The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment [Hardcover]

Tsong-kha-pa (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 19, 2004

This much anticipated volume explains how to train in the six perfections in order to develop the heart of compassion, indispensable for any student who wants to put the Dharma into practice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Ultimately, this is a classic of religious thought and is essential for libraries with a demonstrated interest in Buddhism or -- Library Journal

From the Inside Flap

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Llam rim chen mo) is one of the brightest jewels in the world's treasury of sacred literature. The author, Tsong-kha-pa (1357-1419), completed this masterpiece in 1402 and it soon became one of the most renowned works of spiritual practice and philosophy in the world of Tibetan Buddhism. Tsong-kha-pa took great pains to base his incisive insights on the classical Indian Buddhist literature, illustrating his points with classical citations as well as with sayings of the masters of the earlier Kadampa tradition. In this way the text demonstrates clearly how Tibetan Buddhism carefully preserved and developed the Indian Buddhist traditions.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Snow Lion Publications (November 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559391685
• ISBN-13: 978-1559391689
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,451 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good explanation of the ultimate method of the Buddhist mahayana, March 10, 2006

By 

Peacock Eye - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Hardcover)

(Because this is volume two, please refer to my review on volume one, ISBN 1559391529, for a general introduction to this important series).

If you want to learn how to lead a truly meaningful life, and truly benefit yourself and others, then it is wonderful to be able to read and study volume two in this series.

This volume covers the superior training in Tibetan Buddhism, which is the mahayana training in developing the spirit of enlightenment. This is a mind training practice that descends from the great Indian teacher Atisha, and is commonly known as the "sevenfold causes and effect", while that which descends from Shantideva is known as "equalizing self and others". Here, in the tradition of Tsong-kha-pa, the two lineages are combined.

Training in the spirit of enlightenment comprises the method of the path. This method is not separate from the wisdom of the path, which is the knowledge of emptiness.
According to Tsongh-kha-pa: "In general, just as both father and mother are needed to have a child, you need the entire complement of method and wisdom to have a complete path. In particular you need the main method, the spirit of enlightenment; and the main wisdom, the knowledge of emptiness. This is how the two belong together.

Once you understand that the spirit of enlightenment is the only entrance to ultimate and complete realization, and you know how to develop the spirit of enlightenment, you then learn how to engage in the bodhisattva deeds of the transcendent virtues and wisdoms (paramitas) - which are also well-known from Shantideva's famous work, "The Way of the Bodhisattva" (ISBN 1590300572), another essential must-read.

I like this volume very much, in general because it shows how these teachings fit into the entire path of the "three precious trainings" - which comprise the entire Tibetan buddhist path - and in particular because it combines the lineages of Atisha and Shantideva.

As a study companion to this second volume, I would certainly suggest "Achieving Bodhichitta" (0918753147) with the elaborate and marvelous oral explanation by Sermey Khensur Lobsang Tharchin. This allows you to even better understand the meaning, and in more detail.

Once you understand the equality of all sentient beings, and you understand that exchanging your own well-fare for that of all others is the ultimate method of the path, then you truly possess a wish-fulfilling gem - indeed, you become one!

If you want to do something truly meaningful for other beings, then this is the way to proceed, according to the mahayana view.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An effective manual for spiritual self-improvement, February 13, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Hardcover)

The second volume of The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment continues the three-volume classic treatise of Tibetan Buddhism, first completed in 1402. Author Tsong-kha-pa (1357-1419) was careful to base his insights upon Indian Buddhist literature, using citations as well as sayings from the masters to clarify his points. The Great Treatise On The Stages Of The Path To Enlightenment is especially for any student or follower of Buddhist teachings searching for means to put the wisdom and generosity of a divine being to practical application. For example, tenets of how to give unselfishly and for universal benefit are discussed - one such tenet cautions against storing unneeded goods rather than freely giving them, as the guilt to disburse the goods will eventually cause one to impulsively give to those who may not be in need, rather than see that the goods are given to those who need them most. Other chapters discuss ethical discipline, the virtues of patience and perseverance, how to maintain the spirit of enlightenment, and much more. A must-read for anyone seeking to better understand the principles of Buddhism, as well as an effective manual for spiritual self-improvement.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There is a way, September 7, 2007

By 

Timothy L. Campbell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Hardcover)

This is volume two of a three volume series that is the first complete translation ever into English of one of the world's great spiritual classics. Noted Tibetan scholar Robert Thurman, in his Forward to the first book states that this work is "one of the greatest religious or secular works in the library of our human heritage." That is high praise indeed but 100% true. This text known in Tibetan as Lam Rim Chen Mo was written by the great Tibetan Lama/scholar/adept Je Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), and has been highly influential throughout the world of Tibetan Buddhism ever since. For those who have some knowledge of the Tibetan teachings generally known as the 'stages of the path,' the lack of availabilty of this greatest masterwork of that tradition has always been a tremendous loss. Most every work on the Lam Rim (stages of the path teachings) refers back to Tsongkhapa's epic Lam Rim Chen Mo, but up until Snow Lion's publication of these three volumes (all three are now available), the student has been compelled to read about this classic without being able to actually read it. All that has changed (for the first time in the history of the human race). The Lam Rim teachings represent a comprehensive, systematic, sequential, clear and concise presentation of all 84,000 of the Buddha's teachings in one graduated system of teaching and pratice. Within these teachings is a way to live and not just exist. Interested in waking up inside your life? Interested in becoming a more skillful person so that you can stop hurting people with your behavior as a first step toward actually being skillful enough to really help others? Interested in the actual practice of the Path? Hold these books in your hands reverently, open them respectfully, offer a prayer of gratitude for your marvelous good fortune and at last begin the great work that you were born to do.