Customer Reviews

Gateway to Knowledge: A Condensation of the Tripitaka, Vol. 1

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Heady stuff, but an absolute must if you really want to get an in-depth understanding of Tibetan buddhist philosophy from square one. Not quite as difficult reading as John Pettit's 'Mipham's Beacon of certainty' (which is brilliant ! ). As a rule it can be said that all translations by Eric Hein-Schmidt can be read without any doubts about authenticity. He is among the few western translators who have spent decades with Tibetan masters and always checks and re-checks his works with living Tibetan teachers until all possible misunderstandings are ironed out, making sure that the reader will be presented with an authentic work free from assumptions and weird interpretations.

"The student of The Gateway to Knowledge can begin to comprehend the meaning of the major works on Buddhist philosophy and of the traditional sciences. When you want to extract their meaning you need an "expert system," a key. The Gateway to Knowledge is like that key, a magical key - it opens up the treasury of precious gemstones in the expansive collection of Buddhist scriptures.

"The extremely gifted and learned Tibetan master, Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche (1846-1912) studied with many great masters from all traditions. Accomplished in all five fields of knowledge, he remains the example of perfect scholarship. His unexcelled deeds in teaching and composing Buddhist treatises are immense."

--Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche

ok here's the deal. this is an amazing, beautiful work. get this book if you have a serious interest in tibetan buddhism. i gave it one star because i want people like me who check the one star section for the possible problems before buying to know what i would have wanted to know when i ordered this.

i am a buddhist. i have studied chan buddhism for six years or so. i have read some of the pali canon (the most authentic buddhist scriptures known) which is what was originally called "the tripitaka". i expected this to be a condensed version of that. it is not. it was never intended to be either. this is a book that is a condensation of the tibetan canon which is VERY different from what original buddhism was. there is nothing wrong with this, tibetan buddhism is a beautiful thing and i love many works by the dalai lama and other tibetan authors. what i'm trying to make clear is if you're looking for a condensed version of some of the cool stories and parables that the buddha told this is not it! this is a listing of facts about reality from the vajrayana viewpoint. it is incredibly esoteric and reads like a dictionary. it's just fact after fact explained, dead pan. a treasure if you are looking for a key and guide book to the more whimsical teachings but very dry and crazy hard to read if you're looking for, let's say as an example something poetic like the heart sutra or the dhammapada or the original discourses of the buddha which recount detailed imagery filled stories about death, love, life, reality, the afterlife and so on, told by the buddha to his followers in interesting indian settings. i don't know that there are any books like this in the original tripitaka save for the abhidharma which is still a little more readable than this. again, not a bad book just not for readers like me;)