Synopses & Reviews
The third volume of the fifteenth-century spiritual classic that condenses the enormous breadth of Buddhist teachings into one easy-to-follow meditation manual. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tibetan title: Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world's treasury of sacred literature, and certainly in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. The author, Tsong-kha-pa, completed this masterpiece in 1402 to help lead people along a series of progressive stages from this-worldly self-centeredness to cosmically altruistic expansiveness. For centuries it has continued to be essential reading for any student of Buddhist thought who wants to put the Buddha's teachings into practice.
Volume Three contains a presentation of the two most important topics in the Great Treatise: meditative serenity (śamatha) and supramundane insight into the nature of reality (vipaśyana).
Synopsis
The third volume of the 15th-century spiritual classic that condenses Buddhist teachings into one easy-to-follow meditation manual The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world's treasury of sacred literature. The author, Tsong-kha-pa, completed it in 1402, and it soon became one of the most renowned works of spiritual practice and philosophy in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Because it condenses all the exoteric sūtra scriptures into a meditation manual that is easy to understand, scholars and practitioners rely on its authoritative presentation as a gateway that leads to a full understanding of the Buddha's teachings.
Tsong-kha-pa took great pains to base his insights on classical Indian Buddhist literature, illustrating his points with classical citations as well as with sayings of the masters of the earlier Kadampa tradition. In this way the text demonstrates clearly how Tibetan Buddhism carefully preserved and developed the Indian Buddhist traditions.
This first of three volumes covers all the practices that are prerequisite for developing the spirit of enlightenment (bodhicitta).
Synopsis
JE TSONG-KHA-PA (1357-1419), founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, was one of Tibet's greatest philosophers and a prolific writer. His works combine a profound meditative spirituality with meticulous reasoning. THE LAMRIM CHENMO TRANSLATION COMMITTEE is composed of José Cabezón, Daniel Cozort, Joshua W. C. Cutler, Natalie Hauptman, Roger R. Jackson, Karen Lang, Donald S. Lopez Jr., John Makransky, Elizabeth S. Napper, Guy Newland, John Newman, Gareth Sparham, B. Alan Wallace, and Joe B. Wilson.
Table of Contents
Editor's Preface
PART ONE: MEDITATIVE SERENITY
1. Serenity and Insight
2. Preparing for Meditative Serenity
3. Focusing Your Mind
4. Dealing with Laxity and Excitement
5. Attaining Serenity
6. Serenity as a Part of the Path
PART TWO: INSIGHT
7. Why Insight Is Needed
8. Relying on Definitive Sources
9. The Stages of Entry into Reality
10. Misidentifying the Object to Be Negated
11. Dependent-Arising and Emptiness
12. Rational Analysis
13. Valid Establishment
14. Conventional Existence
15. Production Is Not Refined
16. Not Negating Enough
17. The Actual Object to Be Negated
18. Misinterpretations of the Svātantrika / Prāsangika Distinction
19. Refuting misinterpretations of the Svātantrika / Prāsangika Distinction
20. Our Interpretation of the Svātantrika / Prāsangika Distinction
21. Our Critique of Svātantrika Does Not Hurt Our Own Arguments
22. Analyzing Chariot
23. The Person Lacks Intrinsic Nature
24. Objects Lack Intrinsic Nature
25. Insight Requires Analysis
26. Uniting Insight and Serenity
27. Summary and Conclusion
Dedication
Colophon
Appendix 1: Outline of the Text
Appendix 2: Glossary
Appendix 3: Emendations to the Tibetan Text
Notes
Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index