Summary
Mahamudra is the first English translation of a major Tibetan Buddhist presentation of the theory and practice of meditation-a manual detailing the various stages and practices for training the advanced students. The original Tibetan text of nearly 800 pages was composed by Takpo Tashi Namgyal (1512-87), a great lama and a scholar of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Summary
"In Tibetan Buddhism, Mahamudra presents a perfected level of meditative realization: it is inseparable union of wisdom and compassion, of emptiness and skillful means. These eighty-four masters, some historical, some archetypical, accomplished this practice in India where they lived between the eighth and twelfth centuries. Leading unconventional lives, the siddhas include some greatest Buddhist teachers,; Tilopa, Naropa, and Marpa among them..." (From the back cover of the book).

Summary
Editorial Reviews
As the Pali Text Society began issuing editions and translations of the Pali Canon and Commentaries in quick succession, Rhys Davids conceived the idea of the compilation of an exhaustive dictionary of Pali, based on the voluminous basic material that was being brought to light. The Dictionary contains every Pali word, with its Sanskrit root identified and meanings given in English. Carrying over 1,50,000 textual references, the work holds the field, even today, as the best Pali-English Dictionary.

Summary
Following the success of Indestructible Truth, his general introduction to the history, sects, and forms of Tibetan Buddhism, Ray now tackles the more subtle and esoteric side of vajra, or indestructibility. Divided into four parts, the first section sets the historical stage. In the second, we enter the unique universe of tantra--the limitations of thought, the use of mandalas, the devotion to a teacher. Here Ray also introduces practice with personal deities and the inner yogas that explore the "subtle, energetic dimensions of the body." Part 3 is devoted the twin pinnacles of Tibetan Buddhism, mahamudra and dzogchen, which ultimately both teach the complete ordinariness of enlightened existence. In Part 4, Ray explains a variety of practices related to dying, incarnate lamas, and the retreat. Throughout, the reader gets the sense that Ray is a teacher with the priceless ability to transmit his vast knowledge to outsiders. --Brian Bruya

Summary
From Library Journal
Translated from a larger German work, this excellent A-Z dictionary of 1500 terms commonly encountered and more esoteric was compiled by a team of Buddhist scholars. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Summary
From the Publisher
Compiled from rare sources, this scholarly work offers a fascinating examination of the lore surrounding the life of Buddha. From his ancestry, birth, and youth to his final days, it chronicles Buddha's preaching, his 20 years' wandering, the establishment of rival schools of philosophy, and much more—including thought-provoking perspectives on Buddhism as religion and philosophy, plus its associations with myth, history, and Christianity.

Summary
Annotation
This reissue of the fascinating biography of the great Tibetan religious leader who lived over 800 year ago completes Evans-Wentz's four-volume Tibetan series. From the Publisher
Despite the many sectarian differences between the numerous sects of Tibetan Buddhism, they all unite in holding the Great Yogi Milarepa in the highest reverence and esteem, and consider him the prototype of everything that a great saint should be. In Milarepa's life, the teachings of all the great yogis of India, including the greatest of them known to history, Gautama the Buddha, are exemplified.

Summary
From the Publisher:
The first of a two-volume set, this book offers a detailed account of the history, development, ideas, and image of the Zen school of Mahayana Buddhism.
From The Critics
A companion volume to Dumoulin's history of Zen in India and China, this is a newly translated, revised and expanded edition of a work first published in the US in 1963. Dumoulin, a philosopher and Zen scholar, introduces the history, development, beliefs, rituals, texts, and major figures of Zen in Japan. The text is thoroughly annotated, and accompanied by six appendices and an extensive bibliography. Authoritative. Acidic paper. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Translated from German

Summary
From the Publisher:
The second of a two-volume set, this book offers a detailed account of the history, development, ideas, and image of the Zen school of Mahayana Buddhism.
From The Critics
A companion volume to Dumoulin's history of Zen in India and China (ISBN 0-02-908270-6), this is a newly translated, revised and expanded edition of a work first published in the US in 1963. Dumoulin, a philosopher and Zen scholar, introduces the history, development, beliefs, rituals, texts, and major figures of Zen in Japan. The text is thoroughly annotated, and accompanied by six appendices and an extensive bibliography. Authoritative. Acidic paper. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Translated from German

Summary
Annotation
This expanded edition of the highly acclaimed investigation of Zen teaching in America, by the founder and editor of America's first Buddhist magazine, lays bare the issues at the heart of the Zen mission. Through in-depth portraits of five American Zen masters, Tworkov creates a trenchant sociological picture of an important strand of American spiritual life. 27 photos.