A Complete Session of Meditation (English)

Title	A Complete Session of Meditation
Sub-title	The Theory and Practice of Kagyu-Nyingma Meditation from Shamatha to Dzogchen
Author	Tony Duff
Details	198 pages, 5.5" X 8.5", US$25, available in paper and PDF e-book formats
ISBN	paper book 978-9937-572-71-2, e-book 978-9937-572-72-9
Language	English and Hungarian books available; for the Hungarian version • go here

This is a book of teachings on how to do a complete session of meditation. The book was composed by the Western teacher, Lama Tony Duff, to help those who would like to practise meditation in general. However, it will be especially useful for those who would like to practise according to the ways of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. The book emphasizes the practical style of instruction found in those two traditions. It deliberately avoids the scholarly style taught in some other Tibetan Buddhist traditions and focusses on actually doing something with one’s own mind. Nonetheless, the book is very precise and clear about all of the key points involved in meditation practice.

The book emphasizes the Kagyu approach in particular. The author has received teachings from many Kagyu masters and used his knowledge of the tradition as a basis for making this book. He selected teachings from Gampopa and other early masters to set the basis for explaining meditation. Then he added other, necessary teachings according to the extensive teachings he has received over many years from many different Kagyu masters, such as Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Mingyur Rinpoche, and others. The result is a book that explains how to do a complete session of meditation in the style of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions.

The book begins with a lengthy introduction by Lama Tony which is a teaching in its own right. He writes a lengthy piece about what can and cannot usefully be obtained from science in terms of dharma practice. Following the introduction, there are two chapters on the buddha nature, the second of which uses a significant portion of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen’s explanation of the ground in his famous Mountain Dharma text. This is the first time that this part of Dolpopa’s text has been fully translated and published. After that are several chapters on the various steps of a complete session of meditation. Anyone who practises meditation will find this book useful in many ways.

The book contains a translation of the following text:

“Mountain Dharma, An Ocean of Definitive Meaning” by Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsan, ground section

Introduction

I. Possibilities
Your Enlightened Core
Great Beings Talk About the Enlightened Core

II. Overview
Overview of the Path of Meditation

III. A Complete Session of Meditation
Preparations:
Taking Refuge and Arousing Enlightenment Mind

Main Practices:
Development of Insight into Reality Through the Practices of Shamatha and Vipashyana
The Key Points of the Body: Posture
The Key Points of Mind: Shamatha
The Key Points of Mind: Vipashyana: The Two Truths and Emptiness
The Key Points of Mind: Vipashyana: Emptiness Progressively Understood Through the Four Schools of Buddhist Philosophy
The Key Points of Mind: Vipashyana: Emptiness Known Through Examination of Time
The Key Points of Mind: Vajra Vehicle Meditations on Reality

Conclusion:
Dedication, The Seal
Glossary
Supports for Study
Index