Customer Reviews

The Three Levels of Spiritual Perception: An Oral Commentary on the Three Visions (Nang Sum of Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub)

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Having read many Lam-Rim Graduated Path texts from the Gelug-pa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, it was a joy to read this approach from the late Deshung Rinpoche (but later reincarnated - may I have the karma to meet him!), a master and shining light of the Sakya tradition.

This, like all Graduated Path texts, is a journey through the Buddhist path, right from the recognition of our life as having its basis in suffering, to the discovery of our own enlightened heart/mind, Buddha Nature.

It would be difficult to read this book and not have a strong sense that life has a lot more meaning than that reflected by our modern society, which is a model of the path and result of the 5 defilements in many of its manifestations.

A manual that should be a cornerstone of any decent Dharma-library. May countless beings be benefited by these profound, expansive and beautifully written teachings!

I have read many spiritual books in my lifetime. This is the most comprehensive explanation of life, its purpose, karma and how to attain enlightenment I have ever seen. Not light reading, this book not only provides detailed information on meditation, worldly existence, suffering, the rarity of human birth, and the law of karma, but provides powerful meditations and spiritual practices to help us increase our capacity for love and compassion and to improve our ability to concentrate free from thoughts, so as to attain insights and ultimately enlightenment.

It feels like you're actually sitting there and receiving the teachings. Excellent to read/remind oneself on the preliminaries.

this is one of the best books on the foundations of the sakya teachings of tibet`s buddhism.i recommend it for everyone interested in learning the foundations of varjayana buddhism. for the beginner or the scholar this book has something to offer everyone.

In The Three Levels of Spiritual Perception, Dezhung Rinpoche guides the reader through the Lamdre (lam=path; dre=fruit) system of enlightenment in the space of 56 lectures, originally given in NYC from September 1977 to February 1980. These lessons lead to the achievement of calm abiding and insight meditation which in turn results in the perception of the nonduality of clarity and emptiness. A tall order, but it works. Jared Rhoton's translation is easy to read, and Dezhung Rinpoche's excellent teaching style is straightforward.

A prerequisite to deep understanding of this commentary on The Three Visions is David Jackson's in-depth biography of Dezhung Rinpoche: A Saint in Seattle. When you begin to understand this truly great lama, where he comes from, what his obstacles and hardships were and the immense compassion he believed most strongly in, you will have a much better chance in becoming a part of the audience who first heard these teachings simply because of your loving confidence in this exceptional teacher.

Three Levels of Spiritual Perception introduces the reader into the Lam Dre system of spiritual practice. The book is a record of ongoing teachings given orally by Deshung Rinpoche the "Saint of Seattle", in the U.S. Deshung Rinpoche takes great care to make sure that those who are unfamiliar with Buddhist practice have all they need to understand him and the material he offers them.

The Lam Dre first arose in India; the Mahasiddha Virupa (great scholar and tantric yogin) first taught it. Since then, many, many practicioners have relied on it completely. The Sakya school in Tibet is responsible for having kept the Lam Dre alive through practice, practice, practice. And this set of practices bears very sweet fruit. Deshung Rinpoche's own life story is evidence of this, and producing this volume of teachings was clearly a labor of love (lots of labor) for those involved; they understood the value of these teachings. I'm deeply grateful to them, Deshung Rinpoche, the mahasiddha Virupa, and the Sakya School. I really love this book.

In short: this is a teaching to draw close to your heart and stick with for the long haul (the book bears multiple readings), if your aim to be of real help to the beings of the world. This book can orient you in the direction of that aim.

May those who seek, find!

This book contains H. E. Kunga Tenpai Nyima, Ven. Deshung Rinpoche III's (1906-87) oral commentary @ Jetson Sakya Center NYC 9/7/72-2/26/80 on Ngorchen Konchog Lhundrub's 1543 CE The Beautiful Ornament of Three Visions. Lhundrub also wrote an advanced Sakya Vajrayana sequel, The Beautiful Ornament of Three Continua, unavailable in English. p. 491: "Lhundrub says...this teaching is meant for the student who has just undertaken the Mahayana path &...masters ...trying to help their students progress along that path & p. 315: is based on the teachings of the sutras, although there is some Vajrayana mixed in with it." Yet, the p. xxxiii: "Lamdré system is derived from the Tantra Trilogy of Hevajra." It's 522 pp., readable, preliminary--but with some good insights. The 3 visions are: non-Buddhist, on the path; & enlightened. The author is ecumenical: p. 136: "It makes no difference whether you undertake practice according to the Sakya school or one of the other Tibetan orders. You will find identical teachings in them all, pp. 143-4: There is no real difference among the schools in terms of philosophy, systems of practice, conduct, or ultimate result...only minor variations in emphasis due to the tradition & history of their arising, & p. 261: In essence, the Lamdré doesn't differ at all from the other meditation systems that were practiced in Tibet, such as the Mahamudra doctrines of the Kagyu & Gelug. All these doctrines & techniques of the Tantric path are authentic," but you can't tell from this book. It has much dogma & mythology (unsupported information) e.g. extensive descriptions of hells--but later called merely creations of mind. As a discontinuous lecture series, chapters include redundancies but have intriguing poetic names. Topics include the 6 perfections, calm abiding, tonglen (says it's necessary to Buddhahood), Bodhichitta, compassion (but not the other Immeasurables) & thoughtful analyses of helping others & impure vision/mental filtering. He denies danger to tonglen (exchanging self for others) since "Karma is not transferable in this way" overlooking psychosomatic illness & ESP. He implies calm abiding requires being monastic & denies existence of self (e.g. p. 420: "The conception that a single entity can be made of countless particles is illogical" vs. set theory/statistics & displays the usual cultural gap with the West). However, he gives valuable insight into mind--p. 461: "There is no external Vajrapani, that Vajrapani is nothing more than the nature of your mind...When a student does her Vajrayogini retreat & recites the mantra, she is not meditating devotedly on some wonderful deity but simply on a recognition of Vajrayogini within who is nothing more or less than the nondual clarity & emptiness of her mind" & supports/references women & chöd. I liked best--p. 17: "A yogi sees time as discrete moments or flashes of instants. He perceives things much more finely, much more subtly, & may be able to see that there is no real continuity of time. He would view the idea of continuity as a mere human conceptualization & would also see that instants of time are in themselves not only momentary but discrete; p. 26: by knowing one thing, you can understand all things; p. 263: Taking the result as one's path...`The cause is the result, & the result is the cause;' p. 300: Mind Is the most important thing. It is mind that attains enlightenment. Enlightenment occurs through mental actions; p. 323: Train yourself in giving what is commensurate with your ability to give freely; p. 338: We have, as practitioners, to internalize the teachings that we hear or read about in books;" & most provocative--pp. 463-4: "The person who is enlightened no longer perceives beings or has a concept of himself as a benefactor of beings."