Cutting Through Appearances: Practice and Theory of Tibetan Buddhism

A clear cut, comprehensive, detailed text of instructions on meditation and Tibetan Buddhist Practice.

From the back Cover:

Here is an authentic presentation of the fundamental aspects of the practice and theory of Tibetan Buddhism, set down in a beautiful text especially useful to those interested in the study and practice of this tradition.  The first part of the book, a meditation manual written by the Fourth Panchen Lama (1781-1852), covers much of the daily practice of Tibetan monks and yogis.  It details how to prepare for and how to conduct a meditation session that contains within it the important essentials of the entire scope of the Buddhist path. It is a highly practical text with nothing said that does not fit directly into a meditation. It gives instruction on the preparations for a session of practice and then how to develop an intention to leave cyclic existence, how to cultivate love, compassion and an altruistic intention to highest enlightenment, how to meditate on selflessness, and what to do at the end of the session.

The second part presents a solid introduction to the theory behind the practice. Written by Gon-chok-jik-may-wang-bo in the eighteenth century, it covers the entire spectrum of the Indian schools of tenets as they were viewed in Tibet. The topics include the two truths, consciousness, the hindrances to enlightenment, the paths to freedom, and the fruits of practice.