A Mahamudra Offering

The Sanskrit term ‘Mahamudra‘ is a realisation of Highest Yoga Tantra. ‘Maha’ means ‘great’ and refers to great bliss, and ‘mudra’ here means ‘non-deceptive’ and refers to Emptiness. Mahamudra is the union of great bliss and Emptiness and is the very essence of Buddha’s teachings. It is an extremely profound subject and requires both appropriate empowerments and instructions from a qualified spiritual guide to understand it clearly and to practise it correctly.

Mahamudra is basically the cultivation of mindfulness and alertness of our mind and doesn’t require tremendous austerity or a particularly strict retreat. It simply fits into our life just as it is. The most important thing in our lives is for our mind to do well. So, working with our mind makes it calm and peaceful, which starts to fill us and our life with joy. This reduces the stress and anxiety which would otherwise lead to both mental disturbance and physical illness, and a joyful mind also makes it possible for us to accomplish whatever we are trying to do successfully. Thrangu Rinpoche, translated by Yeshe Gyamtso

In 2014, the monks of Shar Gaden Monastery received 500 copies of ‘The Oral Instructions of Mahamudra’ from one of the most honoured Gelugpa lineage masters, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Authored by Geshe-la, this book, written in Tibetan, is based on the root text of Mahamudra called ‘The Main Path to Attainment of the Conqueror Buddha’. This root text, also known as ‘The Great Seal of Voidness’ was composed by the 4^th Panchen Lama Lobsang Chokyi Gyaltsen who was the tutor of the Great 5^th Dalai Lama and his Dharma brother, Tulku Drakpa Gyaltsen.

Shar Gaden Monastery’s administrator offers the Mahamudra texts to the monks on behalf of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

Happy recipients of this precious text

Born in 1931 in Yangcho, Eastern Tibet, Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso fled Tibet in 1959 with only two scriptural texts. Despite this and following the example of his teachers before him, Geshe-la has touched the lives of thousands. He founded the largest Tibetan Buddhist organisation in the world, the New Kadampa Tradition, with over 700 ordained monks and nuns and authored over 20 Dharma books in the English language for Buddhists of all levels, from beginners to Tantric practitioners. These serve as profound testaments to his incredible achievements.

Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso

His greatest works include ‘Joyful Path of Good Fortune‘, a commentary on the Lamrim; ‘The New Guide to Dakini Land‘, a commentary on the Tantric practice of Vajrayogini; and ‘Heart Jewel‘, a commentary on Dorje Shugden’s practice, along with various other commentaries on Indian texts such as Shantideva’s ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’.

The source of Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso’s success can only be attributed to his unwavering faith and devotion to his lineage and Protector Dorje Shugden. This too can be traced back to his teachers His Holiness Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang and His Holiness Kyabje Pabongka Dorje Chang. Geshe-la’s main mission in this life is to preserve the precious teachings and tradition of Lama Tsongkhapa and in turn, preserve the practice of Dorje Shugden, the special protector of Lama Tsongkhapa’s lineage.