Wish-Granting Jewel

I purchased one of these truly delightful books as a gift for a friend of mine, who is a stainless nun of exemplary qualities, and rare courage. I thought it might be meaningful to her as it contains not only Ngulchu Gyalsey Thogme Sangpo's Thirty Seven Practices, but also a collection of opening prayers, concluding prayers, and the complete text of Penor Rinpoche's Commentary on the Prayer for Excellent Conduct. There are also prayers by Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche and Kyabje Dudjom Rinpoche.

The book is really marvelous -- a fine production by Gyatrul Rinpoche, Bhakha Tulku, and Sangye Khandro, all done with a flexible, gold-stamped leatherette cover, place-holder ribbon, gilt edged pages, Tibetan, transliterated Tibetan, and English throughout, color plates, and so forth. You know how you sometimes see those lovingly produced prayer books, and you think, "Why don't Buddhists have something like that?" Well, now we do. You can carry this one with you everywhere.

The book will arrive at your door in less than a week upon clicking here.

Among the riches, within and without, that this book holds in store, is a wish-granting jewel by Gyatrul Rinpoche, entitled Bodhisattva Prayer, which includes the following:

"Even if all other qualities are fully endowed,
without bodhicitta there can be
no true good fortune."

All of us, myself definitely included, always seem to forget that part. I got this book for my friend because she always seems to remember.

My suggestion is simple: most of us know a monk or a nun somewhere in this far-flung universe, and this book makes such a beautiful gift -- something they will always treasure -- that it seems selfish not to order one up and have it sent as a surprise. This is also a wonderful gift for your children or grandchildren, or loved ones who may be uniform. In brief? Here is the solution on what gift to give a Buddhist you may know.

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Gyatrul Rinpoche, Compiler. Path of the Bodhisattva: A Collection of the Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva and Related Prayers. Ashland: Vimala Publishing, 2008. 151 pp, illus., $24.95