Back of the Book
The spread of the teaching of Gautama Buddha began in India over two thousand years ago and reached perhaps its highest peak in the hidden mountain kingdom of Tibet five centuries before our time. The great illusionary of this renaissance of the religion f total peace was Tsongkapa (1357-1714). He inspired a movement that by the time Tibet was lost I 1959 saw nearly a million monks living in thousands of monasteries around the country.
Tsongkapa was the greats commentator in the history of Buddhism and wrote some 10 000 pages in eloquent explanation of the entire range of the ancient Buddhist classics. He undertook the challenge of compressing all this knowledge into a single poem. The result was his famous three principle paths fourteen verses written for a favored student in a faraway land.
Tsongkapa masterpiece appears here with a commentary by the illustrious Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941) generally regarded as the foremost Tibetan teacher of Buddhism during the last century. The work has been translated by geshe lobsang thatching one of the last Buddhist masters of old Tibet.
About the Book
Tsongkapa (1357-1419) Also known as Je Rinpoche Labsang Drakap is the single greatest commentator in the 2 500 years history of Buddhism. He was born in the district of tsongka in eastern Tibet and took his first vows at a tender age. As a teenager he had already mastered much of the teaching of Buddhism and was sent by his tutors to the great monastic universities of central Tibet. Here he studied under the leading Buddhist scholars of his day it is said as well that he enjoyed mystic vision in which he met and learned from different forms of the Buddha himself.
The 18 volumes of Tsongkapa collected works contain eloquent and incisive commentaries on virtually every major classic of ancient Buddhism as well famed treatises on the “Steps of the Path to Buddhabood” his student who included the first Dalai Lama of Tibet contributed hundreds of their own expositions of Buddhist philosophy and practice.
Tsongkapa founded the great three monasteries of Tibet where by custom nearly 25 000 monks have studied the scripture of Buddhism over the centuries. He also instituted the great Monlam festival a period of religious study and celebration for the entire Tibetan nation. Tsongkapa passed away in his 62nd year at his home monastery of Ganden in Lhasa the capital of Tibet.
About the Authors
Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941) also known as Jampa tenzin trinley gyasto was born into a leading family in the state of Tsanga in north central Tibet. As a boy he entered the Gyalrong house of sera mey one of the colleges of the great sera monastic university and attained the rank of geshe or master of Buddhist philosophy. His powerful public teachings soon made him the leading spiritual figure of his day and his collected work on every facet of Buddhist thought and practice comprise some 15 volumes. His most famous student was Kyabje trijang Rinpoche (1901-1981) the junior tutor of the present Dalai Lama. Pabongk Rinpoche passed away at the age of 63 in the Hloka district of south Tibet.
Geshe Lobsang Tharchin (1921- )born in Lhasa and as a boy also entered the gyalrong house of sera mey. He studied under both Pabongka Rinpoche and Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche and after a rigorous 25 years course in the Buddhist classic was awarded the highest rank of the gehse degree. He graduated from the gyumey tantric college of Lhasa in 1858 with the position of administrator since 1959 he has thought Buddhist philosophy at various institutions in Asia and the United States and in 1975 completed studies in English at Geogretown University. For 15 years he has served as the abbot of Rahi gempil linga a kalmuk Mongolian temple in New Jersey. He is the founder of the Mahayana sutra and Tantra centers of New jersey and Washington D.C. and author of numerous translations of major Buddhist of major Buddhist texts. In 1977 he directed the development of the first computerized Tibetan word processor and has played a leading role in the re-establishment of sera mey Monastic college of which he is a lifetime director.
Michael Phillip Roach (1952-) graduated with honors from Princeton university and received the presidential scholar medallion from Richard Nixon at the white house in 1970. He studied at the library of the government of Tibet under the auspices of the Woodrow Wilson school of international affairs and then for over ten years under geshe tharchin at Rashi Gempil ling with additional course work at sera mey monastic college. He is employed in the New York diamond industry and has been active in the restoration of sera mey where he was ordained a Buddhist monk in 1983.
ISBN-13 : 978-8120817128
Isbn No. 8120817125
Author: Tsongkapa , Geshe Lobsang Tharchin
Publisher: Paljor Publications
Binding: Paperback
Language : English
Edition: 1
No. Of Pages : 209
Year Of Publication : 2004