With his book, Awakening the Buddha Within, Lama Surya Das emerged as a leading figure in American Buddhism. Now, with Natural Perfection, he introduces us to Tibet's most closely guarded enlightenment tradition, dzogchen - "The Natural Great Perfection."

Caution Spiritual Seekers: You Might Just Find What You're Looking For! Underneath the turmoil of thought, emotion, and personal will, there is a flow. If you're reading these words, you've probably felt it - the natural movement of life, the truth that beckons below the surface of things. What would happen if you were to stop avoiding this universal energy, and instead completely embrace it?

Tibetan Buddhist master Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse, one of the most creative and innovative lamas teaching today, throws down the gauntlet to the Buddhist world, challenging common misconceptions, stereotypes, and fantasies. With wit and irony, Khysentse urges readers to move beyond the superficial trappings of Buddhism - beyond the romance with beads, incense, or exotic robes - straight to the heart of what the Buddha taught.

Sogyal Rinpoche presents a radically new vision of living and dying. He shows how to go beyond our fear and denial of death to discover what it is in us that survives death and is changeless. Rinpoche explains simple yet powerful practices that listeners can use to transform their, prepare for death, and help the dying.

Devotion to one's teacher is the lifeblood of the Vajrayana path. Because the guru can and will use whatever means it takes to wake us up, this relationship may require us to drop our most deeply held beliefs and expectations. Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse addresses some of the most misunderstood aspects of this powerful relationship and gives practical advice on making the most of this precious opportunity for transformation.

In this modern spiritual classic, the Tibetan meditation master Chögyam Trungpa highlights the commonest pitfall to which every aspirant on the spiritual path falls prey: what he calls spiritual materialism. The universal tendency, he shows, is to see spirituality as a process of self-improvement - the impulse to develop and refine the ego when the ego is, by nature, essentially empty. "The problem is that ego can convert anything to its own use," he said, "even spirituality."

"Sleeping and dreaming," teaches Andrew Holecek, "offer nightly opportunities for spiritual awakening." When you know how to wake up in your dreams, you transform sleep into a portal to the deepest experiences of reality.

The 59 provocative slogans presented here - each with a commentary by the Tibetan meditation master Chgyam Trungpa - have been used by Tibetan Buddhists for eight centuries to help meditation students remember and focus on important principles and practices of mind training. They emphasize meeting the ordinary situations of life with intelligence and compassion under all circumstances. Slogans include, "Don't be swayed by external circumstances," "Be grateful to everyone," and "Always maintain only a joyful mind."

For more than 2,000 years, the Heart Sutra has been part of the daily life of millions of Buddhists. This concise text, so rich and laden with meaning, concentrates the very heart of Buddhism into a powerful and evocative teaching on the interdependence of all reality. In Essence of the Heart Sutra, the Dalai Lama masterfully unpacks the Heart Sutra so that any listener can benefit from its teachings - teachings meant to help us release ourselves from suffering and live with true compassion.

Colorful stories about and profound teachings of Patrul Rinpoche, one of the most impactful teachers and thinkers in the Tibetan tradition from the 19th century.