Lama Yeshe (1935-1984) was the founder of the worldwide network of Buddhist centers, the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). This volume, edited by Robina Courtin, one of his students, is a complete meditation retreat in which he focuses on the tantric practice of Avalokiteshvra, the Buddha of Compassion, using as his source text a piece written by His Holiness the Dalai Lama when he was nineteen. On these pages, Lama Yeshe explains the differences between sutra and tantra, comments on the text “Guru Yoga” that is based on the emptiness of one’s mind, and makes suggestions on how to trust our own wisdom and practice Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives.
Lama Yeshe challenges us to keep our practice subtle, to close the door to negativity, to overcome the two obstacles in meditation (distractions and sluggishness), and to make ordinary actions divine. He advises this approach as a stay against being so attached to what is going on around us: "When you see something bad, think, ‘bad is not so bad’ and when you see something fantastic think, ’Good is not so good’ . . . When you have this kind of understanding, you will have more control and not be so influenced by everything around you.”
