Sakya Lineage

The History of Sakya begins with a race of celestial beings having descended from the Clear Light heavens in the Realm of Form to take up residence in the snow mountains of Tibet for the benefit of living beings. This was ten generations before the arrival of Guru Padmasambhava. At this time they were known as Lha Rig. After eight generations, due to a dispute with a Yaksha leader, the Lha Rig also became known as the Khon which means 'dispute' or 'strife.' In 750 A.D. the Khon family became students of Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava receiving especially the Vajrakila empowerment. A Khon son received novice monk ordination from Shantirakshita at Samye, becoming one of the first seven monk translators in all of Tibet. For the next thirteen generations (750-1073), the Khon family was a central pillar of the Nyingmapa School in Tsang Province.

Parting from the Four Attachments      £ 10.95   Jetsun Drakpa Gyeltsen`s Song of Experience The teaching on Parting from the Four Attachments is universally regarded as one of the jewels of Tibetan Buddhism. Chogye Trichen Rinpoche is one of the main teachers of the Dalai Lama, Sakya Trizin and many other great Lamas, and here he leads us through a detailed and lucid exploration of the nature of mind, pointing out inevitable pitfalls in spiritual practice and how they can be avoided. "Quintessential teachings on how to genuinely enter into the practice of Dharma and get to the very core of the path, by one of the last great Tibetan masters of the old generation, commenting on classic verses of the Sakya tradition." Matthieu Ricard.

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Ordinary Wisdom     £ 12.99   A profound, down-to-earth, and practical guide to the art of living, the Sakya Legshe, or Treasury of Good Advice, has been fundamental to the development of Tibetan culture and character. Sakya Pandita's celebrated text uses proverbs and stories to address the basic question of how we are to live peaceably with ourselves and others, in the process revealing the essence of the Buddhist way of life. With great humour and grace, he offers inspiration and advice relevant to human life in every era and in all cultures, addressing questions of achievement and failure, anger and kindness, deceit and desire, intelligence and foolishness, and wealth and wisdom. "Ordinary Wisdom is a sterling translation of one of the most beloved books of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Sakya Pandita's masterpiece gives advice on the conduct of life suitable for the ordinary individual...Daveenport opens timeless Tibetan wisdom to Western readers." Gelek Rinpoche. "This English translation is indeed welcome as it presents ancient wisdom in ordinary life. By composing the verses in a clear and coherent fashion, the great author reinforced the then ongoing trend to refine the native culture and inspire the common people. It thus became one of the most popular classics throughout Tibet." Lobsang P.Lhalungpa.

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Saint in Seattle     £ 19.95   The Life of the Tibetan Mystic Dezhung Rinpoche The inspiring and unlikely true story of one of the first Tibetan Buddhist teachers in America, the Sakya Lama Dezhung Rinpoche, who His Holiness Sakya Trizin called "one of the great scholar-yogis of our time." In 1960, Dezhung Rinpoche (1906-87) arrived in Seattle after being forced into exile from his native land by the communist Chinese. Already a revered master of the teachings of all Tibetan Buddhist schools, he would eventually become a teacher of some of Western Buddhism's most noted scholars. "David Jackson is perhaps the finest and most creative Tibetologist living today, and this biography, over a decade in the making, is a splendid cultural history. A Saint in Seattle will remain as a model of how the lives of modern saints should be approached." E.Gene Smith. "A man of profound and wide-ranging learning, great dignity, and the highest ethical standards, he nevertheless carried these weighty attributes humbly, leavened with great personal warmth, humour, and compassion. For historians of Tibet, Dezhung Rinpoche was a living archive, and demonstrated to all by his example that the rich tree of religious life must be watered by love…a meticulously researched biography of this celebrated teacher." Matthew Kapstein.

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Clear Mirror A Traditional Account of Tibet's Golden Age      £ 11.95   Author(s) : Sakyapa Sonam Gyeltsen & Taylor, McComas & Lama Choedak Yuthok A rich blend of history, legend, poetry, adventure and romance, this book is a treasure-trove of the traditional narrative and folk wisdom of Tibet. It presents in full the elusive but often-cited accounts of the origins of the Tibetan people, the arrival of Buddhism and the appearance of Avalokiteshvara as Tibet's patron deity. Compiled in 1368 from earlier histories as well as a rich oral tradition, the text treats the era during which Buddhism came to Tibet, the city of Lhasa was established as the capital, and the Jokhang and Ramoche temples were founded. The compiler, the renowned Sakya scholar Sonam Gyeltsen, narrates the traditional accounts in an engaging and highly readable style, in his words, "to give pleasure to the faithful and to those who desire a history of the propagation of the teachings." Written to inform and entertain, the book has maintained a preeminent position in Tibetan society and is still popular today.

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Luminous Lives The Story of the Early Masters of the Lam`dre in Tibet      £ 28.95   Author(s) : Stearns, Cyrus A detailed description of the lineage masters of the Lamdre, or Path and its Result, teachings which are at the heart of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The Lamdre tradition has been practiced in Tibet for almost a thousand years, and Luminous Lives is the first in-depth study of its history and literature. The central focus of this work is a rare Tibetan history that brings alive the story of the earliest practitioners of the Lamdre. This text, recording the words of the great Sakya Pandita, was a major source for all later histories of the tradition. Recently rediscovered, it has been reproduced here along with Cyrus Stearns` translation, introduction and annotations. Luminous Lives opens a window into the world of one of the great traditions of tantric Buddhism in Tibet. "Stearns` survey of the oldest Lamdre literature with the admirable translation of a collective biography of the early masters of the tradition is a wonderful contribution to our knowledge of an unexplored area in Tibetan cultural history." Leonard van der Kuijp. "Cyrus Stearns presents in this book a rare manuscript history of the Path with its Fruit instructions, the teaching that is at the very heart of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. He proves himself to be one of the best Tibetan translators working today, capturing faithfully and movingly both the spirit and literal sense of his thirteenth-century author." David Jackson.

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Three Levels of Spiritual Perception A Commentary on the Three Visions      £ 19.95   Author(s) : Deshung Rinpoche & Rhoton, Jared Douglas An explanation of the Lam-dre or "Path with Its Result" system of meditation that has been special to the Sakya tradition for over a thousand years. According to this there are three levels of perception on the path - perception of ordinary beings, the vision experienced by those who have begun meditation, and the pure vision of those who are enlightened. These three levels are ultimately shown to be inseperable.

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Three Visions Fundamental Teachings of the Sakya Lineage      £ 10.95   Author(s) : Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub The most profound and fundamental teaching of the Sakya tradition is that of the Path Including its Result, or Lamdre, which comes from the Indian mahasiddha Virupa. This unique teaching covers the entire Buddhist path from the time of entering the spiritual discipline up to the attainment of full and perfect enlightenment. Though it comprehensively explains the tenets of the Buddha, its main function is to serve as a manual for contemplating and meditating upon the various stages leading to the final result of ultimate happiness and liberation. Previously published as the Beautiful Ornament of the Three Visions, this work examines the state of those experiencing suffering, those engaged in the methods leading towards freedom from unhappiness and misery, and those fully enlightened ones who have attained the highest goal of omniscient awakening. In a very direct and simple manner, the text leads the reader step by step over the vast path culminating in ultimate peace. "A comprehensive synthesis of the views and practices of the Bodhisattva path, it is a definitive handbook that guides a practitioner on the path in a manner that is systematic, succinct, and easy to understand. All who are interested in Buddhism will benefit from a careful study and application of this much treasured text." Sakya Jetsun Chimey Luding.

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Visions Vol 1     £ 9.99   Author(s) : Migmar Tseten Instructions from the Sakya tradition: the Great Song of Experience by Jetsun Rinpoche Dragpa Gyaltsen, the Perfection of Meditation by Khenpo Appey Rinpoche, and an interview with His Holiness Sakya Trizin on the essence of Buddhism.

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Visions Vol 2     £ 9.99   Author(s) : Migmar Tseten More teaching from the Sakya tradition: the Nature of Mind by Sakya Trizin, the Buddhist Essence Teaching by Sakya Pandita, the Production of Faith - the Enlightenment Thought by Khenpo Appey Rinpoche, the Song of Enquiring About Good Health; the Song of Praising Place; and the Song of Eight Practices of Dreams by Jetsun Rinpoche Dragpa Gyaltsen, and an article on the Four Noble Truths by Peter Della Santina.

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Rain of Clarity     £ 14.99   A comprehensive guide to all aspects of the Buddhist path according to the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This text also addresses issues facing contemporary Western practitioners of Buddhism. Based on the authority of the great masters of the Sakya such as Sakya Pandita, Sonam Tsemo, and Gorampa, as well as the classical Indian shastras, Rain of Clarity explains the stages of the path to enlightenment through the particular understanding of the Sakya tradition. "Lama Jampa Thaye has endeavoured, through his teachings and writings, to take the Dharma to Western devotees in a form that supports them in implementing the principles of Buddhist philosophy in their lives. It is a pleasure to introduce his latest effort in propagating the Dharma. This work is intended as a gateway into Buddhist spiritual thought as a basis for a healthy and spiritually fulfilled life. In it, Lama Jampa Thaye covers the Buddhist path from the initial taking refuge right up to the profound teachings of the vajrayana." H.H.Saya Trizin.

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History of the Sakya Tradition     £ 8.95   A brief account of the history of the Sakya lineage, from its Indian origins to the Sakya lamas of today.

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