The Essential Nectar: Meditations on the Buddhist Path (Wisdom Basic Book) Paperback – June 17, 2014

Geshe Rabten has written a modern spiritual masterpiece here that is an essential part of any Tibetan Buddhist practitioner's collection. The book is an Geshe Rabten's commentary on a text called " The Essential Nectar of the Holy Doctrine", a summary, in verse, of Tsongkapa's classic Lam Rim Chen Mo. The text explains in a few pages topics that masters have written entire treatise on. But The Essential Nectar is more than just another commentary, as Rabten is able to teach us about these concepts in a way specifically geared to our Western understanding of the world. I especially like the attention and elaboration he gives on the idea of Hell realms in Buddhist thought.The book is a great tool for creating a daily practice or extending one's current practice, but can stand alone as a philosophical treatise. Highly recommended to anyone even vaguely interested in the Lam Rim.

This is a reprint of Geshe Rabten's classic book on Lam-Rim (Stages of the Path) which had been out of print for some time. The text is not re-typeset, but appears to be a photographic reprint of the original. In any case, any imperfections in printing are overcome by the value of the contents of this book. Geshe Rabten explains various points of the Lam-Rim in friendly, approachable language. The teachings presented are presented in the traditional, Gelug Tibetan Buddhist style, but even if you're not a fan of this style, this small book provides a great overview of the stages of Mahayana Buddhist practice. The only criticism would be that for daily practice, there should be a spiral-bound edition. But, other than that, a real gem.

We got a first printing which was unexpectedly awesome. Using this as inspiration for meditations!

As described, fast shipping.

I was introduced to this book while staying at the Kopan Monastery just outside of Kathmandu. Upon returning, I studied with a Geshe for 5 years in NYC. This book takes the infinite complexities of an other-culture-"religion" and makes it work.Western culture often misunderstands the intentions of other cultures. It is easy to get lost in all the new age drivel written about buddhism. This book succeeds both in accuracy, and condensing the 40,000 volumes (or so) of the Lam Rim into an accurate and general synopsis of the path of buddhism. For a beginner, to try to tackle anything more complex than this text would require super human skills. Trust me, this book will be challenging ENOUGH for a learner. Even after many many years of studying and practicing buddhism, I still use this as a reference guide, especially when trying to convey complex concepts to beginners. Rereading this book continually reveals more.This book is nothing to sniff at. It has many levels, and can be read by the beginner and more advanced buddhist alike. Beginners will probably miss many important concepts in this book, but there is no other way to begin. You must first read a comic book before the harvard classics. It is just the way things are. This is the one book I recommend over all others when people want to know more about buddhism.good luck! -- kadampa

I have found this text to be extremely beneficial for daily Lam Rim meditation. The outline in the back is also very helpful for Lam Rim memorization. I took the book to a local copy shop to have the spine chopped off and have the book spiral bound. Now it lays flat during my practice.

Thank you.

Has been out of print for years, so great that people can acquire this gem of a book again