In this uniquely insightful overview and practice guide, Traleg Kyabgon presents a thorough introduction to the Kagyu lineage's Mahamudra tradition. The author's approach is straightforward-he presents the Mahamudra teachings as a means of seeing things in, as he says, "a positive and open light. Even things we might normally regard as bad and undesirable can be interpreted in a more uplifting way due to the expansiveness of the Mahamudra vision." Mahamudra-which means "great seal" or "great symbol," referring to the symbol or mark of ultimate reality, or emptiness-points to the true nature of mind as well as the ultimate insubstantiality of all things. The book includes an exploration of Mahamudra fundamentals and thorough explanations of Ground, Path, and Fruition Mahamudra, including meditation techniques for investigating, experiencing, and contemplating these teachings.

Traleg Kyabgon, author of The Essence of Buddhism, is director of Kagyu E-Vam Buddhist Institute, which is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, with a major practice center in upstate New York and a practice community in New York City. Affiliated with the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, he has been teaching, leading retreats, and traveling to lecture for Buddhist groups and university courses in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia since 1980.