good vajrayana/tibetan buddhism book

PietroPumokin

HELLO my friends, i am interested in some sort of comprehensive book oriented around ELUCIDATING the path from a tibetan perspective. the only book of tibetan buddhism i've read is kelsang gyatso's 'transform your life', and i can tell there is a difference of approach than the kind from something like a zen orientated book. in 'zen mind beginner's mind' it's a collection of talks by shunryu suzuki roshi, which i liked a lot because it was very informal and fulfilling and good prose. kelsang's book wasn't as fun of a read, though i still liked it. BUT so now i'm looking for a book that is coming from someone in vajrayana/tibetan buddhism/ WHATever , that has a personal sort of prose style, and maybe is a little more than just a book for a general/new audience , but rather more experienced buddhists who are already somewhat familiar with buddhism in general and the key concepts and such... and also, maybe, but still introducing vajrayana to people who are not experienced in this particular type of buddhism... uhhhuhu HAHA this may sound confusing and no worry in recommending a book that doesnt perfectly match what i'm lookjing for, i would just like some sort of book that is pretty good.... THanks!!!

aMatt

Well, that is kind of a tall order I had read many books on Zen, which was my first introduction into buddhist philosophy. My teacher though, was from the Tibetan flavor, in the Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche lineage. He introduced me to The Myth of Freedom, by Trungpa, and of all the books on Buddhism I've read, it is one that I giggled through the most. It touches on the main points of the tradition and has many practical connections. You might get a sense that the words were for a structured mind, but if information is what you're seeking, I think it would work for you.

As far as vajrayana, there is a book called Secret of the Vajra World by Reginald Ray that outlines the main perspective and I think would be a fun read for both experienced and unexperienced people.

Hope it helps!

With warmth,

Matt

FyreShaman

Liberation in the Palm of Your Hand by Pabongka Rinpoche is a good overall text.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Liberation-Palm-Your-Hand-Enlightenment/dp/0861711262/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271163319&sr=1-2

fivebells

You want Chögyam Trungpa. The Lion's Roar: An Introduction to Tantra meets your requirements. There is also good, relevant stuff in his Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism. These podcasts by Ken McLeod are also relevant, and more direct and practically oriented. His essay "Imagine You're Enlightened" would also be a good place to start.

PietroPumokin

thank you everybody

shenpennangwa

Words of My Perfect Teacher
The Three Levels of Spiritual Perception

In my opinion these are the two best comprehensive overviews of Tibetan Buddhism.

Jeffrey

http://www.amazon.com/Tibetan-Book-Living-Dying-International/dp/0062508342

Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche. I have some of his tapes and he said that he put this book together to 'have everything in it that you need'... He believes this book will go on and preserve the dharma some time after he is gone.