The Great Image - The Life Story of Vairochana the Translator (Paperback)

The life story of Vairochana is important to Tibetan Buddhists from a historical standpoint, but also because it is spiritually inspiring. Considered a hero in Tibetan Buddhist history, Vairochana is known for his translations and scholarship, his cunning and courage, and for his achievement of enlightened mind. The Great Image is Vairochana's autobiography, as told to a group of his students near the end of his life in the eighth century. The story includes details of Vairochana's sixteen trials, which include such episodes as his escape from attacks by wild animals, from an ambush by soldiers and robbers, from imprisonment, and from attempted poisoning. The book also includes a history of how the Buddha's teachings were passed from one Indian sage to the next through the centuries, via a lineage that included kings and prostitutes, until they were brought to Tibet by Vairochana. This volume includes a foreword by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, one of the great meditation masters of the twentieth century, as well as introductions by Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, and Ala Zenkar Rinpoche.