What to do at India's Buddhist Holy Sites

Preview of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche's New Book: What to do at India's Buddhist Holy Sites

January 1, 2010

Siddhartha's Intent and Khyentse Foundation jointly announce that a preview of
Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche's advice, What to do at India's Buddhist Holy Sites, is
available as a free PDF download upon formal request.

"The aim of all Buddhist practice is to catch a glimpse of the awakened state. Going
on pilgrimage, soaking up the sacred atmosphere of holy places and mingling with
other pilgrims are simply different ways of trying to achieve that glimpse."

Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

Two New Sakya Publications

Two new publications in the WSTB series (Vienna Studies in
Tibetology and Buddhism).

WSTB No. 68. Jowita Kramer "A noble Abbot from Mustang. Life and
Works of Glo-bo mKhan-chen (1456-1532)" (2008) 334p. ISBN:
978-3-902501-07-3. EUR 26.00

WSTB No. 69. Pascale Hugon "Trésors du raisonnement. Sa skya
Pan dita et ses prédécesseurs tibétains sur les modes de
fonctionnement de la pensée et le fondement de l'inférence" Édition et
traduction annotée du quatrième chapitre et d'une section du dixième
chapitre du Tshad ma rigs pa'i gter (2008) 2 vols; 854p. ISBN:
978-3-902501-08-0. EUR 52.50

Orders can be placed at the WSTB website.

New Book: A Garland of Jewels

A GARLAND OF JEWELS: The Eight Great Bodhisattvas by Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche, translated by Yeshe Gyamtso.

This book is for those of you out there who are interested in the Eight Great Bodhisattvas and what is actually written in the Sutras about them without having to read all of the Sutras yourself. A small number of interesting and useful Tantric quotes have also been included. What is not stated in this current translation is that this text attributed to and written by Mipham Rinpoche is based on the work of Zhuchen Tsultrim Rinchen (1697-1774) of Dege Gonchen Monastery. Zhuchen was the chief editor of the Dege Tangyur and one of the most important Sakya Lamas of Eastern Tibet in the 18th century.

"The great sutras of the Mahayana are repositories of extraordinary accounts of miracles and great deeds performed buddhas and bodhisattvas. Mipham's purpose in writing this book was to inspire us to emulate these great beings and to give us confidence in the effectiveness of the Mahayana path." (Publisher).

New Book: Hevajra and Lam-'bras Literature

Hevajra and Lam-'bras Literature of India and Tibet as Seen Through the Eyes of A-mes-zhabs. Jan-Ulrich Sobisch (2008), (Contributions to Tibetan Studies 6), Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, Wiesbaden, ISBN 978-3-89500-652-4, clothbound, 264 pp., 12 b/w illustrations. 68,00 € (http://www.reichertverlag.de/default.asp)

"The Hevajra Tantras and teachings of the 'Path with Its Fruit' (lam ‘bras) that originated in India have been central practices of Tibetan tantric Buddhism for a millenium. The Tibetans translated eight Hevajra transmissions with their tantras, commentaries, rituals, and instructions and authored countless scriptures in the context of the tantra and the 'Path with Its Fruit' that originated with the Indian Mahasiddha Virupa. Drawing on title lists (dkar chag), colophones, and commentaries authored between the 11th and 17th centuries, the author attempts a reconstruction of the Indian and Tibetan corpora of these transmissions, its literary history and relations to one another."

"Contents (key words): Part I, Chapter 1, focuses on the Hevajra literature of India and Tibet (Four Great Transmissions, Hevajra Tantras, Six Great Chariot Systems, the Hevajra cycles of Dombiheruka, Saroruhavajra, Krsna Samayavajra, Ratnakarashanti, Yashobhadra [?sNyan-grags-bzang-po], and Avadhutipa), the two systems of pith instructions, and a description of several categorizations of the Hevajra writings. Chapter 2 deals with Hevajra literature mentioned in A-mes-zhabs’ records of teachings and his other works; chapter 3 with the main lineages of the transmissions."

"Part II focuses on the Path with Its Fruit literature of India and Tibet. Chapter 1 deals with the title list of the Yellow Book and the various categorizations of the Lam ‘bras writings (Extensive Path, Actual Path, Twenty-three Further Clarifications, Medium and Abbreviated Paths, Four Great Fundamental Instructions, Five Teachings to Produce Realization, and the Four Authenticities). Chapter 2 deals with the title list of the (Little) Red Book and the Four Authenticities (of the Guru, Experience, Treatise, and Basic Scriptures), the Four Profound Dharmas conferred to Sa-chen by Virupa, the Dharma Links with the Six Gates, and the Nine Supplements. Chapters 3 and 4 describe the Lam-‘bras teachings mentioned in the records of teachings of A-mes-zhabs, the Black Book, the tradition of rDzong and Kha’u-brag-rdzong, the Eight Later Path-Cycles, and the Lam-‘bras writings of the most important Sa-skya-pa authors."

"Four appendices provide a title list of all the Hevajra and Lam-‘bras related works mentioned in the book, ten rare title lists, the translation of the notes of Chos-dpal-bzang-po on Ngor-chen’s teachings on the Hevajra transmission, and the Tibetan text as edited by A-mes-zhabs. The book also contains an Index of Names and a Bibliography." (Publisher)

New Book: Three-Vow Theories in Tibetan Buddhism

Three-Vow Theories in Tibetan Buddhism, A Comparative Study of Major Traditions from the Twelfth through Nineteenth Centuries. Jan-Ulrich Sobisch, Band 1 der Reihe Contributions to Tibetan Studies. ISBN 978-3-89500-263-2, 2002, Leinen. 596 Seiten, 240 x 170 mm, 2 s/w Abb. 58,00 € (http://www.reichertverlag.de/default.asp).

"Since the 12th century, a central feature of Buddhism in Tibet was its harmonizing of tantric practice with the moral codes of monastic discipline and Bodhisattva altruism. All masters maintained the vajrayana or tantric path to be superior to the two „lower“ codes, but they described this superiority differently. In the present study, Jan-Ulrich Sobisch explores for the first time in detail the three main strategies maintained by the oldest Tibetan schools for explaining the relations of the three codes." (Publisher)

New Book: The Dharma's Gatekeepers

The Dharma's Gatekeepers: Sakya Pandita on Buddhist Scholarship in Tibet by Jonathan C. Gold. State University of New York Press.

The Dharma's Gatekeepers offers an incisive analysis of one of the most important works in Tibetan Buddhist intellectual history: Sakya Pandita's Gateway to Learning (mkhas pa 'jug pa'i sgo).

See the Sakya Pandita Page on the HAR website.
See a description of the cover image: Manjushri Namasangiti

A Gentle Caution About the Two Books Listed Below

Gorampa Sonam Sengge (1429-1489) is one of the most important masters of Sutra and Tantra in the Sakya Tradition. He wrote commentaries on the works of Sakya Pandita and also critiqued other great scholars of his time. Gorampa's works are required study at all Sakya Colleges in India, Nepal and Tibet. When reading the translated words and interpretations of Gorampa's meaning in English and other languages, as Sakya students and practitioners, then it is important that we rely on the great teachers in the tradition of Gorampa. I believe the foremost of these is Khenpo Appey Rinpoche. After that we have the heads of the Sakya Tradition and all of the best graduate students from the various Sakya Colleges who are now active teachers, Lharampas and Khenpos. They are the primary upholders for the interpretation of Gorampa's works for the Sakya Tradition.

So, what then is the gentle caution about the two books listed below. To my knowledge the Tibetan and Western scholars whose books are listed below are not specialists in Sakya literature nor have they graduated from a Sakya College. For those of us interested in these types of subjects then of course they are books of interest and should be read and judged on their own merits, but please do not blindly accept the information in these books as a traditional Sakya interpretation.

New Book: Freedom from Extremes

Freedom from Extremes: Gorampa's "Distinguishing the Views" and the Polemics of Emptiness. José I. Cabezón, Author. Geshe Lobsang Dargyay, Author.

"What is emptiness? This question at the heart of Buddhist philosophy has preoccupied the greatest minds of India and Tibet for two millennia, producing hundreds of volumes. Distinguishing the Views, by the fifteenth-century Sakya scholar Gorampa Sönam Sengé, is one of the most important of those works, esteemed for its conciseness, lucidity, and profundity."

"Gorampa’s text is polemical, and his targets are two of Tibet’s greatest thinkers: Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug school, and Dölpopa, one of the founding figures of the Jonang school. Distinguishing the Views argues that Dolpopa has fallen into an eternalistic extreme, whereas Tsongkhapa has fallen into nihilism, and that only the mainstream Sakya view—what Gorampa calls “freedom from extremes”—represents the true middle way, the correct view of emptiness. Suppressed for years in Tibet, this seminal work today is widely regarded and is studied in some of Tibet’s greatest academic institutions." (Wisdom Publications)

This book comes with a gentle caution which I shall talk about shortly. - Jeff Watt

New Book: The Two Truths Debate

The Two Truths Debate, Tsongkhapa and Gorampa on the Middle Way. Sonam Thakchoe, Author. Jay Garfield, Foreword Wisdom Publications.

"All lineages of Tibetan Buddhism today claim allegiance to the philosophy of the Middle Way, the exposition of emptiness propounded by the second-century Indian master Nagarjuna. But not everyone interprets it the same way. A major faultline runs through Tibetan Buddhism around the interpretation of what are called the two truths—the deceptive truth of conventional appearances and the ultimate truth of emptiness. An understanding of this faultline illuminates the beliefs that separate the Gelug descendents of Tsongkhapa from contemporary Dzogchen and Mahamudra adherents. The Two Truths Debate digs into the debate of how the two truths are defined and how they are related by looking at two figures, one on either side of the faultline, and shows how their philosophical positions have dramatic implications for how one approaches Buddhist practice and how one understands enlightenment itself." (Wisdom Publications)

This book comes with a gentle caution which I shall talk about shortly. - Jeff Watt