Bücher von Tony Duff

Ground, path, and fruition is a type of logic used to understand a whole subject clearly. Here, it is applied to teachings on mind and mind essence from Tsoknyi Rinpoche by Lama Tony Duff to make a complete guide to the higher practices of Essence Mahamudra and the Thorough Cut of Great Completion. The book contains several, complete teachings on these subjects all carefully arranged into ground, path, and fruition presentations. Moreover, the path instructions are extensively presented using the logic of view, meditation, and conduct. Lama Tony has additionally highlighted the special type of instructions,called upadesha or foremost instructions, that form the core teachings of these practices.

"Five-Part Mahamudra" is a specific way of practising Mahamudra that is used in the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It was first taught by Gampopa to his disciple Phagmo Drupa more than nine centuries go and since then has become one of the main ways that Mahamudra is transmitted and practised in the Kagyu lineage. This book presents the teaching and system of instruction that goes with it through actual Tibetan sources and culminates in a modern-day oral commentary given by one of the contemporary masters of the tradition.The sources consist of six texts by various masters of the tradition, texts that were written during the nine-hundred year period since the teaching was first given by Gampopa. Through the texts, the reader not only gets to see all of the details of the Five-Part Mahamudra practice, but also gets to see the writings of the masters of various Kagyu lineages--Karma Kagyu, Drukpa Kagyu, Drigung Kagyu, and Throphu Kagyu. The reader also gets to see their different styles of presentation as the styles changed through the centuries. A long introduction that informs the reader of the details of each of these authors and their styles of presentation is included. The book finishes with a long oral commentary by one of today's great Karma Kagyu masters, Bengchen Tenga Rinpoche.The book is unique in the way that it presents all the details of Mahamudra practice, with nothing left out or hidden from view, as presented by the very greatest of authors of the Tibetan tradition over many centuries.

This book contains a Tibetan grammar text by a famous Tibetan grammarian, Ngulchu Dharmabhadra. It explains the two defining texts of Tibetan grammar by Thumi Sambhota. In general, his text was written at the medium to advanced level. In particular-and this should be of great interest to those studying Tibetan grammar-he wrote the text to be an easy-to-understand version of the eighth Situ Rinpoche's very famous but very difficult-to-understand grammar text known these days simply as "Situ's Great Commentary". Thus, the text in this book is not only an excellent study for those wanting to understand Tibetan grammar at a deeper level, but is also an excellent text for those wanting to know the content of Situ's very famous explanation of Tibetan grammar. The author of the book, Lama Tony Duff, has had a long association with Tibetan grammar as taught by Tibetans. He first learned Tibetan grammar using the books available on it in English but later learned it in Tibetan from Tibetans in Tibetan contexts. He found a distinct difference between how Westerners and Tibetans present Tibetans grammar and, with that, found that the presentations of Westerners have been lacking and even mistaken. For this reason, he undertook the major task of translating the most important Tibetan grammar texts and publishing them together with extensive notes and explanations so that Westerners, and especially those translating the Buddha-Word, could finally gain a correct understanding of Tibetan grammar. As a result, there are four books in this series in which key Tibetan grammar texts are individually presented. In addition to those, there are two grand treatises which collectively explore all of the minutest details of Tibetan grammar, called the Standard Reference to Tibetan Grammar volumes I and II. Lama Tony's deep knowledge of Tibetan grammar as understood by Tibetans themselves has been a key factor in his production of many authentic translations of Tibetan Buddhist texts. Because of his extensive and highly regarded translation work, he has been invited to prestigious institutions to teach Tibetan grammar according to the Tibetan system and is constantly endeavouring to pass on his knowledge of translation to other translators.

This book contains a grammar text by a famous Khenpo of the Karma Kagyu tradition of the nineteenth century, Ngedon Jamyang. His text is an explanation of the two defining texts of Tibetan grammar by Thumi Sambhota. In general, his text was written as a medium-to-advanced level grammar. In particular, he wrote the text to be an easy-to-understand version of the eighth Situ Rinpoche's very famous but very difficult-to-understand grammar text known these days simply as "Situ's Great Commentary". Thus, this text is not only an excellent study for those wanting to understand Tibetan grammar at a deeper level, but also for those wanting to know the content of Situ's very famous great commentary on Tibetan grammar. The author of the book, Lama Tony Duff, has had a long association with Tibetan grammar as taught by Tibetans. He first learned Tibetan grammar using the books available in English but later learned it in Tibetan from Tibetans in Tibetan contexts. He found a distinct difference between how Westerners and Tibetans present Tibetan grammar and, with that, found that the presentations given by Westerners have been lacking and even mistaken. For this reason, he undertook the major task of translating the most important Tibetan grammar texts and publishing them together with extensive notes and explanations so that Westerners, and especially those translating the Buddha-Word, could finally gain a correct understanding of Tibetan grammar. As a result, there are four books in this series in which key Tibetan grammar texts are individually presented. In a second series, there are two grand treatises which collectively explore all of the minutest details of Tibetan grammar, called the Standard Reference to Tibetan Grammar volumes I and II. Lama Tony's deep knowledge of Tibetan grammar as understood by Tibetans themselves has been a key factor in his production of many authentic translations of Tibetan Buddhist texts. Because of his extensive and highly regarded translation work, he has been invited to prestigious institutions to teach Tibetan grammar according to the Tibetan system and is constantly endeavouring to pass on his knowledge of translation to other translators. It is an excellent companion to another Tibetan grammar text available in our series of books on native Tibetan grammar called "Tibetan Grammar: Situ's Words" and we recommend reading them in tandem.

The Collected Works of Dusum Khyenpa, the first Karmapa, consists of four volumes of texts. The Collected Works is very rare, almost non-existent, but we obtained a copy. The Collected Works mostly contains complete sets of teachings on the various yidams of the Kagyu lineage that Dusum Khyenpa received and practised. However, there is a section containing eight dohas or spontaneous songs of spiritual realization that were sung by Dusum Khyenpa. There is also a text that gives the transmission of a specific Mahamudra teaching called "Mahamudra, the Thunderbolt". We translated seven of the eight dohas and the Mahamudra teaching and put them together into this book, for the sake of the many followers of the Karmapa and the Kagyu teachings in general.

The primary purpose of this book is to make the prayer called "The Prayer of Threefold Ground, Path, and Fruition" available in English for practitioners of the Dzogchen teaching. The Prayer came into this world through what is called the Longchen Nyingthig tradition of the Dzogchen teaching. As is explained extensively in the very long and comprehensive introduction to the book, Longchen Nyingthig is the name for one of several transmissions of the most profound level of Dzogchen teaching that appeared in Tibet.In Tibet, daily recitation of the Prayer is an essential part of the practice of those who follow the Longchen Nyingthig tradition of the Dzogchen teachings. More than that though, it is such an amazing presentation of the most profound level of Dzogchen teaching that it is widely used by Dzogchen practitioners in general. With that in mind, this book was produced so that all English-speaking practitioners of the Dzogchen teaching would have full access to the prayer.The prayer is very condensed. It contains, in just nine four-line verses, the whole meaning of profound Dzogchen as understood by Longchen Rabjam. Because of that, even those who know the Dzogchen teaching will find it hard to comprehend the full import of the prayer. Therefore, this book starts with the prayer, then has an outline of the meaning of the verses of the prayer, followed by a short commentary and then a long commentary to the prayer. For many people the brief outline and short commentary will be sufficient to enable them to recite the prayer in a meaningful way. For others who need a very detailed explanation of the prayer, the longer commentary will provide that.It does have to be noted that the longer commentary not only gives a more detailed explanation of the prayer but a significantly more profound one as well. That is because the longer commentary extensively shows how both of the practices of the most profound level of Dzogchen teaching-Thorough Cut and Direct Crossing-are set forth in the prayer, whereas the shorter commentary only shows the meaning of the prayer in relation to Thorough Cut.The longer commentary has a further advantage. It goes through the meaning of the prayer in such depth that it becomes a complete teaching in its own right on the system of Dzogchen coming to us from the extraordinary master of those teachings, Longchenpa. As a result, it should be a teaching of great interest to all Dzogchen practitioners, quite aside from its intended function as a commentary on the prayer.The book contains the following texts:The Prayer of Threefold Ground, Path, and Fruition by Jigmey LingpaOutline of the Prayer of Threefold Ground, Path, and Fruition by Yontan GyatsoShort Commentary to The Prayer of Threefold Ground, Path, and Fruition by Yontan Gyatso"The Authoritative Words of Samantabhadra" A Commentary that Clarifies the Meaning of the Longchen Nyingthig Prayer "Threefold Ground, Path, and Fruition" by Tshewang Chogdrub

This book contains two grammar texts by Yangchen Drubpay Dorje, an important Tibetan grammarian of the eighteenth century. They are beginners' texts which explain the first of Thumi Sambhota's treatises that define Tibetan grammar-The Thirty Verses and Application of Gender Signs (rtags kyi 'jug pa). Yangchen Drubpay Dorje's texts were so well written that they rapidly became the standard texts used within Tibet for teaching and learning Tibetan grammar. The two grammar texts, called The Great Living Tree and Explanation of the Great Living Tree are, even now, used in all Tibetan schools both inside and outside Tibet as the textbooks for teaching grammar. These textbooks are the ideal starting place for anyone wanting to learn Tibetan grammar.The author of the book, Lama Tony Duff, has had a long association with Tibetan grammar as taught by Tibetans. He first learned Tibetan grammar using the books available in English but later learned it in Tibetan from Tibetans in Tibetan contexts. He found a distinct difference between how Westerners and Tibetans present Tibetan grammar and, with that, found that the presentations given by Westerners have been lacking and even mistaken. For this reason, he undertook the major task of translating the most important Tibetan grammar texts and publishing them together with extensive notes and explanations so that Westerners, and especially those translating the Buddha-Word, could finally gain a correct understanding of Tibetan grammar. As a result, there are four books in this series in which key Tibetan grammar texts are individually presented. In a second series, there are two grand treatises which collectively explore all of the minutest details of Tibetan grammar, called the Standard Reference to Tibetan Grammar volumes I and II.Lama Tony's deep knowledge of Tibetan grammar as understood by Tibetans themselves has been a key factor in his production of many authentic translations of Tibetan Buddhist texts. Because of his extensive and highly regarded translation work, he has been invited to prestigious institutions to teach Tibetan grammar according to the Tibetan system and is constantly endeavouring to pass on his knowledge of translation to other translators.

This book presents three texts concerned with what is called in Tibetan the "Dzogchen" or, in English, "Great Completion" system of teaching that explains reality and how beings can return to it from their current, confused state. The texts explain the most profound level of that teaching being called "Nyingthig" or, in English, "Quintessence".In Tibet, there were several lines of transmission of this Quintessence Great Completion level of teaching. One came through a master named Longchen Rabjam, so it was called the Longchen Nyingthig meaning "Longchen Rabjam's transmission of the Quintessence Great Completion teaching".This Longchen Nyingthig came down to a Tibetan man who grew up in the Dzachuka town of Eastern Tibet and became to be a great master of this particular teaching not to mention the Buddha's teachings as a whole. He was therefore known as "Dza Pal Trul" meaning "the glorious (pal) manifestation of enlightenment (trul) from the town of Dza".In his early adult years, Dza Patrul received the Longchen Nyingthig teachings from great masters at Dzogchen Monastery, which is not far from his home-town of Dzachuka. Having done so, he spent the rest of his life in retreat with his disciples in the mountains behind the monastery. A number of his oral teachings on the Longchen Nyingthig were recorded in writing by his disciples and he wrote a number of texts on the subject himself. These and other writings were gathered and preserved in his Collected Works.Three of his texts on the Longchen Quintessence that so far have not been translated into another language are presented in this book. These texts show these very high level teachings in a way that is rarely, if ever, seen. I am sure that anyone who is interested in the Quintessence Great Completion teachings, whether he or she follows the Longchen Quintessence or some other line of transmission of the teachings, will find the teachings contained in these texts to be fascinating at very least. And for those who do follow Longchen Nyingthig, there is a revelation from early in the lineage that I've never seen presented before, and which is just amazing in its content.

In the seventh century C.E. the Tibetan man Thumi Sambhota wrote eight treatises that defined Tibetan grammar and lettering, but only two of them still exist, the others have been lost about two centuries after they were composed. This book presents two of the most popular Tibetan texts that explain the sixth one, called The Application of Gender Signs.The sixth treatise is very difficult to understand, to the point that even well-educated Tibetans often have not studied and learned it. Yangchen Drubpay Dorje was a great Tibetan grammarian of the 19th century who wrote a short text that summarized the meaning of Thumi Sambhota's Application of Gender Signs treatise. It was intended for easy memorization and needed explanation, so he wrote a second text to explain it. Together, the two texts go through the various topics of Thumi's sixth treatise in depth. The two texts are the most popular ones in use these days for understanding the topic of application of gender signs. Amongst other things, these texts deal with the subject of transitive and intransitive verbs and how they work in the Tibetan language. It is essential for translators to understand the details of transitive and intransitive verbs, so this book is of special importance for translators.The material in these texts is difficult, so there are many points that need clarification. For that, the author of this book, himself an accomplished Tibetan grammarian, has provided many footnotes and a complete glossary of grammar terms. In addition, the Tibetan texts in Tibetan script have been included in the book for those who would like to study grammar in more depth.The author of this book, who is well-known as an exceptionally capable translator of Tibetan Buddhism, has been concerned for many years at the mistaken translations of Tibetan Buddhism that arise because of a lack of understanding of the details of Tibetan grammar that exists amongst western translators. Therefore, he has published this and the other books on native Tibetan grammar in this series with a strong desire to make the Tibetan understanding of Tibetan grammar readily available. The end aim of course is that the western students studying Tibetan Buddhism will be able to gain a complete and correct understanding of the system through better translations of Tibetan works.

The Prayer of Samantabhadra, also known as "a prayer of excellent conduct" and also as "a king of prayers" is one of the five great prayers of the Great Vehicle tradition and one of the most popular prayers in that tradition. For example, it is recited every day without fail by many Tibetans. While using the prayer in Tibetan and English, the author discovered that existing English translations from Tibetan sources have many mistakes, all of which give readers a wrong understanding of what the prayer actually says. Therefore, the author undertook a major study of the sutra in order to provide practitioners with a reliable translation and a complete set of explanations that would explain correctly and in depth every facet of meaning contained of the sutra.Volume II is taken up with a single, very large Tibetan commentary. There are a number of commentaries by Tibetan masters. The one was chosen for this second volume is by Ontrul Tenpa'i Wangchuk, who was regarded as one of the greatest living scholars and Dzogchen masters in Tibet until his recent passage. His commentary goes through the verses word by word, in a level of detail not seen in any of the other Tibetan commentaries. More than that, it is unique amongst all of the Indian and Tibetan commentaries in that it was not given as a scholarly exploration of the meaning of the verses but was given as practical advice to his lay disciples on how to follow the excellent conduct of a bodhisatva. Therefore, his commentary is particularly useful for anyone wanting to use the prayer not only for recitation but as a basis for developing himself as a bodhisatva.

The teaching of the Buddha hinges around the one point that sentient beings, meaning beings having a mind, have within them the potential to become a buddha. If they did not possess that potential, it would not be possible for them to become buddhas and the rest of the Buddhist teaching would be an interesting but useless philosophy. Therefore, the topic of buddha nature is especially important. The Buddha taught buddha nature in three steps, each more profound than the previous one. The last step is regarded by most Tibetan Buddhist schools as the most profound teaching of the sutras, the very essence of what the Buddha was trying to communicate to his followers. It is the same teaching as found in Mahamudra and Dzogchen, so is important for all Buddhists to understand, but especially for those who are studying the Mahamudra or Dzogchen teachings. The very learned Nyingma teacher Ju Mipham Namgyal gave a teaching that clearly showed this ultimate non-dual buddha nature. It was recorded and published by his students in a text called The Lion's Roar that is A Great Thousand Doses of Sugata Essence which forms the basis of this book. The text needs clarification, so a very extensive explanation has been provided by the author of the book, the well-known Western Buddhist teacher and translator Tony Duff. As with all of our books, an extensive introduction, glossary, and so on are provided to assist the reader. Mipham's text is one of a pair of texts that go hand in hand with each other. We have also published the sister text called The Lion's Roar That Proclaims Other Emptiness and we strongly recommend our publication "The Other Emptiness, Entering Wisdom Beyond Emptiness of Self", which gives a very extensive explanation of the ultimate non-dual buddha nature.

E könyv tanításai arról szólnak, hogyan kell lefolytatni egy teljes meditációs ülést. A könyvet egy nyugati tanító, Lama Tony Duff állította össze segítségül mindazoknak, akik meditációt szeretnének gyakorolni. Azoknak pedig, akik a tibeti buddhizmus Kagyü és Nyingma iskolái szerint kívánnak gyakorolni, különösen hasznos lehet. E könyv az említett két hagyományban megtalálható, praktikus stílust helyezi el¿térbe. Szándékosan kerüli az egyes más tibeti buddhista hagyományokban alkalmazott tudományos hangvételt, és arra a kérdésre összpontosít, mit tehet az ember konkrétan a tudatával. Ennek ellenére igen pontosan és világosan írja le a bemutatott meditációs gyakorlatok kulcspontjait.A könyv különösen a kagyü megközelítést emeli ki. A szerz¿ a hagyományról szóló, széleskör¿ elméleti és gyakorlati tudására támaszkodott e könyv megalkotásakor. Gampópától és más korai mesterekt¿l választott ki néhány tanítást, hogy megvesse a meditációról szóló magyarázatok alapjait. Az egyéb szükséges tanításokat azon terjedelmes tanítások közül válogatta össze, melyeket több különböz¿ kagyü mestert¿l - többek között Cshögyam Trungpa és Mingyur Rinpócsékt¿l - kapott az évek során. Az eredmény egy olyan könyv lett, amely igen világosan elmagyarázza, hogyan kell lefolytatni egy teljes meditációs ülést a Kagyü és Nyingma hagyományokban.

Other Emptiness is the view of emptiness that goes with wisdom. It has long been thought amongst Westerners that the view of emptiness championed by the Gelug tradition following the views of Tsongkhapa is the one and only view of emptiness in the Buddhist teachings. However, that is not the case. The majority of Tibetan Buddhists accept two approaches to emptiness, a logical approach called empty of self and a non-conceptual approach called empty of other. This book clearly presents all of these views and shows how the empty of other type of emptiness is actually the ultimate teaching of the Buddha, the teaching on how to enter non-dual wisdom.Other emptiness has usually been thought of amongst Westerners who have heard of it as a very complicated and difficult philosophy. It is subtle, that is true, because it describes what it is like to be in wisdom. However, it was not taught as a difficult philosophy. Rather, it was taught as a practical teaching on how to enter non-dual wisdom. The book explores this point at length.The book was written to be useful for all levels of reader. It starts simply, giving a clear explanation of the Buddha's non-dual teaching and how the other emptiness teaching is part of that. Then it goes into details about the history and teaching other emptiness. Finally, it goes in to great technical detail concerning the other emptiness teaching, and supports that with extensive materials from various Tibetan teachers. Unlike many of the books on other emptiness that have appeared, this book does not only present the theory of other emptiness but keeps a proper balance between showing the theory of other emptiness and presenting the practice-based reality of the teaching.The book is divided into four parts, each one a set of presentations from someone knowledgeable of the subject. The first part is several chapters written by the author in plain English in order to get the reader under way. Following that, there are sections embodying the explanations of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyatso, and amgon Kongtrul the great. Ample introductions, glossaries and so on are provided.

This is a book of teachings on how to do a complete session of meditation. The book is a compilation made by the author to help those who would like to practise meditation in the Kagyu or Nyingma way. It emphasizes the practical style of instruction found in the Kagyu tradition for those who actually want to do something with the mind. It deliberately avoids the scholarly style taught in some other Tibetan Buddhist traditions and focusses directly on working directly with one's own mind. Nonetheless, the book is very precise and clear about all of the key points involved in meditation practice.The book emphasizes the Kagyu approach in particular. The author has received teachings from many Kagyu masters and used his knowledge of the tradition as a basis for making the book for his own students. He has selected important texts from Gampopa and other early masters to set the basis for the explanations of meditation. The author has then added other, necessary teachings according to the extensive teachings he has received over many years from many different Kagyu masters, such as Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Mingyur Rinpoche, and others. The result is a book that contains a complete teaching on how to do a complete session of meditation, especially in the style of the Kagyu and Nyingma traditions.

This book contains practical instructions on the view of the two truths given according to the conventional or common Great Vehicle approach. The instructions are contained in a short text by a very well-known Tibetan teacher, Jigmey Chokyi Wangpo, also known as Dza Patrul [1808-1887].A feature of this text is that although it is about sutra, the profound Dzogchen perspective is obviously present. Some masters write compositions in which they keep within the immediate context of their subject. Yogins, and Dza Patrul was a great yogin, often teach a subject but within the context of their own realization. In the text here, Dza Patrul gives a presentation of the two truths that fits with the sutra presentation of the subject, but goes on to connect it to the practical wisdom teachings of the third turning of the wheel and the Quintessence Dzogchen teachings of which he was a master. For example, in a presentation of the two truths that adhered to the sutra context in which the two truths were originally taught, there would be no mention of the key Dzogchen terms "rigpa", "crossing over into", "appearances of the liveliness", and so on, yet these terms appear later in the text. In fact, the final section of teaching in the text is a direct presentation of the Thorough Cut teaching of Quintessence Dzogchen which has been skilfully added to the rest of the compilation to show that, in the end, the practice of the two truths is none other than the practice of Thorough Cut.

The Buddha himself said in a Lesser Vehicle sutra:"Son of the family! You are to become expert in the skandhas. You are to become expert in the ayatanas. You are to become expert in the dhatus. You are to become expert in pratityasamutpada. You are to become expert in topics. You are to become expert in non-topics."With these words, the Buddha indicated that there are six topics which must be learned, at least to some extent, by every one of his followers. Although the Buddha gave these teachings in the Lesser Vehicle, they are a necessary foundation for practitioners of all levels, from those studying the Lesser Vehicle to those practising Mahamudra and Great Completion.This book gives a thorough explanation of the six topics using a text written by Zhanphen Chokyi Nangwa, or Khenchen Zhan-ga as he is more commonly known, the greatest of all abbots to have presided over the famous Shri Singha monastic college at Dzogchen Monastery, Tibet. The author of the book, the well-known teacher and translator Tony Duff, supplements the explanations in the text with many clarifications in an extensive introduction.The text is very similar to Mipham Namgyal's famous "mkhas 'jug" or Gateway to Knowledge as it has been called. Unfortunately, Mipham's text is difficult for beginners. Zhan-ga's text is quite different; it was not written merely as a piece of scholarship, but was carefully composed so as not to exclude beginners with excessively difficult explanations and moreover to be helpful to practitioners of all levels. For these reasons, Gangteng Tulku has selected our book rather than Mipham's Gateway of Knowledge in order to teach this topic to students in the second year of his shedra.Extensive explanations of the meaning of the six topics are provided by the author from his own knowledge gathered during forty years of studying with the Gelug, Kagyu, and Nyingma traditions, not to mention his extensive stays at Dzogchen Monastery where he learned the approach of Zhan-ga directly from Zhan-ga's successors. Ample footnotes, an extensive glossary, and a carefully corrected edition of the Tibetan text are also provided.

This book presents a text called "A Lamp's Illumination" CondensedAdvice on Great Completion's Thorough Cut, written by theTibetan master Jigmey Tenpa'i Nyima, the third Dodrupchen[1849-1907]. The text is an explanation of the Thorough Cutpractice of innermost unsurpassed Great Completion.

Shakya Shri was one of the greatest masters of the Drukpa Kagyu around the end of the nineteenth century. He was renowned for having practised and accomplished both the Mahamudra traditions of the Drukpa Kagyu and the Great Completion (Dzogpa Chenpo) tradition that had come to him through his root guru, Khamtrul Rinpoche. He taught students either Mahamudra or Great Completion or a mixture of both, whatever was suitable for them.This book presents two texts from his Collected Works. Each one presents a specific aspect of innermost Dzogchen practice though the first text, on the introduction to the nature of mind, is fully applicable to essence Mahamudra, too. We chose the two texts because they highlight specific aspects of these practices that are not explained in any other texts available from us. As with several other texts on Thorough Cut, each text offers instruction on a key aspect of the teaching.The first text is specifically on the topic of introduction to the nature of mind (sometimes called pointing out instruction). It is hard to find a text which, like this one does, specifically discusses this key technique of the higher tantras. The text will be of interest to anyone who is practising Mahamudra or Dzogpa Chenpo.The second text continues by giving instruction on how to realize the nature of mind after it has been introduced to the disciple. This text specifically explains the practices of the Thorough Cut (Tregcho) of Great Completion. This text also includes specific instructions on the special preliminary practice of innermost Great Completion called Parting into Sides (Tibetan, rushen).

This book contains a translation of an actual sutra of the Buddha. It is a very short but particularly important sutra from the Great Vehicle teachings given in the third turning of the wheel. The sutra is important for two reasons. Firstly, it is one of the five "condensed" sutras, sutras which sum up the five very large sutras of the Great Vehicle sutras-the Avatamsaka, and so on. This sutra sums up the meaning of the major sutra called The Nirvana Sutra in which the Buddha gives many final instructions before passing away. Therefore, it is regarded that the Point of Passage Wisdom sutra teaches final teachings of the Buddha in a very condensed way. This sutra is so important that the early Dharma Kings of Tibet recited it daily. Secondly, this sutra is one of the ten sutras cited by the Other Empty (Zhantong) school in support of their position. These ten sutras are called the "Profound Meditation System" sutras by the Other Empty school because they are considered to convey the ultimate approach to view and meditation taught by the Buddha to his regent Maitreya. Of the ten sutras, this sutra, despite is very short length, is one of the most interesting. It gives, in an economy of words, a complete instruction on the view and meditation of the profound meditation system. In doing so, it explicitly shows the ultimate meaning of the third turning sutras and explicitly shows that the Other Empty or Zhantong approach is the ultimate intent of the Buddha. As a point of further interest, the seeds of Mahamudra and Dzogchen practice can be very clearly seen in this sutra and practitioners of those systems will also find it very interesting to see what the Buddha says about this.

This book presents a Great Vehicle sutra of the third turning of the wheel of dharma which has not been translated until now and which is regarded as specially important for two reasons. Firstly the sutra deals with the issue of whether a bodhisatva can live a householder's life and effectively practice dharma at a high level. In the time when the Buddha gave this discourse it was regarded in Indian culture as a whole that it was necessary to leave the household and additionally to become ordained as a monk or nun in order to practice dharma at the highest level. The Buddha ends the sutra by saying that not only is it possible to practise whilst living as a householder but that a householder bodhisatva can be a much more capable and effective bodhisatva than a bodhisatva living the celibate life of an ordained bodhisatva. The person who petitioned the Buddha for his authoritative statements on this matter was a householder bodhisatva named "Uncouth". His concerns, which are the main issues in the sutra, result in the sutra fitting very closely with the situation of today's Western Buddhists, most of whom do not wish to leave home and become mendicants and most of whom are equally determined that this should not mean that they are relegated to a life which has been officially stamped as lesser than that of an ordained life. These have become prominent issues for Western Buddhists at this time and a careful consideration of the actual meaning embodied in this sutra can be a very fruitful exercise for today's Western Buddhists. I have found that investigating the sutra carefully raises many issues of great relevance and interest to today's Western Buddhists, but more than that, the issues are raised in the environment of the Buddha giving his authoritative statements about them. We found it to be very provocative but very rich at the same time.