Choying Tobden Dorje

Choying Tobden Dorje (1787–1848) was a brilliant Vajrayana master of eastern Tibet. His masterwork, The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, remains the main text studied by Tibet’s Ngakpa lineages of lay Buddhist yogi-practitioners.

Gyurme Dorje

Gyurme Dorje holds a PhD in Tibetan Literature (SOAS, London) and an MA in Sanskrit with Oriental Studies (Edinburgh). From 1991 to 1996 he held research fellowships at London University, where he worked on the Encyclopaedic Tibetan-English Dictionary. Other titles by the author include The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History (Wisdom, 1991), Tibetan Medical Paintings (Serindia, 1992), The Tibet Handbook (Footprint, 1996), and A Handbook of Tibetan Culture (Shambhala, 1994). Forthcoming publications include The Complete Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Lama Tharchin

Lama Tharchin Rinpoche (1936–2013) was a Dzogchen master of Vajrayana Buddhism and the tenth lineage holder of the Repkong Ngakpas, the largest community of non-monastic practitioners in Tibet. He left Tibet on foot with his family in 1960 and traveled to India and Nepal before coming to the United States in 1984 when he founded the Vajrayana Foundation. He was a student of His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, Chatral Rinpoche, Lama Sherab Dorje Rinpoche, and Dungse Thinley Norbu Rinpoche.

"This monumental treatise, covering both common and esoteric Buddhist lore, was composed by Choying Tobden Dorje, a most illustrious scholar and accomplished sage. Fortunately, among his voluminous books, this, his masterwork, has survived and has been carefully translated true to the original. It will open the eyes of serious readers to the vast spectrum of Buddhist wisdom." —Tulku Thondup

"There is no doubt that the basic techniques of Mahayoga, stressing the nature of the ground and the gradual visualizations of the generation stage, are present in the Guhyagarbha Tantra, but the work equally demonstrates the integration of both the generation and perfection stages of meditation and the self-manifesting nature of mind and pristine cognition, which are associated with Atiyoga. Indeed, the text comprises the generation and perfection stages, as well as the seeds of Great Perfection, suggesting that there is no fundamental contradiction between these exegetical approaches." —from the Translator's Introduction

"The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra represents a rare opportunity for readers to obtain a complete map of the Buddha's teachings. It contains very detailed descriptions of the profound and vast teachings of the ground, path, and fruition of both the sutra and tantra traditions. It provides particular emphasis on detailed instructions of the inner tantras of mahayoga, anuyoga, and the precious dzokchen tradition. I highly recommend this book for students who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the complete path to enlightenment." —Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche

"The translation of this text is a major milestone in bringing Tibetan Buddhist wisdom to the West. One of the legacies of ancient Tibet is the preservation of vast numbers of the Buddhist scriptures in their most complete and authentic forms. This text is a remarkable example of that. It has the power to reveal the rich traditions of Tibetan Buddhism from its surface to its depth, and it will illuminate the minds of those who have the great good fortune to meet with it." —Anam Thubten