Thinley Norbu - A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar

Thinley Norbus commentary is not only profound but also refreshingly clear, making it valuable and accessible to both experienced practitioners and those new to this path.

Tricycle

This magnificent original work on the ngndro practice of Tibetan Buddhism is cause for celebration. Rich with scriptural citations, incisive reasoning, and personal realization, it shows that the ngndro is not just a preliminary teaching but the quintessence of the Vajrayana path. All Vajrayana followers must treasure this masterpiece of profound teachings by one of the greatest masters of our age.

Tulku Thondup, author of Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth and The Healing Power of Mind

A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar is one of the most profound dharma books I have ever read. Read it slowly, like poetry, savoring and contemplating each sentence, and you will be rewarded with the highest Buddhist view.

Melvin McLeod, Editor-in-Chief of the Shambhala Sun and editor of the Best Buddhist Writing series

ABOUT THE BOOK

Like a spontaneous cascade of wisdom nectar, the open and natural words of Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, uncomplicated by scholarly elaboration, flow here in the tradition of the direct transmissions of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas of the past. Through commentary on the Preliminary Practices (Ngndr) prayer from the treasure text of the great master Tragtung Ddjom Lingpa, insights into many central practices emerge in order to deepen understanding of the foundations of Vajrayana Buddhism. Also included in the book is a commentary on Tsok Khang Dechen (Assembly Palace of Great Exaltation), the root text prayer of the second Kyabje Ddjom Rinpoche, Jigdrel Yeshe Dorje.

THINLEY NORBU Rinpoche (19312011) was a preeminent teacher in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. The eldest son of His Holiness Ddjom Rinpoche, he was a primary holder of the Ddjom Tersar lineage and considered to be an emanation of Longchenpa, the great fourteenth-century Nyingma master.

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A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar

T HINLEY N ORBU

With Forewords by

H. H. D RUBWANG P ENOR R INPOCHE

K ATHOG R IGDZIN P EMA W ANGCHEN R INPOCHE

V EN . A LAK Z ENKAR R INPOCHE

T ULKU T HONDUP R INPOCHE

S HAMBHALA

B OSTON & L ONDON

2011

Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Horticultural Hall

300 Massachusetts Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts 02115

www.shambhala.com

2006 by Thinley Norbu

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

The Library of Congress catalogues the hardcover edition of this book as follows:

Thinley Norbu.

A cascading waterfall of nectar / Thinley Norbu.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN 978-0-8348-2184-2

ISBN 978-1-59030-338-2 (alk. paper)

ISBN 978-1-59030-526-3 (pbk: alk. paper)

1. Bdud-joms-glin-pa, Gter-ston, b. 1835. Snon gro bsdus pa. 2. Spiritual lifeRqin-ma-pa (Sect). I. Bdud-joms-glin-pa, Gter-ston, b. 1835. Snon gro bsdus pa. English II. Title.

BQ7662.6.B373T56 2006

294.3444dc22

2006000812

Contents

BY H IS H OLINESS P ENOR R INPOCHE

T HE REGENT OF P ADMASAMBHAVA , embodiment of all the Buddhas of the three times, is the great tertn Tragtung Ddjom Lingpa. From the Infinity of Pure Wisdom Phenomena of Tragtung Ddjom Lingpa, full of blessings, this sublime concise Preliminary Practice, including profound Guru Yoga and Phowa, is kindly revealed to all sentient beings of this modern time.

His Holiness Jigdral Yeshe Dorje wrote a brief guide to The Concise New Treasure Preliminary Practices. And now Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, the son of the incomparably compassionate Jigdral Yeshe Dorje, has kindly written this very detailed commentary on this concise Preliminary Practice for all of us students, giving us clear instructions and helping our minds open.

This supreme profound pith commentary will definitely benefit all sentient beings and especially followers of the Nyingma tradition, in this and all future lives.

I, Padma Norbu, with great joy, pray that through this precious Ngndro commentary all sentient beings may purify the root basis of samsara. May all sentient beings be indivisible with the wisdom mind of the glorious Lama. May they obtain the ultimate clear wisdom light body of Great Transformation.

With this prayer to the Triple Gems and with deep respect to Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, I, Padma Norbu, wrote this on the first virtuous day of the seventh month of the wood monkey year.

BY K ATHOG R IGDZIN P EMA W ANGCHEN R INPOCHE

Homage to the Guru.

This easily understood commentary, flowing like a cascading waterfall, on The Concise New Treasure Preliminary Practices of Tragtung Ddjom Lingpa, is in the category of shastra. Shastras are defined as texts written by sublime beings about Buddha Shakyamunis teachings, mainly the three turnings of the Wheel of Dharma.

The embodiment of all the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas is Guru Padmasambhava, who manifested on the Island of Sindhu Lake. Padmasambhavas twenty-five disciples, King and subjects, are the indivisible wisdom mind of Guru Padmasambhava. The light of the world, the great translator Khyeuchung Lotsawa, most realized Vidyadhara, is one of these twenty-five wisdom-mind disciples of Guru Padmasambhava. Khyeuchung Lotsawa manifested as Tragtung Ddjom Lingpa, who is known as the great Vajrayana master of this great earth. The second reincarnation is His Holiness Ddjom Rinpoche, in essence the originally pure nature of Buddha Samantabhadra. In the eyes of ordinary sentient beings, His Holiness Ddjom Rinpoche is perceived as a great tertn and most realized compassionate wisdom being, as well as a Mahapandita who mastered the five major sciences. His Holiness Ddjom Rinpoches inconceivable secret wisdom qualities illuminate all countries of the world like the light of the sun and moon.