Five-Part Mahamudra - by Gampopa
Gampopa`s Mahamudra
- The Five-Part Mahamudra Practice Taught to Phagmo Drupa
— by Lotsawa Tony Duff
Mahamudra is reality!
"Five-Part Mahamudra" is a specific and effective way of entering reality.
It was first taught by Lord Gampopa - one of the mainstays of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He taught it to his heart disciple Phagmo Drupa who taught it widely.
After that, it became one of the main ways of practising Mahamudra in the Kagyu lineage.
This book is a compendium of these teachings that accurately transmits the whole Five-Part Mahamudra system.
It includes a complete commentary on the practice by one of the current lineage holders, Benchen Tenga Rinpoche.
"All sentient beings have a mind and they also have an essence of that mind. For all of them, the confusion that they experience comes about only in their mind; for all of them, the essence of mind itself never changes, never becomes confused."
- from the commentary by Benchen Tenga Rinpoche
[File about 5 MB]
Five-Part Mahamudra - by Jigten Sumgon
Five-Part Mahamudra by Jigten Sumgon
— translated by Tony Duff
This is one of a series of three books on Five-Part Mahamudra - a specific way of practising Mahamudra that is used in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It was first taught by Gampopa to his disciples and since then has become one of the main ways that Mahamudra is practised in the Kagyu lineage.
This book includes three important texts on the subject by key lineage holders of the Kagyu tradition. It also includes an extensive glossary, notes, and a very complete introduction.
The first text contains the exchange between Gampopa and Phagdru that resulted in the teaching called Five-Part Mahamudra. It is followed by a very early text on Five-Part Mahamudra written by one of Phagmo Drupa’s disciples - the translator from Throphu.
The main text is by the Shamar Konchog Yanlag of the Karma Kagyu lineage, but it is really a commentary on the teaching given by Jigten Sumgon - the founder of the Drigung Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. That this is really Jigten Sumgon’s teaching is emphasized here because he received the teaching directly from his guru - Phagmo Drupa , who received it from Gampopa and practised it to completion. In other words, it is a very early presentation of the teaching that tells us how the teaching was originally given and practised.
Jigten Sumgon`s teaching in this text is very pithy and, as with the Translator from Throphu's text, reflects the no-nonsense, get-down-to-it style of the early Kagyu. The commentary to Shamar Konchog Yanlag is more sophisticated in its presentation, but still has a strong sense of practice lineage, which is not surprising given that the author was very well known for his excellent practice.
This text is widely regarded as one of the key texts on five-part Mahamudra because Jigten Sumgon Rinchen personally received the five part instruction from Phagmo Drupa, then practised them to the point of total proficiency and attained great realization of Mahamudra because of them.
A complete, modern-day commentary to this text was given by Tenga Rinpoche of Bengchen Monastery. His commentary is available in the book Gampopa`s Five Part Mahamudra, The Five-part Mahamudra Practice Taught to Phagmo Drupa By Gampopa , authored by Tony Duff and published by PKTC.
— From back cover
Gampopa`s Mahamudra 
After that, it became one of the main ways of practising Mahamudra in the Kagyu lineage.
