Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoche,
Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoché was a renowned teacher of
Tibetan Buddhism with students worldwide. Revered as a teacher by even
the Dalai Lama, he was known especially as a master of Buddhist tantra,
the powerful esoteric methods for attaining enlightenment swiftly. The
teachings in this book are a singular record of his deep learning in
that field. Originally delivered in California to a group of Western
students, the teachings comment on a classic introduction to tantra by
the nineteenth-century Mongolian lama Chöjé Ngawang Palden. The work,
Illumination of the Tantric Tradition, is a staple even today of the curriculum for training young monastics.
Kirti Tsenshap Rinpoché explains the distinctive features of the four
classes of tantra—action tantra, performance tantra, yoga tantra, and
highest yoga tantra—by describing the way to progress through their
paths and levels. He illuminates key issues in tantric practice that are
still a matter for debate within the tradition. Finally, he gives a
special treatment of the unique methods of Kalacakra tantra, which is
regularly taught around the globe by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.