This rare offering by Kyabje Dodrupchen Rinpoche is a uniquely concise volume of the teachings of the path to liberation that is authentic, authoritative, and complete.

In Liberation from Samsara, the Fourth Kyabje Dodrupchen Rinpoche presents the Longchen Nyingtig teachings, the innermost secret teachings of Dzogchen that constitute a complete path to enlightenment.

Rinpoche’s precious teaching begins with meditations on the common and uncommon preliminary practices, including

• the difficulty of obtaining a fortunate human birth,
• the impermanence of life,
• the implacability of karmic causes and results,
• samsaric suffering in the six realms,
• taking refuge,
• developing bodhichitta,
• purification by Vajrasattva recitation,
• and accumulating merits by mandala offerings.

After discussing the ways to turn our mind toward Dharma and the trainings, Rinpoche progresses seamlessly to the main tantric practice: meditations on unifying one’s mind with Guru Rinpoche’s wisdom mind.

This rare teaching by Rinpoche, though intentionally succinct to accommodate the needs of contemporary Western practitioners, presents a complete path to enlightenment. It contrasts three different paths to liberation: Shravakayana (the way of the disciple), Pratyekabuddhayana (the way of the self-enlightened buddha), and Mahayana (the way of the bodhisattva), which is our way, our boundless intention to seek refuge in order to free all sentient beings from samsaric suffering.

Kyabje Dodrupchen Rinpoche is one of the most important living masters of Dzogchen in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. Rinpoche has made frequent visits to the West, where he has transmitted important teachings of the Nyingma lineage, the root volumes of Longchen Nyingtig, the essential empowerments of Dzogchen, and many other teachings on how to be liberated from the suffering of samsara by practicing guru yoga. He resides in Chorten Monastery in Sikkim, India.