Great Perfection Archives - Journal of Contemplative Studies

Review of Being Human and a Buddha Too: Longchenpa’s Seven Trainings for a Sunlit Sky

Being Human and a Buddha Too is a seemingly simple yet penetrating introduction to the all-encompassing wholeness of being. This wholeness constitutes the core teaching of the Great Completeness (Dzogchen), the epitome of all Buddhist paths for the ancient Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. As a comprehensive look at Tibetan Buddhist perspectives on mind and reality, this book will certainly yield helpful clarifications to philosophically-inclined scholars—however, it is first and foremost a practice manual for those who seek to pierce the mystery that guided the author’s own journey within this wisdom tradition: How can one be at once human and a buddha too?

The Philosophy and Practice of Amulets in Tibetan Buddhist Tantra: Wearing, Analyzing, and Recognizing Your Way to Liberation

Buddhist amulets have been a topic of academic research for decades. But scholarly presuppositions that amulets have circulated primarily in popular Buddhist milieus, related only tangentially to the pursuits of elite practitioners, has limited our appreciation of how amulets have inflected philosophical and contemplative concerns. This article aims to challenge this lopsided perspective by showing how Buddhists in Tibet integrated analytic contemplation into the practice of writing down, wearing, and putting into practice short tantric scriptures that claim to liberate through wearing.