Did the Buddha practice magic? Did Padmasambhava practice magic? Do Tibetan Lamas practice magic? Before we can understand what magic means in the context of the Buddhist teaching and its practice, we must ask what magic means to us here in the West.

This book is based on meditation seminars of Lama Vajranatha given in Europe over the past years. The appendix provides an interlinear translation of the text of “The Rainfall of Blessings,” by Mipham Rinpoche, together with the accompanying Ganapuja practice.

This partial transcript “Self-Discovery through Buddhist Meditation” illustrates the meaning of meditation and the relevance of dharma for modern society.

The historical origin of the Dzogchen meditation teachings and the relationship of Dzogchen meditation to certain other Buddhist teachings and traditions, such as Yogachara and Ch’an or Zen, has puzzled scholars not only in the West, but in Tibet itself.

This core Buddhist teaching directly introduces the meditation practitioner to the Nature of Mind, or innate Buddha-nature, which has been there from the very beginning.