Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment [Paperback]

Geshe Sonam Rinchen (Author), Ruth Sonam (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

The famous source of the graduated teachings on the path to enlightenment found in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Geshe Sonam Rinchen's lucid and engaging commentary draws out Atisha's meaning for today's practitioners with warmth and wit, bringing the light of this age-old wisdom into the modern world." --The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies

Review

"...well-written and edited...a useful starting point for understanding the Gelugpa presentation of Tibetan Buddhism, and is suitable for public, undergraduate and graduate collections."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 215 pages
• Publisher: Snow Lion Publications (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559390824
• ISBN-13: 978-1559390828
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #580,718 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a master speaks, April 28, 2006

By 

Stephen Potter - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Paperback)

i had to write a reply to the comment that this is not a well written or inspiring book. geshe sonam rinchen was hand picked by the dalai lama to teach bhuddism in his adopted home dhramsala. when i met him theyre i decided to stay and studied this text for about a month, it is the reason i now practice budhissm and found him to be the most funny, wise ,compassionate teacher one could hope for. i dont think you need personal expereince of him to understand from this book the immense wisdom contained within, this is one of he most important books on tibeten bhuddhism ever written, the commentry brings it to life and the translation by ruth sonam is exteriodanry as they have been working together for 25 years, i cant recomend this text enough. read it on the tube today and it instantley inspired me

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the foundation of the lam.rim literature, July 14, 1999

By 

Kent H. Sandvik "ksandvik" (San Jose, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Paperback)

This book by Atisha, or commentary, is the prototype of all other forthcoming Tibetan lam.rim (stages of the path to enlightenment) literature by Je Tsongkhapa (Lamrim chenmo), Pahbonka Rinpoche, and others. Actually, Je Tsongkhapa requested for blessings from Atisha to compose his Lamrim Chenmo.

Maybe the translation or the style is not applicable for some readers, but it's important to notice that without Atisha's text, the whole lam.rim literature from Tibet would most likely not have happened in the big scale as it did. --Kent

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A dull translation and commentary on this seminal text., April 11, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Memphis, Tennesse, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment (Paperback)

The most basic texts of the Tibetan Buddhist Tradition, "lamrim" texts, cover all the stages of the path to enlightenment. They all trace their origin to this text by Atisha. I have long been attracted to the lamrim tradition, and have read a number of modern renditions. I purchased and read this book hoping to glean something extra or some special insight from a translation and commentary on the original source text of this whole tradition. I was disappointed. I doubt it is Atisha's lack of clarity that makes this book, and even his own verses, so uninspiring, so humdrum actually. Perhaps later exponents like Je Tsongkhapa and Je Pabongkhapa really did improve upon the original, and having read their works this one seems superfluous, but that has not typically been my experience in this field. I think that the authors, while they have done a great service in bringing this work to the English language, have not translated nor commented upon this work in a way that makes for compelling or even interesting reading. By its very history alone, this should be a book I refer to frequently, but I have never looked again at it even once since I read it a year ago, and that seems sad to me.