A Trackless Path, Paperback/Ken McLeod

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Contributor(s):Author: Ken Mc Leod18th century Tibetan mystic Jigme Lingpa wrote a number of poems on the practice of Dzogchen, one of the great wisdom traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. In A Trackless Path renowned translator and teacher Ken Mc Leod offers a beautiful and evocative translation of one of these poems. Illumined by his own lucid commentary, Mc Leod makes this ancient poem relevant and accessible to today's seeker. The Jigme Lingpa poem has three sections: how conceptual thinking corrupts deep contemplative practice; the timeless freedom of direct awareness (the Buddhist equivalent of gnosis in Christianity); and subtle errors one often makes in this practice and how to correct them. Mc Leod's book is likewise divided into three sections. The first is a thoughtful introduction to the text and Mc Leod's relationship with it; the second is his beautiful and evocative translation of Jigme Lingpa's poem; the third and main part of the book is his verse-by-verse commentary through which he illuminates the meaning of the poem. Mc Leod is clearly writing (and writing clearly) for the seeker in today's world who is called to pursue the awareness that Jigme Lingpa describes. Mc Leod's lucid practice-oriented commentary is enriched by the seamless interweaving of experiences from his own spiritual journey. What emerges is a picture of a person who felt a profound calling to pursue contemplative practice and the direct and personal ways he found to meet the challenges and he encountered. With great clarity, Mc Leod communicates the central theme of the poem - namely, that when you rest and do nothing, you find the wisdom of the ages present within you. This is a book for the practitioner of any contemplative tradition--Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Taoism, Judaism or non-dual awareness.