The Brilliantly Illuminating Lamp of the Five Stages
The most important commentary on Vajrayana from the founder of the Dalai Lama's school of Buddhism.

The Brilliantly Illuminating Lamp of the Five Stages (rim lnga rab tu gsal ba’i sgron me) is Tsong Khapa’s most important commentary on the perfection-stage practices of the Esoteric Community (Guhyasamaja), the tantra he considered fundamental for the practice of the “father tantra” class of unexcelled yoga tantras. It draws heavily on Nagarjuna’s Five Stages (Pañcakrama) and Aryadeva’s Lamp that Integrates the Practices (Caryamelapakapradipa), as well as a vast range of perfection-stage works included in the Tibetan canonical (Kangyur and Tengyur) collections. It is an important work for both scholars and practitioners. A reader of this work will find in it convincing evidence for Tsong Khapa’s own yogic experience and attainment, in coordination with his better-known philosophical and scholarly achievements.

The present revised edition of the work is a cornerstone of the Complete Works of Jey Tsong Khapa and Sons collection, a subset of the Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences series. Comprised of the collected works of Tsong Khapa (1357–1419) and his spiritual sons, Gyaltsap Darma Rinchen (1364–1432) and Khedrup Gelek Pelsang (1385–1438), the numerous works in this set of Tibetan treatises and supercommentaries are based on the thousands of works in the Tibetan Buddhist canon.
1129770973
The Brilliantly Illuminating Lamp of the Five Stages
The most important commentary on Vajrayana from the founder of the Dalai Lama's school of Buddhism.

The Brilliantly Illuminating Lamp of the Five Stages (rim lnga rab tu gsal ba’i sgron me) is Tsong Khapa’s most important commentary on the perfection-stage practices of the Esoteric Community (Guhyasamaja), the tantra he considered fundamental for the practice of the “father tantra” class of unexcelled yoga tantras. It draws heavily on Nagarjuna’s Five Stages (Pañcakrama) and Aryadeva’s Lamp that Integrates the Practices (Caryamelapakapradipa), as well as a vast range of perfection-stage works included in the Tibetan canonical (Kangyur and Tengyur) collections. It is an important work for both scholars and practitioners. A reader of this work will find in it convincing evidence for Tsong Khapa’s own yogic experience and attainment, in coordination with his better-known philosophical and scholarly achievements.

The present revised edition of the work is a cornerstone of the Complete Works of Jey Tsong Khapa and Sons collection, a subset of the Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences series. Comprised of the collected works of Tsong Khapa (1357–1419) and his spiritual sons, Gyaltsap Darma Rinchen (1364–1432) and Khedrup Gelek Pelsang (1385–1438), the numerous works in this set of Tibetan treatises and supercommentaries are based on the thousands of works in the Tibetan Buddhist canon.
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The Brilliantly Illuminating Lamp of the Five Stages

The Brilliantly Illuminating Lamp of the Five Stages

The Brilliantly Illuminating Lamp of the Five Stages

The Brilliantly Illuminating Lamp of the Five Stages

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Overview

The most important commentary on Vajrayana from the founder of the Dalai Lama's school of Buddhism.

The Brilliantly Illuminating Lamp of the Five Stages (rim lnga rab tu gsal ba’i sgron me) is Tsong Khapa’s most important commentary on the perfection-stage practices of the Esoteric Community (Guhyasamaja), the tantra he considered fundamental for the practice of the “father tantra” class of unexcelled yoga tantras. It draws heavily on Nagarjuna’s Five Stages (Pañcakrama) and Aryadeva’s Lamp that Integrates the Practices (Caryamelapakapradipa), as well as a vast range of perfection-stage works included in the Tibetan canonical (Kangyur and Tengyur) collections. It is an important work for both scholars and practitioners. A reader of this work will find in it convincing evidence for Tsong Khapa’s own yogic experience and attainment, in coordination with his better-known philosophical and scholarly achievements.

The present revised edition of the work is a cornerstone of the Complete Works of Jey Tsong Khapa and Sons collection, a subset of the Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences series. Comprised of the collected works of Tsong Khapa (1357–1419) and his spiritual sons, Gyaltsap Darma Rinchen (1364–1432) and Khedrup Gelek Pelsang (1385–1438), the numerous works in this set of Tibetan treatises and supercommentaries are based on the thousands of works in the Tibetan Buddhist canon.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781949163087
Publisher: Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date: 08/06/2019
Series: Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences
Pages: 760
Product dimensions: 5.90(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Tsong Khapa Losang Dragpa (1357–1419) was one of the finest scholar-practitioners in Tibetan Buddhism. Renowned for both his written works and his meditative accomplishments, he founded the Gelug school, which produced the lineage of the Dalai Lamas.

Robert Thurman holds the Jey Tsong Khapa Chair in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University. After education at Philips Exeter and Harvard, he studied Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism for almost thirty years as a personal student of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has written both scholarly and popular books, and has lectured widely all over the world. As president of the American Institute for Buddhist Studies, he convened the First Inner Science Conference with His Holiness the Dalai Lama at Amherst College in 1984. He is also a founding trustee of Tibet House New York.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition xi

Series Editor's/Author's Preface xiii

Sources, Conventions, and Abbreviations xix

Part 1 Introduction 3

1 What Is a "Buddha Vajradhara," the Goal of This Tradition? 3

2 Who Are the Beings Who Maintain This Tradition? 14

3 Who Is the Inspiration of This Author? 27

4 Who Are His Honored Tibetan Predecessors and Mentors? 28

5 Who Most Needs the Esoteric Community? 30

6 Who Are the Lucky Students of This Text? 31

7 How to Study This Text 32

Part 2 Annotated English Translation 33

1 Introductory 35

2 General Learning of the Tantric Path 93

3 Explanation of the Perfection Stage of This Tantra in Particular 149

4 Body Isolation 179

5 Speech Isolation in General 223

6 Speech Isolation-How to Practice 289

7 Mind Isolation 353

8 The Two Reality Perfection Stage 399

9 Ultimate Clear Light Transparence 461

10 The Perfection Stage of Communion 497

11 The Conduct, the Art of Heightening Impact on the Two Stages 523

Appendix

Appendix: Topical Outline (sa bcad) of Tsong Khapa's Brilliantly Illuminating Lamp 581

Glossaries

English-Tibetan-Sanskrit Glossary 597

Glossary of Numerical Categories 641

Glossary of Unique Translation Terms 655

Bibliographies

Modern Sources 679

Cited Texts (Sanskrit and Tibetan) 683

Indexes

Cited Personal Names (Sanskrit and Tibetan) 719

Cited Texts (Sanskrit and Tibetan) 723

General Index 729

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