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Maitreya's ''Abhisamayālaṃkāra'' is the most widely studied book in Tibet, where it was brought from India many centuries ago. It is used in all the monasteries to teach the path to Buddhahood, in accordance with the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. It teaches this in outline form, so it requires a commentary to be understood. The oldest extant commentary is Arya Vimuktisena's ''Vṛtti''. Haribhadra, the most influential Indian commentator, drew upon this to write his ''Ālokā''. Virtually all of the many famous Tibetan teachers who wrote their own commentaries on the ''Abhisamayālaṃkāra'' relied on Haribhadra as their primary source. This is the first of four volumes. ([https://www.namsebangdzo.com/Abhisamayalamkara-with-Vrtti-and-Aloka-Vol-1-p/9780875730110.htm Source Accessed July 26, 2026]) +
This second of four volumes includes translations of chapters two ("Knowledge of Paths") and three ("All knowledge") of Maitreya's ''Ornament for the Clear Realizations ''as explained in Arya Vimuktisena's ''Commentary'' and Haribhadra's ''Light''. The ''Ornament'' is a very brief, but nonetheless insightful, explanation of the ''Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra'', mainly of the version in ''Twenty-five Thousand Lines''. According to Haribhadra, it is also a self-conscious explanation of the ''Eight Thousand''. (Sparham, translator's introduction, ix) +
This is the third of four volumes of translations of Maitreya's ''Ornament for the Clear Realizations'' as explained in Ārya Vimuktisena's ''Commentary'' and Haribhadra's ''Light''. The ''Ornament'' is a brief explanation of the ''Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra in Twenty-five Thousand Lines'', and, according
to Haribhadra, the version in ''Eight Thousand Lines'' as well. (Sparham, translator's introduction, ix) +
This is the last of four volumes completing the translation of Maitreya's ''Ornament for the Clear Realizations'' as explained in Arya Vimuktisena's ''Commentary'' and Haribhadra's ''Light''. The ''Ornament'' is a brief explanation of the ''Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra in Twenty-five Thousand Lines'' (the ''Large Sutra''), and, according to Haribhadra, the version in ''Eight Thousand Lines'' as well. (Sparham, translator's introduction, xiii) +
In Sanskrit, "Ornament of Realization"; a major scholastic treatise of the Mahāyāna, attributed to Maitreyanātha (c. 330 ce). Its full title is ''Abhisamayālaṃkāra-prajñāpāramitā upadeśa-śāstra'' (T. ''Shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa'i rgyan'') or “Treatise Setting Forth the Perfection of Wisdom called ‘Omament for Realization.’” In the Tibetan tradition, the ''Abhisamayālaṃkāra'' is counted among the five treatises of Maitreya (Byams chos sde lnga). The 273 verses of the ''Abhisamayālaṃkāra'' provide a schematic outline of the perfection of wisdom, or prajñāpāramitā, approach to enlightenment, specifically as delineated in the ''Pañcaviṃśati-sāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā'' ("Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines"). This detailed delineation of the path is regarded as the "hidden teaching" of the prajñāpāramitā sūtras. Although hardly known in East Asian Buddhism (until the modern Chinese translation by Fazun), the work was widely studied in Tibet, where it continues to hold a central place in the monastic curricula of all the major sects. (Source: "Abhisamayālaṃkāra." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 11. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
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Abhisamayālaṃkāravivṛti. (T. [Shes rab phar phyin man ngag gi bstan bcos] mngon rtogs rgyan gyi 'grel pa). In Sanskrit, "Commentary on the Ornament of Realization" by Haribhadra. The work in four bundles (T. ''bam po'') is a digest (called ''<i>'</i>grel chung'', "short commentary") of his long detailed explanation of the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā'' ("Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines"), the ''Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitāvyākhyābhisamayālaṃkārālokā'' (called ''<i>'</i>grel chen'', "long commentary"). The ''Abhisamayālaṃkāravivṛti'' gained considerable importance in Tibet after Rngog Blo ldan shes rab supplemented his translation of it with a summary (''bsdus don'') of its contents, beginning a tradition of prajñāpāramitā commentary that spread from Gsang phu ne'u thog monastery into all four Tibetan sects. This tradition, which continues down to the present, uses the ''Abhisamayālaṃkāra'' and ''Abhisamayālaṃkāravivṛti'' as twin root texts to structure wide-ranging discussions of abhidharma, right philosophical view and proper praxis. There are two subcommentaries to the work, Dharmamitra's ''Prasphuṭapadā'' and
Dharmakīrtiśrī's ''Durbodhāloka''. Prajñākaramati, Ratnakīrti, and Buddhajñāna wrote summaries of the work, all extant in Tibetan translation. Source: "Abhisamayālaṃkāravivṛti." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 12. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.) +
This is a critical Sanskrit edition of the ''Abhisamayālaṃkārāloka Prajñāpāramitā-vyākhyā'' by Haribhadra, together with the Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā. Edited by Unrai Wogihara. +
An English translation of the ''Ratnarāśisūtra'' from the Chinese edition by Tao Kung; published in ''A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras'', edited by Garma C. C. Chang. +
Venerable Thubten Semkye shares on some of her favorite verses from Chapter 6 of Shantideva's Guide to a Bodhisattva's Way of Life, on how to develop fortitude to accept harm with ease. +
A English translation of Tāranātha's account of the Kings Cala, Pañcamasiṃha and others, including an account of the life of Śāntideva, in his larger work ''History of Buddhism in India''. +
The Four Immeasurables by Acharya Chokyi Lhamo. +
''Achieving Bodhichitta'' is a compilation of oral teachings given in the 1980s by Sermey Khensur Lobsang Tharchin on the two methods of achieving bodhichitta—the Sevenfold Instruction on Cause and Effect and Equality and Exchange Between Self and Others. These two instructions are presented according to the unique system established by Je Tsongkapa, which combines them into an eleven-step method of practice. This book includes a concise yet thorough presentation of the instruction for achieving calm abiding (''shamatha'') based on the explanations found in Je Tsongkapa's ''Great Exposition on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment'' (''Lamrim Chenmo''). ([https://www.namsebangdzo.com/Achieving-Bodhichitta-p/18413.htm?srsltid=AfmBOooEdp99SlIYOWHdG370N2cd0bKMVT6o5SZSwqOf_VWsnxehcKmR Source Accessed Jan 7, 2025]) +
This article compares two versions of the ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'', the Sanskrit version with ten chapters (''BCA''), and the Tibetan version from Tun-huang with nine chapters (''BCT''). +
There is no more powerful mind than bodhicitta. There is no more joyous mind than bodhicitta. For the accomplishment of one's own ultimate purpose, the awakening mind is supreme, and to accomplish the purpose of all other living beings there is nothing superior to bodhicitta. The awakening mind is the unsurpassable way to collect merit. To purify obstacles bodhicitta is supreme. For protection from interferences bodhicitta is supreme. It is the unique, all-encompassing method. Every kind of ordinary and supra-mundane power can be accomplished through bodhicitta. Thus, it is absolutely precious.
Even though we personally may find difficulty in immediate and thorough generation of such a mind, we should at least direct our thoughts towards it. To train our mind in such an ultimately altruistic manner from the very beginning of our practice of Dharma is vitally important.
A MEDITATION ON COMPASSION
"The Inseparability of the Spiritual Master and Avalokiteshvara: A Source of all Powerful Attainments"
All beings wish to be happy and free from misery. Although scientific development, modern weapons and abundant material progress may alleviate the temporary effects of dissatisfaction, such external means can never totally eradicate its fundamental cause. The true solution is to cultivate deep human compassion, love and respect for others. By cultivating such altruistic and beneficial attributes, the cause of suffering, self-cherishing, will gradually diminish. This, in turn, will promote unity and harmony among human beings of all nations.
Although compassion is cultivated in one's own mind, the embodiment of it is the deity known as Avalokiteshvara (Tib. Chen-ra-zig). The various aspects that are visualized in meditation practices and represented in images and paintings are merely the interpretative forms of Avalokiteshvara, whereas the actual definitive form is compassion itself
"The Inseparability of the Spiritual Master and Avalokiteshvara: a Source of all Powerful Attainments" sadhana was composed by the XIV Dalai Lama when he was nineteen years of age and was first printed in Tibet in the Wood-Horse year (1954). ([https://www.namsebangdzo.com/Activating-Bodhichitta-Meditation-on-Compassion-p/14882.htm?srsltid=AfmBOoptO9ihkfu5b8-ZD486LaSBGcfTSWveU0QJ_6CkW7dZBvWv1OfF Source Accessed Jan 16, 2025])
''Inspiring Determination'' is directed at reforming the conduct of sixty bodhisattvas who have lost their sense of purpose and confidence in their ability to practice the Dharma. The bodhisattva Maitreya leads them to seek counsel from the Buddha, who explains the causes these bodhisattvas created in former lives that resulted in their current circumstance. They make a commitment to change their ways, which pleases the Buddha, and this leads him to engage in a dialog with the bodhisattva Maitreya on how bodhisattvas, including those in the future age of final degeneration, the final half-millennium, should avoid faults and uphold conduct that accords with the Dharma. (Source: [https://read.84000.co/translation/toh69.html 84000]) +
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When 84000 took on Robert Thurman's landmark 1976 translation of ''The Teaching of Vimalakīrti'', the challenge was clear: honor what made the original great while bringing it into alignment with 84000's editorial standards. John Canti reflects on the process, the sūtra's enduring significance, and what he personally finds most profound in its pages. +
This short instruction on relative and absolute bodhicitta was composed at the request of the English monk Tenzin Jamchen (Sean Price). +
The commentary to the ''Seven Point Thought Transformation'' was given by the venerable Geshe Rabten, a holder of the direct oral transmission and an accomplished meditation master from Sera monastic university, formerly near Lhasa in Tibet. He is at present the abbot of Rikon monastery in Switzerland. Geshe Rabten's teaching was translated by the venerable Gonsar Tulku and was given to a group of western disciples in Dharamsala, India, in June, 1973. A translation of this has been prepared in French by Georges Driessens of the "Centre d'etudes Tibetaines", 6 Bd. d'Indochine, 75019, Paris.
The commentary to the ''Jewel Rosary of an Awakening Warrior'' was given by the most learned Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey and translated by the venerable Sherpa Tulku. It was given in October, 1973, at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, and is published here with the kind permission of its director, Mr. Gyatsho Tshering. +
