Cortland Dahl

This is a compilation of texts on the practice of ngondro, the preliminary or foundation practices of the vajrayana, the tantric vehicle, as practiced in Tibet. The focus here is on the Longchen Nyingtig tradition, a treasure revealed by Jigme Lingpa in the 18th century.

Dahl provides a nice introduction that introduces the Nyingma school and the tradition of treasure revealers. There are then several pithy explanations of Ngondro, by Jigme Lingpa and by the great 19th century teacher Jamyang Khentse Wangpo.

The longest text here is a ngondro commentary by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, one of today's great teachers who is very active in the modern world - among other things, he directs movies, such as the delightful "The Cup". This modern ngondro commentary is profound and vital. He examines key questions such as what devotion to a guru can be and how it can be liberating... or not!

I picked up this book hoping to read more about the common preliminaries, precious human birth and the rest, but the focus here is much more on the uncommon preliminaries, especially on guru yoga. That is hardly a flaw of the book - I imagine that most readers will be happier with the book as it is!

This book is not a replacement for Paltrul Rinpoche's absolutely essential _Words of My Perfect Teacher_, but it might be the perfect companion.… (mais)