Machik's Complete Explanation: Clarifying the Meaning of Chod (Tsadra Foundation)
"Since Western translators have privileged the genres of biographical and ritual texts, the richness of indigenous materials on Chöd (both in terms of quantity and quality) has been obscured. This problem has been redressed by Sarah Harding's translation of Machik's Complete Explanation, one of the most comprehensive written texts extant within the Chöd tradition. Given the prominence of Machik and Chöd in the history and praxis of Tibetan Buddhism, Harding's translation is a valuable contribution to the study of this figure and her teachings." --H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews OnLine"To experienced practitioners, the Tsadra Foundation Series is more precious than gold dust." --Tricycle Magazine"Sarah Harding's masterful translation is a real gift to students of Chöd and this extraordinary woman teacher. It provides much new material including intimate question and answer sessions between Machik and her disciples. The translation has such a fresh living quality you almost feel you are receiving teachings directly from Machik Labdron herself." -- Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom  --Tsultrim Allione, author of Women of Wisdom"Sarah Harding's magnificent translation of this key work of Machik Labkyi Dronma, Tibet's most famous yogini, opens up for Western practitioners the startling world of Chöd practice: severing the devil of ego-fixation. This meditation manual explains how the rich symbology of tantric yoga can be used in a disturbingly effective way to transform one's life."-- Stephen Batchelor, author of Buddhism Without Beliefs --Stephen Batchelor, author of Buddhism Without Beliefs"In this remarkable work Sarah Harding has combined her well-honed translation skills with her own practice experience to give us the most complete, detailed, lucid, and well-contextualized study to date of the meaning and practice of Machik's Chöd."--Jan Willis, author of Dreaming Me --Jan Willis, author of Dreaming Me"A clear translation of a standard Tibetan handbook on the history, practice, and theory of a striking meditation system that is unique to Tibetan religion. The book provides much else besides, not the least of which is an array of Tibetan cultural conceptions about the body, society, and divinity. The translation is complemented by a balanced introduction aimed at lay students and practitioners of meditation alike."-- Janet Gyatso, author of Apparitions of the Self --Janet Gyatso, author of Apparitions of the Self"An important contribution to an understanding of Tibet's most innovative female saint, revealing her vast diversity of teachings that place Chöd squarely in the mainstream of tantric Buddhist meditation. Harding's translation deftly reveals new and rare biographical, anatomical, philosophic, and meditative lore essential to understanding the tradition as a whole."--Judith Simmer-Brown, author of Dakini's Warm Breath  --Judith Simmer-Brown, author of Dakini's Warm Breath