The Cosmos, the Person, and the Sadhana

A Treatise on Tibetan Tantric Meditation

Yael Bentor

• Publisher: University of Virginia Press
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9780813951065
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Philosophy of Religion

A new translation and interpretation of a seminal fourteenth-century treatise on Tibetan Buddhist meditation

Sādhana, which translates as “realization,” is the primary form of meditation in the Tantric Buddhism of Tibet. In this spiritual exercise, practitioners dissolve their ordinary reality—their identity and environment—and in its place visualize an awakened being. Eventually they actually transform into this divine being. In this vital new volume, Yael Bentor offers an invaluable translation of Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa’s famous treatise on this form of meditation.

Tsongkhapa was an influential monk, philosopher, and tantric yogi whose activities led to the formation of one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism. His treatise draws fascinating links between tantric practice, cosmogony, and the life cycle of a yogi engaged in the practice. Bentor’s vivid translation, accompanied by her expert introduction and commentary, provides the grounding necessary to properly understand the text, tracing the reception and trajectory of Tsongkhapa’s work through history and evaluating its great relevance up to the present day.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• 1. The Cosmos and Cosmogony: Teaching Buddhism through Creation Stories
• 2. The Person: Death, the Intermediate State, and Rebirth
• 3. A General Explanation of the Sādhana
• 4. A Detailed Explanation of the Sādhana
• Fulfilling the Bee’s Hope / Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakpa
• Appendix
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index