The Precious Treasury of Philosophical Systems discusses the philosophical tenets of the entire spectrum of Buddhist teachings--Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana, and Dzogchen--providing an invaluable perspective on the multifaceted nature of the Buddhist tradition in both India and Tibet. On the basis of his extensive research and nonsectarian viewpoint, Longchenpa analyzes Tibetan Buddhism according to Sarma and Nyingma interpretations, concluding with the innermost teachings of the Dzogchen approach. This is the fourth volume in our ongoing project to translate Longchenpa's Seven Treasuries.
In Tibetan religious literature, Jamgön Kongtrül's Treasury of Knowledge in ten books stands out as a unique, encyclopedic masterpiece embodying the entire range of Buddhist teachings as they were preserved in Tibet. In his monumental Treasury of Knowledge, Jamgön Kongtrül presents a complete account of the major lines of thought and practice that comprise Tibetan Buddhism. This first book of The Treasury which serves as a prelude to Kongtrul's survey describes four major cosmological systems found in the Tibetan tradition—those associated with the Hinayana, Mahayana, Kalachakra, and Dzogchen teachings. Each of these cosmologies shows how the world arises from mind, whether through the accumulated results of past actions or from the constant striving of awareness to know itself.
This book is a commentary by a contemporary master (1897-1975) on a portion of an ancient Tibetan Buddhist teaching. In the Tibetan tradition, it is common for a meditation master to offer explanations and interpretations in this way, in order to share his understanding with students and to shed light on centuries-old texts that may be difficult for contemporary practitioners to fully understand. Such a commentary is usually read at the end of a comprehensive course of study and is designed for seasoned students of Tibetan Buddhism. To make the work more accessible to Western Buddhists, the translators have added detailed notes and appendixes. In this case, the well-known original text by Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798) presents in elegant verse the entire Buddhist path according to the Nyingma school. Because it is pithy and concise and makes use of elaborate poetic language, a commentary is indispensable. The root text consists of two main sections devoted, respectively, to the Sutras and the Tantras. The Sutra section, which is the subject of the present volume, covers the ethical, psychological, and philosophical teachings shared by all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The essential thrust is toward the Mahayana, but the text also addresses questions associated with the Hinayana perspective, such as the fundamental issues of karma and ethics, the four noble truths, and the twelvefold chain of dependent arising.
This book is a translation of the first part of Jigme Lingpa’s Treasury of Precious Qualities, which in a slender volume of elegant verses sets out briefly but comprehensively the Buddhist path according to the Nyingma school. The concision of the root text and its use of elaborate poetic language, rich in metaphor, require extensive explanation, amply supplied here by the commentary of Kangyur Rinpoche. The present volume lays out the teachings of the sutras in gradual stages according to the traditional three levels, or scopes, of spiritual endeavor. It begins with essential teachings on impermanence, karma, and ethics. Then, from the Hinayana standpoint, it describes the essential Buddhist teachings of the four noble truths and the twelve links of dependent arising. Moving on, finally, to the Mahayana perspective, it expounds fully the teachings on bodhichitta and the path of the six paramitas, and gives an unusually detailed exposition of Buddhist vows.
A classic collection of writings on the meditation practice and theory of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, by the celebrated fourteenth-century scholar and adept Longchen Rabjam (Longchenpa). This classic collection of texts on the meditation practice and theory of Dzogchen presents the Great Perfection through the writings of its supreme authority, the fourteenth-century Tibetan scholar and visionary Longchen Rabjam. The pinnacle of Vajrayana practice in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Dzogchen embodies a system of training that awakens the intrinsic nature of the mind to reveal its original essence, utterly perfect and free from all duality—buddha nature, or buddhahood itself. In The Practice of Dzogchen, Tulku Thondup translates essential passages from Longchen Rabjam’s voluminous writings to illuminate and clarify this teaching. He also draws on the works of later masters of the tradition, placing Dzogchen in context both in relation to other schools of Buddhism and in relation to the nine-vehicle outline of the Buddhist path described in the Nyingma tradition. This expanded edition includes Counsel for Liberation, Longchenpa’s poetic exhortation to readers to quickly enter the path of liberation, the first step toward the summit of Dzogchen practice.
Dzogchen, or the "Great Perfection," is considered by many to be the apex of Tibetan Buddhism, and Longchen Rabjam is the most celebrated of all the saints of this remarkable tradition. Natural Perfection presents the radical precepts of Dzogchen, pointing the way to absolute liberation from conceptual fetters and leading the practitioner to a state of pure, natural integration into one's true being. Transcending the Tibetan context or even the confines of Buddhist tradition, Longchen Rabjam delivers a manual full of practical wisdom. Natural Perfection is a shining example of why people have continued to turn to the traditions of Tibet for spiritual and personal transformation and realization. Keith Dowman's illuminating translation of this remarkable work of wisdom provides clear accessibility to the profound path of Dzogchen in the here-and-now.
