Jamgon Kongtrul’s 18-volume Treasury of Precious Instructions gathers Tibet’s eight practice lineages. A guide to every volume, from Nyingma to Jonang.
This guide to exploring The Treasury of Precious Instructions includes selections from the text, words of advice and praises from distinguished Tibetan teachers, audio and video series from the translators, and helpful resources.
Use the navigation menu below to explore each page and discover this truly remarkable and timeless series of texts!
Series Overview
Summary of the Series
The Treasury of Precious Instructions or Dam-ngak Rinpoché Dzö by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye, one of Tibet’s greatest Buddhist masters, is a shining jewel of Tibetan literature, presenting essential teachings from the entire spectrum of practice lineages that came from India into Tibet. In its eighteen volumes, Kongtrul brings together some of the most important texts on key topics of Buddhist thought and practice as well as authoring significant new sections of his own.
- Nyingma - Volume 1 & 2
- Kadam - Volume 3 & 4
- Sakya Path & Result - Volume 5 & 6
- Marpa Kagyu - Volume 7-10
- Shangpa Kagyu - Volume 11 & 12
- Zhije - Volume 13
- Chöd - Volume 14
- Kalacakra & Orgyen Nyendrup - Volume 15
- Mahasiddha Practice - Volume 16 & 17
- Jonang - Volume 18
Ringu Tulku Rinpoche on the
Treasury of Precious Instructions
Individual Volume Details
Nyingma (Two Volumes)
Volume 1 and 2 are a collection of texts and commentaries from the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism on Dzogchen, or Great Perfection teachings, which introduce us to our most basic nature—the clear and pristine awareness that is the nature of the mind. The Nyingma school was established in the eighth century with the arrival of Indian masters such as Padmasambhava and Vimalamitra in Tibet. Kongtrul classifies the texts included in these volumes according to the Nyingma model of the three yogas (mahāyoga, anuyoga, and atiyoga) and the three categories within atiyoga: the Category of Mind (sems sde), the Category of Expanse (klong sde), and the Category of Direct Transmission (man ngag sde).
Nyingma, Part One
Forthcoming, Autumn 2027
The first Nyingma volume includes works that are representative of the first two yogas, while this volume focuses especially on those belonging to the “pith-instruction class,” specifically those related to the unsurpassed secret section—the Heart Essence, or Nyingtik.
Nyingma, Part Two
The teachings of this volume each present this essential tenet in a variety of ways and are composed by various Tibetan and Indian masters, including the Buddha, Garab Dorje, Mañjuśrīmitra, Śrīsimha, Jñānasūtra, Padmasambhava, Longchen Rabjam, and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodrö Taye.
Kadam (Two Volumes)
The third and fourth volumes contain texts from the Kadampa tradition that sprang from the teachings of the great Indian master Atīśa (980–1054) and structured itself on what the late E. Gene Smith called “the fundamental contribution of Atīśa—the Graduated Path (Lam rim), with its emphasis on the exoteric as an indispensable foundation for the esoteric.”
These texts are categorized under three headings: the source texts (gzhung), which in this case are short works by Atīśa; the spiritual instructions (gdams ngag), which here focus on the system known as “mental training” (blo sbyong); and the pith instructions (man ngag), which include Vajrayāna teachings and practices.
Kadam, Part One
This volume also contains ritual texts on the bodhisattva vow conferral, as well as commentaries by Tsongkhapa, Tāranātha, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, and Jamgön Kongtrul, himself.
Kadam, Part Two
Forthcoming, Spring 2028
The fourth volume of The Treasury of Precious Instructions series extends the commentaries from Volume three and includes material on the esoteric instructions known as the Sixteen Drops.
Sakya (Two Volumes)
Volumes 5 and 6 contain teachings transmitted in the lineage of theSakya school, founded by Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092–1158).
The Sakya school is noted in particular for the system known as Lamdre(the Path with the Result), which focuses on the Hevajra cycle and incorporatesteachings on the three levels of Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna.
Sakya, Part One
The fifth volume presents a selection of teachings and practices from the Path with Its Result (Lamdre) practice lineage of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The Sakya lineage derives from Virūpa, Dombhi Heruka, and other Indian masters, or mahāsiddhas, and passes through Gayadhara and his Tibetan disciple Drokmi Lotsāwa Śākya Yeshe (992–1072). The practice tradition centers around the teaching and transmission of the Hevajra Tantra and its subsidiary texts.
Sakya, Part Two
This volume includes the complete teachings and practices of the Eight Ancillary Path Cycles. These eight complete the nine path cycles that begin with Virūpa’s Vajra Verses found in volume five of the series. These path cycles are generally only taught to students who have received the entire Path with Its Result (Lamdre) teaching. They contain oral instructions transmitted to Drokmi Lotsāwa by the early eleventh-century Indian masters—Ācārya Vīravajra, Mahāsiddha Amoghavajra, Pandita Prajñāgupta of Oddiyāna, and Pandita Gayadhara. These cycles provide copious material on the creation and completion stages, which was incorporated later into the Three Tantras literature, the signature Vajrayāna teaching of the Sakya school.
Marpa Kagyu (Four Volumes)
The next four volumes of The Treasury of Precious Instructions (volumes 7 to 10) focus on teachings from the Kagyu tradition of Marpa the translator(1012–1097) with its numerous schools and subschools. In the Vajrayāna context,the Kagyu teachings have a dual emphasis on the path of skillful method (Tib. thabs lam), epitomized by the Six Dharmas of Nāropa, and the path offreedom (Tib. grol lam), that is, the teachings on Mahāmudrā.
Marpa Kagyu, Part One
The first part of this volume contains source texts on mahāmudrā and the six dharmas by such famous masters as Saraha and Tilopa. The second part begins with a collection of sādhanas and abhiṣekas related to the Root Cakrasaṃvara 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.
Marpa Kagyu, Part Two
Forthcoming, Spring 2027
The eighth volume of The Treasury of Precious Instructions series extends the commentaries from Volume three and includes material on the esoteric instructions known as the Sixteen Drops.
Marpa Kagyu, Part Three
Forthcoming
The ninth volume of The Treasury of Precious Instructions series extends the commentaries from Volume three and includes material on the esoteric instructions known as the Sixteen Drops.
Marpa Kagyu, Part Four
Forthcoming
The tenth volume of The Treasury of Precious Instructions series extends the commentaries from Volume three and includes material on the esoteric instructions known as the Sixteen Drops.
Shangpa Kagyu (Two Volumes)
A selection of teachings and practices from the Shangpa practice lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. This tradition was established in Tibet by the eleventh-century yogi Khyungpo Naljor, who had received profound esoteric teachings from many great Indian masters, especially the two yoginīs Niguma and Sukhasiddhi, as well as Maitrīpa, Rāhula, and Vajrāsana. He established a monastery in the Shang region of Tibet, from which the lineage derives its name.
Shangpa Kagyu, Part One
Much of the ancient source material for these practices focuses on Dākinī Niguma’s Five Golden Dharmas: yogic practices of the Six Dharmas, nature of mind teachings called Amulet Box Mahāmudrā, meditations to integrate appearances on the spiritual path, goddess practices, and instructions to realize the deathlessness of body and mind. Also in this volume are the tantric bases of the tradition: the combined practice of the Five Tantras’ Deities and the Five-Deity Cakrasamvara practices. The six parts of this volume include source scriptures, liturgies, supplications, empowerment texts, instructions, and practice manuals.
Shangpa Kagyu, Part Two
This is the second of two volumes that present teachings and practices from the Shangpa Kagyu practice lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. This tradition derives from two Indian yoginīs, the dākinīs Niguma and Sukhasiddhi, and their disciple, the eleventh-century Tibetan yogi Khyungpo Naljor Tsultrim Gönpo of the Shang region of Tibet. There are forty texts in this volume, beginning with Jonang Tāranātha’s classic commentary and its supplement expounding the Six Dharmas of Niguma. It includes the definitive collection of the tantric bases of the Shangpa Kagyu—the five principal deities of the new translation (sarma) traditions and the Five-Deity Cakrasamvara practice. The source scriptures, liturgies, supplications, empowerment texts, instructions, and practice manuals were composed by Tangtong Gyalpo, Tāranātha, Jamgön Kongtrul, and others.
Zhije, Part Two
In volume 13, Kongtrul presents a diverse corpus of texts from the Zhije (Pacification) tradition that trace especially to the South Indian master Dampa Sangye (d. 1117), whose teachings are also celebrated in the Chöd (Severance) tradition. It includes source scriptures by Dampa Sangye, empowerments by Lochen Dharmashrī, and guidance by Dampa Sangye, Lochen Dharmashrī, and Sönam Pal. Also included are lineage charts related to the transmission of Zhije teachings as well as detailed notes and an orientation to the texts by translator Sarah Harding.
Chöd
In this, the fourteenth volume, Kongtrul compiles the teachings on Severance, or Chöd. It includes some of the tradition’s earliest source scriptures, such as the “grand poem” of Āryadeva, and numerous texts by the tradition’s renowned founder, Machik Lapdrön. Kongtrul also brings together the most significant texts on the rites of initiation, empowerments for practice, and wide-ranging instructions and guides for the support of practitioners. Altogether, this quintessential guide to Severance offers vast resources for scholars and practitioners alike to better understand this unique and remarkable tradition—the way of severing the ego through the profound realization of emptiness and compassion.
Kalachakra & Orgyen Nyendrup
Forthcoming, Autumn 2028
Volume 15 includes teachings from the last two of the eight lineages of accomplishment: that of Vajra Yoga (also known as the Six Branches of Union, or Jordruk) and Dorje Sumgyi Nyendrup (Stages of Approach and Accomplishment of the Three Vajras). The former is a system of advanced tantric practices based on the teachings of the Kālacakra tantra, particularly as transmitted through the Jonang tradition of Tibet. Though ostensibly a tantra of the Sarma tradition, the Kālacakra was also highly esteemed in the Nyingma school. The great Nyingma master Jamgön Ju Mipam Gyatso (1846–1912) wrote a two-volume commentary on the Kālacakra cycle and considered the teachings of this tradition to reflect those found in the Dzogchen approach of the Nyingma. The final lineage is the least known among the eight, one transmitted by the master Orgyenpa Rinchen Pal (1230–1309), who was also a student of the second Karmapa, Karma Pakshi (1204–1283), and a teacher of the third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje (1284–1339). Orgyenpa received this lineage, which incorporates practices also found in the Vajra Yoga approach, in a visionary transmission from Vajravārāhī and other ḍākinīs. Although the lineage continued unbroken until Kongtrul’s time, it was another tradition that he considered “exceedingly rare and in danger of dying out.”
Mahasiddha Practice
This sixteenth volume presents a selection of teachings and practices centered on the mahāsiddhas, Indian tantric masters. The mahāsiddha Mitrayogin, whose work forms the majority of this volume, visited Tibet in the late twelfth century. His ritual texts along with instructions are here translated from Tibetan, including sādhanas, empowerments, guru yogas, authorization rituals for protector deities, and detailed compositions on Mahāmudrā practice, or resting in the nature of mind. In addition to instructions given by mahāsiddhas, this volume includes ritual practices to visualize them and transmit their blessings, beginning with a devotional text composed by Jamgön Kongtrul himself.
Streams of Instruction
Forthcoming, Summer 2027
The collection concludes in a positive manner with the authorizations for the three deities of longevity, the intimate oral lineage of the seven-day longevity sadhana, the instructions for the longevity practice of White Tara according to the tradition of Bari Lotsawa, and a ritual to honor the three deities of longevity.
Jonang
In this volume, Kongtrul expands on The One Hundred and Eight Guidebooks, a collection of teaching manuals compiled by the sixteenth-century Tibetan master Kunga Drolchok, adding Indic source texts, Tibetan antecedents, and later interpretations. Though compiled by a Jonangpa abbot and transmitted by the Jonang tradition, these teaching manuals are actually drawn from the Kadam, Sakya, Kagyu, and, to a lesser extent, Nyingma traditions. They are succinct and impart practical wisdom, as transmitted by key figures like Kunga Chogdrub and Lowo Khenchen Sonam Lhundrub. Gyurme Dorje, the translator, provides extensive notes and helpful context throughout. The resulting volume preserves and integrates the diverse lineages of Tibetan Buddhism while providing useful advice to practitioners.
