Sarah Harding

Sarah completed the first three-year retreat for westerners at Kagyu Ling, France, 1976–1980 and later served as a translator at Kagyu Shenpen Kunkyab, Santa Fe, 1980–1992. She was a founding member of Kalu Rinpoche’s International Translation Group in 1987 and has taught the Tibetan language to hundreds of students over the years, including creating a popular Tibetan language correspondence course. She retired from Naropa University in 2018 after twenty-six years of service. She continues her written translation work from her home in Boulder, Colorado. Tsadra Foundation fellow since 2000.

Current Projects as a Tsadra Foundation Fellow

  • Volume 11 of The Treasury of Precious Instructions, The Shangpa Kagyu Tradition, Jamgön Kongtrul

Completed Projects as a Tsadra Foundation Fellow
  • Machik’s Complete Explanation: Clarifying the Meaning of Chöd, Machik Lapdrön
  • The Treasury of Knowledge: Book VIII, Part 4; Esoteric Instructions, Jamgön Kongtrul
  • Niguma: Lady of Illusion, Niguma
  • The Treasury of Precious Instructions: Essential Teachings of the Eight Lineage Practice of Tibetan Buddhism, Vol. 14 – Severance Tradition, Jamgön Kongtrul
  • The Treasury of Precious Instructions: Essential Teachings of the Eight Practice Lineages of the Tibetan Buddhism, Vol. 13 – Pacification Tradition, Jamgön Kongtrul
  • The Treasury of Precious Instructions: Essential Teachings of the Eight Practice Lineages of the Tibetan Buddhism, Vol. 14 – Chöd, Jamgön Kongtrul
  • Volume 8 of the Library of Tibetan Classics Series, Zhi byed dang gcod yul sogs gdams ngag thor bu’i chos skor
Previously Published Translations
  • Creation and Completion: Essential Points of Tantric Meditation, Jamgön Kongtrul
  • Lion’s Gaze: The Special Teaching of the Wise and Glorious Sovereign, Patrul Rinpoche
  • The Life and Revelations of Pema Lingpa, the Eighth Sungtrul Rinpoche

Translators

Institutions

“Esoteric Buddhism is the precious crown jewel of spiritual practice in Tibet, a land once distinguished as a repository of all levels and approaches of Buddhism. The multi-layered complex of philosophical and contemplative practice opens up into a distinct spiritual path for everyone. This vast wealth of eclectic knowledge is the context that supports the profound teachings of tantra, or esoteric Buddhism. These teachings are said to offer a quick and easy way to discover one’s own nature through a variety of curiously effective techniques. The esoteric or secret quality of the tantras, however, is only revealed by direct contact with masters who embody an awakened state of mind. Then the practitioner sees directly the living teaching, and is in turn seen by the guru in his or her unique capacities and needs. It is this relationship that powers the development of spiritual growth. For that reason the direct instructions transmitted within such relationships are the most prized of all the Buddha’s doctrines. Although the immediacy of these directives in the intimate situation of guru and disciple carries the real impact, the most precious of the esoteric instructions from the greatest of the masters have been recorded and passed down through successions of teachers, who have further imbued these enduring teachings with the power of their own realizations. It is the records of such teachings that are described in this volume.

… perhaps the best use of this book, Esoteric Instructions, would be to bring it to one’s teacher and ask for instructions. It can also function as a survey of one’s particular lineage in which to find good ideas, since a practitioner is often unaware of what to request. Those already engaged in a particular Buddhist path could enhance their knowledge of their approach by reading the pertinent chapter, and they will find much of it familiar from previous experience. In general, it is suggested that a person will do better by following one particular tradition.”

—Sarah Harding, from the Introduction to The Treasury of Knowledge: Book VIII, Part 4; Esoteric Instructions, Jamgön Kongtrul