Torch of True Meaning: Instructions and the Practice for the Mahamudra Preliminaries

Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye’s classic text The Torch of True Meaning gives clear and concise instructions on the preliminary and main practices of mahamudra meditation. But it not only teaches mahamudra, it describes vividly what is necessary for any meditation practice. It is presented here in a new translation that includes the previously unpublished final chapter of Jamgn Kongtrul’s work, a brief yet inspiring description of the actual practice of mahamudra. Paired with Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye’s instructions is The Chariot That Travels the Noble Path, the standard practice text for the mahamudra preliminaries in the Karma Kagyu lineage, in a new version compiled by the Seventeenth Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje. Together, these two works are essential for anyone who wants to practice mahamudra.