Being Guru Rinpoche: A Commentary on Nuden Dorje's Terma Vidyadhara Guru Sadhana Book

Being Guru Rinpoche is a translation of a Tibetan ritual text in the Nyingmapa tradition, with commentary. The original is a 'terma' or hidden treasure of Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), discovered in the nineteenth century by Nuden Dorje, revealed publicly by Chhimed Rigdzin Rinpoche in the early 1980s. The transformative process of tantric meditation is illustrated here through the interplay of a traditional ritual text with a modern commentary. This profound method evokes not just an improvement in one's personal qualities but also a fundamental shift in the way one experiences oneself in the world with others. Through symbolic and actual identification with the pure form of Guru Rinpoche, also known as Padmasambhava, we are freed from the hooks of our familiar assumptions and habitual activities. Just as a holiday can take us out of ourselves and lets us see our lives with fresh eyes, so the practice which this book presents, offers us an opportunity to look at ourselves anew, revealing the infinite in the ordinary. The commentary provides background information contextualizing the practice in relation to Indian culture, Buddhist philosophy and the complexity of modern culture. It shows how the profundity of the Buddhist view is brought into lived experience through opening to the drama of aesthetic engagement.Read More