Pure Appearance

An overview of Tibetan tantric practice that explains its concepts, clarifies its terminology, and shows how its myriad pieces fit together, including an extensive teaching on the bardos, or “between states”–essential for those new to the topic and a welcome source of illumination for longtime students.

     Vajrayana methods for realizing the true nature of the mind take the resultant state of buddhahood as the path, or what is to be practiced. Pure Appearance focuses on the generation and completion stages of tantra that work with the pure form aspect of enlightenment. In this short but densely packed teaching, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche explains the structure of the tantric path and how its stages are put into practice, in terms that apply generally across the spectrum of deity practices. He emphasizes the distinctive features of the Nyingma approach but frequently correlates them with their counterparts in the New Translation traditions. The result is a crystal-clear depiction of a complex topic, a treasure trove of illuminating gems that will be welcomed by all students of Tibet’s Buddhist traditions.