Intermediate Books

The books in this section assume some familiarity with basic Buddhist Buddhist view, meditation, and practice.

They are ideal for those who wish to deepen their understanding and experience of Buddhism.

Modern Buddhism | Understanding the Mind | Universal Compassion | Ocean of Nectar | Meaningful to Behold
Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully | Joyful Path of Good Fortune | Heart of Wisdom | Heart Jewel
The Guide to Bodhisattva Way of Life | The Bodhisattva Vow

Modern Buddhism

Modern Buddhism is perfectly suited for inspiring those seeking solutions within Buddhism to problems of everyday life, as well as for encouraging practitioners of all faiths to deepen their understanding and practice of the spiritual path.

This book reveals how to build a foundation for the spiritual path, how to progress on that path and how to complete it. With compassion and wisdom we can solve all our daily problems and accomplish the real meaning of our human life, and like two wings of a bird they will enable us to reach enlightenment quickly.

Free Gift From Geshe Kelsang Gyatso – eBook of Modern Buddhism!

Download now for your Amazon Kindle, iPad, iPhone, PC, SmartPhone or any other electronic device that can view ebooks.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso “is a prolific and respected author,” and in Modern Buddhism, “he again presents the thought of the Buddha in an especially accessible manner.” Gyatso’s 21st book is “elegantly stated” and “a delight.” ~ LIBRARY JOURNAL

Understanding the Mind

Fundamental to the entire Buddhist way of life is the teaching that everything depends upon the mind.

The world we experience is the result of our karma, or actions, and all our actions of body, speech, and mind originate in the mind.

To change our world we have to start by changing our mind, and this depends upon first gaining an thorough understanding of the mind and how it works.

In Understanding the Mind, Geshe Kelsang provides a comprehensive explanation of the different types of mind and functions of mind.

Though dealing with a profound and complex subject, this book is immensely practical, at every turn offering clear advice on how we can use our understanding of the mind to improve the quality of our lives and eventually to attain the true mental freedom of enlightenment.

Universal Compassion

This book is about transformation.

Based on a famous Buddhist poem, Training the Mind in Seven Points, it shows how true mental freedom and lasting happiness can be achieved by transforming our mind.

The fundamental insight underlying this book is that the world we experience is a reflection of our mind and so if we want to experience the world in a positive way we need to develop a positive mind.

The supremely positive mind is universal compassion, which is developed using the special meditations in this book.

As we gradually replace our habitual self-cherishing with a genuine cherishing of others, we find our powers of transformation increase. Eventually we reach the point where we can transform any situation, however unpleasant, into a positive experience and an opportunity to make progress in our spiritual development.

“It could be read with profit by anyone whose religion demands the exercise of compassion.” ~ FAITH AND FREEDOM

Ocean of Nectar

When Buddha taught the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras he explained ultimate truth emptiness by elaborating all the different categories of phenomena and showing how each in turn exists as mere imputation of the mind and does not exist from its own side.

This teaching touches the very core of reality and understanding it and fully realizing its meaning is the key to liberating the mind from the ignorance of self grasping and attaining true inner peace.

Over the centuries, great Mahayana scholars – especially Nagarjuna and Chandrakirti – have elucidated the meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras in their commentaries.

In Ocean of Nectar, Geshe Kelsang continues this noble tradition by providing an explanation of Chandrakirti’s famous commentary Guide to the Middle Way.

With breathtaking clarity and insight he guides us step by step through a matrix of profound subjects, making them easy to understand for the modern day reader and bringing the Mahayana Path within reach of all of us.

“This important work handsomely repays the close reading required to fully savor the text.” ~ THE MIDDLE WAY

Meaningful to Behold

Meaningful to Behold provides a route map of the Mahayana Path, from generating the altruistic motivation of bodhichitta through to attaining complete enlightenment.

As a commentary to the great Buddhist classic, Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, it focuses on the Bodhisattva’s practice of the six perfections of giving, moral discipline, patience, effort, concentration, and wisdom – devoting a full chapter to each.

It is especially renowned for the sections on learning to cherish others and gaining insight into ultimate reality.

It is an immensely practical commentary that show how we can follow this noble way of life within the context of our daily lives.

“An indispensable Buddhist work – no serious student of Buddhism can afford to be without it.” ~ JOHN BLOFELD

Living Meaningfully, Dying Joyfully

One of the few certainties in life is death!

If death were the end of our problems, perhaps we need not be so concerned but, as Buddha taught, for as long as we remain ordinary beings, one life is followed by another as surely as day is followed by night.

Despite the inevitability of our death and the complete uncertainty of its time or manner, few of us give it a moment’s thought until it is too late. Given that many future lives lie ahead and that these will be shaped by our actions in this and previous lives, it does not pay to die unprepared.

In this beautiful book, Geshe Kelsang shows how coming to terms with our mortality enriches our life and enables us to meet our passing with dignity, confidence, and joy. He teaches us how to live a pure, liberating lifestyle in which every moment is meaningful.

The book includes special practices to perform as our death approaches and how to pass with confidence to a higher level in the next life. There are also practices to assist others who are dying.

Joyful Path of Good Fortune

Buddha demonstrated how to follow a path of inner transformation that leads to the complete eradication of all traces of negativity and confusion from the mind and the attainment of sublime qualities such as universal compassion and wisdom realizing the true nature of all phenomena.

During his life he gave many teachings revealing the practices that lead to this realization of enlightenment. Later, the great Indian Pandit Atisha arranged all these teachings in the order in which they are to be practiced. This special arrangement became known as the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, or Lamrim.

In Joyful Path of Good Fortune, Geshe Kelsang provides a systematic, step-by-step commentary to these teachings rendering them completely accessible to the modern reader.

It is an invaluable compendium of essential Buddhist practices.

“This book is invaluable.” ~ WORLD RELIGION

Heart of Wisdom

The Heart Sutra is probably Buddha’s most well-known discourse; and yet it reveals an aspect of his teaching – ultimate truth emptiness – that is one of the most difficult to realize.

In this extraordinary book, Geshe Kelsang takes us line by line through the Sutra and explains its hidden meaning with remarkable clarity.

Sincere study of this book lays a firm foundation for meditation on ultimate truth emptiness, which leads to the complete eradication of the ignorance of self-grasping and the experience of permanent inner peace.

The book also includes a special practice based on the recitation of the Sutra for overcoming obstacles and hindrances.

“For the serious student of Buddhism, a better book would be hard to come across.” — THE MIDDLE WAY

Heart Jewel

This book is an essential manual for anyone who aspires to be a sincere practitioner of Kadampa Buddhism.

It contains two essential practices that are practiced daily by Kadampa practitioners around the world.

The first, the Guru Yoga of Je Tsongkhapa, is a powerful method for receiving profound blessings and laying the foundation for making genuine progress on the spiritual path.

The second, Relying upon the Dharma Protector, is a special practice for removing obstacles and creating favorable conditions for our spiritual practice by relying upon the Wisdom Buddha, Manjushri.

The Guide to Bodhisattva Way of Life

This book is a translation of a famous and universally loved poem for daily living composed by the 8th century Buddhist Sage Shantideva.

It charts the spiritual journey of a Bodhisattva, one who is committed to attaining full enlightenment for the sake of all living beings.

The poem is written from the point of view of a practitioner and provides an extraordinary insight into the process of inner transformation one goes through while traversing the Bodhisattva path.

No one can read this epic work and remain unmoved.

Geshe Kelsang provides a detailed commentary to the poem in his book Meaningful to Behold.

“ …the book itself is beautifully realized, original brush and ink paintings introduce each section and even the paperback possesses an attractive texture. The poetry is lucid and refined, even as Shantideva moves into involved discussions of Madhyamika philosophy, and a glossary is included to help the reader sort out technical terms. This text can serve as an excellent introduction to the Mahayana tradition, or be studied in depth with a commentary such as Meaningful to Behold” ~ ALTAR MAGAZINE

The Bodhisattva Vow

A Bodhisattva is a person who, motivated by great compassion, has developed a spontaneous wish to attain enlightenment for the sake of all living beings.

By taking the Bodhisattva Vow, he or she undertakes to follow the Bodhisattva’s way of life by practicing the six perfections of giving, moral discipline, patience, effort, concentration, and wisdom.

This book shows how we can emulate the thoughts and deeds of a Bodhisattva and transform our ordinary daily life into the Bodhisattva’s way of life.

It also includes a powerful purification practice taught by Buddha for eliminating negative karma.

“A perfect transmission of the ancient wisdom of Buddha to the modern world.” ~ EAST WEST JOURNAL