Kindly Bent to Ease Us I: Mind

Kindly Bent to Ease Us, by the renowned Nyingma master Longchenpa, was translated by H. V. Guenther. This trilogy of the view, path, and fruit of the Vajrayana teachings (known in Tibet as the Trilogy of Finding Comfort and Ease) is an important introduction to Dzogchen practice by one of its foremost Vidyadharas. Part 1 sets forth the preparation, essential concepts, ethical basis, and the stages of the Bodhisattva Path necessary for approaching the Vajrayana. Upon this foundation, Longchenpa introduces profound meditations on the nature of mind and reality. Part 2 describes the environments that support different types of practice, the qualities useful for those aspiring to the path, and detailed instructions for preliminary and advanced practices with descriptions of the experiences that result. Part 3 shows the practitioner how to transcend ordinary, limited perspectives using eight classic images that reveal the openness of reality: dreams, wizardry, illusion, mirage, reflections, echoes, cloud lands, and phantoms. A chapter on each image gives clear instructions for meditation and post-meditation practice to awaken readers to the magic of being in its two forms "the enchantment of samsara and the wonderment of nirvana, where mind finds comfort and ease." Ranging from basic exposition to poetic vision, this trilogy, the Nyingma tradition's primary teaching on how to enter the path to enlightenment, is an essential foundation for all who seek enlightenment within the Nyingma tradition.