Translated with Katia Holmes, from the Tibetan:
"Changeless Nature" - the root text
translated into English from the Tibetan translation of the 2nd-century Sanskrit original by Maitreya/Asanga. Our work was first published in 1979, followed by an expanded edition in 1985, by KDDL, Scotland. ISBN 0 906181 05 4 176 pages, 2 full-colour illustrations. 205 x 155 mm, softbound. Price £11.50
This is a mystic poem describing buddha nature through 7 main points: Buddha, dharma, sangha, buddha nature itself, enlightenment, enlightened qualities and enlightened activities. Opposite each page of verses is a slightly longer, prose, version, with notes. ordering information
"Gems of Dharma, Jewels of Freedom"
This is the main textbook used in Kagyu Buddhist studies. It comes from Je Gampopa, the 12th century Tibetan forefather of all the 12 main Kagyu traditions. A great scholar who subsequently achieved enlightenment, his book is masterly overview of all the Buddha's teachings.
It's translation has been one of the major works our lives, and its publication, in 1994, was the end of some 17 years research, on and off. Published by ALTEA, Scotland, ISBN 0 9524555 0 1, it is 320 pages, 230 x 155 mm, softbound. ordering informationDzalendara and Sakarchupa
These are stories from the former lives of the Gyalwa Karmapas, as recounted by the 15th and 16th Karmapas.
Published in August 1981 by KDDL, Scotland. ISBN 0 906181 03 8. 112 pages 205 x 145 mm, softbound, illustrated by Carlo Luyckx. Price £6.95
Some of these stories tell of ages and planets far distant from our own, and read something like fairy stories, giving an insight into the bodhisttva cosmic vision found in mahayana Buddhism. ordering information
Maitreya on Buddha Nature"
This is both a translation of the original 'root' text and
a verse by verse and chapter by chapter commentary of this great mahayana classic
the mahayana uttara tantra shastra, the main Buddhist reference on the
topic of 'buddha nature' (tathagatagarbha). It is the fruit of over 20 years'
research into this text, under the senior tutors of the Kagyu tradition, and
of a long experience of teaching it in intensive seminars. It contains a revised
version of the verses of Asanga's 'root' text, previously translated by my wife
and myself as the 'Changeless Nature'.
Published by Altea Publishing, Forres, Scotland 1999.
ISBN 0 9524555 8 7
345 pages softbound 235 x 155 mm ordering information
Last Updated: 26 August 1996 kenholmes@rokpa.org