Kindly Bent to Ease Us I

Guenther manages to bring to life and to this reader's understanding the full complexity and open simplicity of Longhchenpa Trime Oser (1308-1363)thought. If one is willing to do some work, to follow the intricacies of interpretation, the "Kindly Bent to Ease Us" trilogy is, imho, one of the best books on Dzogchen thought available, and one of the most profound books of philosophy ever published.

The text itself is glorious, and the translation of it is just fine, very readable. I find Guenther's Introduction to the chapters heavy and ponderous, although typical of translations from thirty years ago. There are good points to learn from him, of course, although intellectual. However, if you have been practicing for a long time with good teachers, trust yourself to dive directly into the very blessed text. I don't know of any more contemporary translations, and the price of this book and the series is very reasonable. Don't hesitate to go for it if you desire to read this.

This is my favorite book of the 3 volume trilogy by 14th century Dzogchen master Longchen Rabjam or Longchenpa. He's also called: Klong-chen-rab-'byams, Drime Wozer, and Kunkyab Ngoggi Wangpo. He is very possibly the greatest Dzogchen master of all time--excluding the ones who may be mythological. It includes the much repeated metaphor of the moon reflected in the mountain lake (though I forget which of the 3 books it was in). This trilogy is a great classic. Also read the recent translations of some of Longchenpa's "Seven Treasuries" though most have not yet been translated. For a book of excerpts from Longchenpa's many works, read "The Practice of Dzogchen" translated by Tulku Thondup. Well worth the effort. However, the present trilogy is far easier reading than the other works mentioned here. They are a good start for the student who has already read a couple of introductory texts on Dzogchen (and perhaps Kagyu Mahamudra).