Milarepa's Kungfu by Karl Brunnhlzl

Milarepa's Kungfu by Karl Brunnhlzl

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Milarepa's Kungfu by Karl Brunnhlzl

Lion's Roar says, "This book is a treasure of subtle revelation."

The view is the wisdom of being empty
Meditation is luminosity without fixation
Conduct is a continual flow free of attachment
Fruition is nakedness bare of any stain


This is the first stanza of Milarepa's Ultimate View, Meditation, Conduct, and Fruition: pith instructions originally sang to the great yogi Rechungpa, Milarepa's disciple. These teachings are Milarepa's direct offering to his disciple of his own profound realization, gained after many years of dedicated practice. Karl Brunnhölzl, acclaimed translator and senior teacher at the Nalandabodhi community of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, calls this hard-earned understanding "kungfu": "Gong means 'skillful work,' 'hard training,' or 'endeavor,' and fu means 'time spent...' The term refers to Milarepa's diligent and skillful training in the techniques to realize the nature of his mind and benefit countless sentient beings." 

Ultimate View, Meditation, Conduct, and Fruition is a work of remarkable depth and clarity. In just five verses, Milarepa gives incisive instructions for progressing and for avoiding pitfalls in the stages of practice:

- View: the basis or ground from which the proper meditation, conduct, and fruition of mahamudra can arise

- Meditation: the training in or the familiarization with that view

- Conduct: the natural outflow of having familiarized with the view in meditation

- Fruition: the final outcome of having fully assimilated and realized the view, whose essence is not different from it

Milarepa dedicates one verse to each stage, and Karl dedicates one chapter to each verse, weaving in wisdom from other Milarepa songs, comments by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyatso, and from Karl's own insight. Readers can thus fully immerse themselves in each point of Milarepa's extraordinary teaching.
Karl Brunnhölzl, MD, was trained as a physician and also studied Tibetology. He received his systematic training in Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy and practice at the Marpa Institute for Translators, founded by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. Since 1989 he has been a translator and interpreter from Tibetan and English. He is presently involved with the Nitartha Institute as a teacher and translator.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781614296614
ISBN 10 1614296618
Title Milarepa's Kungfu
Author Karl Brunnhölzl
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher Wisdom Publications,U.S.
Year published 2021-11-12
Number of pages 128
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.