The Ruby Rosary

Book excerpt: An in-depth presentation of one of the most profound traditions of Tibetan Buddhism--the Dudjom lineage--beginning with the Buddha and tracing the origins and development of the lineage through its Indian and Tibetan masters. The Ruby Rosary is Thinley Norbu's commentary on a short prayer written by his father, His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, who was a revered leader of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism as well as a "revealer of treasures" in the Tibetan tradition. The root text, entitled "The Pearl Necklace," is a prayer of devotion to the eighteen primary masters of the Dudjom incarnation lineage, "strung together into a necklace of liberated lifetimes." With lively storytelling, Thinley Norbu illuminates the life of each of these great yogis, scholars, and masters of the Buddha's teachings, from Nüden Dorje Chang, Shariputra, and Saraha to Dudjom Lingpa. It concludes with an account of the enlightened activities of Dudjom Rinpoche himself, a towering figure, thus completing this awe-inspiring portrait of a modern master.