A collection of the favorite guided meditations of senior monks and nuns of the International Mahayana Institute of the FPMT. These meditations center on different Buddhist themes and provide a good resource for the practicing meditator. The book also includes brief spiritual autobiographies that allow the reader to trace each contributors' entry into and study of Tibetan Buddhism. Our true spiritual friends are the positive potentials in our minds, which will never never disappoint us and never desert us. Similarly, the generous and personal meditations offered in this book help us develop these potentials and thus are true friends to whom we can always turn. Likewise, the Sangha, as the ordained followers of the Buddha upon whom the continuity of the Buddha's teachings depend, are spiritual friends who encourage us and inspire us to transform our minds. This unique book--the first from the International Mahayana Institute--contains meditations written by eighteen nuns and monks of the IMI Sangha as well as an autobiographical essay from each in which these nuns and monks share how they came to the ordained life.

Thubten Dondrub was born in Adelaide, Australia 1947. After graduating with Honors in history from Flinders University, South Australia he met Buddhism in Australia in 1976 and attended teachings by Lama Yeshe and Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche in June 1976 at Chenresig Institute, Queensland. Ven Dondrub received rabjung ordination from Geshe Thubten Loden in March 1977 in Australia and then started Bodhicitta House in Brisbane. From 1978- 1980 he was Assistant Director at Chenrezig Institute. He then received getsul ordination from Geshe Loden in June 1977, and gelong ordination from Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche in Australia in October 1979. In 1981 Ven Dondrub traveled as attendant with Sera-Je Abbot, Geshe Ngawang Legden to FPMT Centres in Europe. In 1982 he lived at Sera-Je Monastery, and in 1983-1986 he was attendant to Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche. From 1988-1991 Ven lived in Taiwan, teaching and establishing FPMT Centre in Taipei. From 1991-2000 he was resident at Nalanda Monastery and director from 1992-1993. He has taught at Kopan Monastery, Nepal as well Australia, New Zealand, India, Nepal, Spain, Italy, France, Holland, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, the US and Mexico. Presently Dondrub is the Education Officer of the International Mahayana Institute, the association of monks and nuns connected to the FPMT. And since June 2002 he has been the resident teacher at Hayagriva Buddhist Centre, Perth, Australia.