The Light of Wisdom Vol I
Author: Padmasambhavaha
Translated by Erik Pema Kunsang and Marcia Binder Schmidt
Commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul
Softcover, 364 pages
These companion volumes contain the root terma - hidden treasures text - of Padmasambhava, The Gradual Path of the Wisdom Essence and its commentary, The Light of Wisdom by Jamgon Kongtrul the Great.
Annotations on the commentary, Entering the Path of Wisdom, spoken by Jamyang Drakpa and recorded by Jokyab Rinpoche are included, as well as clarification from other masters. Both volumes present in-depth explanations of the Vajrayana Buddhist perspective.
Volume I begins with the nature of the ground, the buddha nature present in all beings, and continues with the teachings that are common to all vehicles. It concludes with the Mahayana and the link to Vajrayana.
The Light of Wisdom, Vol II
Rangjung Yeshe
Paperback | 176 pages
By Padmasambhava
Commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul
Edited by Marcia Binder Schmidt
Translated by Eric Pema Kunsang
Volume II begins with the nature of empowerment and the tantric commitments followed by clarification of the development stage. These companion volumes contain the root terma (hidden treasures text) of Padmasambhava, The Gradual Path of the Wisdom Essence and its commentary, The Light of Wisdom by Jamgon Kongtrul the Great.
Annotations on the commentary, Entering the Path of Wisdom spoken by Jamyang Drakpa and recorded by Jokyab Rinpoche are included, as well as clarification from other masters. Both volumes present in-depth explanations of the Vajrayana Buddhist perspective.
The Light of Wisdom, Volume III,
softcover | 108 pages
This final, public section of The Light of Wisdom, Volume III, Teachings on the Secret Empowerment, is once again a compilation of three texts: (1) Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpo (The Gradual Path of the Wisdom Essence), a terma root text recorded by Yeshe Tsogyal and revealed in unison by Chokgyur Lingpa and Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo; (2) The Light of Wisdom, a commentary on the Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpo by Jamgon Kongtrul the Great; (3) Entering the Path of Wisdom, notes on these teachings collected by Jokyab Rinpoche. These teachings on tsa lung practice, channels, wind-energies, and essences (bindus) is kept secret like the name of the empowerment itself that authorizes the practitioner to engage in these trainings. After reviewing the material and discussing with one of my teachers, both of us fully aware of the constraints, I felt it best to share this volume with sincere Western practitioners who will need and benefit from these teachings.
The Light of Wisdom Vol IV
by Padmasambhava / Jamgon Kongtrul / Jamyang Drakpa
translated by Erik Pema Kunsang
softcover | 252 pages
The Final Volume in the Light of Wisdom Series.
The role of a Vajra Master in a student's spiritual development to clear away hindrances on the path and enhance self-realization forms the core of this final volume in the Light of Wisdom series. Padmasambhava, the lotus-born founder of Vajrayana Buddhism, established Buddhist doctrine in Tibet during the eighth century. He concealed teachings in the form of hidden treasures, to be revealed at an appropriate time in the future.
The book is a combination of three texts: the root text, The Gradual Path of the Wisdom Essence comprising oral instructions of Padmasambhava, recorded by his chief female disciple, Yeshe Tsogyal; The Light of Wisdom by Jamgon Kongtrul, one of the most prominent Buddhist masters of nineteenth-century Tibet, an extensive commentary on this sacred scripture; and Entering the Path of Wisdom, annotations on the commentary by Jamyang Drakpa, a student of Jamgon Kongtrul as dictated to the scholar Jokyab Rinpoche.
