The middle-way meditation instructions

the long version

Mipham Rinpoche, a 19th century Tibetan scholar and practitioner, gives a definitive explanation of the Middle-way Instructions. For a few years of his life he stayed at the Tenth Thrangu Rinpoche's monastery where he was supplied with the materials for his prolific writing. One of Mipham Rinpoche's encyclopedic works on Buddhism was the Gateway to Knowledge and it is from this text that the Middle-Way Instructions come. In this exposition Mipham Rinpoche explains the meditation techniques for developing compassion and expanding this state into the aspiration of bodhichitta. Having reached the clarity of this vision prajna begins to manifest. This text gives a detailed explanation of how one meditates to develop this wisdom. While all three vehicles were practiced in Tibet, the Middle-Way Instructions are like the background of a tapestry that allows the integration and display of its parts into a whole. Carrying out these instructions is what leads to the culmination of the vajrayana path.