The Buddhism of Tibet and the Precious Garland

The Buddhism of Tibet and the Key to the Middle Way was written by the fourteenth Dalai Lama specially for readers in the West. In it he explains the basic tenets and practices of Tibetan Buddhism, its relationship to Hinayana, the meaning and aspirations of Mahayana, the profound theory of 'emptiness' and the key to meditation and tranquillity.The Precious Garland and the Song of the Four Mindfulnesses presents two Buddhists texts which are often memorised for meditation. The Precious Garland is layman's guide to enlightenment written for a king by Nagarjuna. It tells how to find happiness by cultivating virtues of body, speech and mind and how to amass the stores of merit and wisdom required for enlightenment. It is famous for the descriptions of the Bodhisattva path of compassion and for its clear, concise analysis of the Buddha's teaching on 'emptiness'. Both the advice and the teachings are as relevant today as they were nearly two millennia ago in India. The Song of the Four Mindfulnesses is a brief summary of the meditational approach to enlightenment by the Seventh Dalai Lama.