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	• The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Volume Three: Lam Rim Chen Mo Tsong-kha-pa Snow Lion Publications, 2002 - 496 pages average customer review:based on 3 reviews view larger image
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This, the third volume consists of a lucid and well presented translation of the concentration and wisdom chapters.

The concentration chapter is a masterwork on developing the higher levels of meditative concentration, and being explicitly ecumenical, is relavant to anyone involved in meditation or mind training.

The wisdom chapter alone should be read and re-read by anyone who wishes have an unmistaken view.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama has been quoted as saying that this particular chapter is one of two expositions of emptiness that reveal the view.

In short, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

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Excellent explanation of meditative serenity (shamatha) in Tibetan buddhism

(Because this is volume three, please refer to my review on volume one, ISBN 1559391529, for a general introduction to this important series).

Volume three in this series - which are about the "three precious trainings", that comprise the entire Tibetan buddhist path - covers the meditation practice of the superior training of the mahayana path. Meditation training consists of meditative serenity (shamatha) and insight (vipashyana), which are the last two perfections of the six perfections (paramitas) of the mahayana path.

The explanation of meditative serenity in this book is superb, and contains very clear sentences, such as: "Mindfulness is an accurate awareness whether you are distracted [where distraction is the opposite of meditation]." "Vigilance is an accurate awareness whether you are becoming distracted." "Exertion refers to tightly focusing your mind on virtue with clear enthusiasm."

The topics of shamatha and vipashyana are explained from all angles: Why together they are both necessary and complete, what is their nature, what are the advantages of developing their qualities as well as the disadvantages of not developing them, what are the obstructions to both, as well as the antidotes to these obstructions, and so on.

In short, this volume provides an excellent explanation of the practice of meditation, not easily found elsewhere.

Having said that, the second part of this book, which covers the topic of insight (vipashyana), is much less attractive, in my opinion, because it is a very advanced and detailed exposition of Tsongh-kha-pa's view on mahamudra, and less suitable for a beginning Western student, such as myself.

Altogether I really appreciate this volume for its explanation in the first part, on meditative serenity (shamatha), and how it relates to insight (vipashyana).

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The great Great Treatise

Briefly, this is a great contribution to the corpus of literature from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition in English.

The Great Treatise on the Stages to the Path to Enlightenment is synonymous for many with the Gelugpa tradition as whole, and given the historical centrality of that tradition, one could well argue that it is essential for students of Tibetan Buddhism to be able to read this work in its entirety. Given the complexity and length of the work, the translators have done us all an invaluable service. I feel we who are confined to English as the language in which we study the Dharma should consider ourselves lucky to have access to this comprehensive overview of the Buddhist path, seen from the point of view of Je Tsongkapa, one the pivotal figures in the long story of Buddhism in Tibet.

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This volume contains a presentation of the two most important topics to be found in the Great Treatise: meditative serenity and supramundane insight into the nature of reality.

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