Glenn H. Mullin

Glenn H. Mullin

Glenn Mullin is the author of over thirty books on Tibetan Buddhism, many of which have been translated into a dozen foreign languages. His earlier titles focus on the lives and works of the early Dalai Lamas. Other titles of his elucidate practice traditions such as Lam Rim, Lojong, the Six Yogas of Naropa, Kalachakra, and so forth. He has been an international teacher of Tantric Buddhist meditation for the past twenty-five years.

Glenn lived in Dharamsala, India, for some fifteen years. There he studied under twenty-five of the greatest masters of Tibet, including the Dalai Lama and his two main gurus.

In 1986 Glenn formed The Mystical Arts of Tibet Inc., which brought Tibetan monks to North America to perform sacred temple music and dance and create sacred sand mandalas. These were the first “Lama Tours” in America, and several of them visited a hundred or so cities in its year on the road.

In 1995 Glenn was asked to curate an exhibition of the sacred art of the Dalai Lamas for an Atlanta museum, in honor of the 1996 Summer Olympics there. Later he curated a further half dozen Tibetan Buddhist art exhibitions for other museums across the US. He has also worked on four Tibet-based films and six television projects.

Glenn now divides his time between writing, teaching, and leading pilgrimages to the power places of Tibet.

Glenn H. Mullin

Glenn Mullin is the author of over thirty books on Tibetan Buddhism, many of which have been translated into a dozen foreign languages. His earlier titles focus on the lives and works of the early Dalai Lamas. Other titles of his elucidate practice traditions such as Lam Rim, Lojong, the Six Yogas of Naropa, Kalachakra, and so forth. He has been an international teacher of Tantric Buddhist meditation for the past twenty-five years.

Glenn lived in Dharamsala, India, for some fifteen years. There he studied under twenty-five of the greatest masters of Tibet, including the Dalai Lama and his two main gurus.

In 1986 Glenn formed The Mystical Arts of Tibet Inc., which brought Tibetan monks to North America to perform sacred temple music and dance and create sacred sand mandalas. These were the first “Lama Tours” in America, and several of them visited a hundred or so cities in its year on the road.

In 1995 Glenn was asked to curate an exhibition of the sacred art of the Dalai Lamas for an Atlanta museum, in honor of the 1996 Summer Olympics there. Later he curated a further half dozen Tibetan Buddhist art exhibitions for other museums across the US. He has also worked on four Tibet-based films and six television projects.

Glenn now divides his time between writing, teaching, and leading pilgrimages to the power places of Tibet.

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GUIDES

Naropa: A Reader's Guide to the Great Master of Mahamudra

Naropa: A Guide for Readers

Naropa, by Chris Banigan from The Supreme Siddhi of Mahamudra

Indestructible truth
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The following short biography of Naropa is adapted from Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism:

Naropa, Tilopa’s primary disciple, is born in wealthy circumstances, the favored son of a kshatriya (ruling caste in India) family. At seventeen, he is compelled by his parents to marry. After eight years of marriage, however, he announces his intention to renounce the world. He and his wife agree to a divorce, and Naropa, like Tilopa, takes ordination into the monastic way. Unlike Tilopa, however, Naropa invests many years in intensive study, mastering the major branches and varieties of Buddhist texts, including the Vinaya, Sutras, and Abhidharma of the Hinayana, the Prajnaparamita of the Mahayana, and the tantras. Eventually, he rises to the top of his religious profession, becoming first a high-ranking scholar at Nalanda and then its supreme abbot. His fame as a scholar spreads everywhere, and he is considered unexcelled in his understanding of Buddhist doctrine.

At Nalanda, he has an extraordinary experience with a seeming ordinary old woman but one who it turns out has a profound effect on his life and sends him to find Tilopa.

At this moment, Tilopa appears, a blue-black man dressed in cotton trousers, with a topknot and bulging bloodshot eyes. He declares that ever since Naropa formed the intention to seek him, Tilopa has not been separate from him and that it was only Naropa’s defilements that blinded him to this fact. He tells Naropa that he is a worthy vessel, will indeed be able to receive the deepest teachings, and that he will accept him as a disciple.

For the next twelve years, Naropa is Tilopa’s disciple, undergoing a most demanding tutelage. He suffers immensely through all kinds of physical, psychological, and spiritual trials, torments, and tribulations. The rigor of his training is in direct measure, he understands, to the karmic accretions and obscurations that he has accumulated in his previous lives. Each of Tilopa’s teachings is a catastrophe for Naropa’s sense of personal identity, and in each instance he believes himself to have been irreparably and mortally harmed. In each case Tilopa reveals a deeper level of Naropa’s being, one that is open, clear, and resplendent, independent of the life and death of ego. Throughout this period, Tilopa says very little, and Naropa’s instruction occurs in nonverbal ways, through his own pain and through symbolic gestures that he must assimilate. No security and certainly no confirmation are ever given, and Naropa is able to persevere out of complete devotion to Tilopa and his conviction that he has no other options.

After twelve years of training, one day Naropa is standing with Tilopa on a barren plain. Tilopa remarks that the time has now come for him to offer Naropa the much-sought-after oral instructions, the transmission of dharma. When Tilopa demands an offering, Naropa, who has nothing, offers his own fingers and blood. As Lama Taranatha recounts the event.

Then Tilopa, having collected the fingers of Naropa, hit him in the face with a dirty sandal and Naropa instantly lost consciousness. When he regained consciousness, he directly perceived the ultimate truth, the suchness of all reality, and his fingers were restored. He was now granted the complete primary and subsidiary oral instructions. Thereupon, Naropa became a lord of yogins.

From Tilopa, Naropa receives the transmissions of mahamudra, the six inner yogas, and the anuttara-yoga tantras, and himself becomes a realized siddha in the tradition of his master. Naropa is subsequently seen sometimes roaming through the jungles, sometimes defeating heretics, sometimes in male-female aspect (that is, in union with his consort, a mark of his realization), hunting deer with a pack of hounds, at other times performing magical feats, at still other times acting like a small child, playing, laughing, and weeping. As a realized master, he accepts disciples, and through all of his activities, however benign or unconventional and shocking they may be, he reveals the awakened state beyond thought, imbued with wisdom, compassion, and power. He is also a prolific author whose previous scholarly training enables him to be an eloquent writer on Vajrayana topics, evidenced by his works surviving in the Tenjur.

Naropa is a pivotal figure in the evolution of the Kagyu¨ lineage for the way in which he joins tantric practice and more traditional scholarship, unreasoning devotion and the rationality of intellect. Through him, Tilopa’s profound and untamed lineage is brought out of the jungles of east India and given a form which the Tibetan householder Marpa can receive.

 

Essential Texts by and about Naropa

Naropa's Wisdom
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Naropa's Wisdom: His Life and Teachings on Mahamudra

By Khenchen Thrangu

As the disciple of Tilopa and the guru of Marpa the Translator, Naropa is one of the accomplished lineage holders of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He expressed his realization in the form of spiritual songs, pithy yet beautiful poems that he sung spontaneously. In this book, Khenchen Thrangu, a contemporary Karma Kagyu master, first tells the story of Naropa’s life and explains the lessons we can learn from it and then provides verse-by-verse commentary on two of his songs. Both songs contain precious instructions on Mahamudra, the direct experience of the nature of one's mind, which in this tradition is the primary means to realize ultimate reality and thus attain buddhahood.

Thrangu Rinpoche’s teaching on the first song, The View, Concisely Put, explains the view of Mahamudra in a manner suitable for Western students who are new to the subject. The second song, The Summary of Mahamudra, contains all the key points of the view, meditation, conduct, and fruition of Mahamudra. Thrangu Rinpoche speaks plainly, directly, and without using any technical jargon to Westerners eager to learn the fundamentals of the Mahamudra path to enlightenment from a recognized master. As Thrangu Rinpoche says, “Mahamudra is a practice that can be done by anyone. It is an approach that engulfs any practitioner with tremendous blessings that make it very effective and easy to implement. This is especially true in our present time and especially true for Westerners because in the West there are very few obstacles in the practice of Mahamudra.”

Illusions Game-
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Illusion's Game: The Life and Teaching of Naropa

By Chögyam Trungpa

In what he calls a "200 percent potent" teaching, Chögyam Trungpa reveals how the spiritual path is a raw and rugged "unlearning" process that draws us away from the comfort of conventional expectations and conceptual attitudes toward a naked encounter with reality. The tantric paradigm for this process is the story of the Indian master Naropa (1016–1100), who is among the enlightened teachers of the Kagyu lineage of the Tibetan Buddhism. Naropa was the leading scholar at Nalanda, the Buddhist monastic university, when he embarked upon the lonely and arduous path to enlightenment. After a series of daunting trials, he was prepared to receive the direct transmission of the awakened state of mind from his guru, Tilopa. Teachings that he received, including those known as the six doctrines of Naropa, have been passed down in the lineages of Tibetan Buddhism for a millennium.

Trungpa Rinpoche's commentary shows the relevance of Naropa's extraordinary journey for today's practitioners who seek to follow the spiritual path. Naropa's story makes it possible to delineate in very concrete terms the various levels of spiritual development that lead to the student's readiness to meet the teacher's mind. Trungpa thus opens to Western students of Buddhism the path of devotion and surrender to the guru as the embodiment and representative of reality.

life and teachings naropa
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The Life and Teaching of Naropa

Translated by Herbert V. Guenther

In the history of Tibetan Buddhism, the eleventh-century Indian mystic Nâropa occupies an unusual position, for his life and teachings mark both the end of a long tradition and the beginning of a new and rich era in Buddhist thought. Nâropa's biography, translated by the world-renowned Buddhist scholar Herbert V. Guenther from hitherto unknown sources, describes with great psychological insight the spiritual development of this scholar-saint. It is unique in that it also contains a detailed analysis of his teaching that has been authoritative for the whole of Tantric Buddhism.

This modern translation is accompanied by a commentary that relates Buddhist concepts to Western analytic philosophy, psychiatry, and depth psychology, thereby illuminating the significance of Tantra and Tantrism for our own time. Yet above all, it is the story of an individual whose years of endless toil and perseverance on the Buddhist path will serve as an inspiration to anyone who aspires to spiritual practice.

The Six Yogas of Naropa

The Six Yogas of Naropa

The Six Yogas of Naropa are a set of advanced tantric practices that can only be undertaken under the close guidance of a qualified teacher.  We do not recommend these books unless one is under such guidance as misunderstanding is very likely.

Practice of the Six Yogas
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The Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa

Edited by Glenn Mullin

This book on the Six Yogas contains important texts on this esoteric doctrine, including original Indian works by Tilopa and Naropa and writings by great Tibetan lamas. It contains an important practice manual on the Six Yogas as well as other works that discuss the practices, their context, and the historical continuity of this most important tradition.

  • The Oral Instruction of the Six Yogas by Tilopa
  • Vajra Verses of the Whispered Tradition by Naropa
  • Notes on "A Book of Three Inspirations" by Je Sherab Gyatso
  • Handprints of the Profound Path of the Six Yogas of Naropa by Gyalwa Wensapa
  • A Practice Manual on the Six Yogas of Naropa by Tsongkhapa
  • The Golden Key: A Profound Guide to the Six Yogas of Naropa by the First Panchen Lama
Six Yogas Naropa
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The Six Yogas of Naropa: Tsongkhapa's Commentary

By Tsongkhapa, translated and introduced by Glenn Mullin

Tsongkhapa's commentary entitled A Book of Three Inspirations: A Treatise on the Stages of Training in the Profound Path of Naro's Six Dharmas is commonly referred to as The Three Inspirations. Anyone who has read more than a few books on Tibetan Buddhism will have encountered references to the Six Yogas of Naropa, a preeminent yogic technology system. The six practices—inner heat, illusory body, clear light, consciousness transference, forceful projection, and bardo yoga—gradually came to pervade thousands of monasteries, nunneries, and hermitages throughout Central Asia over the past five and a half centuries.

More Books Featuring Naropa

Great Kagyu
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The Great Kagyu Masters: The Golden Lineage Treasury

Compiled by Dorje Dze Öd, translated by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche

The Golden Lineage Treasury was compiled by Dorje Dze Öd a great master of the Drikung lineage active in the Mount Kailasjh region of Western Tibet.  This text of the Kagyu tradition profiles and the forefathers of the tradition including Vajradhara, the Buddha, Tilopa, Naropa, the Four Great Dharma Kings of Tibet, Marpa, Milarepa, Atisha, Gampopa, Phagmodrupa, Jigten Sumgon, and more.

The chapter on Naropa is 45 pages long.

marpa
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Marpa Kagyu, Part One - Methods of Liberation: Essential Teachings of the Eight Practice Lineages of Tibet, Volume 7

The Treasury of Precious Instructions

By Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye

The seventh volume of the series, Marpa Kagyu, is the first of four volumes that present a selection of core instructions from the Marpa Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. This lineage is named for the eleventh-century Tibetan Marpa Chokyi Lodrö of Lhodrak who traveled to India to study the sutras and tantras with many scholar-siddhas, the foremost being Naropa and Maitripa. The first part of this volume contains source texts on mahamudra and the six dharmas by such famous masters as Saraha and Tilopa. The second part begins with a collection of sadhanas and abhisekas related to the Root Cakrasamvara Aural Transmissions, which are the means for maturing, or empowering, students. It is followed by the liberating instructions, first from the Rechung Aural Transmission. This section on instructions continues in the following three Marpa Kagyu volumes. Also included are lineage charts and detailed notes by translator Elizabeth M. Callahan.

The piece by Naropa in this volume include:

  • Summary Verses on Mahāmudrā
  • Authoritative Texts in Verse: Mahāsiddha Nāropa’s Cycle on the Six
    Dharmas
  • Vajra Song Summarizing the Six Dharmas: The Scholar-Mahāsiddha
    Nāropa’s Instructions to the Lord of Yogins Marpa
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The Supreme Siddhi of Mahamudra: Teachings, Poems, and Songs of the Drukpa Kagyu Lineage

Translated by Gerardo Abboud, Sean Price, and Adam Kane

The Drukpa Kagyu lineage is renowned among the traditions of Vajrayana Buddhism for producing some of the greatest yogis from across the Himalayas. After spending many years in mountain retreats, these meditation masters displayed miraculous signs of spiritual accomplishment that have inspired generations of Buddhist practitioners. The teachings found here are sources of inspiration for any student wishing to genuinely connect with this tradition.

These translations include Mahamudra advice and songs of realization from major Tibetan Buddhist figures such as Gampopa, Tsangpa Gyare, Drukpa Kunleg, and Pema Karpo, as well as modern Drukpa masters such as Togden Shakya Shri and Adeu Rinpoche. This collection of direct pith instructions and meditation advice also includes an overview of the tradition by Tsoknyi Rinpoche.

The second chapter, on Naropa, is a translation of the Condensed Veses of Mahamudra, known in Sanskrit Mahāmudrāsaṃjñāsaṃhitā as and in Tibetan as (Chakgya Chenpo Tsig Dupa (Phyag rgya chen po’i tshig bsdus pa).

Combined with guidance from a qualified teacher, these teachings offer techniques for resting in the naturally pure and luminous state of our minds. As these masters make clear, through stabilizing the meditative experiences of bliss, clarity, and nonthought, we will be liberated from suffering in this very life and will therefore be able to benefit countless beings.

Translator on Gerardo Abboud on The Supreme Siddhi of Mahamudra

Seeing the Sacred in Samsara
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Seeing the Sacred in Samsara: An Illustrated Guide to the Eighty-Four Mahāsiddhas

By Donald S. Lopez Jr.

This exquisite full-color presentation of the lives of the eighty-four mahāsiddhas, or “great accomplished ones,” offers a fresh glimpse into the world of the famous tantric yogis of medieval India. The stories of these tantric saints have captured the imagination of Buddhists across Asia for nearly a millennium. Unlike monks and nuns who renounce the world, these saints sought the sacred in the midst of samsara. Some were simple peasants who meditated while doing manual labor. Others were kings and queens who traded the comfort and riches of the palace for the danger and transgression of the charnel ground. Still others were sinners—pimps, drunkards, gamblers, and hunters—who transformed their sins into sanctity.

This book includes striking depictions of each of the mahāsiddhas by a master Tibetan painter, whose work has been preserved in pristine condition. Published here for the first time in its entirety, this collection includes details of the painting elements along with the life stories of the tantric saints, making this one of the most comprehensive works available on the eighty-four mahāsiddhas.

The Naropa image from this book is pictured at the top of this page and explains what is being depicted.

Naropa-FromBuddhist

Naropa, from the Buddhist Art Coloring Book 2

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Additional Resources on Tilopa

Lotsawa House hosts at least one work by Naropa as well as several where he features.  lotswa house

BDRC has a set of associated works related to Naropa

...
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Tsongkhapa: A Guide to His Life and Works

The Life of Tsongkhapa Lobsang Drakpa (1357-1419)

Tsongkhapa., from the cover of The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra (Essen Collection)

Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa (1357–1419), was one of the most important figures in Tibet, historically and philosophically. As the founder of the Gelug school he made an enormous contribution to revitalizing Buddhism in Tibet. Regarded as an emanation of Manjushri--the bodhisattva of wisdom and discerning intelligence, Tsongkhapa was of keen intellect as well as experiential understanding of the Buddhist tradition. He undertook many long retreats during which he had profound visions out of which he wrote many of his celebrated treatises including Lam Rim Chenmo or The Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path. A prolific writer, he composed 210 treatises, compiled into 20 volumes wherein he emphasized the combined paths of Sutra and Tanta. In addition, he established the acclaimed Ganden monastery.

"Born in 1357 in Amdo, northeastern Tibet, and educated in central Tibet, Tsongkhapa led a life that exemplified the importance of study, critical reflection, and meditative practice. In an autobiographical poem he declared:

"First I sought wide and extensive learning,
Second I perceived all teachings as personal instructions,
Finally, I engaged in meditative practice day and night;
All these I dedicated to the flourishing of the Buddha’s teaching.

By the end of his life, 600 years ago, Tsongkhapa was widely revered across Tibet. He had studied and corresponded with the most renowned teachers of his time, from all the major traditions, and had spent years in meditative retreat."

—From the Foreward by H. H. The Dalai Lama, Tsongkhapa: A Buddha in the Land of Snows, by Thupten Jinpa

The Definitive Biography of Tsongkhapa

Tsongkhapa

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Marking the 600th anniversary of Tsongkhapa, in 2019 we published what is the most comprehensive, definitive biography of this great figure, written by Thupten Jinpa. The author is best known as the main translator for the Dalai Lama, but he is an author and scholar himself, having earned a Geshe degree. In the author’s words,

this new biography of Tsongkhapa…is aimed primarily at the contemporary reader. And it seeks to answer the following key questions for them: ‘Who was or is Tsongkhapa? What is he to Tibetan Buddhism? How did he come to assume the deified status he continues to enjoy for the dominant Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism? What relevance, if any, do Tsongkhapa’s thought and legacy have for our contemporary thought and culture?

Thupten Jinpa, from the Introduction to Tsongkhapa: A Buddha in the Land of Snows

Lives of the Masters
Ganden monastery, from Charles Bell, 1921

Ganden monastery, founded by Tsongkhapa, photographed in 1921 by Sir Charles Bell

Whoever sees or hears

Or contemplates these prayers,

May they never be discouraged

In seeking the bodhisattva’s amazing aspirations.

By praying with such expansive thought

Created from the power of pure intention,

May I achieve the perfection of prayers

And fulfill the wishes of all sentient beings.

—From Tsongkhapa's prayer, "Goodness at the Beginning, the Middle, and the End"

Tsongkhapa's Lam Rim Chenmo, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment

Tsongkhapa's main contribution to this genre is the famous Lamrim Chenmo or The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. It is also generally considered his most influential work, studied and practiced by tens of thousands today.

The background to this work is on one of Tsongkhapa’s own letters to a lama, included in Art Engle's The Inner Science of Buddhist Practice, where he describes it as building on Atisha’s Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment:

“It is clear that this instruction [introduced] by [Atisha] Dīpaṃkara Śrījnāna on the stages of the path to enlightenment . . . teaches [the meanings contained in] all the canonical scriptures, their commentaries, and related instruction by combining them into a single graded path. One can see that when taught by a capable teacher and put into practice by able listeners it brings order, not just to some minor instruction, but to the entire [body of] canonical scriptures. Therefore, I have not taught a wide variety of [other] instructions.”

 

Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment By Geshe Sonam Rinchen Translated by Ruth Sonam
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The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Vol. 1-3)

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.

the great treatise on the stages of the path to enlightenment
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(Volume 1)
By Tsongkhapa
Edited by Joshua Cutler and Guy Newland, Translated by Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee

This first of three volumes covers all the practices that are prerequisite for developing the spirit of enlightenment (bodhicitta).

the great treatise on the stages of the path to enlightenment
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(Volume 2)
By Tsongkhapa
Edited by Joshua Cutler and Guy Newland, Translated by Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee

This second of three volumes covers the deeds of the bodhisattvas, as well as how to train in the six perfections.

the great treatise on the stages of the path to enlightenment
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(Volume 3)
By Tsongkhapa
Edited by Joshua Cutler and Guy Newland, Translated by Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee

This third and final volume contains a presentation of the two most important topics in the work: meditative serenity (śamatha) and supramundane insight into the nature of reality (vipaśyanā).

Commentaries on Tsongkhapa's Great Treatise and other Lam Rim (Stages of the Path) texts

In line with Tibet'a commentarial tradition, you can find a number of translations and commentaries on Tsongkhapa's classic text including H.H. The Dalai Lama's From Here to Enlightenment 

"The Great Treatise was written by Lama Tsong-kha-pa, a great scholar, a real holder of the Nalanda tradition. I think he is one of the very best Tibetan scholars. Although it is now widely available in Tibetan as well as English, you see that I brought with me today my own personal copy of this text. On March 17th, 1959, when I left Norbulingka that night, I brought this book with me. Since then I have used it ten or fifteen times to give teachings, all from this copy. So this is something very dear to me."

-H.H The Dalai Lama discussing his copy of the Great Treatise in From Here to Enlightenment

H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
From Here to Enlightenment
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From Here to Enlightenment
An Introduction to Tsong-kha-pa's Classic Text The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment
By H.H. The Dalai Lama and translated by Guy Newland

When the Dalai Lama was forced into exile in 1959, he could take only a few items with him. Among these cherished belongings was his copy of Tsong-kha-pa’s classic text The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. This text distills all the essential points of Tibetan Buddhism, clearly unfolding the entire Buddhist path.

In 2008, celebrating the long-awaited completion of the English translation of the Great Treatise, the Dalai Lama gave a historic six-day teaching at Lehigh University to explain the meaning of the text and underscore its importance. It is the longest teaching he has ever given to Westerners on just one text—and the most comprehensive. From Here to Enlightenment makes the teachings from this momentous event available for a wider audience.

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Introduction to Emptiness
As Taught in Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path
By Guy Newland

Readers are hard-pressed to find books that can help them understand the central concept in Mahayana Buddhism—the idea that ultimate reality is emptiness. In clear language, Introduction to Emptiness explains that emptiness is not a mystical sort of nothingness, but a specific truth that can and must be understood through calm and careful reflection. Newland's contemporary examples and vivid anecdotes will help readers understand this core concept as presented in one of the great classic texts of the Tibetan tradition, Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. This new edition includes quintessential points for each chapter.

Refining Gold
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Refining Gold
Stages in Buddhist Contemplative Practice
By H.H. The Dalai Lama

In this extensive teaching, the Dalai Lama beautifully elucidates the meaning of the path to enlightenment through his own direct spiritual advice and personal reflections. Based on two very famous Tibetan text—Tsongkhapa's Song of the Stages on the Spiritual Path and the Third Dalai Lama's Essence of Refined Gold—this teaching presents in practical terms the essential instructions for the attainment of enlightenment. Its direct approach and lucid style make Refining Gold one of the most accessible introductions to Tibetan Buddhism ever published. His discourse draws out the meaning of the Third Dalai Lama’s famous Essence of Refined Gold as he speaks directly to the reader, offering advice, personal reflections, and scriptural commentary. He says in practical terms what the student must do to attain enlightenment.

Tsongkhapa's Three Principle Aspects of the Path

This is the shortest Lamrim text Tsongkhapa composed. Tsongkhapa wrote the fourteen stanzas of this classic distillation of all the paths of practice that lead to enlightenment. The three principal elements of the path referred to are: (1) renunciation, tied to the wish for freedom from cyclic existence; (2) the motivation to attain enlightenment for the benefit of others; (3) cultivating the correct view that realizes emptiness.

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The wish for freedom, the altruistic intention, and the wisdom realizing emptiness constitute the essence of the Buddhist path. In this teaching, Geshe Sonam Rinchen explains, in clear and readily accessible terms, Je Tsongkhapa’s (1357–1419) famed presentation of these three essential topics.

The Three Principal Aspects is also included in Cutting Through Appearances: Practice and Theory of Tibetan Buddhism in which Geshe Sopa annotates the Fourth Panchen Lama’s instructions on how to practice this text in a meditation session.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama teaches on this text, and this is included as the chapter “The Path to Enlightenment” in Kindness, Clarity, and Insight.

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Changing Minds
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Another work where Tsongkhapa’s Lamrim is featured is in Changing Minds: Contributions to the Study of Buddhism and Tibet in Honor of Jeffrey Hopkins. There are three chapters devoted to Tsongkhapa:

  1. Guy Newland’s Ask a Farmer: Ultimate Analysis and Conventional Existence in Tsongkhapa’s Lam Rim Chen Mo
  2. Daniel Cozort’s Cutting the Roots of Virtue: Tsongkhapa on the Results of Anger
  3. Elizabeth Napper’s Ethics as the Basis of a Tantric Tradition: Tsongkhapa and the Founding of the Gelugpa Order

Lotsawa House also includes a translation of these fourteen stanzas.

Tsongkhapa on Madhyamaka, The Middle Way School

Tsongkhapa is known for his distinct approach to the middle way philosophical system (madhyamaka) propounded by Indian masters Nāgārjuna (circa 200 CE) and Candrakīrti (circa 600 CE).

"I first went to India in 1972 on a dissertation research Fulbright fellow-ship, where although advised by the Fulbright Commission in New Delhi not to go to Dharmsala because of possible political complications, I went after a brief trip to Banaras. There I found that the Dalai Lama was about to begin a sixteen-day series of four- to six-hour lectures on Tsong-kha-pa Lo-sang-drak-pa’s Medium-Length Exposition of the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment Practiced by Persons of Three Capacities. Despite my cynicism that a governmentally appointed reincarnation could possibly have much to offer, I slowly became fascinated first with the strength and speed of his articulation and then, much more so, with the touching meanings that were conveyed."

-Jeffrey Hopkins, from the Preface to Tsong-kha-pa's Final Exposition of Wisdom

jeffrey hopkins
Jeffrey Hopkins, PhD, served for a decade as the interpreter for the Dalai Lama. A Buddhist scholar and the author of more than thirty-five books, he is Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia, where he founded the largest academic program in Tibetan Buddhist studies in the West.
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Tsong-kha-pa's Final Exposition of Wisdom
By Jeffrey Hopkins

In fourteenth- and fifteenth-century Tibet there was great ferment about what makes enlightenment possible, since systems of self-liberation must show what factors pre-exist in the mind that allow for transformation into a state of freedom from suffering. This controversy about the nature of mind, which persists to the present day, raises many questions. This book first presents the final exposition of special insight by Tsong-kha-pa, the founder of the Ge-luk-pa order of Tibetan Buddhism, in his medium-length Exposition of the Stages of the Path as well as the sections on the object of negation and on the two truths in his Illumination of the Thought: Extensive Explanation of Chandrakirti's Supplement to Nagarjuna's "Treatise on the Middle." It then details the views of his predecessor Dol-po-pa Shay-rap Gyel-tsen, the seminal author of philosophical treatises of the Jo-nang-pa order, as found in his Mountain Doctrine, followed by an analysis of Tsong-kha-pa's reactions. By contrasting the two systems—Dol-po-pa's doctrine of other-emptiness and Tsong-kha-pa's doctrine of self-emptiness—both views emerge more clearly, contributing to a fuller picture of reality as viewed in Tibetan Buddhism. Tsong-kha-pa's Final Exposition of Wisdom brilliantly explicates ignorance and wisdom, explains the relationship between dependent-arising and emptiness, shows how to meditate on emptiness, and explains what it means to view phenomena as like illusions.

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The Ornament of the Middle Way
A Study of the Madhyamaka Thought of Santaraksita
By James Blumenthal

The late James Blumenthal explores this important text by Shantarakshita and brings in Tsongkhapa’s text on this subject.

Shantarakshita's The Ornament of the Middle Way is among the most important Mahayana Buddhist philosophical treatises to emerge on the Indian subcontinent. In many respects, it represents the culmination of more than 1300 years of philosophical dialogue and inquiry since the time of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. Shantarakshita set forth the foundation of a syncretic approach to contemporary ideas by synthesizing the three major trends in Indian Buddhist thought at the time (the Madhyamaka thought of Nagarjuna, the Yogachara thought of Asanga, and the logical and epistemological thought of Dharmakirti) into one consistent and coherent system. Shantarakshitas's text is considered to be the quintessential exposition or root text of the school of Buddhist philosophical thought known in Tibet as Yogachara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka. In addition to examining his ideas in their Indian context, this study examines the way Shantarakshita's ideas have been understood by and have been an influence on Tibetan Buddhist traditions. Specifically, Blumenthal examines the way scholars from the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism have interpreted, represented, and incorporated Santaraksita's ideas into their own philosophical project. This is the first book-length study of the Madyamaka thought of Shantarakshita in any Western language. It includes a new translation of Shantarakshita's treatise, extensive extracts from his autocommentary, and the first complete translation of the primary Geluk commentary on Shantarakshita's treatise.

"As a religious reformer, he has been likened to Luther by Western Buddhologists; but as a religious scholar he is regarded in his own culture as a genius whose statue more closely parallels that of Aquinas in Western Christianity. For Tsongkhapa created his own unique interpretation of Buddhist systematics and hermeneutics, in which he synthesized themes from all the Tibetan Buddhist traditions of his era. For these reasons he was praised by the Eight Karmapa as Tibet's chief exponent of ultimate truth, who revived the Buddha's doctrine at a time when the teachings of all four major Tibetan Buddhist lineages were in decline."

-B. Alan Wallace, from the Preface to Balancing the Mind

B. Allan Wallace
B. Alan Wallace has authored, translated, edited, and contributed to more than forty books on Tibetan Buddhism, science, and culture. With fourteen years as a Buddhist monk, he earned a BA in physics and the philosophy of science and then a PhD in religious studies.
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Balancing the Mind
A Tibetan Buddhist Approach to Refining Attention
By B. Alan Wallace

For centuries, Tibetan Buddhist contemplatives have directly explored consciousness through carefully honed and rigorous techniques of meditation. B. Alan Wallace explains the methods and experiences of Tibetan practitioners and compares these with investigations of consciousness by Western scientists and philosophers. Balancing the Mind includes a translation of the classic discussion of methods for developing exceptionally high degrees of attentional stability and clarity by fifteenth-century Tibetan contemplative Tsongkhapa.

Tsongkhapa and the Debate over the Two Truths

Tsongkhapa is famous—and in some circles controversial—for his presentation and positioning of the Prasangika view of Madhyamaka. Any discussion or debate of this subject invariably references Tsongkhapa.

Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, philosopher and a prolific writer, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path
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The Center of a Sunlight Sky
Madhyamaka in the Kagyu Tradition
By Karl Brunnhölzl

This comprehensive work by Karl Brunnholzl explores all facets of Madhyamaka in the Kagyu tradition, but no analysis of Madhyamaka can leave out Tsongkhapa who appears throughout this work. There is a sixty-page section comparing the views of Tsongkhapa to those of Mikyo Dorje’s “whose writing, not only is a reaction to the position of Tsongkhapa and his followers but addresses most of the views on Madhyamaka that were current in Tibet at the time, including the controversial issue of ‘Shentong-Madhyamaka.’”

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The Adornment of the Middle Way
Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara with Commentary by Jamgon Mipham
By Jamgon Mipham, translated by Padmakara Translation Group

For a different take on Shantarakshita's The Ornament of the Middle Way (same text, differently translated title) The Adornment of the Middle Way translated by the Padmakara Translation Group, gives a helpful introduction on the various interpretations. This longer passage offers a glimpse into some of the fault lines in the debate:

"The brilliance of Tsongkhapa’s teaching, his qualities as a leader, his emphasis on monastic discipline, and the purity of his example attracted an immense following. Admiration, however, was not unanimous, and his presentation of Madhyamaka in particular provoked a fierce backlash, mainly from the Sakya school, to which Tsongkhapa and his early disciples originally belonged. These critics included Tsongkhapa’s contemporaries Rongtön Shakya Gyaltsen (1367–1449) and Taktsang Lotsawa (1405–?), followed in the next two generations by Gorampa Sonam Senge (1429–1487), Serdog Panchen Shakya Chokden (1428–1509), and the eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje (1505–1557). All of them rejected Tsongkhapa’s interpretation as inadequate, newfangled, and unsupported by tradition. Although they recognized certain differences between the Prasangika and Svatantrika approaches, they considered that Tsongkhapa had greatly exaggerated the divergence of view. They believed that the difference between the two subschools was largely a question of methodology and did not amount to a disagreement on ontological matters.

Not surprisingly, these objections provoked a counterattack, and they were vigorously refuted by Tsongkhapa’s disciples. In due course, however, the most effective means of silencing such criticisms came with the ideological proscriptions imposed at the beginning of the seventeenth century. These followed the military intervention of Gusri Khan, who put an end to the civil war in central Tibet, placed temporal authority in the hands of the Fifth Dalai Lama, and ensured the rise to political power of the Gelugpa school. Subsequently, the writings of all the most strident of Tsongkhapa’s critics ceased to be available and were almost lost. It was, for example, only at the beginning of the twentieth century that Gorampa’s works could be fully reassembled, whereas Shakya Chokden’s works, long thought to be irretrievably lost, were discovered only recently in Bhutan and published as late as 1975."

-from the Introduction to The Adornment of the Middle Way

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The Wisdom Chapter
Jamgön Mipham's Commentary on the Ninth Chapter of The Way of the Bodhisattva
By Jamgon Mipham, translated by Padmakara Translation Group

This work on the Wisdom Chapter of Shantideva’s classic, written more than four centuries after Tsongkhapa, is a presentation of a different view than that expounded by Tsongkhapa. It is, in fact, a superb source for understanding the impact of his Madhyamaka presentation in a wider context, historically and philosophically. The extensive introduction gives a very complete and comprehensive account. In sum:

"In his treatment of the Gelugpa account, Mipham concurs in all important respects with Gorampa and the rest of Tsongkhapa’s earlier critics. Indeed, his critique is possibly even more effective in being expressed moderately and without vituperation. Nevertheless, he is careful never to attack Tsongkhapa personally. Given the fact that Mipham was a convinced upholder of the nonsectarian movement, there is no reason to doubt the sincerity of the humble and respectful manner with which he invariably refers to Tsongkhapa. No sarcasm is detectable in his words:

In the snowy land of Tibet, the great and venerable lord Tsongkhapa was unrivaled in his activities for the sake of the Buddha’s teaching. And with regard to his writings, which are clear and excellently composed, I do indeed feel the greatest respect and gratitude.

There is, however, a striking contrast between Mipham’s veneration of Tsongkhapa, on the one hand, and his penetrating critique of his view, on the other. Mipham’s assessment seems to oscillate between an approbation of some of Tsongkhapa’s positions, regarded as unproblematic expressions of a Svātantrika approach that Mipham valued, and a determination to demolish Tsongkhapa’s philosophical innovations and their pretended Prāsaṅgika affiliations. This discrepancy has led some scholars to accuse Mipham of inconsistency. Closer scrutiny suggests, however, that Mipham’s admittedly complex attitude to Tsongkhapa was in point of fact quite coherent."

-from the Introduction to The Wisdom Chapter

Tsongkhapa's Poetry and Songs of Realization

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Thupten Jinpa’s collection of Tibetan poetry includes two poems by Tsongkhapa including Reflections on Emptiness, which is extracted from a larger work, the rTag tu ngu’i rtogs brjod—a poetic retelling of the story of the bodhisattva Sadāprarudita, who is associated with the 8,000 Verse Prajnamaramita Sutra and A Prayer for the Flourishing of Virtues.

Jinpa presents Tsongkhapa’s poetry first in terms of his mastery of composition and second, in terms of his mastery of the Buddhist path.

First, describing his master of composition, Jinpa writes: 

Tsongkhapa’s famous long poem entitled ‘‘A Literary Gem of Poetry’’ uses a single vowel in every stanza throughout the entire length. This is the poem from which come the famous lines:

Good and evil are but states of the heart:
When the heart is pure, all things are pure;
When the heart is tainted, all things are tainted.
So all things depend on your heart.

In the original Tibetan, this stanza uses only the vowel a. Of course, this kind of literary device can never be reproduced in a translation, whatever the virtuosity and command of the translator.

Second, describing his mastery of the Buddhist path Jinpa states:

To a contemporary reader, Tsongkhapa’s famous ‘‘Prayer for the Flourishing of Virtues’’ gives an insight into the deepest ideals of a dedicated Tibetan Buddhist practitioner; it presents a map of progressive development on the path. Beyond this, the mystic must utterly transform the very root of his identity and the perceptions that arise from it. From the ordinary patterns of action and reaction that make up our psyche and emotional life, the meditator must move toward a divine state of altered consciousness where all realities, including one’s own self, are manifested in their enlightened forms. In other words, the meditator must perfect all dimensions of his or her identity and experience, including rationality, emotion, intuition, and even sexuality. This, in Tibetan Buddhism, is the mystical realm of tantra.

Tsongkhapa and Tantra

A brief note. For those unfamiliar or only exposed through books, we strongly encourage readers to study tantra under the guidance of a qualified teacher. Book reading can only take you so far as the transmission of tantric teaching is about more than what can be put on paper.

great exposition

This work is analogous to the tantra version of the Lamrim Chenmo, presenting tantra from the position of the sarma, ie., the 'new school,' or later transmission from India.

There are three books by Tsongkhapa and His Holiness the Dalai Lama that form a series focused on Tsongkhapa's Great Exposition of Secret Mantra. In this text, Tsongkhapa presents the differences between sutra and tantra and the main features of various systems of tantra. Each of the three books below begins with the Dalai Lama contextualizing and commenting on the points presented in Tsongkhapa's text, followed by a translation of the corresponding part of the text itself.

Great Exposition Vol 1
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In Volume 1: Tantra in Tibet, the foundations of motivation, refuge, and the Hinayana and Mahayana paths are presented. He then gives an overview of tantra, the notion of Clear Light, the greatness of mantra, and initiation or empowerment.

This revised work describes the differences between the Great Vehicle and Lesser Vehicle streams in the sutra tradition, and between the sutra tradition and that of tantra generally. It includes highly practical and compassionate explanations from H.H. the Dalai Lama on tantra for spiritual development; the first part of the classic Great Exposition of Secret Mantra text; and a supplement by Jeffrey Hopkins on the difference between the Vehicles, emptiness, psychological transformation, and the purpose of the four tantras.

Great Exposition Vol 2
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In Volume II: Deity Yoga, His Holiness discusses deity yoga at length with a particular focus on action and performance tantras (the first two categories of tantra as described in the sarma, or “new translation” schools).

This revised work describes the profound process of meditation in Action (kriya) and Performance (carya) Tantras. Invaluable for anyone who is practicing or is interested in Buddhist tantra, this volume includes a lucid exposition of the meditative techniques of deity yoga from H.H. the Dalai Lama; the second and third chapters of the classic Great Exposition of Secret Mantra text; and a supplement by Jeffrey Hopkins outlining the structure of Action Tantra practices as well as the need for the development of special yogic powers.

Great Exposition Vol 3
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in Volume III: Yoga Tantra the Dalai Lama details the practice of the next level of tantra, yoga tantra. With a preliminary overview of the motivation, His Holiness explains this level, which focuses on internal yoga, which here means the union of deity yoga with the wisdom of realizing emptiness. He details the yoga, both that with and that without signs, and then briefly explains how gaining stability in these practices is the foundation for some other practices that lead to mundane and extraordinary “feats.”

This work opens with the Dalai Lama presenting the key features of Yoga Tantra then continues with the root text by Tsongkhapa. This is followed by an overview of the central practices by Khaydrub Je. Jeffrey Hopkins concludes the volume with an outline of the steps of Yoga Tantra practice, which is drawn from the Dalai Lama’s, Tsongkhapa’s, and Khaydrub Je’s explanations.

An explanation of the highest yoga tantra is not included in these works, but an excellent resource is Daniel Cozort's Highest Yoga Tantra.

Six Yogas Naropa
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The Six Yogas of Naropa
Tsongkhapa's Commentary
By Glenn H. Mullin

Tsongkhapa's commentary entitled A Book of Three Inspirations: A Treatise on the Stages of Training in the Profound Path of Naro's Six Dharmas is commonly referred to as The Three Inspirations. Anyone who has read more than a few books on Tibetan Buddhism will have encountered references to the Six Yogas of Naropa, a preeminent yogic technology system. The six practices—inner heat, illusory body, clear light, consciousness transference, forceful projection, and bardo yoga—gradually came to pervade thousands of monasteries, nunneries, and hermitages throughout Central Asia over the past five and a half centuries.

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The Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa
By Glenn H. Mullin

Another text that is included in Tsongkhapa’s collected works is the short Practice Manual on the Six Yogas. This is included in the wider collection of texts on this practice titled The Practice of the Six Yogas of Naropa. Also included in this book are works by Tilopa, Naropa, Je Sherab Gyatso, and the First Panchen Lama.

From the Six Yogas of Naropa:

"Tsongkhapa's treatise on this system of tantric practice ... became the standard guide to the Naropa tradition at Ganden Monastery, the seat he founded near Lhasa in 1409. Ganden was to become the motherhouse of the Gelukpa school, and thus the symbolic head of the network of thousands of Gelukpa monasteries that sprang up over the succeeding centuries across Central Asia, from Siberia to northern India. A Book of Three Inspirations has served as the fundamental guide to Naropa's Six Yogas for the tens of thousands of Gelukpa monks, nuns, and lay practitioners throughout that vast area who were interested in pursuing the Naropa tradition as a personal tantric study. It has performed that function for almost six centuries now.

Tsongkhapa the Great's A Book of Three Inspirations has for centuries been regarded as special among the many. The text occupies a unique place in Tibetan tantric literature, for it in turn came to serve as the basis of hundreds of later treatments. His observations on various dimensions and implications of the Six Yogas became a launching pad for hundreds of later yogic writers, opening up new horizons on the practice and philosophy of the system. In particular, his work is treasured for its panoramic view of the Six Yogas, discussing each of the topics in relation to the bigger picture of tantric Buddhism, tracing each of the yogic practices to its source in an original tantra spoken by the Buddha, and presenting each within the context of the whole. His treatise is especially revered for the manner in which it discusses the first of the Six Yogas, that of the 'inner heat.' As His Holiness the present Dalai Lama put it at a public reading of and discourse upon the text in Dharamsala, India, in 1991, 'the work is regarded by Tibetans as tummo gyi gyalpo, the king of treatments on the inner heat yoga.' Few other Tibetan treatises match it in this respect."

Glenn Mullin is the author of over thirty books on Tibetan Buddhism, many of which have been translated into a dozen foreign languages. His earlier titles focus on the lives and works of the early Dalai Lamas. Other titles of his elucidate practice traditions such as Lam Rim, Lojong, the Six Yogas of Naropa, Kalachakra, and so forth. He has been an international teacher of Tantric Buddhist meditation for the past twenty-five years.
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This work has three main sections: an overview of Mahamudra, the First Panchen’s text The Main Road of the Triumphant Ones, and a commentary by the Dalai Lama. The author contextualizes the selection saying that the tradition of Mahamudra in the Gelug tradition comes through Tsongkhapa.

Other Notable Works Related to Tsongkhapa

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Tibetan Literature
Studies in Genre
Edited by Jose Cabezon and Roger R. Jackson

Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre is a collection by leading Tibetologists. The immensity of Tibet's literary heritage, unsurprisingly, is filled with references to Tsongkhapa across a wide range of subjects. Just a sampling of them include: the establishment of the Gelug order; the monastic curriculum; debate manuals; establishment of Ganden; a comparison with Milarepa; the controversies about his views; a classification of his texts; and a lot more.

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Mind in Tibetan Buddhism
By Lati Rinpoche, Edited and translated by Elizabeth Napper

Mind in Tibetan Buddhism is an oral commentary on Geshe Jampel Sampel's Presentation of Awareness and Knowledge Composite of All the Important Points, Opener of the Eye of New Intelligence. This topic, lorig in Tibetan, was not one on which Tsongkhapa wrote a dedicated text, but he does include it in an introduction to Dharmakirti’s Seven Treatises and one of his sections includes a brief presentation on lorig. Tsongkhapa is brought up throughout this book.

snow lion

 

Tsongkhapa is also referenced in about 60 articles on shambhala.com, mostly from the Snow Lion newsletter archive.

Additional Resources

lotswa houseSelect translations from Tsongkhapa can be found  on Lotsawa House

More can be found on Atisha's life on Treasury of Lives

...
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Kalachakra Tantra Reader’s Guide

shambhala

What Is Kalachakra Tantra?

The Kalachakra, or “Wheel of Time,” tantra and cycles of teachings and practices are, on the surface, well known among practitioners and those interested in Tibetan Buddhism. Yet it is considered one of the highest teachings of tantra—a highly complex one where initiates take many years accomplishing the practice. The visualization for an advanced practitioner involves 722 figures in the mandala.

One of the reasons for its notoriety is that His Holiness the Dalai Lama has bestowed the initiation—which takes several days to complete—dozens of times in over ten countries to literally millions of people. For most in attendance it is considered a great blessing and not a springboard into the practice itself. As the Dalai Lama has said:

“The higher meditations of the Kalachakra tradition can be practiced only by a select few. But because of past and future events, and in order to establish a strong karmic relationship with Kalachakra in the minds of the people, there is now a tradition of giving the initiation to large public gatherings.”

Kalachakra Tantra as a Main Practice

There are many practitioners in the four main Tibetan schools, as well as in the lesser known Jonang tradition, for whom Kalachakra is their main practice, not just a source of connection and blessings. The Gelug and Sakya traditions were heavily influenced by Buton Rinchen Drub. Some of this is detailed in Buton's History of Buddhism in India and Its Spread to Tibet. The Kagyu and Nyingma traditions draw heavily from the Jonang. Some of the more contemporary masters include Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö (whose biography was published in early 2017 by Shambhala), Penor Rinpoche, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Some of the stories about Khyentse Rinpoche’s connection with the Kalachakra—in particular, the teaching he gave to a large group including His Holiness the Dalai Lama—form a very moving section of his biography, Brilliant Moon. When asked to give a formal elaborate teaching at a Long Life ceremony for the Dalai Lama attended by the heads of all the schools and many other lamas, Tenga Rinpoche relates the following story of Khyentse Rinpoche:

“The next morning when the time came to speak in front of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the whole assembly of lamas from the four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, speaking for over an hour in an unimpeded flow like a river, Khyentse Rinpoche gave a most detailed and profound explanation of the universe according to the Kalachakra Tantra, in which he mentioned an immense number of quotes, which he obviously seemed to know by heart. At the end of the discourse, he finally approached the throne of His Holiness and offered the mandala plate into His Holiness’s hands. Then he offered the eight auspicious substances, and when offering the conch, a loud thunder crash resounded. This was considered to be a most auspicious event.

Everyone was amazed at Khyentse Rinpoche’s erudition and spoke about his speech for years to come. Afterward I asked him, ‘Did you study the Kalachakra a lot in the past?’ He answered, ‘I didn’t study it much; I read the Kalachakra commentary by Mipham Rinpoche maybe once or twice; that’s all.’”

Recalling Chogyam Trungpa

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By: Fabrice Midal & Chogyam Trungpa

Coming to the West

The practice’s fame in the West, in particular, is also attributable to the Shambhala teachings introduced widely by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. The Shambhala teachings have a strong connection with the Kalachakra tantra as many of the works below detail. In Recalling Chögyam Trungpa, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche explains it in this way:

“You find the teachings on Shambhala in the Outer Kalachakra; it is a branch or section of the Outer Kalachakra. The Outer Kalachakra is also concerned with predicting what good things are going to happen and what bad things are going to happen through an examination of the planets, the lunar mansions, and so on. It includes a description of the physical nature of the world and how the world was formed, and also discusses how the dharma will prosper in the future. So the connection between the Shambhala teachings and the Vajrayana teachings is found in the Outer Kalachakra. There, the text describes how there were the seven dharmarajas, the dharma kings.”

Below you will find a guide to the many works related to Kalachakra that Shambhala and Snow Lion publish.

The Realm of Shambhala

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By: Shar Khentrul Jamphel Lodrö

A Traditional Account of Shambhala for Modern Times

With the release of The Realm of Shambhala,  we finally have a complete explanation of Shambhala that is at once traditional—from the Kalachakra or Wheel of Time tantra–but completely applicable to all of us today.  Presenting Shambhala as both a place and, especially, as a state of mind accessible to everyone, Khentrul Rinpoche joins practical teachings with a vision of overcoming the challenges of humans and humanity and achieving perfect peace individually and as a society.

Highest Yoga Tantra

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By: Daniel Cozort

Highest Yoga Tantra: An Introduction to the Esoteric Buddhism of Tibet

In the New Translation schools, it is classified in the Highest Yoga Tantra section of tantra. A comprehensive look at this classification, and one in which the Kalachakra system is compared to the Guhyasamaja, is Daniel Cozort's Highest Yoga Tantra: An Introduction to the Esoteric Buddhism of Tibet. This is a good starting point because most of the extant literature is from the New Translation tradition, in particular the Gelug, which is logical given His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s activity.

Treasures of the Sakya Lineage

Before diving into the works dedicated to this cycle of teachings, there is an excellent overview of the divisions of the tantra in Lama Migmar Tseten’s Treasures of the Sakya Lineage, which is helpful when exploring the works below:

“Kalachakra itself is divided into four types of tantra, giving us an elaborate framework to understand its specifics. First, there is the outer Kalachakra. In large part, these sections are concerned with visualizing and meditating on the Buddha in the form of the meditational deity Kalachakra and chanting his mantra. Second comes the inner Kalachakra, which addresses applying the profound internal meditations on the subtle channels, vital winds, elements, and essential drops that make up the subtle (psychic) body. Third, the secret Kalachakra involves meditating on and within the ultimate meaning of the truth of emptiness. Fourth is “other,” or “alternative,” Kalachakra, which relates to the study of and meditation on the outer cosmos of our realm of existence. Alternative Kalachakra teaches us how all the physical appearances of this world are the manifestation of our collective karma; it teaches us the causes that bring about this universe. It describes the outer universe and how it directly corresponds with and reflects the inner propensities and karmic vision of all the beings within this universe. Thus, the Kalachakra tantra contains the deepest meanings of four types of tantras all within a single tradition.”

The Wheel of Time

An excellent starting point for diving in is The Wheel of Time: Kalachakra in Context. Here His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Geshe Sopa, and scholars Roger Jackson and John Newman explore the history, initiation, and practices within this tantric system.

Another overview is The Wheel of Time Sand Mandala: Visual Scripture of Tibetan Buddhism. This volume comes packed with illustrations that give a helpful sense of how the mandala support for this practice is created.

Introduction to the Kalachakra Initiation

For the initiation of the deity Kalachakra, Alexander Berzin’s Introduction to the Kalachakra Initiation is an excellent starting point. Dr. Berzin has researched and written extensively on the subject and this encapsulates his work. It begins with an introduction to tantra generally, the Kalachakra specifically, and then dives deeper and details the initiation itself, what is happening each day. A brief summary of the purpose of the practice is included:

“Properly empowered, we engage in generation and then complete stage meditational practice in the form of the Buddha-figure called Kalachakra. Through these two stages, we access and utilize the subtlest level of our mind to see reality. Remaining continually focused on reality with it eliminates forever confusion and its instincts, thus bringing liberation from the external and internal cycles of time. This is possible because our basis tantra, our individual clear light mind, underlies each moment of experience and, like time, it has no end. Once our subtlest mind is freed from the deepest cause giving rise to the impulses of energy that perpetuate cycles of time and bondage to them, it gives rise, instead, to the bodies of a Buddha, in the form of Kalachakra.”

It includes an explanation of the understanding of the universe and how it differs from the more familiar Buddhist view of the universe. An excerpt appeared in the Snow Lion newsletter, and you can find it here. This work also includes other aspects of the text such as why it is so closely related with the line of Dalai Lamas, its connection with Shambhala, and more.

Dr. Berzin also published the short Kalachakra and Other Six-Session Yoga Texts, which currently available as an eBook.

The Practice of Kalachakra

Another topical work on the tantra is Glenn Mullin’s The Practice of Kalachakra. The first half serves as a comprehensive overview of the tantra and the Kalachakra. The second half includes a set of translations of teachings and practices related to this cycle from the First, Fifth, Thirteenth, and present Fourteenth Dalai Lamas. It also includes works from Buton, the First Panchen Lama, and Lobzang Thubten Chokyi Nyima.

Some of these are also included in From the Heart of Chenrezig: The Dalai Lamas on Tantra.

As Long as Space Endures: Essays on the Kalachakra Tantra in Honor of H.H. the Dalai Lama

A very important work in English on the Kalachakra system is the anthology As Long as Space Endures: Essays on the Kalachakra Tantra in Honor of H.H. the Dalai Lama. With two dozen translations and essays, this contains pieces by Robert Thurman, Thupten Jinpa, Alexander Berzin, Vesna Wallace, and many other scholars and lamas known for their work with these teachings.

There are several other works that include teachings, stories, and other helpful and fascinating information on the Kalachakra and its history and impact in India and Tibet..

A Gem of Many Colors & The Treasury of Knowledge

Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye taught extensively on the subject.  He talks about this repeatedly throughout his autobiography, A Gem of Many Colors.

He also wrote about it extensively in his Treasuries. There will be a Kalachakra volume in the Treasury of Precious Instructions, the massive multivolume work from Shambhala Publications.

In his The Treasury of Knowledge, published in English in ten volumes, there are two volumes specifically that contain a lot of detail about the Kalachakra system. The first is in the volume Systems of Buddhist Tantra: The Indestructible Way of Secret Mantra (6.4) and the other is in The Elements of Tantric Practice (8.3).

The Buddha from Dolpo

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By: Cyrus Stearns

The Buddha from Dolpo & Mountain Doctrine

The Kalachakra is very central to the Jonang tradition, and a figure who is obviously very prominent in the teachings and propagation of the Kalachakra system was Dolpopa.

Dolpopa’s biography, The Buddha from Dolpo by Cyrus Stearns, contains an immense amount of information on Dolpopa's connection with the Kalachakra practice.

Mo

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By: Jamgon Mipham

Tibetan Astrology

$34.95 - Paperback

By: Philippe Cornu

Astrological & Divination in Tibet

The Kalachakra system also forms a large part of the astrological and divination techniques in Tibet. A few important sources on this include Mipham Rinpoche's Mo: Tibetan Divination System, and Phillipe Cornu's classic Tibetan Astrology.

The Art of Buddhism

$34.95 - Paperback

By: Denise Patry Leidy

The Art of Buddhism

Finally, The Art of Buddhism contains a short section on the Kalachakra mandala and the image above is from that work.

...
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SNOW LION NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

An Interview with Glenn H. Mullin, Tibetologist

Glenn Mullin lived in the Indian Himalayas between 1972 and 1984, where he studied philosophy, literature, meditation, yoga, and the enlightenment culture. His teachers include the Dalai Lama, Sakya Trizin Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche, Ngakpa Yeshe Dorje Rinpoche, Tai Situ Rinpoche, Khenchen Konchok Gyaltsen, Geshe Ngawang Dargyey, Geshey Rabten, and Gongsar Tulku.

Glenn is the author of “twenty-five or so” books on Tibetan Buddhism. Many of these focus on the lives and works of the early Dalai Lamas. Some of his other titles include Tsongkhapa’s Six Yogas of Naropa and The Practice of Kalachakra.

Tibetan Museum Society: Could you tell us something about your personal background, and how it was that you began your journey as a Tibetologist, Buddhist writer, translator and meditation teacher?

Glenn Mullin: In terms of the facilitating conditions of this lifetime, my mother was British and claimed that we were descended from Sir Francis Bacon, who wrote the Shakespeare plays. She always stressed that her children should look for less trodden paths, and for ways to make a contribution to world civilization, rather than make job or career the priorities. I suppose in that sense she was something of a bodhisattva.

Years later, when I wrote from India that I had met the Dalai Lama she replied saying, “Even if you die tomorrow, you have brought a greater honor to this family than could ever have been imagined.” She wasn’t a Buddhist, but somehow instinctively knew that the Dalai Lama was a great man.

TMS: In addition to sharing with the world your travels and insights on Tibetan spiritual culture, you also reveal to us the sacred art of the region.

GM: I fell in love with Buddhist art in my youth, and became intimately involved with it in my early days in Dharamsala. Our school there at the Tibetan Library also had a great museum.

In addition, I happened to live across the street from Jampa-la, one of the Dalai Lama’s main artists. He also was the only art master in Dharamsala who accepted Western disciples. Because I lived across the street from him, I was asked to come over and translate several times a week for visiting students. Generally he would give them a task, supervise them at it for a few hours, and then send them away to work on it themselves for a few weeks.

I was able to learn a lot from these sessions. Of course many of those students knew a lot on art history, identification, cross fertilization of influences through the Silk Road, the anthropology of pigments, and many subjects that Tibetan painters rarely think of, so in a sense I learned almost as much from them as I did from him. That said, he really did embody the enlightenment qualities of a master artist as well as anyone I have ever met before or since. He was an exceptional man and teacher.

A serious problem these days is that a lot of Mongolian Buddhist art is being taken to China and Hong Hong, where it is sold as Tibetan. Tibetan art brings four or five times what Mongolian art does, because of the popularity of Tibet and the Dalai Lama.

This practice of purposely misrepresenting the source of the art in order to gain a greater profit is very disconcerting. It could have a devastating effect on how art history is written.

I would say that as much as 25% of all art sold as Tibetan in the last fifteen years is in fact Mongolian. And of course once a Mongolian painting is published in an art book and described as Tibetan, all pieces with the same characteristics that surface in future will be similarly misidentified in exhibitions and publications.

TMS: Some time after the opening of an exhibit you curated, “The Flying Mystics in Tibetan Buddhism,” you were quoted as saying, “Paranormal abilities of this nature are considered secondary to the primary goal of Tantric Buddhism, which is the inner realization of mahamudra.” Can you further explain the complexities of such philosophical realizations?

GM: Some of the curators at the Rubin Museum had argued against the “Flying Mystics” theme, because usually the flyers are shown as small vignettes in the background of a painting, as opposed to the central image. To me this is part of the charm of the exhibit, and not a flaw in it.

Buddhism always stresses inner accomplishment over external show. Thus in both Buddhist art and literature the performance of miraculous demonstrations is given a back seat to the inner miracle of enlightenment, which in tantra is called mahamudra. That said, Buddhist sages throughout the centuries have stepped out and spread their wings a bit from time to time. Buddha flew on numerous occasions, as did his two main disciples Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, as well as numerous members of the Sixteen Arhats. Then there was Nagarjuna, who seemed strained to keep his feet on the ground; and Asanga, who flew on a regular basis after his twelve year retreat. Shantideva continued the tradition by levitating out a window and disappearing in front of five hundred gaping monks.

Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia very much continued the tradition, with Padma Sambhava, Yeshey Tsogyal, Namkha Nyingpo, Marpa, Milarepa, Machik Labdon and so forth.

Flying has always been big with the Mongolians. Back in the eleventh century, when the female mystic Machik Labdon was making waves in Tibet and the stories of a beautiful woman meditating naked in the snow mountains filtered down to India, the Nalanda abbot decided to send two monks to test the validity of her enlightenment. The only Nalanda monks who could fly were two Mongols, so he sent them. Paintings of Machik often depict one or both of these flying Mongols somewhere in the upper corners of the canvas.

TMS: I understand that you have studied philosophy, literature, meditation, yoga, and other such matters of enlightenment under thirty-five masters of Tibetan Buddhism. Is it possible to share with us who may have been your most influential mentor?

GM: I felt a deep connection to Buddhist literature from my childhood. I grew up in a small town in French Canada, but my mother always kept an international library. Her books on Asian spiritual culture fascinated me. Her dad had been a major in the British army in India, and she deeply loved all things Asian.

As a young man I moved to London, and while there I heard that the Dalai Lama was opening a Buddhist school in Dharamsala for Western students. I packed my bags and went.

I suppose the most impressive masters in my early days of Buddhist training were Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and Kyabje Trijang Dorje Chang, the two gurus of the Dalai Lama. They were the sun and moon of the Yellow School in India. All of us in those days received most of our major Tantric initiations from them. When they died in the early 1980s, the light of the world went markedly dim, and still has not come back to its full radiance.

Of course they were very old by then and did not do the work of the daily instructions. The Dalai Lama had appointed two great gesheys to teach to do this: Geshey Dargyey and Geshey Rabten. The enlightenment tradition shone in both of these men with an amazing clarity. They gave us our line-by-line readings of all the principal Indian Buddhist treatises, unpacking the meanings and bringing the texts into living experience. Lama Yeshey and Lama Zopa also came to Dharamsala twice a year in those days, and their main guru, Kyabje Trijang Rinpochey always pressed them into teaching us when they were there. Lama Yeshe had the most powerful public persona of anyone I ever met. It was hard to look at him without feeling like you were in the center of an earthquake.

Lamas of all schools came to Dharamsala to meet with the Dalai Lama, and he always had them give initiations and teach for a few days. Thus we were able to receive teachings and initiations from the heads of all the schools: Sakya Trizin, Karmapa, Dilgo Khyentsey, Drigung Chetsang, and many more. In addition, every winter we would all go down to Bodh Gaya or Sarnath, where lamas from all schools would come to escape the snows of the mountains. Naturally while there they would give teaching and initiations. I especially appreciate the links I established on those occasions with Kalu Rinpoche, Tai Situ Rinpoche, and Beru Khyentsey Rinpochey, all of whom represent the Karma Kargyu tradition.

During my Dharamsala days I developed a very strong relationship with the Nyingma lama Ngakpa Yeshey Dorje and his consort, Jetsunma Tenzin Dolkar. Both of them are wonderful examples of Buddhist practice and dedication. Their influence on my life has been very rewarding. In addition, I loved to go to Tashi Jong, where the great Khamtrul Rinpochey used to teach and give initiations. This great master really embodied the full range of realizations of the Drukpa Kagyu lineage.

After Kyabje Ling Rinpoche and Trijang Dorje Chang passed away I met the great Mongolian lama Lharam Geshey Sengey. From that time onward I mainly relied upon him and Denma Lobchu Rinpochey, the main Dharma Heir of both Kyabje Ling Rinpochey and Kyabjey Trijang Dorjey Chang.

Of course throughout all these years the Dalai Lama gave numerous teachings and initiations on an annual basis. Some years we would receive five or six hours of teachings from him a day for a month or more at a time. These were always very exciting and rewarding intensives. He usually taught for a few weeks in both spring and autumn, and then in mid-winter would do a few more weeks in somewhere warm, either Bodh Gaya or South India. The smaller events in his private temple in Dharamsala—not Namgyal but inside his residence—were especially engaging.

He usually gave one of these once a year to a select monastery. Other than that monastery only gesheys and tulkus were allowed to attend. In the mid-1970s I petitioned him directly and pointed out that this policy of qualifications for attendance was not fair and was in fact somewhat racist, because it automatically excluded all of us Westerners; no Westerner had been allowed to sit for a geshey exam at that time, nor had any been recognized as a tulku.

The Dalai Lama laughed and replied, “Then I guess we’ll have to open the sessions to any Westerner who can speak Tibetan and who has received the appropriate initiations.” From that year onward a half dozen or so of us attended.

TMS: Can you tell us about your personal relationship as a disciple of HH the Dalai Lama?

GM: The Dalai Lama was sort of like a godfather or big brother to all of us in Dharamsala. He established the training program for Westerners, appointed the lamas who were to teach us, chose what Indian texts and what Tibetan commentaries would be used, and oversaw the entire process. He even asked his own gurus to give us our initiations, and of course all visiting lamas from all schools of Buddhism were roped in. He watched over us like a captain over his ship.

Many of the older and more conservative members of the Tibetan community resented having their spiritual culture made available to us like this, but he always stood up to them for us. He even used his influence with the Indian government to see that we were all given good visas for the extent of our stay.

On a personal level I certainly received my fair share of blessings from him. In general Tibetans always treat writers well, and Dharma translators are granted something of a lama status. At least they were in the early days, when there were so few of us. Moreover, because in the early days the bulk of my research and writing was on the lives and works of the early Dalai Lamas—maybe my first dozen books or so—it created something of a unique link.

The Dalai Lama was always very kind to all of us during those days of training in Dharamsala. He really did live up to the mythology of Chenrezig, the Buddha of Compassion. No doubt his kindness for all of us continues to flow ever onward on unseen levels from afar.

As for me being a disciple, probably “devotee” is a better word. I love, admire and respect him very much. But the Dalai Lama is too big a figure on the world stage, and in terms of vision and enlightenment activity, to be weighed down by such a small concept as having me as disciple. I’m more like the cat that looks at the king, or in this case the Buddha.

I should also note, because you said HH the Dalai Lama, that I grew up as an Irish Protestant, and dislike these ostentatious honorifics that Tibetans have adopted from the Catholics. I find titles like “His Holiness” and “His Eminence” extremely distasteful and inappropriate.

The original Tibetan names for the Dalai Lama are so much better: Yishin Norbu, or “Wishfulfilling Gem”; Gyalwa Rinpochey, or “Precious Master”; and Kundun, or “Sublime Presence.” Even the Mongolian translation of his ordination name “Gyatso,” or “Oceanic,” which in Mongolian became “Dalai,” has a nice ring to it.

It is unfortunate that somehow the Tibetans looked to the Catholics for their translations of these charming and delightful epithets, and came up with such insipid and uninspiring proxies.

I’m not sure when the Tibetans began to adopt them. Probably in the 1960s, I presume, after coming into exile. One doesn’t see it in books or articles prior to that time. They might have indirectly picked it up from the Indians. Some Hindu swamis use it, I guess to send Christians the message that they are equal to the Pope. Of course to me that’s not a compliment, but there you go.

TMS: Your background knowledge is remarkable. I wonder, having lived in the Indian Himalayas from 1972 to 1984, and having spent much of your time since then living in, or else writing about the greater region, what would you say over the years has most significantly changed in the landscape and in the Buddhist population at large?

GM: Certainly the growth of Tibetan Buddhism in the West is remarkable. There were no study or practice centers in America or Europe of any significance whatsoever when the Tibetans fled into India in 1959. There now are almost a thousand on each side of the pond, with many being remarkably active. Similarly, at that time there were almost no authoritative books on Tibetan Buddhism, nor translations of Tibetan classics, whereas now there are well over a thousand. For example, there was not a single translation of any major work of any of the early Dalai Lamas when I began my work, even though those Dalai Lamas were amazingly prolific and popular writers in Central Asia, with an audience of tens of millions.

It is interesting to see how strong Tibetan Buddhism has become throughout China these days. There are small study and practice centers almost everywhere in the country. Some have become explosively huge, like Khenpo Jigmey Puntsok’s place in Kham, which always has well over 10,000 full time students and trainees in residence.

More Books by Glenn Mullin

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The Second Dalai Lama: His Life and Teachings

An Excerpt from

The Second Dalai Lama: His Life and Teachings 


 

Edited and Translated by Glenn H. Mullin

The Second Dalai Lama now had a number of responsibilities revolving around an annual schedule. These included leading the Maitreya Festival in Lhasa toward the end of the year and also the various new year ceremonies, such as the torgya rite for exorcizing all negativities of the old year (performed on the last day of the year). Also as part of the new year rituals, there were religious ceremonies for opening the year auspiciously and thus encouraging prosperity and harmony in the months to come. After this came the Great Prayer Festival, celebrated by thousands of monks in the Jokhang Temple of Lhasa. He presided over this for two or three weeks in the first month of the year. He would then generally teach in Sera for a couple of weeks and also in either Drepung or Ganden. Thus his schedule from the late autumn to the first month of spring generally kept him in the Lhasa area. Following this he would often make teaching pilgrimages to various regions accessible from Lhasa, such as Tashi Lhunpo of Tsang or the Tolung area. Most years he returned to Chokhor Gyal in late spring and remained in retreat there during the summer. Again from here he would make several teaching pilgrimages each year to the outlying areas, such as Kongpo and southern Olkha.

His life was not without obstacles, however. For example, in the autumn of the Fire Bird Year (1537), hostile armies threatened to attack and destroy his monastery at Gyal. As Konchok Kyab puts it, “Evil demons had caused jealousy of the master’s great works to arise within the hearts of certain sectarian people. Numerous armies began to move toward Gyal from the east…Many negative signs appeared in the Lake of Visions.”The Second Dalai Lama

The Second Dalai Lama responded with yogic means. He retreated to the Lake of Visions and performed invocations of and prayers to the Dharmapala goddess Palden Lhamo, requesting her to release her spiritual force and restore peace and harmony. A great storm erupted, and the skies were filled with terrible sounds. Palden Lhamo had given them a sign; all would be well. The Biography continues by stating that, as an external condition to fulfilling Palden Lhamo’s magical works, King Nangso Donyopa of Droda suddenly swept down from nowhere upon the invading armies and routed them. Konchok Kyab concludes his account of the incident by saying, “As for the routed soldiers, many of them died in flight. Others died in battle on the way…Moreover, those of them who reached home carried many contagious diseases with them, thus disseminating their community’s population…Since that time, no one has dared to attack Gyal.”

In the above account Konchok Kyab is very careful to avoid giving the actual identities of the “invading armies” and the leaders behind them. This is quite typical of Tibetan biographical writings, in which it is thought that the best approach to malicious and violent people is to relegate them to historical obscurity in this way, rather than giving them immortality by listing their names. The incident is only included in the Biography in order to illustrate the Second Dalai Lama’s use of tantric ritual to pacify the forces of evil. Thus the names of the pacification rituals that he performed are given in great detail, yet not a mention is made of the names of the peoples at whom the “pacification” was directed.

In the Earth Dog Year (1538), there seems to have been something of a hot philosophical debate going on between some of the lama intelligentsia. The Kargyupa lama Karmapa Mikyo Dorjey (the Eighth Karmapa) had written a commentary to the Prajnaparamita Sutra that the senior monks of Sera monastery considered to be an utter misrepresentation and misinterpretation of the meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom scriptures. They approached the Second Dalai Lama with the request that he write a refutation to it. He accepted, but composed only a single verse.

The Buddhas teach in various ways; sometimes what they say is literally true, and sometimes they teach in metaphors when this is more appropriate to the minds of listeners. They speak indirectly when to do so directly would impair the understanding of those to be trained.

Thus he made it known that he himself greatly enjoyed the Karmapa’s philosophical text and was amused by the passionate controversy it had aroused in the Sera community.

The Second Dalai Lama

$29.95 - Paperback

By: Glenn H. Mullin

More on the Dalai Lamas

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Meditations To Transform the Mind

The following article is from the Summer, 1999 issue of the Snow Lion Newsletter and is for historical reference only. You can see this in context of the original newsletter here.

Meditations to Transform the Mind

Tibetan Buddhism, Meditations to Transform the Mind By The Seventh Dalai Lama, Translated Edited by Glenn H. Mullin

By The Seventh Dalai Lama
Translated and edited by Glenn H. Mullin

 

The Seventh Dalai Lama is often considered to be one of the greatest of the early Dalai Lamas. He wrote extensive commentaries on the Tantras, and over a thousand mystical poems and prayers.

His Meditations to Transform the Mind is a highly valued collection of spiritual advice for taming and developing the mind. These inspired writings are an outpouring of Himalayan spirituality, a unique presentation that appeals to the heart as well as head.

The Seventh Dalai Lama's rich spiritual writings are direct and arresting, giving clear advice on the essence of Buddhist practice.


"inspiring of immense importance to all the major Tibetan Buddhist sects." —Prof. Janice D. Willis, Wesleyan University


 

In this book, Glenn Mullin provides valuable and fascinating introductions to each piece, making them even more accessible. Also included is a biography of the Seventh Dalai Lama.

The following excerpt from the book is a song which the Seventh Dalai Lama wrote at the request of one of his disciples, Changkya Rinpochey, better known as the third incarnation of the Changkya Tulku.

As author Glenn Mullin points out in the introduction to this section, the song is very tantric in nature, and therefore makes use of a specialized and esoteric language,

"I suspect that some of it will float over the heads of non-initiates. Nonetheless, as the Tibetan saying goes,

'If you don't have any teeth, at least you can work on it with your gums.'

For those with a background in tantric literature it perhaps will be appreciated as one of the most profound and powerful pieces in the volume."


 

Song of the Tantric Path

 

Homage to Jey Rinpochey, a second Buddha,

Manifestation of Vajradhara, lord of all buddhas,

In whose body reside the awakened ones past, present, and future,

As well as their retinues and buddhafields.

 

Homage to the feet of my own root guru,

Who is in true nature inseparably one with Father-Mother Heruka,

The wheel composed of all objects of knowledge,

Whose essence is great bliss, clear as the autumn sky.

 

In the hands of one's spiritual master

Lie the roots of every mystical experience.

All happiness and suffering from now until enlightenment

Are his responsibility alone.

 

See the physical world as the guru's body;

Take sounds as the guru's teachings;

Mix thoughts and memories with his bliss and insight;

Rely on this practice, king of all paths.

 

Fortunate are they who meet with the doctrine

Of all-kind incomparable Tsongkhapa,

Who showed as precepts all sutras and tantras.

Fortunate indeed an opportunity obtained but once.

 

Yet breath, like mist, is delicate;

And life, seemingly strong, is ever near to passing.

Quickly pluck the essence of Dharma,

For definite it is you will die at the hands of the great enemy Death.

 

Have not the three doors stood open to negativity?

Then the inconceivable misery of the lower realms

Certainly will fall upon you,

And, if still weak, you will not be able to bear them.

 

Some look, and see; in the innermost way they turn

To a guru-deva, an embodiment of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

With attentive concentration they focus

On cultivating the white and dispersing the black.

 

Reveling in objects of greed and attachment

Is drinking poison mistaken for nectar.

The luxuries, securities, and comforts of the world

Are like dramas enjoyed in a dream.

 

No lasting happiness can be found

In any samsaric position,

And how foolish to sit complacent

In a hole filled with misery.

 

Turn the horse of the mind upward,

Rein him with the three higher trainings,

Strike him with the iron whip of fierce effort,

And cut unto the open road of liberation.

 

All beings, mothers who lovingly have nurtured us,

Are floundering in the seas of confusion.

The son who cares not for their anguish,

Are the waters of his heart not bitter?

 

Wholly discarding selfish thoughts,

Hold close the ways that better the world

And strive to live the six perfections

That yield buddhahood, ultimate benefit for all.

 

Sever the mind from chaotic wandering;

Fix it firmly on its object with mindfulness.

Without falling prey to agitation or dullness,

Train in meditation blissful and clear.

 

The manifold things we perceive

Are deceptive projections of deluded thought.

When we search for their ultimate essence,

Emptiness free of an essence appears.

 

The things that manifest also fade

And only footprints of names remain;

The other side of this is called dependent arising.

What else need be known?

 

The teachings of Nagarjuna and his disciples

Aryadeva, Buddhapalita, and Chandrakirti

Were thus by Jey Rinpochey understood

A most wondrous view free from extremes.

 

Having first trained in these foundation practices,

Seek out a tantric master, embodiment of Buddha Vajradhara,

Lord of the Paradise Beneath None;

Gain the four ripening initiations

And enter into the mystic circle.

 

The body transforms into a great vajra-mandala,

And, in the inconceivable mansion of joyful repose,

The real deitythe subtle mind held between the

Kiss of the male and female drops

Manifests as the blood-swilling Father-Mother.

 

The dakas and dakinis dance a blissful dance

In the mystic channels and secret drops;

Mundane perception is severed from consciousness

And all emanations become ultimately pure.

 

Visualize yourself as Heruka with consort,

Luminous yet void, body empty,

Energy channels of three qualities vibrating within;

At your heart a Dharma wheel with eight petals

 

Bears the indestructible drop in the form of HUM

Between the sun of method and the moon of wisdom.

Mind firm on this, tremulous misconceptions are cut,

And the clear light, sheer as the autumn sky, arises.

 

The outer consort, in nature fire,

Melts the life-drops that course

Through the 72,000 channels,

Bringing them into the central channel,

Giving rise to the four ineffable joys.

 

Outside, all sensory movement of mind and energy ceases;

Inside, mundane views, ignorance, and darkness disperse.

Thus by yoga even sleep is transformed

Into the nature of Dharmakaya's clear light.

 

By cultivating these yogic methods,

We can in general see through all distorted appearances

And in particular know the body as dreamlike,

Thus building the dancing form of an endowed deity

And maintaining the according emanations.

 

By mentally reciting the secret mantras of the vajra dharmas

Of entering, resting, and dispersing energy at the heart

While controlling the life-drop made of five clear essences,

The knots of ignorance are easily untied.

 

The tip of the vajra is placed firmly in the lotus

And mind as the syllable HUM is brought into the central channel;

One drinks and drinks the essence of nectars

And goes mad with innate joy unmoving.

 

By thus settling the mind in the subtle vajra letter

And bringing the drop to the four chakras and sensory gates,

One directly sees all aesthetic objects

Found throughout the three worlds.

 

Thus one opens the windows of the six miraculous powers,

Sees the faces of innumerable deities,

Masters the meanings of the words of the teachings

And gains the delightful company of an immortal lover.

 

In the tip of the vajra between the eyebrows,

The light of the sun, moon, and stars swirls in the drop.

By bringing mind and energy to that point,

The white bodhimind is forever increased.

 

Then with the fine brush of samadhi paint

A masterpiece incorporating all beauties of life,

One gains the aid of a fully qualified consort

And one's experience of the blisses blazes higher and higher.

 

Mind fixed on the bliss and mudra of the consort,

A rain of innate joy pours down.

Again and again seducing the beautiful one,

Symbol of the mind embracing reality itself,

One melts into the sphere of spontaneous bliss.

 

From the center of the navel chakra where meet the three energy channels,

Shine lights from white and red pyramids.

Looking through the nucleus of five drops therein,

The mind's nature is seen as five buddhas.

 

White and yellow energies shape into a vase

And the all-destroying fire rages.

The letters AH and HAM flare, fall, and vibrate,

Transporting one to the end of the primordial path of great bliss and wisdom combined.

 

Lights from the mystic fire flash into the hundred directions,

Summoning the blessings of buddhas boundless as space.

Once again the five natures of mind arise as sounds,

Releasing a rain of ambrosial knowledge.

 

The apparitions of people and things

Dissolve into light, and the waves

Of misconception are stilled.

No longer is the radiance of clear light obscured.

Even post-meditation mind maintains immaculate view.

 

In the sphere of semblant and innate Mahamudra,

Empty images appear as rainbows.

Flawless method emanates phantom circles,

Erecting the perfect mandala of deities and abodes.

 

The illusory body merges with clear light

Like clouds dissolving into space.

The fires of innate wisdom arise

And consume the seed of grasping for self.

 

This great union of the radiant vajra body

With the vast clear light of mind

Is called "the samadhi moving magnificently,"

A stage not touched by the ordinary intellect.

 

This consciousness, purified of all transient stains,

Gazes clearly and directly at the sphere of truth.

Like a magic gem it manifests the Beatific Body

Of Heruka Chakrasamvara for the sake of others

And sends out countless emanations,

Each in accord with the needs of the world.

 

Thus in this age of short life span,

Buddhahood is swiftly and easily attained

By turning lust for sensual objects

Toward the friend who instills great bliss.

 

Think: "By studying, contemplating, and meditating

Upon the flawless Vajrayana teachings,

The highest path, the esoteric way of all tantric

Adepts of the past,

May I in this very lifetime attain with ease

That point most peerless and supreme.

 

And if in this life ultimate power is not found,

At my death may the dakas and dakinis protect me

And lead to the rainbow palace of Vajrayogini

In the pure land Kajou Shing, there to enjoy clouds of transcendent offerings.

 

May I and all practitioners of this tantra

Soon complete the esoteric path of secrets

And, within ourselves ever perfecting the practices

Of the sutras and tantras taught by the Buddha,

May we master this mysterious way.

 

Until then, may the mighty dakas and dakinis

Who dwell in the twenty-four Heruka grounds

Care for us in every time and situation

As a mother watches over her only child.

Glenn H. Mullin

Glenn Mullin is the author of over thirty books on Tibetan Buddhism, many of which have been translated into a dozen foreign languages. His earlier titles focus on the lives and works of the early Dalai Lamas. Other titles of his elucidate practice traditions such as Lam Rim, Lojong, the Six Yogas of Naropa, Kalachakra, and so forth. He has been an international teacher of Tantric Buddhist meditation for the past twenty-five years.

Glenn lived in Dharamsala, India, for some fifteen years. There he studied under twenty-five of the greatest masters of Tibet, including the Dalai Lama and his two main gurus.

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The Seventh Dalai Lama on Gems of Wisdom

The following article is from the Autumn, 1999 issue of the Snow Lion Newsletter and is for historical reference only. You can see this in context of the original newsletter here.

Gems of Wisdom

from the Seventh Dalai Lama

Tibetan Buddhism, Dalai Lama, Gems of Wisdom

 

Translated by Glenn H. Mullin

 

The Seventh Dalai Lama (1708-1757) stands as one of the most beloved Buddhist masters in Tibet's long and illustrious history.

One of his most popular works is Gems of Wisdom, a collection of spontaneous short verses that employ earthy metaphors to illustrate key points in the enlightenment tradition. His language is simple and direct, capturing the profound spirituality of his vision while avoiding any form of religiosity. Here we find all the teachings of the Buddha brought into the context of their implications for individual transformation, or training of the mind.


Buddhism regards the human world as a training ground for the enlightenment process.

This volume presents a translation of this important text and also provides a brief commentary which elucidates the quintessential meanings embedded in the Seventh Dalai Lama's verses.

Glenn H. Mullin studied Tantric Buddhism in the Himalayas for twelve years, and has over a dozen books in print. In addition to his writings, he has co-produced numerous recordings of Tibetan sacred music, and also worked on three feature-length documentary films and four television productions related to Tibetan Buddhism.

Excerpt from Gems of Wisdom:

What is the body odor

easy to acquire but hard to lose?

Habits picked up from people

whose lives are far from spiritual ways.

 


The present era is called kaliyuga, or the dark age, for in it we are confronted by five harsh conditions: life-force is weak; delusions and afflicted emotions predominate everywhere; the times are violent; the living beings presently incarnate are mostly of low character; and false ideas and attitudes are mistaken for truth.

Buddhism regards the human world as a training ground for the enlightenment process. Living beings take rebirth here in order to learn and evolve. The conditions of the human environment change with the millennia in order to suit the needs of the trainees. Those riding the winds of positive karma are born as humans in a particular time and place in order to meet with those conditions most appropriate to their needs.

The present era is called kaliyuga, or the dark age, for in it we are confronted by five harsh conditions: life-force is weak; delusions and afflicted emotions predominate everywhere; the times are violent; the living beings presently incarnate are mostly of low character; and false ideas and attitudes are mistaken for truth. As a result, human civilization is filled with social structures, philosophical attitudes and behavioral norms that are in direct contradiction to and obstructive of spiritual growth.


Human civilization is filled with social structures, philosophical attitudes and behavioral norms that are in direct contradiction to and obstructive of spiritual growth.

On the positive side, the smallest point of light is clearly visible simply because everything is so dark, just as a candle flame in the daylight is almost invisible but at night is clearly seen from a great distance. Similarly, those born in the kaliyuga who enter into the path of spiritual knowledge quickly achieve their goals, for the steps on the path are easily distinguished.

The biggest obstacle to enlightenment in the kaliyuga is the temptation to follow the norms of society, for society is mostly on the wrong track. Therefore when the eleventh-century Kadampa master Lama Drom Tonpa was once asked how best to follow the path of spiritual knowledge he replied,

The masses have their heads on backwards. If you want to get things right, first look at how they think and behave, and consider going the opposite way.


the smallest point of light is clearly visible simply because everything is so dark...

Who suffer most deeply of all the beings in the world? Those with no self-discipline who are overpowered by delusion.

Generally speaking a person is always in one of two types of mind states: shen-wang, or other-powered and rang-wang, or self-powered. The former refers to the times when we do not keep the mind in positive spheres, and consequently are driven by distorted emotional or cognitive states; the latter refers to when we keep the mind focused through the application of spiritual methods.

It could also be said that there are two types of living beings: those who are directed mainly by negative mind states, and thus are mainly other-powered, and those who are directed mainly by spiritual forces, and thus are mainly self-powered. The second of the two have eliminated the coarse delusions and afflicted emotions, and have aroused the innate seeds of wisdom. Thus they hold the reins of their destiny in their own hands.


those who are directed mainly by spiritual forces, and thus are mainly self-powered (and) hold the reins of their destiny in their own hands.

Distorted mind states and afflicted emotions are the principal inner agents giving rise to external courses of action that create unhappiness for self and others. Due to anger, attachment, jealousy, prejudiced attitudes and so forth we misjudge the dynamics of the moment and mistake the flow of energies that constitute the transformations of body, speech and mind.

The remedy is the taming of the negative mind and the arousal of wisdom. However, these goals are not easily or quickly accomplished. Therefore those who have taken up the enlightenment path rely upon self-discipline. We cannot always have the wisdom to be free of anger, but through the will-power of self-discipline we can refrain from acts based on anger. Similarly, we may not yet have the wisdom that is free from prejudices, but we can discipline ourselves to mind our own business.


The remedy is the taming of the negative mind and the arousal of wisdom.

Undeveloped beings are almost always in a state of shen-wang. The more developed we become, the less time we spend in shen-wang states, and the more time in rang-wang, until eventually we achieve the transcendental wisdom that keeps us eternally in rang-wang.

Excerpt from Gems of Wisdom:

What is like a smelly fart

that, although invisible, is obvious?

One's own faults, that are precisely

as obvious as the effort made to hide them.

Ordinary people try to hide their faults and show what they think of as their good qualities. However, the more we try to hide a fault the more pronounced it becomes. The only remedy is the transcendence of the fault. As long as it still holds sway over us it is definite that it will continue to manifest.


The only remedy is the transcendence of the fault. As long as it still holds sway over us it is definite that it will continue to manifest.

The first step in overcoming our faults is the arousal of the determination to face and acknowledge them when they appear. Ordinary beings don't do this, and instead try to hide them from both self and others.

Of course, not everything that causes us embarrassment is a fault to be transcended. Ordinary social conditioning sometimes makes us ashamed of things of which we should be proud, and proud of things of which we should be ashamed. For this reason it is important to examine one's situation closely and not just take one's spiritual tradition for granted. But when it looks like a fault, smells like a fault and feels like a fault, most probably it is a quality to leave behind.

The early Kadampa lamas likened the Dharma to a mirror, and said that the practitioner should look at his or her face in this mirror and then clean it up in accordance with what is seen.

Excerpt from Gems of Wisdom:

What is an auspicious omen in country and city dweller alike?

Love, that seeks harmony amongst people,

and that wishes only happiness for others.

 

The term that the Seventh Dalai Lama uses here for harmony is puntsun yitu ongwa, which literally means seeing one another with affection. The yitu ongwa segment of the expression literally means delighting the mind, and is likened to the way a mother reacts to seeing her only child. The mere sight of the child brings pleasure and joy to the mind of the mother.


The presence of love in the mind immediately pacifies whatever negative energy is present in one's environment.

The quality of mind that always delights in the company of others, and that only wishes them well, is an auspicious omen in a person. Just as an auspicious omen seen in cloud formations, dreams or the like is a prophecy of good things to come, the quality of mind that always looks on others with affection and sympathy is an indication that the possessor of that mind is destined for happiness. When one has established the mind that always looks on others with love, one's experience of the world becomes more loving, peaceful and fulfilling.

The Buddha said,

The presence of love in the mind immediately pacifies whatever negative energy is present in one's environment. The force of the delusions is weakened, and the iron grip of negative karma is loosened.

Excerpt from Gems of Wisdom:

What is the one root of all

goodness in samsara and nirvana?

The clear light of one's own mind,

which by nature is free from every stain.

 

The basis of all conscious life is the mind, with its twofold quality of radiance and knowing. On its most subtle level, the mind is pure luminosity, or primordial clear light. Maitreya likened this aspect of the mind to the sky; the clouds of distortion and the delusions move through the sky and sometimes even obstruct the light of the sun, but they cannot actually harm or stain the sky. When conditions change, the clouds disappear and the pure sky shines through in all its glory.


Even the most seemingly evil person has the primordial clear light mind at the heart of his or her existence.

The essential nature of mind is equally pristine in all living beings, from earthworms to Buddhas. However, those on basic levels of consciousness fall prey to the distortions and delusions because of misapprehending the nature of the self. Moved by these factors they engage in negative behavior and bring suffering to self and others. Even the most seemingly evil person has the primordial clear light mind at the heart of his or her existence. Eventually the clouds of distortion and delusion will be cleared away as the being grows in wisdom, and the evil behavior that emanates from these negative mindsets will naturally evaporate. That being will realize the essential nature of his or her own mind, and achieve spiritual liberation and enlightenment.

The Buddha said,

The world is led by the mind. All good and evil deeds are created by it. It revolves like a fire wheel, moves like waves, burns like a forest fire, and widens like a great river.

As His Holiness the present Dalai Lama once put it,

The clear light mind, which lies dormant in living beings, is the great hope of mankind.

H.H. the Fourteenth Dalai Lama

His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama is considered the foremost Buddhist leader of our time. The exiled spiritual head of the Tibetan people, he is a Nobel Peace Laureate, a Congressional Gold Medal recipient, and a remarkable teacher and scholar who has authored over one hundred books.

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