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Illumination of the Hidden Meaning Vol. 2
Yogic Vows, Conduct, and Ritual Praxis
Book #2 of Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences
Translated by David B. Gray
Published by Wisdom Publications
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
This is the second volume of the annotated translation of Tsong Khapa’s Illumination of the Hidden Meaning (sbas don kun gsal), a magnificent commentary on the Cakrasamvara Tantra.
This is the first English translation of this important work, which marked a milestone in the Tibetan understanding and practice of the Indian Buddhist tantras. It covers the vows, observances, and conduct of the initiated yogi, particularly in relation to the yoginis, whose favor he must cultivate. It describes in great detail the rites of the tradition, including homa fire sacrifice and the uses of the mantras of the mandala’s main deities. The author provides a trilingual English-Tibetan-Sanskrit glossary.
Together with the present author’s related publications in this series—including a translation of the Cakrasamvara root tantra (2007) and critical editions of its Sanskrit and Tibetan texts (2012), and the first volume of this master Tibetan commentary (2017)—the reader will have the first full study of this important tantra available in English.
This is the first English translation of this important work, which marked a milestone in the Tibetan understanding and practice of the Indian Buddhist tantras. It covers the vows, observances, and conduct of the initiated yogi, particularly in relation to the yoginis, whose favor he must cultivate. It describes in great detail the rites of the tradition, including homa fire sacrifice and the uses of the mantras of the mandala’s main deities. The author provides a trilingual English-Tibetan-Sanskrit glossary.
Together with the present author’s related publications in this series—including a translation of the Cakrasamvara root tantra (2007) and critical editions of its Sanskrit and Tibetan texts (2012), and the first volume of this master Tibetan commentary (2017)—the reader will have the first full study of this important tantra available in English.
Product Details
- Publisher: Wisdom Publications (April 16, 2019)
- Length: 410 pages
- ISBN13: 9781949163056
Raves and Reviews
"A timely, painstakingly precise, engagingly readable translation of an important scholastic treatise on Buddhist tantric tradition from early 15th-century Tibet.... worthy of extended reflection and analysis by anyone wanting to understand Tibetan perspectives on Indian Buddhist tantra."
– Kurtis Schaeffer, University of Virginia
"A crucial contribution to our understanding of the formation of tantric Buddhism in Tibet and an impressive feat of translation by a leading scholar… explores the key sources available to the Tibetan author and how he established himself as a major authority on Cakrasamvara while grounding tantric practice in philosophical study and the realization of emptiness.”
– Jacob Dalton, University of California, Berkeley
“Consistent and exemplary… careful… thorough… always thoughtful in providing both specialist and general reader with a consistently useful analysis.”
– Todd Lewis, College of the Holy Cross
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