The Great Path of Awakening

Here is a practical Buddhist guidebook that offers techniques for developing a truly compassionate heart in the midst of everyday life. For centuries, Tibetans have used fifty-nine pithy slogans-such as "A joyous state of mind is a constant support" and "Don't talk about others' shortcomings"-as a means to awaken kindness, gentleness, and compassion. While Tibetan Buddhists have long valued these slogans, recently they have become popular in the West due to such books asStart Where You Areby Pema Chouml;drouml;n andTraining the Mindby Chouml;gyam Trungpa. This edition ofThe Great Path of Awakeningcontains an accessible, newly revised translation of the slogans from the famous textThe Seven Points of Mind Training. It also includes illuminating commentary from Jamgon Kongtrul that provides further instruction on how to meet every situation with intelligence and an open heart.

Jamg÷n Kongtrnl (1813–1899) was a versatile and prolific scholar. He has been characterized as a "Tibetan Leonardo" because of his significant contributions to religion, education, medicine, and politics.