For inspiration, Buddhists turn to the life stories of how the great masters of their lineage struggled with their circumstances and achieved enlightenment. This important and very readable volume tells the extraordinary tales of the greatest teachers of the Kagyu the lineage with the widest following in the U.S.

""This most inspiring, authentic, and important book is a timely shower that certainly quenches our thirst for knowledge of the early sages of the Kagyu lineage of Tibet, many of whose lives are unknown to non-Tibetans. A golden treasure, this single volume contains fascinating life stories of many enlightened masters such as Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Milarepa, and Gampopa.""—Tulku Thondup Rinpoche, author of Peaceful Death, Joyful Rebirth and The Healing Power of Mind

""A welcome addition to the publication on the teachings of this dynamic branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The lives of the great Kagyupa teachers represent a living enactment of their personal trials and triumphs while vividly depicting the transformation of their existential shortcomings into transcendent perfection.""—Lobsang Lhalungpa, translator of Mahamudra and The Life of Milarepa


""The Great Kagyu Masters is part biography, part religious history, and part insight into the principles and teachings of this dynamic path of Tibetan Buddhism.""—Wisconsin Bookwatch