Our small yet determined group of KIBI students is about to finish their first year of the Diploma course. Classes have drawn to an end for this semester, now students are preparing for the upcoming exam week. For a rather relaxed read during study breaks, we received some truly inspiring new releases on the lives of some outstanding Buddhist masters: Going back to the source of all teachings, ‘The Epic of the Buddha: His Life and Teachings’ contains the English translation of the Nepalese Sugata Saurabha. Chittadhar Hrdaya wrote this epic poem while imprisoned for subversion in the1940s and smuggled it out over time on scraps of paper. Winner of the Khyentse Foundation Prize for Outstanding Translation, the Buddha’s story comes to life in dramatic terms, filled with very humane characters who experience a wide range of emotions. Jumping forward in time, Alexander Gardner compiled a greatly informative yet vivid account on ‘The Life of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great’. In Kurtis Schaeffer’s words, this 19th century rime-master was “Tibetan Buddhism’s towering figure. Alex Gardner has given us a meticulously researched and utterly engaging history of one of Tibet’s most important intellectuals, immersing us in this epic life of politics, tradition, and visionary innovation. If you want to understand the historical roots of contemporary Tibetan Buddhism in all its richness, begin here.” Further, we received the first three volumes of The Lives of the Masters series on ‘Tsongkhapa: A Buddha in the Land of Snows’ (Thubten Jinpa), ‘Atisa Dipamkara: Illuminator of the Awakened Mind’ (James B. Apple) and ‘Gendun Chophel: Tibet’s Modern Visionary’ (Donald S. Lopez Jr.). All titles in this series ‘offer engaging introductions to the lives, works, and legacies of key Buddhist teachers, writers, and contemplatives. Each volume tells the story of an innovator who embodied the highest ideals of Buddhism, crafted a dynamic living tradition during his or her lifetime, and transmitted a vibrant legacy of wisdom to future generations. Indispensable to practitioners and scholars alike, these volumes offer a gateway to better understanding these great figures and their times’ [Publisher description], and also contain some of their key instructions. For short reading excerpts & links to further information, click on the pictures below. Reading excerpts: https://catalogue.bibliotheque-dhagpo-kagyu.org/#/notice/12288 ”Lord! It is nothing but a body devoid of life, Fastened to a bamboo bier and covered by a shroud. It is being taken to the riverside for cremation on a pyre since Once one is born, death is the end, and for us all it is so.” Darkened was Gautama’s face upon hearing this from the charioteer As mixed feelings formed one after the other in his mind. All the things in the outside world that met his eyes Now seemed like heaps of ashes before him. He remembered his mother who was said to have died seven days after his birth; What to do for younger mother Queen Gautami and his dear father Shuddhodhana? He saw their dying, as well as his dear wife, daughter-in-law of the Shakya family, Then the thought ‘Death will also take me!’ crossed his mind and gnawed at him. The chariot wheels rolled faster, and though he felt unaware of where he was, He saw before him the wheel of time revolving round and round. (…) Yet on their way back, Gautama saw in the street An ascetic of remarkable mien robed in orange, And so he asked, ‘Who is this man? His face shines with such serenity, His features draw one’s eyes so much that I don’t want to stop gazing at him.’ The driver after saying ‘As you wish!’ slowed the chariot down, So that while he looked all around, he saw the world-renouncing ascetic And this caused many feelings to start racing through his mind. So pointing to the ascetic, he conceived a suitable reply- ‘Lord! What more do I need to say, since you know better. Having renounced all worldly pleasures, This monk living by begging his food Is dedicated to doing good for others.’ These words seemed to give him solace and his countenance brightened, Seeing the features of the ascetic reflecting his inner peace. At that instant he resolved to live the life of an ascetic [p.130] https://catalogue.bibliotheque-dhagpo-kagyu.org/#/notice/12470 In early 1840 a young lama named Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo crossed the Hak Pass that separated Pelpung from the Sakya monastery of Dzongsar to request teachings from Kongtrul. Khyentse Wangpo would become Kongtrul’s closest collaborator and lifelong dear friend. The two lamas inspired each other, swapped teachings, and visited each other in their dreams. They nurtured a real and lasting affection for each other that was born the moment they met. For nearly sixty years they delighted on meeting, expressing the strength of their feelings through gifts, praises and ritual. (…) When the two met for the first time, Khyentse was on the eve of his first trip to central Tibet, where he would take ordination at Mindroling and study at Ngor for three years. (…) At this point of his career, Kongtrul was known only for being able to offer instructions in Sanskrit, and it seems the two only looked at texts relating to Candragomin’s grammar. If any other topics came up, Kongtrul does not mention them. [p.87, 89] https://catalogue.bibliotheque-dhagpo-kagyu.org/#/notice/12617 Gendun Chopel seemed always to be floating between worlds. He was born when the British invaded Tibet; he died when the Chinese invaded Tibet. He floated between Nyingma and Geluk, monk and layman, Tibet and India, Tibetan and Sanskrit, positivist historian and philosophical sceptic. Gendun Chopel’s critics, of whom there were many, condemned him as a Communist, an atheist, a traitor, an apostate, even an enemy of Buddhism. To those who have read what he wrote, these charges are clearly false. He remained a Tibetan patriot and a devout Buddhist until his last days, requesting that prayers by Mi pham and Tsong kha pa be read to him on his deathbed. Yet, he was unlike other Buddhist masters. Although identified as a tulku, he never had a labrang, monastic disciples, or wealthy patrons. His collected writings are unlike those of the masters of the previous generations, or even his own. [p. 89] https://catalogue.bibliotheque-dhagpo-kagyu.org/#/notice/12618 When the Tibetan teachers from Central Tibet traveled to meet Atisa, they were wearing nice clothing and hats and rode on ornamented horses. Atisa could immediately see them from a distance. Atisa initially thought that a herd of Tibetan demons were coming, as their heads were covered. Then, as they arrived in front of Atisa’s entourage and the ministers descended from their horses, the three robes of a Buddhist monastic along with the golden rosaries adorned on the Tibetan teachers became clearly visible. Atisa was delighted and saluted with his hands…In Upper Nyang, Atisa met Marpa lotsawa Chokyi Lodro (1012-1097). Marpa lotsawa attended a few sessions of Atisa’s teachings. Atisa asked Marpa to serve as his translator, but Marpa respectfully declined, as he was on his way to India. [p.51-52]. https://catalogue.bibliotheque-dhagpo-kagyu.org/#/notice/12619 Tsongkhapa: In Rendawa, Tsongkhapa had finally found a teacher who could occupy that special place formerly held by his childhood teacher, Choje Dhondup Rinchen. In one sense, during his three years of wandering from one monastery to another, studying at the feet of different teachers and sitting for formal debates, Tsongkhapa was in fact searching for a personal teacher, someone with whom he had a special karmic connection. Once he had found such a teacher in Rendawa, Tsongkhapa forged a relationship with the master that would come to define his life, not just during his student years but also later, when he became a great master of Dharma in his own right. [p.42]