View and Meditation

View and Meditation consists of six teachings by the 14th, 4th, and 2nd Shamar Rinpoches in which they describe the essential view and meditation of the Kagyü Mahāmudrā tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. These teachings elucidate “concept-dharmakāya,” a term which originated with Gampopa (1079–1153), one of the founding fathers of this tradition. Similar to the Heart Sūtra, “concept-dharmakāya” emphasizes that all thoughts and emotions, as well as any perception of a seemingly outer world is but a manifestation of awareness and that awareness, in terms of having the quality of knowing, is nothing other but mind’s nature.

The authors are the 2nd, 4th, and 14th Shamar Rinpoche, holders of the Karma Kagyü tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The Shamarpa or the “Red Hat Lama” is Tibetan Buddhism’s second oldest reincarnate lineage after the one of the Karmapas or the “Black Hat Lama.” As spiritual master and authors they continuously contributed to the transmission of the Kagyü tradition. The Shamarpas’ teachings presented in this book were translated, annotated, and introduced by Dr. Tina Draszczyk.