Not for Happiness: A Guide to the So-Called Preliminary Practices

by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse

Overview

From the author of What Makes You Not a Buddhist comes a fresh look at the foundations of Tibetan Buddhist practice, with practical advice and guidance for the modern practitioner

Do you practice meditation because you want to feel good? Or to help you relax and be “happy”? Then frankly, according to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, you are far better off having a full-body massage than trying to practice the Dharma.

Genuine spiritual practice, not least the Ngöndro preliminaries, will not bring the kind of comfort and ease most worldly people crave. Quite the opposite, in fact. But if your ultimate goal is enlightenment, Ngöndro practice is a must, and Not for Happiness your perfect guide, as it contains everything an aspiring practitioner needs to get started, including advice about:

• Developing “renunciation mind”
• Discipline, meditation and wisdom
• Using your imagination in visualization practice
• Why you need a guru

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611800302
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	10/16/2012
Pages:	240
Sales rank:	528,684
Product dimensions:	5.62(w) x 8.28(h) x 0.65(d)

About the Author

Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse (Khyentse Norbu) is a Tibetan Buddhist lama who travels and teaches internationally and is also an award-winning filmmaker. He is the abbot of several monasteries in Asia and the spiritual director of meditation centers in Vancouver, San Francisco, Sydney, Hong Kong, and Taipei. He is also head of a Buddhist organization called Siddhartha’s Intent.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction 1

Part 1 Why We Do Ngöndro Practice

1 What Is Dharma Good For? 13

2 The Causal and the Resultant Paths 33

3 Introduction to Ngöndro Practice 41

4 Your Spiritual Warm-Up 51

5 Using Your Imagination 71

6 Why Do We Need a Guru? 81

Part 2 The Ngöndro

7 Taking Refuge 95

8 Arousing Bodhichitta 111

9 The Practice of Purification by Meditating on the Guru as Vajrasattva 137

10 Mandala Offering 151

11 Kusali Practice 173

12 Guru Yoga 177

13 Abhisheka and the Four Empowerments in Guru Yoga 191

14 Practice Advice 203

Acknowledgments 214

Notes 217

Index 220

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Students’ Reactions to Not for Happiness:

“Having a map of the path that shows where each practice is headed helps me to see what each stage is preparing me for. Even the chapters that at first didn’t seem relevant to my current practice contained such great gems of teaching that they turned out to be extremely relevant and very helpful.”—Catherine Fordham

“To me, this book is like the world’s best kind of GPS! I feel that by following its guidance, even though I am not a skilful driver, I will have the confidence to drive through my Ngöndro practice—and may even end up feeling quite good about it!”—Helena Wang

Editorial Reviews

Students’ Reactions to Not for Happiness:


“Having a map of the path that shows where each practice is headed helps me to see what each stage is preparing me for. Even the chapters that at first didn’t seem relevant to my current practice contained such great gems of teaching that they turned out to be extremely relevant and very helpful.”—Catherine Fordham

“To me, this book is like the world’s best kind of GPS! I feel that by following its guidance, even though I am not a skilful driver, I will have the confidence to drive through my Ngöndro practice—and may even end up feeling quite good about it!”—Helena Wang

From the Publisher