Choying Tobden Dorje - The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, Books 1 to 10: Foundations of the Buddhist Path

This monumental treatise, covering both common and esoteric Buddhist lore, was composed by Choying Tobden Dorje, a most illustrious scholar and accomplished sage. Fortunately, among his voluminous books, this, his masterwork, has survived and has been carefully translated true to the original. It will open the eyes of serious readers to the vast spectrum of Buddhist wisdom.

Tulku Thondup

The translation of this text is a major milestone in bringing Tibetan Buddhist wisdom to the West. One of the legacies of ancient Tibet is the preservation of vast numbers of the Buddhist scriptures in their most complete and authentic forms. This text is a remarkable example of that. It has the power to reveal the rich traditions of Tibetan Buddhism from its surface to its depth, and it will illuminate the minds of those who have the great good fortune to meet with it.

Anam Thubten

The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra represents a rare opportunity for readers to obtain a complete map of the Buddhas teachings. It contains very detailed descriptions of the profound and vast teachings of the ground, path, and fruition of both the sutra and tantra traditions. It provides particular emphasis on detailed instructions of the inner tantras of mahayoga, anuyoga, and the precious dzokchen tradition. I highly recommend this book for students who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the complete path to enlightenment.

Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche

ABOUT THE BOOK

In 1838, Choying Tobden Dorje, a Buddhist yogi-scholar of eastern Tibet, completed a multivolume masterwork that traces the entire path of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism from beginning to end. Written by a lay practitioner for laypeople, it was intended to be accessible, informative, inspirational, and above all, practical. Its twenty-five books, or topical divisions, offer a comprehensive and detailed view of the Buddhist path according to the early translation school of Tibetan Buddhism, spanning the vast range of Buddhist teachings from the initial steps to the highest esoteric teachings of great perfection. Choying Tobden Dorjes magnum opus appears in English here for the first time.

In Foundations of the Buddhist Path, which covers the first ten of the treatises twenty-five books, the author surveys the scope of the entire work and then begins with the topics that set the cornerstones for all subsequent Buddhist practice: what constitutes proper spiritual apprenticeship, how to receive the teachings, how to make the best use of this life, and how to motivate ourselves to generate effort on the spiritual path. He then describes refuge and the vows that define the path of individual liberation before turning to the bodhisattvas waybuddha nature, how to uplift the mind to supreme awakening, the bodhisattvas training, and the attainments of the paths leading to supreme awakening.

CHOYING TOBDEN DORJE (17871848) was a brilliant Vajrayana master of eastern Tibet. His masterwork, The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, remains the main text studied by Tibets Ngakpa lineages of lay Buddhist yogi-practitioners.

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THE TSADRA FOUNDATION SERIES
published by Snow Lion, an imprint of Shambhala Publications

Tsadra Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization that contributes to the ongoing development of wisdom and compassion in Western minds by advancing the combined study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism.

Taking its inspiration from the nineteenth-century nonsectarian Tibetan scholar and meditation master Jamgn Kongtrl Lodr Tay, Tsadra Foundation is named after his hermitage in eastern Tibet, Tsadra Rinchen Drak. The Foundations various program areas reflect his values of excellence in both scholarship and contemplative practice, and the recognition of their mutual complementarity.

Tsadra Foundation envisions a flourishing community of Western contemplatives and scholar-practitioners who are fully trained in the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. It is our conviction that, grounded in wisdom and compassion, these individuals will actively enrich the world through their openness and excellence.

This publication is a part of the Tsadra Foundations Translation Program, which aims to make authentic and authoritative texts from the Tibetan traditions available in English. The Foundation is honored to present the work of its fellows and grantees, individuals of confirmed contemplative and intellectual integrity; however, their views do not necessarily reflect those of the Foundation.

Tsadra Foundation is delighted to collaborate with Shambhala Publications in making these important texts available in the English language.

The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, Books 1 to 10

Foundations of the Buddhist Path

Choying Tobden Dorje

TRANSLATED BY
Ngawang Zangpo

SNOW LION

BOSTON & LONDON

2014

Snow Lion

An imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Horticultural Hall

300 Massachusetts Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts 02115

www.shambhala.com

2014 by Tsadra Foundation

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Frontispiece: Painting of Choying Tobden Dorje. Artist unknown. Photo courtesy of Hungchen Chenagtsang.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Chos-dbyis-stobs-ldan-rdo-rje, Rdzogs-chen, 17851848, author.

[Mdo rgyud rin po chei mdzod. English]

The complete Nyingma tradition from sutra to tantra / Choying Tobden Dorje; translated by Ngawang Zangpo.First edition.

pages cm(The Tsadra Foundation series)

Includes index.

eISBN 978-0-8348-2991-6

ISBN 978-1-55939-435-2 (Books 1 to 10)

1. Ri-ma-pa (Sect)Doctrines. 2. Spiritual lifeRi-ma-pa (Sect). I. Title.

BQ7662.4.C468813 2014

294.3923dc23

2014007269

CONTENTS

THE AUTHOR, CHOYING TOBDEN DORJE

PREFACE TO THE 1986 TIBETAN PUBLICATION OF THE ROOT TEXT AND OUTLINE OF
The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra

THIS TREATISE ENTITLED The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, a work that elucidates all ways of spiritual development, does not only present the field of Buddhist studies: it also contains a complete and error-free exposition of secular fields of knowledge, including Sanskrit, logic, the arts, and medicine. In clear and concise language, this text synthesizes the very vast and extremely profound essence of the five major subjects of Tibetan culture. Like a magical tree that answers your prayers, this book provides whatever information you might wish to know among those fields of knowledge.