life and atmosphere of an oral teaching. Great care has been taken by the translators to render the precise meaning of the text in English while still reflecting the vigor and insight of the original Tibetan.
A preface by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, insightful introductory essays, explanatory notes, and classic illustrations enhance this quintessential introduction to Tibetan Buddhist practice. This new edition includes translations of a postface to the text written a century ago (for the first printed edition in Tibetan) by the first Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, and a new preface by the late Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. The notes, glossary and bibliography have been expanded and updated, Sanskrit names and terminology have been given their proper transliterated form, and the illustrations have been improved in quality and supplemented with new material.Book
