The first half of this book presents the stages of practice of the Medicine Buddha Sadhana, in which Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche elucidates not only the details of this particular practice, but also many of the basic principles of tantric theory and practice in general: the notion of deities and buddha realms, the principles of samayasattva and jnanasattva, the principles of emanating and gathering, and the use of offerings to cultivate qualities, to mention a few. In addition, Rinpoche describes and explains the mudras or ritual gestures employed in the sadhana and he also gives a particularly lucid description of the five wisdoms associated with the five Buddha families, describing them as five aspects of intrinsic awareness or as five aspects of the wisdom of a Buddha. For anyone engaged in any vajrayana practice, this teaching is very useful in understanding the foundations of tantric practice, and a garden of delights. The second half of this book consists of Thrangu Rinpoche’s teachings on the Medicine Buddha Sutra, formally called The Twelve Great Aspirations of the Medicine Buddha by the Buddha Shakyamuni. In these teachings Rinpoche explains the twelve aspirations; the benefits of hearing, recollecting, and reciting the name of the Medicine Buddha; the meaning of deity in vajrayana Buddhism; the nature of the four maras and the transcendence of obstacles in the path; and the four qualities of a good intention. Included is the Medicine Buddha sadhana along with two shorter versions and an excerpt of the Mahayana sutra detailing the twelve aspirations themselves. This was originally published by Shenpen Osel.