Stairway to the State of Union: A Collection of Teachings on Secret Mantra

In this book Chöden Rinpoché explains the key point of tantra. First he presents the way to progress on the grounds and paths of highest yoga tantra, following the Ford of the Fortunate a classic summary of tantra by the eighteenth-century scholar Yangchen Gawai Lodrö. He then reveals the profound practices of the six Dharmas of Naropa, giving special emphasis on the nine rounds of mixing, based on the Source of the Siddhi of Great Bliss by the nineteenth-century Tibetan scholar Naktsang Losang Tenpa Dargyé.

His Eminence Chöden Rinpoché is a renowned yogi, scholar, and teacher of Tibetan Buddhism. He was born in 1931 in far eastern Tibet to a devout family renowned for their contemplative practice. Early in his life he was recognized as the reincarnation of Chöden Rinpoché, a revered master of Tibetan Buddhism. Then following the advice of Pabongkha Rinpoché, he joined Sera Jé monastery at the age of 15, completing his studies at the age of 28. Despite being urged by Trijang Rinpoché to sit his final exams quickly, he followed the advice of his main teacher, the abbot of Sera Jé, to continue his studies. But soon after the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese occupation of Tibet disrupted his studies and he entered retreat in a small and secluded room in Lhasa for more than nineteen years. In 1985 Rinpoché arrived to India and following the advice of the Dalai Lama, he commenced teaching at Sera Monastery and then to audiences around the world.