[page 229] The Tibetan bstan rim ("Stages of the Doctrine") genre consists of works that expound the general Mahāyāna Buddhist doctrine—i.e., the bodhisattva's path—following a graded series of topics that leads from the spiritual status of the beginning bodhisattva to the final goal of a buddha's perfect awakening. A bstan rim (short for bstan pa'i rim pa) can be classified within Tibetan Buddhist literature as a separate genre allied to the lam rim ("stages of the path") type. Or, it can be considered the second main literary sub-type of the lam rim as more generally conceived, with the lam rim proper as the first sub-type.

A lam rim proper is a work that expounds the stages of the path of the three individuals (skyes bu gsum gyi lam gyi rim pa), i.e., it aims at being a complete introduction to spirituality, leading the student through the stages of the two lower spiritual orientations or "individuals" (who aspire for a better rebirth and for individual liberation), before reaching the highest level, that of the Mahāyāna "great individual" (who aspires to attain buddhahood for the benefit of all living beings). Treatises of this type normally conclude with a brief introductory mention of Tantra. The genre is primarily[page 230] associated with Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna (ca. 982-1054) and the followers of his bKa' gdams order. Its prototype and main textual base was the Byang chub lam sgron (Bodhipathapradīpa) of Atiśa himself. The series of smaller and larger lam rims by Tsong kha pa (1357-1419) are now the best-known examples.

The related bstan rim genre should, for the sake of precision, be classified as distinct from the lam rim proper. The best-known early examples of the bstan rim were written by teachers from the school of rNgog Blo ldan shes rab (1059-1109) and his followers at gSang phu Ne'u thog, such as Gro lung pa (fl. late 1000s to early 1100s), but varieties of this basic type seem to have been composed in the 1100s and early 1200s also by scholars of the bKa' brgyud and Sa skya orders. It seems likely that both the Thar pa rin po che'i rgyan of sGam po pa (1079-1153) and the Thub pa'i dgongs gsal of Sa skya Paṇḍita (1182-1251) are either the direct descendants of earlier examples of this genre or were heavily influenced by them. In the following pages I will describe the structure and contents of several important examples of this type of treatise.

Within the Tibetan tradition, the best-remembered early example of the bstan rim is that of Gro lung pa Blo gros 'byung gnas (fl. second half of the eleventh century to the early twelfth century). Thu'u bkwan Chos kyi nyi ma (1737-1802) (GSM, vol. kha: 7b), for instance, mentions both a greater and lesser bstan rim in his account of Gro lung pa's studies and writings,1 concluding with the remark:

Because the bsTan rin chen mo is a matchless explanation of the intended purport of [Atiśa's] Byang chub lam sgron ("Lamp on the Path of Awakening"), Tsong kha pa too when he studied it began his reading with worship through various offerings, and he wrote his own Lam rim chen mo largely in conformity with it.

The work of Gro lung pa survived down to the present time in part, no doubt, because Tsong kha pa had valued it so highly.2 But one of the more tangible reasons for its present accessibility is that certain early- or mid-nineteenth-century dGe lugs pa teachers commissioned its carving onto blocks at the Zhol printing-house near Lhasa. Those printing blocks were reportedly destroyed in the[page 231] 1960s during the Cultural Revolution, but at least two prints survived outside Tibet—one in a Mongolian temple and one at the Bihar Research Society, Patna (cat. no. 1289; Jackson 1989: 164-165).

The full title of the work is bDe bar gshegs pa'i bstan pa rin po che la 'jug pa'i lam gyi rim pa rnam par bshad pa (TRCM) ("Exposition of the Stages of the Path for Entering the Jewel of the Sugata's Doctrine"). The treatise is monumental in its length and scope, being a veritable encyclopedia of Buddhism in the early "later-propagation period" (phyi dar) on a scale probably never before attempted by the Tibetans—and it is an important source for understanding the particular doctrinal and scholastic developments that occurred within the school of rNgog Blo ldan shes rab by the early twelfth century (though no doubt reflecting some mainstream bKa' gdams pa influences too). The work has a rambling, discursive style of presentation and is not structured according to a minutely detailed subject outline. Nevertheless, its chapters present ten main topics in a practical order:

1. (1) How to study under a religious teacher (8a-37a)
2. (2) How to cultivate an awareness of the value of a human life that is free from the conditions that obstruct the practice of religion (37a-47a)
3. (3) How to cultivate an awareness of death and impermanence (47a-55a)
4. (4) How to cultivate an understanding of the working of moral causation (55a-152a)
5. (5) How to cultivate an awareness of the faults of cyclic existence (152a-183a)
6. (6) How to cultivate the "thought of awakening" (183a-213a)
7. (7) How to engage in the conduct of the bodhisattva (213a-345a)
8. (8) How to cultivate meditatively a realization of ultimate reality (345a-447a)
9. (9) How to cultivate the "levels" (bhūmi, sa) of the bodhisattva (447a-507a)
10. (10) How one attains the fruit, the level of buddhahood (507a-546a)

It also contains numerous scriptural quotations, which is another reason it should one day be carefully studied and indexed.[page 232]

Another treatise of this sort is the famed Thar pa rin po che'i rgyan ("Jewel Ornament of Liberation") of Dwags po lha rje sGam po pa bSod nams rin chen (1079-1153), well known among English readers thanks to the translation by H. V. Guenther (1959). Like Gro lung pa's work, it too is an exposition of the bodhisattva path, and it probably was written in the next few decades after Gro lung pa completed his own bstan rim. In its overall structure, the Thar pa rin po che'i rgyan is more penetratingly and broadly conceived, though in its individual chapters it omits none of the former's main topics. Its structure thus may represent an original plan conceived by sGam po pa himself. Nevertheless, since it also does not follow the typical organization of the teachings according to the three spiritual individuals, it can provisionally be classified here as more of a bstan rim than a lam rim. Thus, when 'Gos lo tsā ba mentions in his Blue Annals (DN: nya 25b) that sGam po pa composed a "bstan rim treatise of the bKa' gdams tradition" (bka' gdams kyi bstan pa'i rim pa' bstan bcos), he probably is referring to this work.

The treatise is divided into six main topics:

1. (1) The motivating cause for attaining highest awakening: the "buddha nature" (tathāgatagarbha, bde gshegs snying po)
2. (2) The corporal basis for achieving awakening: the precious human existence
3. (3) The contributing condition that impels one to achieving it: the religious teacher
4. (4) The means for achieving it: the instructions of the religious teacher
5. (5) The fruit that is so achieved: the "bodies" (kāyas) of buddhahood
6. (6) The enlightened activities that follow the attainment of buddhahood, i.e., the benefitting of living beings through the buddha's activities free from conceptual thought

When sGam po pa actually expounds these in more detail, he divides his treatise into twenty-one chapters, one chapter for each main section except for section four, to which sixteen chapters are devoted. That arrangement is quite understandable, because it is this section that contains the instructions on the general preparations,[page 233] the bodhisattva's perfections, etc. Thus, sections three through nine of Gro lung pa would fit into section four of the Thar pa rin po che'i rgyan, each comprising a chapter or more.

Particularly noteworthy here is sGam po pa's exposition of the "motivating cause," a subject missing as a separate chapter topic in Gro lung pa's work. (It remains for future investigation to determine how Gro lung pa treats the subject of the "buddha nature" [tathāgatagarbha] or the theory of gotra [rigs] in the body of his treatise.) sGam po pa also includes at the end a section that is lacking in Gro lung pa's work as a separate section. It has to do with the nature of the enlightened activities of buddhahood that manifest themselves spontaneously and without conceptual thought.3

The author of this next bstan rim was Phag mo gru pa rDo rje rgyal po (1110-1170), one of sGam po pa's most influential disciples and the father of eight sub-schools within the Dwags po bKa' brgyud school. Phag mo gru pa had studied under various teachers before meeting sGam po pa, including Sa chen Kun dga' snying po (1092-1158) and the bKa' gdams pa dge bshes Dol pa. Thu'u bkwan records (GSM, vol. kha: 6b-7a) that Phag mo gru pa also wrote a treatise of the bstan rim type, implying that it was influenced by Dol pa's teachings.4

Like Gro lung pa's work, this treatise is divided into ten main sections. Yet by including a section on what kind of individual can act as a suitable recipient and on the necessary qualities such as faith, Phag mo gru pa shifts the emphasis, perhaps reflecting the teachings of sGam po pa, who similarly devoted a chapter to these topics.5

Phag mo gru pa treats these stages more as the essential preparation for meditation practice. The bodhisattva's discipline is included within chapter nine, which deals with the production of "the thought of awakening," and the tenth chapter is remarkably inclusive since it contains not only an exposition of the final meditation on ultimate reality through integrated wisdom and compassion, but also a discussion of the attainment of the fruit of buddhahood. The wording of the treatise's title is perhaps also of significance: Sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis 'jug pa'i tshul (STRJ), "How to Enter into the Buddha's Doctrine by Stages." Does the[page 234] phrase "by stages" reflect a "gradual" versus "simultaneous" (rim gyis pa/ cig char ba) distinction Phag mo gru pa may have learned from sGam po pa? Also noteworthy are the appearance in the final chapter of decisive quotations from songs of realization (dohās), e.g., by Saraha (STRJ: 46, 47b), many of which sGam po pa had cited. The work thus probably dates to sometime after Phag mo gru pa's meeting with sGam po pa (i.e., to the period ca. 1150-1170).

The ten chapters of Phag mo gru pa's work are:

1. (1) The individual who practices this path, and faith (1b-2b)
2. (2) The defining characteristics of the teacher (3b-8a)
3. (3) The difficulty of obtaining a human life that is free from the conditions that obstruct the practice of religion (8a-11b)
4. (4) The awareness of death (11b-14a)
5. (5) The cultivation of an awareness of the faults of cyclic existence (14a-17b)
6. (6) The taking of refuge (17b-21a)
7. (7) Moral causation and the prātimokṣa (monastic) vows (21a-25b)
8. (8) The cultivation of benevolence and compassion (25b-30b)
9. (9) Producing the "thought of awakening" (30b-45b)
10. (10) The fruit, i.e., the three "bodies" of buddhahood (45b-52a)

Phag mo gru pa lists eleven sub-sections for chapter nine, in which the six perfections (39b) and the four means of attraction (bsdu ba'i dngos po bzhi) (42b) occur as subsidiary topics. Chapter ten has two main sections: (a) the cultivation of emptiness and compassion as inseparable and (b) the teaching of the fruit as being the attainment of the three "bodies" of buddhahood (47a). The first can be established in three ways, according to Phag mo gru pa: (1) through reasoning, (2) through the instructions of the guru, and (3) through scriptural quotation. The first two are not to be taught here, he says, only the last. Still, he utilizes concepts from the Pramāṇa tradition of reasoning to reject the first and establish the necessity of the second, namely the guru's instructions (46b):6

Since a theory derived from learning and reflection is [merely conceptual] understanding of the "object universal" (don spyi), in order directly to understand the cognitive object as an "own[page 235] mark" [or "particular"] (rang mtshan) one needs to cultivate in meditation the orally transmitted practical instructions of the noble guru.

Then there appear the quotations from the dohās.

The second part of the final chapter describes the "bodies" (kāya, sku) of buddhahood (47a), including descriptions of the Dharma Body (48a) and the Enjoyment Body (49a). It concludes with a discussion of the opposing views on whether gnosis exists for the buddha (50b) or does not (51b), an almost compulsory subject in such Tibetan treatises of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

In sum, this work is certainly a bstan rim of the early bKa' brgyud tradition, and it represents the sort of adaptation one might expect of the basic bstan rim structure to the demands of a more strictly practice- and meditation-oriented tradition, namely rJe sGam po pa's Mahāmudrā.

Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga' rgyal mtshan (1182-1251) was one of the key figures in the religious and intellectual history of Tibet. Among his five major works, the one that contains his most complete presentation of Mahāyāna doctrine and philosophy was the Thub pa'i dgongs pa rab tu gsal ba (TGS) ("Elucidating the Intention of the Sage") (Jackson, 1987: 46-47, 58). This step-by-step exposition of the bodhisattva's path is a work of crucial importance not only for the study of the Sa skya tradition but also for any attempt to trace the general development of Buddhist doctrines and thought in Tibet from the eleventh century onward. It continues to be an important work within the Sa skya tradition—serving, for instance, as the text of every new Sa skya khri 'dzin's first sermon at his enthronement—and though it has no full-scale commentary, it inspired a number of ancillary works for the benefit of its expositors (Jackson, 1983: 4-5). A much-abridged modern English adaptation exists (see Wangyal and Cutillo).

In its general structure, the Thub pa'i dgongs gsal was not directly or primarily an outgrowth of the main bKa' gdams traditions stemming from Atiśa. Instead—in its main topical arrangement at least—it continued a bstan rim tradition of the rNgog pa school that Sa paṇ's uncle Slob dpon bSod nams rtse mo (1142-1182) had received at gSang phu Ne'u thog from Phywa pa Chos[page 236] kyi seng ge (1109-1169). This tradition expounded the stages of the bodhisattva path in accord with two verses from the Mahāyāna-sūtrālaṃkāra (MSA: ch. 19, v. 61-62). bSod nams rtse mo had taught the general Mahāyāna path thus in his general exposition of tantric doctrine, the rGyud sde spyi'i rnam gzhag (GPN). He also had taught it to his younger brother Grags pa rgyal mtshan (1147-1216), who in due course became the main teacher of this way of presenting the bodhisattva path, as of so much else, to his nephew Sa paṇ.

The exposition of these verses by bSod nams rtse mo differs somewhat from that of Sa paṇ. As he explained them in the rGyud sde spyi'i rnam gzhag (GPN: 13a-b), they teach these stages:

1. (1) At the very first there is mentioned "spiritual lineage," which is the motivating cause of possessing the spiritual endowments or capacities.
2. (2) Then being motivated by the cause, compassion, having gone for refuge in the three jewels, there is mentioned "devoted adherence to religion."
3. (3) Then there is mentioned the generation of the "thought of awakening," which is the basis for entering the [bodhisattva's] conduct.
4. (4) Then there is mentioned the actual conduct practicing the six perfections. These four are called "the level of devoted application."
5. (5) Then there is the bodhisattva's "entering the faultless [attainment]," which is the occurrence of the attainment of the first level (bhūmi).
6. (6) Then with "bringing sentient beings to maturity," there is mentioned the [attainment of] up to the seventh level (bhūmi).
7. (7) Then the two phrases "purified field" and "non-entered-into nirvāṇa" refer to the three irreversible levels. Those are the path.
8. (8) Then comes awakening—i.e., the "full awakening" and "great nirvāṇa"—the working of benefits for sentient beings, which is the fruit.

There is some doubt about whether the ordering of these topics and the corresponding chapter divisions found in the standard sDe dge edition of Sa paṇ's Thub pa'i dgongs gsal are correct. In any case, the verse as it now appears at the start of Sa paṇ's treatise is slightly different:[page 237]

Spiritual lineage, devotion to religion, the generation of the thought [of awakening], accomplishing generosity and the rest, maturing sentient beings, entering upon the stainless [paths], the pure fields, non-entered-into nirvāṇa, the highest awakening and demonstration.

According to the present chapter organization, these ten things are understood as referring to the following seven main topics:

1. (1) Spiritual lineage (gotra), which is the basis for the disciple's religious capacity
2. (2) The taking of refuge
3. (3) Generating the thought of awakening
4. (4) The six perfections (pāramitās, phar phyin)
5. (5) The four means of attraction
6. (6) The five paths and the ten levels
7. (7) The fruit of buddhahood

Topic four, the six perfections, makes up the bulk of the treatise. The last five phrases from the MSA, viz., "entering upon the stainless [paths], the pure fields, non-entered-into nirvāṇa, the highest awakening and demonstration," are thus said to refer to the final two main topics. The paths and levels are thus treated as one main section, as are the attainments and qualities of buddhahood, which are mentioned through the final three phrases.

The indebtedness of the Sa skya pas to the rNgog lineage—especially as passed down through Gro lung pa and Phywa pa—for this way of teaching the general Mahāyāna through these verses of the MSA is acknowledged by Go rams pa bSod nams seng ge (1429-1489) in one of his minor works. This work was a reply to a doctrinal question from the fifteenth-century meditator or "practicer" (sgrub pa) Tshul khrims bzang po, who was a disciple of their mutual teacher Mus chen sems dpa' chen po dKon mchog rgyal mtshan (1388-1469). In his question, Tshul khrims bzang po had mentioned hearing that the system of Pāramitāyāna stages of the path taught in bSod nams rtse mo's rGyud sde spyi'i rnam gzhag did not come down from Sa chen Kun dga' snying po (1092-1158) through the lineage of the Indian siddha Birwapa, but rather was the system of the stages of the path based on the MSA as transmitted through the lineage of rNgog lo tsā ba and Phywa pa. In his reply written in 1481 at Thub bstan rnam rgyal, Go rams pa (DPZ: 326) mentions the likelihood of influences both from Sa chen and from Phywa pa through the rGyal sras 'jug ngogs of Gro lung pa (compare van der Kuijp: 268, n. 69).[page 238]

But if it is true for bSod nams rtse mo (who was very close to Phywa pa and his school) that this rNgog pa lineage was not to be considered the sole source of his general Pāramitāyāna teachings, the same could be said even more strongly for Sa paṇ, who otherwise opposed Phywa pa and some of his successors on many doctrinal points (though especially in the field of epistemology and dialectics). In other words, the outer structure of the Thub pa'i dgongs gsal and its detailed contents probably reflect the Sa skya pas' and in particular Sa paṇ's own special integration of this rNgog pa formulation into a basic body of doctrine received from other traditions.

One point that does emerge very clearly from Go rams pa's account is the importance of the work rGyal sras 'jug ngogs, which Go rams pa mentioned as being Gro lung pa's composition and as having been taught by Phywa pa. This, then, was the source for the tradition of arranging the topics following the two verses in the MSA (ch. 19, vs. 61-62) that bSod nams rtse mo had also adopted in his very brief exposition of the general Mahāyāna path in the rGyud sde spyi'i rnam gzhag (12b-13b). But there remain many questions about this crucial work of the rNgog pa tradition—questions that probably will not be satisfactorily answered until the work itself becomes available. On the one hand, Go rams pa asserts that it was Gro lung pa's work. It is said that Gro lung pa wrote two bstan rims, one longer and one shorter. This cannot have been the longer one, but could it have been the shorter? On the other hand, Śākya mchog ldan (1428-1507) (SGNT: 307), who was well-schooled in the tradition of rNgog, asserts in his biography of Rong ston Shes bya kun rig (1367-1449) that Rong ston received the "teachings belonging to the doctrinal realm of the [bodhisattva's] conduct, including the rGyal sras 'jug ngogs that had been transmitted through the lineage from rNgog lo tsā ba." This would seem to mark the tradition as originating at least with rNgog Blo ldan shes rab (1059-1109), he perhaps having learned it during his seventeen years of study in Kashmir. Though the existence of such a work is not recorded in rNgog's biography by Gro lung pa or in other lists of rNgog's writings, rNgog is said by Thu'u bkwan (GSM: bka' gdams chapter: 7b) and the bibliophile A khu chin Shes rab rgya mtsho (MHTL 11107) to have written his own bstan rim. Could this have been the rGyal sras 'jug ngogs?

Still other puzzling references to this or a similar work exist: it is recorded for instance that the great abbot (mkhan chen) bSod[page 239] nams grags pa (1273-1345) had studied a text entitled the rGyal sras lam 'jug from the mKhan chen bKa' bzhi pa Grags pa gzhon nu (see Khetsun Sangpo, 5: 457). Could this be a misspelling or an alternative title of the same rGyal sras 'jug ngogs of rNgog or Gro lung pa? Or is it a similar mistaking of the popular alternative title of the Thub pa'i dgongs gsal, namely, the rGyal sras lam bzang? Or is it yet another independent work?

In the present state of Tibetan Buddhist studies—i.e., in the absence of definitive and exhaustive catalogues, bibliographies and histories—such questions cannot be easily answered. Nevertheless at least one thing is clear: the traditions of doctrine and literature that the lam rim, bstan rim, and similar works embodied were already complex and highly developed by the twelfth century. Future scholarly studies of individual works belonging to these genres must each try to clarify further where a particular work stands structurally and doctrinally in relation to the others.

In addition to the four surviving works briefly described above and such presumably lost works as the rGyal sras snang ba of rNgog's tradition, several other bstan rims are mentioned in bibliographical sources but are thought to be no longer extant. One such case is the bstan rim composed by Atiśa's translator Nag tsho lo tsā ba Tshul khrims rgyal ba (b. 1011), the so-called Nag tsho'i bstan rim. Though this work survived and was taught at least as late as the fourteenth century (it was studied for instance by mKhan chen bSod nams grags pa [1273-1345], according to Khetsun Sangpo, vol. 5: 459), its exact contents and structure are unknown. According to Thu'u bkwan (GSM: 112), these teachings were an independent line of lam rim instructions which, through the lineage coming down from Nag tsho's disciple Lag sor ba, resulted in the composition of other written manuals. A much earlier source, the Deb ther dmar po ("Red Annals") of Tshal pa Kun dga' rdo rje (composed 1346), states that Nag tsho's disciple Rong pa Phyag sor pa [sic] (fl. mid-eleventh century) stayed his whole life in meditative retreat, only coming out to mediate a violent dispute. At that time he was invited to 'U shang rdo, where he gave a religious discourse to some five hundred monks. Among those present, four assistant teachers each took notes of his sermons,[page 240] and from them, four bstan rim came into being, namely those by the so-called "Four sons of Rong-pa": (1) Zul bya 'Dul ba 'dzin pa, (2) Rog sTag can pa, (3) gTsang na Zhu ldan pa, and (4) rNam par ba. The last of the four founded the temples of rNam pa and Ram pa Lha lding, and served for seven years as monastic leader of gSang phu Ne'u thog. The tradition of these masters was the Rong pa'i bka' brgyud, and it became known also as the "Lower bKa' gdams" because Rong pa's temple of bCom chung ba was situated below Rwa sgreng (Tshal pa Kun dga' rdo rje, DM: 65-66).

Still another unavailable but perhaps similar treatise was the so-called Lam mchog of Gro ston bDud rtsi grags (fourth abbot of sNar thang, fl. early thirteenth century), which is listed by A khu chin Shes rab rgya mtsho (1803-1875) among the lam rim works proper (MHTL 11117). Also listed there is its commentary by mChims Nam mkha' grags (1210-1285, seventh abbot of sNar thang) that became known to the later tradition as "mChims Nam mkha' grags's bsTan rim" (MHTL 11118).7

I have not mentioned here such important introductory manuals of Mahāyāna practice as the sNang gsum manuals of the Sa skya pa Lam 'bras or the Kun bzang bla ma'i zhal lung for the rDzogs chen nying thig, because, though they too contain Tibetan expositions of Mahāyāna practice, they are primarily appendages to other teaching cycles—in these cases, systems of tantric instructions. Thus, although in content and even topical arrangement they are sometimes similar, such preparatory manuals (sngon 'gro'i 'khrid yig) should be distinguished, since a true lam rim or bstan rim sets out to teach the general Mahāyāna as a path in itself sufficient for reaching the highest goal of buddhahood. Against this view some might argue that lam rims—including Tsong kha pa's, Bo dong Paṇ chen's, and even Atiśa's Byang chub lam sgron itself—presuppose the supremacy of Tantra, and assume that the disciple will choose that path after training him- or herself in every stage of the general Mahāyāna. The lam rims typically do include at the end a brief introductory mention of Tantra. Still, there is sufficient reason to classify and treat the introductory manuals (sngon 'gro) to the tantric practices separately from the lam rim and bstan rim types, just as one should also keep separate such general Mahāyāna teachings as the briefer "mind-training" (blo sbyong) instructions and their commentatorial literature (see Sweet, in this volume), though topically they sometimes cover almost the same ground as the lam rims and bstan rims.[page 241]

Much of current knowledge about the bstan rim as a literary type thus remains very sketchy. More definitive comparisons and conclusions must await the results of careful studies on the individual surviving instances of the genre and of related literary types. Such future investigations will also have to take into account the works of other closely related Tibetan and Indian types to which there exist literary references or for which the texts themselves still survive.

The genre classifications proposed above, moreover, are only provisional, having been based on just a preliminary comparison of a few examples. One cannot exclude the possibility, for instance, that examples of works called bstan rim existed which explained the path of the three individuals, or that there existed treatises called lam rim which expounded exclusively the Mahāyāna path. For instance, it is said that the bKa' gdams master sNe'u zur pa (1042-1118), who was a principal lam rim teacher, taught the "stages of the doctrine" (bstan pa'i rim pa) in great detail, and that many notes of his sermons set down by his students existed (Khetsun Sangpo, vol. 5: 113). Until such works can be examined or until some work closely modelled after them turns up, there is no way to classify them definitively, and any speculations about them will remain just that.

A khu chin Shes rab rgya mtsho

MHTLdPe rgyun dkon pa 'ga' zhig gi tho yig. In Materials for a History of Tibetan Literature, part 3. Śata-Piṭaka Series30, pp. 503-601. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1963. Reprint Kyoto: Rinsen, 1981.

bSod nams rtse mo

GPNrGyud sde spyi'i rnam gzhag. In Sa skya pa'i bka' 'bum, vol. 2, pp. 1.1-36.3 (vol. ga: 1a-74a). Tokyo: Tōyō Bunko, 1968.

Don grub rgyal mtshan, ed.

LKSLegs par bshad pa bka' gdams rin po che'i gsung gi gces btus nor bu'u bang mdzod. Delhi: D. Tsondu Senghe, 1985.

Go rams pa bSod nams seng ge

DPZDris lan pad mo bzhad pa. In Sa skya pa'i bka' 'bum, vol. 14, pp. 321.2-334.2 (vol. tha: 28a-72a). Tokyo: Tōyō Bunko, 1969.

'Gos lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal

DNDeb ther sngon po. The Blue Annals. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1974. Śata-Piṭaka Series212.

Gro lung pa Blo gros 'byung gnas

TRCMbDe bar gshegs pa'i bstan pa rin po che la 'jug pa'i lam gyi rim pa rnam par bshad pa. Blockprint. Bihar Research Society, Patna. See Jackson, 1989: 164-165.[page 243]

Guenther, Herbert V., trans.

1959sGam-po-pa: The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. London: Rider.

Jackson, David

1983Commentaries on the Writings of Sa-skya Paṇḍita: A Bibliographical Sketch.The Tibet Journal8/3: 3-23.

1987The Entrance Gate for the Wise (Section III): Sa-skya Paṇḍita on Indian and Tibetan Traditions of Pramāṇa and Philosophical Debate. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde, vol. 17. 2 parts. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien.

1989The "Miscellaneous Series" of Tibetan Texts in the Bihar Research Society, Patna: A Handlist. Tibetan and Indo-Tibetan Studies, vol. 2. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Khetsun Sangpo

BDTBiographical Dictionary of Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. Completed in 14 vols.? Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1973-?

van der Kuijp, Leonard W. J.

1983Contributions to the Development of Tibetan Buddhist Epistemology from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century. Alt- und Neu-Indische Studien26. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Phag mo gru pa rDo rje rgyal po

STRJSangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la rim gyis 'jug pa'i tshul. Bir: Zogyam and Pema Lodoe, 1977.

Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga' rgyal mtshan

TGSThub pa'i dgongs pa rab tu gsal ba. In Sa skya pa'i bka' 'bum, vol. 5, pp. 1.1-50.1 (vol. tha: 1a-99a). Tokyo: Tōyō Bunko, 1968.

Śākya mchog ldan, gSer mdog paṇ chen

SGNTrJe btsun thams cad mkhyen pa bshes gnyen shākya rgyal mtshan gyi rnam thar ngo mtshar dad pa'i rol mtsho. In Collected Works, vol. 16, pp. 299-377. Thimphu: Kunsang Topgyay, 1975.

Thu'u bkwan Chos kyi nyi ma

GSMGrub mtha' thams cad kyi khungs dang 'dod tshul ston pa legs bshad shel gyi me long. In Collected Works, vol. 2, pp. 5-519. New Delhi: 1969.

Tshal pa Kun dga' rdo rje

DMDeb ther dmar po rnams kyi dang po lu lan deb ther. Dung dkar Blo bzang 'phrin las, editor and annotator. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1981.

Wangyal, Geshe and Brian Cutillo, trans.

1988Illuminations: A Guide to Essential Buddhist Practices. Novato, CA: Lotsawa.

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[page 244] The revival of Buddhism during the eleventh century C.E. known to Tibetan historiography as the "latter dissemination of the Doctrine" (bstan pa'i phyi dar; see BA: 63-101) was motivated, to a large extent, by revulsion against the general breakdown of religious practice, discipline, and conduct which had prevailed during the preceding two centuries (Th'u bkwan: 96; Stein: 70-72). Consequently, in order to reestablish the faith on a firmer foundation, the reformist bKa' gdams pa sect founded by the followers of Atiśa (982-1054) undertook as one of its more important missions the presentation of the fundamentals of Buddhism in a manner easily accessible to the clergy and educated laity. One of the means by which this was accomplished was the development of succinct and useful guides to the essentials of Buddhist practice—the uniquely Tibetan literary genre of "Mental Purification" (blo sbyong). After an examination of the meaning of the term blo sbyong, and a general survey of the early history and sources of this genre, this paper will examine two of its most noteworthy examples: the Blo sbyong don bdun ma ("Seven-Topic Mental Purification") (LBDDM) originating in the bKa' gdams pa tradition, and the bLo sbyong mtshon cha 'khor lo ("Wheel Weapon Mental Purification") (LBTCK), whose provenance will be discussed below.[page 245]

As a named genre the mental purification literature appears to be a genuinely Tibetan innovation, although its contents are firmly anchored in Indian Buddhist tradition. The Tibetan compound blo sbyong, translated here as mental purification, means literally "[the] purifying [i.e., purification] (sbyong [ba]) of the mind (blo)." As a stereotyped phrase this does not, however, appear in the standard Tibetan-Sanskrit lexicon of Buddhist terminology, the Mahāvyutpatti (MVYT), nor apparently is it to be found in the translation of any text with a confirmed Sanskrit original. In addition, none of the texts with blo sbyong in their title found in the earliest collection of such works, the fifteenth-century Blo sbyong glegs bam ("Mental Purification Collection") (LBLB),1 bears a Sanskrit title along with the Tibetan one, the standard practice for texts actually or purportedly translated from an Indian original.

Nevertheless, even if this compound is not, strictly speaking, a loan translation, its meaning is quite clear in light of the compounds and phrases in which its components and their analogues appear. Tibetan blo is used primarily to render the Sanskrit buddhi, which in a non-technical sense has the meaning of "mind" in general; as a technical term it means the intellectual faculty, a sense that Buddhism shares with the other religio-philosophical systems of India. sByong is the present root of the Tibetan verb whose primary signification is "to purify" or "cleanse." As such it is used in rendering the action noun derivative (śodhana) of the Sanskrit root śudh, "to purify," and so we find it at MVYT 600 where it translates the Sanskrit [pari] śodhana as [yongs su] sbyong ba. The Sanskrit and Pāli citta (sems), which is virtually synonymous with buddhi, is often met with in analogous compounds and phrases throughout Indian Buddhist literature. A very close parallel appears in the most important source for the mental purification literature, Śāntideva's Bodhicaryāvatāra ("Introduction to Bodhisattva Practice") (BCA). In BCA 5, v. 97 we find the compound sems sbyong ba2 (cittaśodhana; "mental purification") in the line "One should always observe the practice [leading to] the purification of the mind."3 Similar compounds are found elsewhere, such as the Sanskrit cittapariśuddhi, "purification [or purity] of the mind" (Abhidharmakośa 8:1; Vasubandhu: 130), and Pāli phrases such as "to purify the mind" (cittam parisodheti) are common in the Theravāda literature (see PTSD, PTC). Many further examples might be cited.4[page 246]

Moreover, such compounds and phrases are expressive of their origins in the earliest and most fundamental Buddhist practices, all of which "aim(s) at purifying the citta" (Johansson: 23). As an important Mahāyāna scriptural quotation puts it: "Beings become soiled by the soiling of the mind; they are purified by the purification of the mind."5 Perhaps most importantly, the generation of universal love and compassion through empathic identification with all living beings, which similarly belongs to the most ancient stratum of Buddhist teachings (e.g., the Aṅguttara and Majjhima nikāyas, quoted in Vetter: 26-28; Buddhaghosa: 321-353), is, according to the great philosopher-saint sGam po pa (1079-1153), the very means by which the purification of the mind (sems sbyang ba) is brought about (Guenther: 144-146; sGam po pa: 92a2-94a6).

The earliest texts considered by Tibetan tradition to belong to the mental purification genre (RSBT: 1286-1287) include the various "Stages of the Doctrine" (bstan rim) texts by disciples of Atiśa and his pupil, the layman 'Brom ston pa (1005-1064), the most important being the bsTan rim chen mo ("Great Stages of the Doctrine") of Gro lung pa Blo gros 'byung gnas, which served as a model for Tsong kha pa's Lam rim texts (Thu'u bkwan: 104; Chattopadhyaya: 393; and D. Jackson, in this volume). The dPe chos ("The Dharma Through Examples"), a collection of religious instructions given by Po to ba Rin chen gsal (1027-1105), one of the chief disciples of 'Brom ston pa,6 teaches the basics of Buddhism through the use of folk sayings, stories, and analogies, and is representative of many of the earliest texts7 in its adaptation of pre-Buddhist Tibetan tales and folklore to the task of explaining Buddhist doctrine to a wide audience (Stein: 266-268). Religio-moral teaching through stories, aphorisms, and analogies was a staple of Indian Buddhist literature as well, from the early Dhammapada onwards (Sternbach: 59, n. 297). In this connection, it is interesting to note that tradition regards Atiśa as having introduced into Tibet the well-known Indian collection of vampire (vetāla, ro langs/ ro sgrung) stories in their Buddhist version (MacDonald: 14-16). Such writings are comparable, as folkloristic elucidations of religious doctrine, to the Jewish Midrash (Silver: 193-196).[page 247]

Although a folk homiletic tradition did continue in Tibet,8 the later mental purification literature is characterized by a more abstract and systematic presentation of its subject matter, and it is these texts which have constituted the basis for study and practice down to the present day. Although this essay is mainly concerned with the bKa' gdams pa and dGe lugs pa traditions, it should be noted that the mental purification genre figures importantly in all of the Tibetan Buddhist schools.

Of the major Indian sources for this genre, clearly the most important is Śāntideva's epitome of the Mahāyāna, the Bodhicaryāvatāra, one of the so-called "Six Basic Texts of the bKa' gdams pas" (bKa' gdams gzhung drug; Thu'u bkwan: 106; BA: 268),9 which formed the foundation for the non-Tantric teaching of that school. Atiśa's own synoptic work, the Byang chub lam sgron ("A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment"; Bodhipāthapradīpa) (BCLG) is also considered an important source (Thu'u bkwan: 106; Tucci, 1949, vol. 1: 99), as are such other frequently cited works as Nāgārjuna's Ratnāvalī (Hahn) and Candrakīrti's Madhyamakāvatāra (Huntington).

The influence of the BCA on the mental purification literature is obvious. As a practice-oriented synthesis of the bodhisattva path it provided a model for mental purification texts, and it is often quoted in these texts and their commentaries to elucidate key ideas. The Tibetan tradition is quite clear about this influence, crediting Śāntideva as a major figure in the transmission of the mental purification teaching (dNgul chu mThogs med: 210; Thu'u bkwan: 109). Of the nine chapters of the BCA, the one of most significance for the mental purification texts is the eighth, on the perfection of contemplation (dhyānapāramitā).

The central conception of the eighth chapter of the BCA, which is developed more fully in the mental purification literature, is "exchanging oneself and others" [page 248] (parātmaparivārtana, bdag dang gzhan du brje ba; see BCA 8: 120-131). This involves a thorough effort to realize the distress inherent in pride and self-centeredness, and the happiness and virtue which come from valuing others as strongly as one values oneself. This exchanging of oneself and others is closely related to "equality of oneself and others" (parātmasamatā, bdag dang gzhan du mnyam pa), an attitude of complete empathic identification with other sentient beings (BCA 8: 90-119; Buddhaghosa: 334). These are ideas that are fundamental to Buddhism as a whole (see Collins: 190-191), but which were given new emphasis and refinement of expression by Mahāyāna authors like Śāntideva.

Atiśa's BCLG is a précis of the entire Buddhist path, and the prototype for the "Stages of the Path" (lam rim) literature. The mental purification texts are often indistinguishable, even by Tibetan commentators, from works on stages of the path (TCKZB: 466), except in their succinct presentation, practical orientation, and concentration on one portion of the path, i.e., generation of an enlightenment-directed attitude (bodhicittotpāda, byang chub sems skyed; see Dayal: 58-64). The stages of the path contain the mental purification teachings within them,10 and the full stages of the path themselves can be presented within the structure of mental purification, as in a work by Tsong kha pa (the Tshig sbyor phun sum tshogs pa'i snyan ngag gi lam nas drangs pa'i blo sbyong in TKSB, vol. 22: 406-411).

A number of key points relevant to mental purification are mentioned in the BCLG; for example, in verse 5, Atiśa affirms the exchanging of self and other, stating that bodhisattvas seek to extirpate others' sufferings because of their total empathic identification with them (see also BCLG, v. 32, on mental purification). Another work by Atiśa, the Byang chub sems pa'i nor bu'i phreng ba (Bodhisattvamaṇyāvalī, Toh. no. 3951; "Jewel Rosary of the Bodhisattva"; see Rabten and Ngawang Dhargyey), which stands at the beginning of the LBLB collection (7-11), does not explicitly deal with the meditative praxis essential to the mental purification tradition, but is, rather, a homiletic exhortation to bodhisattva conduct in general, and much of its subject matter is included as supplementary material in the mental purification texts, e.g., in the instruction (bslab bya) section of the LBDDM.

All the above lends support to the Tibetan tradition (dNgul chu mThogs med: 207; Chattopadhyaya: 85) that mental purification, as a specific arrangement of Mahāyāna teachings in a form suitable for meditation, was an oral instruction (upadeśa, man ngag) originally given by Suvarṇadvīpī-Dharmakīrti11 to his pupil Atiśa, who in turn handed it down to his disciples as a private teaching (lkog chos) until it was publicly lectured upon by [Bya] mChad kha ba (1101-1175) and others (Thu'u bkwan: 109-110).[page 249]

The generally accepted lineage for the mental practice teaching (Smith: 68-69; Kelsang Gyatso: 13) commences with Atiśa and continues with 'Brom ston pa, the founder of the bKa' gdams pa school, and his student Po to ba Rin chen gsal. The author of the first mental purification text actually called a blo sbyong was gLang ri Thang pa (1054-1123), author of the Blo sbyong tshigs brgyad ma (LBTG; "The Eight Stanza Mental Purification"; see text and translation in Dalai Lama XIV and in Rabten and Ngawang Dhargyey). This is still an important text, one that presents in brief the theme of subordinating one's own welfare to that of others, upon which later authors were to expand. Glang ri Thang pa was followed by his student Shar ba pa (1070-1141) who was in turn the teacher of [Bya] mChad kha ba, the author of the Blo sbyong don bdun ma (LBDDM; "Seven-Topic Mental Purification"). This work was commented upon both by Tsong kha pa (1357-1419) and his disciple dGe 'dun grub (1391-1474; see Mullin: 57-105), and it has always been considered to be one of the most important of the mental purification texts by the dGe lugs pas.12 In addition, commentaries by such important non-dGe lugs pa scholars as the Sa skya pa [rGyal sras] dNgul chu mThogs med (1295-1369) and the rNying ma/bKa' brgyud Eclectics (Ris med pa) 'Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po (1820-1892) (DNDZ, vol. 3: 153-180) and 'Jam mgon kong sprul (1813-1899) (DNDZ, vol. 3: 181-213), attest to the significance of this work for Tibetan Buddhism as a whole. According to tradition, mChad kha ba was inspired to study blo sbyong by reading the fifth verse of the LBTG (BA: 273-275; Rabten and Ngawang Dhargyey: 11, 153):

He was also said to have originated the "custom of teaching the Blo sbyoṅ to a class (of monks)" (BA: 275), i.e., to have publicly taught this previously privately transmitted teaching. The earliest commentary on the LBDDM was the Blo sbyong khrid yig ("A Manual of Mental Purification") by dNgul chu mThogs med, which is still widely studied.

The seven topics of the LBDDM consist of: (1) "preliminary practices which teach the support for the Dharma," (2) "the actual[page 250] mental purification through the enlightenment-directed attitude (bodhicitta), (3) "transformation of unfavorable conditions into the enlightenment path," (4) "the distillation of the entire doctrine into a practice [realizable in] a single lifetime," (5) "the criteria for the completion of mental purification," (6) "the commitments of mental purification," and (7) "the instructions for mental purification" (dNgul chu mThogs med: 207-208; DNDZ, vol. 3: 185).13 The core of the text is in the second topic, the actual purification through the enlightenment-directed attitude, comprising the conventional (kun rdzob) and the ultimate (don dam) attitude, a division based on whether one is regarding the objects of compassion from the viewpoint of conventional or ultimate truth (Wangyal: 134-136).

In keeping with the emphasis of the mental purification texts on practice, only four lines in the LBDDM are devoted to the ultimate attitude, beginning with the second line ("Consider all phenomena to be like a dream"); it is the conventional attitude that is central to this text. The practice of "giving and taking" (gtong len) is described; this is a practical technique for actualizing Śāntideva's "exchanging of self and other." Giving and taking involves synchronizing one's breathing with the intention to take upon oneself the misdeeds and sufferings of all sentient beings (inhaling) and the resolve to promote the happiness and liberation of beings (exhaling) (dNgul chu mThogs med: 210-212). The remainder of the text describes meditation and behavior that facilitate the development of an enlightenment-directed attitude.

Stylistically, the LBDDM is a straightforwardly didactic, mnemonic text. Although it is written in the most usual form of Tibetan verse, the seven-syllable line (with some lines of irregular length), it has little else in the way of the use of metaphor or other embellishment to distinguish it from prose. Its use of colloquial language and the Tibetan proverb "Don't put a mdzo's burden on an ox" (line 41), recalls the vernacular origins of this genre. The work's clarity of meaning and expression doubtless accounts for its enduring popularity among Tibetan Buddhist contemplatives.

The Blo sbyong mtshon cha 'khor lo (LBTCK: "The Wheel Weapon Mental Purification")14 presents a striking contrast to the LBDDM in content and style. Whereas the LBDDM advocates exoteric[page 251] (Sūtrayāna) techniques in order to generate the enlightenment-directed attitude, the LBTCK uses esoteric (Tantrayāna) imagery and method to enable the practitioner to purify his or her mind from egocentricity (bdag 'dzin, ātmagraha), which Buddhism regards as the root of all mental impurity and suffering (Sopa and Hopkins: 38, 52, 118). As a tantric work, it has a presiding deity, in this case Yāmāntaka (literally "The Killer of Yāma [the Lord of Death]").15 The text is attributed to the Indian teacher Dharmarakṣita, of whom little is known,16 and its translation to his disciple Atiśa working in collaboration with Brom ston pa (DNDZ: 598). However, the work carries no Sanskrit title; it is not mentioned in the many biographies of Atiśa (see Eimer), nor is it included among the standard lists of works in whose translations Atiśa is held to have participated (Chattopadhyaya: 442-498). While it is found in the fifteenth-century LBLB collection, its transmission lineage is not clear (TCKZB: 466; Ngawang Dhargyey et al.: 41), and its only known commentary (TCKZB) dates to 1813 (Taube: 922). The strongest evidence of this work's Tibetan authorship lies in its culturally specific allusions to divination (mo) and the Bon religion (v. 70) and to the temptations of non-Buddhist magical practices (vv. 32, 68-69).

The text begins by comparing the bodhisattva to a peacock, and this simile is extended through the initial verses: Just as a peacock is believed able to consume poisonous medicinal herbs and to thrive upon them17 the bodhisattva can transform the passions into the means for emancipation (vv. 1-6; see n. 10, above). The LBTCK's advocacy of transmuting the passions is an indication of this work's essentially tantric character (Conze, 1964: 221). A long section (vv. 11-48) enumerates the various illnesses and misfortunes of life, concluding in each case with the resolve to accept these willingly, as they are, in the words of the refrain "the weapon of bad actions returning upon oneself" (see Ratnāvalī III, 71 in Hahn's ed. and BCA 6: 42-43). The final section of the text begins with v. 49:

In vivid language, egocentricity is personified (see BCA 8: 145-154) as one "who leads me and others to ruin, who hurls the weapon of [sinful] actions, making me run, without volition, in[page 252] the jungle of cyclic existence" (v. 51), and Yāmāntaka is beseeched to utterly destroy this enemy, in a series of stanzas (vv. 52-89) with the refrain:

The conclusion of this work (vv. 90-118) consists of a series of reflections on egocentricity, compassion, the bodhisattva vow to save all living creatures, and the ultimate emptiness of all phenomena. The text consists generally of quatrains of seven-syllable lines, and has a driving rhythmic force and vivid imagery that make it a genuine work of religious poetry. The violent attack and dismemberment of one's conventional egocentric self suggests the sacrifice of self in the early Tibetan Buddhist (rNying ma) gcod ritual, which was rooted in even earlier shamanistic practices (Evans-Wentz: 277-334; Tucci and Heissig: 126-132).

The mental purification literature is a native Tibetan practical synthesis of Buddhist doctrine which had its origin in the teachings of Atiśa, his disciples, and earlier Indian works. The major objective of the mental purification texts is to enable the practitioner to generate an attitude which combines universal compassion (the major subject of the LBDDM) with freedom from egocentricity (the focus of the LBTCK). This goal recalls contemplative manuals in the Christian tradition in particular, such as Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ and Erasmus' Manual of Arms for the Militant Christian (Dolan: 24-93). The mordant critique of human egotism by the authors of the mental purification texts bears a resemblance to some of Pascal's pensées (e.g., on vanity and pride: 203-206).

The technique of systematic cognitive and attitudinal change propounded in these works is similar to that espoused for secular purposes by many contemporary psychotherapists, especially those of the cognitive behavioral school (see Beck et al.). While maintaining a focus on generating the enlightenment-directed attitude, mental purification texts differ widely in their content and style, and in their focus on exoteric (Sūtrayāna) or esoteric (Tantrayāna) practices. The historical and textual study of these works, which are prominent in the bKa' gdams pa, dGe lugs pa, and other Tibetan sectarian traditions, has scarcely begun; such[page 253] research can be expected to add much to our knowledge of Buddhism and Tibetan literature.

Atiśa

BCLGLamp for the Path and Commentary. Trans. by Richard Sherburne. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1983.

[Rwa sgreng A chi tu no mon han; bLo bzang yes shes] bsTan pa rab rgyas

TCKZBKhyab bdag rdo rje 'chang chen po nas blo sbyong mtshon cha 'khor lo'i bshad lung stsal skabs kyi gsung bshad zin bris gzhan pan myu gu bskyed ba'i bdud rtsi. In Khri-Chen Bstan-Pa-Rab Rgyas Collected Works, reproduced from the bZhi sde edition, vol. 3, 463-595. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1985.[page 256]

Beck, Aaron et al.

1979Cognitive Therapy of Depression. New York: Guilford Press.

Buddhaghosa

VMThe Path of Purification—Visuddhimagga. Trans. by Bhikkhu Ñyaṇamoli. Second ed. Colombo: A. Semage, 1964.

Chattopadhyaya, Alaka

1967Atīśa and Tibet. Calcutta: Indian Studies Past and Present.

Collins, Steven

1982Selfless Persons: Imagery and Thought in Theravada Buddhism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Conze, Edward

1955The Buddha's Law Among the Birds. Oxford: Bruno Cassirer.

1964, ed. Buddhist Texts Through the Ages. New York: Harper & Row.

Dalai Lama XIV, Tenzin Gyatso

1982Four Essential Buddhist Commentaries. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.

Dayal, Har

1932The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature. Reprinted 1970. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

[Mus chen] dKon chog rGyal mtshan and Gzhon nu rgyal mchog, eds.

LBLBBlo sbyong glegs bam. Reprinted from the Lhasa bZhi sde blocks. Bir, India: The Bir Tibetan Society, 1983.

dNgul chu mThogs med [dPal ldan ye shes]

LBKY Blo sbyong khrid yig. In rGyal sras 'phags pa dNgul chu mthogs med kyi rnam thar dad pa'i shing rta dang gsung thor bu, pp. 206-234. Thimphu: Kun bzang stobs rgyal, 1975.

DNLCDharma rakṣa tas a ti sha la gnang ba'i blo sbyong mtshon cha 'khor lo. Dharamsala: Tibetan Cultural Printing House, 1990.

Dolan, John P., ed.

1964The Essential Erasmus. New York: New American Library.

Eimer, Helmut

1979Rnam Thar Rgyas Pa: Materialien zu einer Biographie des Atīśa (Dipamkāraśrījñana). In Asiatische Forschungen67. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.

Evans-Wentz, W. Y., ed.

1958Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrines. Second ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Fausbøll, V., ed. and trans.

1872Ten Jātakas. Copenhagen: H. Hagerup.[page 257]

Filliozat, Jean, ed. and trans.

1979Yogaśataka: texte médical attribué à Nāgārjuna. Pondicherry: Institut Français d'Indologie.

'Gos Lotsāwa

BAThe Blue Annals. Ed. and trans. by George Roerich. 1949. Reprint Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1976.

Goldstein, Melvyn

1975Tibetan-English Dictionary of Modern Tibetan. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar.

Guenther, H. V., trans.

1971Jewel Ornament of Liberation. Berkeley: Shambhala.

Hahn, Michael, ed. and trans.

1982Nāgārjuna's Ratnāvalī, vol. 1. Bonn: Indica et Tibetica Verlag.

Hopkins, E. Washburne

1915Epic Mythology. Reprint Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1974.

Huntington, C. W.

1989The Emptiness of Emptiness: An Introduction to Early Indian Mādhyamika. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

'Jam mgon Kong sprul bLo gros mtha' yas

DNDZgDams ngag mdzod, vols. 2-3. Compiled by ’Jam mgon Kong sprul. Reproduced from a xylograph from the dPal spungs blocks. Delhi: N. Lungtok and N. Gyaltsan, 1971.

Johansson, Rune E. A.

1970The Psychology of Nirvana. Garden City, NJ: Anchor Books.

Kelsang Gyatso, Geshe

1988Universal Compassion. London: Tharpa.

Kirtz, William

1973Wheel Weapon of Mind Practice. Unpublished M. A. thesis. Madison: University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Klong rdol bla ma

RSBTBka' Gdams dang Dge Lugs Bla Ma Rag Rim gyi Gsung 'Bum Mtshan Tho. In The Collected Works of Longdol Lama, Parts 1 & 2: 1285-1413. Śata-Piṭaka Series100. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1973.

[mKhan chen] Kun bzang dpal ldan

PJTGByang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa'i tshig 'grel. Junbesi (Nepal): Serlo Gompa, 1972.

Lamotte, Étienne

1962L'Enseignement de Vimalakīrti. Louvain: Publications Universitaires.[page 258]

LBTCK

Theg pa chen po'i blo sbyong mtshon cha 'khor lo. In Blo sbyong glegs bam, pp. 127-143. Comp. and ed. by DKon chog rGyal mtsan. Bir: Bir Tibetan Society, 1983.

Lessing, Ferdinand D.

1942Yung-Ho-Kung, An Iconography of the Lamaist Cathedral in Peking. Stockholm: Report of the Sino-Swedish Expedition.

LRCB

Lam rim chung ba dang lam rim spyi 'gro blo sbyong bcas kyi sa bcad. In Collected Works of Longdol Lama, Parts 1 & 2: 58-90. Sata-Pitaka Series100. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1973.

MacDonald, Alexander W.

1967Materiaux pour l'étude de la litterature populaire tibetaine, vol. 1. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

Mani, Vettam

1979Purāṇic Encyclopaedia. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

[Bya] mChad kha ba [sKal bzang rgya mtsho]

LBDDMBlo sbyong bdun dun ma. In gDams ngag mdzod, compiled by ’Jam mgon Kong sprul, vol. 2: 8-11. Delhi: N. Lungtok and N. Gyaltsan, 1971.

Mullin, Glenn, ed. and trans.

1985Selected Works of the Dalai Lama I: Bridging the Sutras and Tantras. Ithaca: Snow Lion.

MVYT

Mahāvyutpatti. Fourth edition. Ed. by R. Sakaki. Tokyo: Tōyō Bunko, 1971.

Nam mkha' dpal [Hor ston pa]

LNOBlo sbyong nyi ma'i 'od gser. Reproduction of a xylograph carved in Lhasa, ca. 1950.

Ngag dbang chos 'byor

1984Six Preparatory Practices Adorning the Buddha's Sublime Doctrine. Trans. by Losang Gangchenpa and and Karma Lekshe Tsomo. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.

Ngawang Dhargyey, Geshe et al., trans.

1981The Wheel of Sharp Weapons. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.

Panglung, Jampa

1980Zwei Beschwörungsformeln Gegen Schlangenbiss im Mūlasarvāstivādin-Vinaya und ihr Fortleben in der Mahā-māyūrīvidyārājñī.Asiatische Forschungen71: 66-71.

Pascal, Blaise

1982Les Penseés de Pascal. Ed. by Francis Kaplan. Paris: Les Éditions du Cerf.[page 259]

Po to ba Rin chen gsal

PCdPe chos rin chen spungs ba. Sarnath: Mongolian Lama Guru Deva, 1965.

Prajñākaramati

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PTC

Pali Tipitakam Concordance. E. M. Hare. London: Luzac, 1952.

PTSD

The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary. Ed. by T. W. Rhys Davids and W. Stede. London: Pali Text Society, 1921-25. Reprinted 1972.

Rabten, Geshe and Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey

1984Advice from a Spiritual Friend. Trans. and ed. by Brian Beresford. London: Wisdom.

Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga' rgyal mtshan

SBRNA Treasury of Aphoristic Jewels: The Subhāṣitaratnanidhi of Sa skya Paṇḍita in Tibetan and Mongolian.Trans. by J. Bosson. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969.

LSDGLegs bshad 'dod dgu 'byung ba'i gter mdzod ces bya ba. Kalimpong: Saskya Khenpo Ven. Sangey Tenzin, 1974.

Śāntideva

BCABodhicaryāvatāra. Ed. by V. Bhattacharya. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, 1960.

sGam po pa [Dvags po Lha rje]

DYTRDam chos yid bzhin nor bu thar pa rin po che'i rgyan. Rumtek: Karma'i chos sgar, 1972.

Silver, Daniel J.

1974A History of Judaism, vol. 1. New York: Basic Books.

Smith, E. Gene

1969University of Washington Tibetan Catalogue. 2 vols. Seattle: University of Washington.

Sopa, Geshe Lhundup and Jeffrey Hopkins

1976Practice and Theory of Tibetan Buddhism. New York: Grove Press.

Stein, Rolf A.

1972Tibetan Civilization. Trans. by J. E. Stapleton Driver. London: Faber and Faber.

Sternbach, Ludwik

1974Subhāṣita, Gnomic and Didactic Literature. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.[page 260]

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1966 Tibetische Handschriften und Blockdrucke, vol. 3. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag.

Thu'u bkwan [bLo bzang chos kyi nyi ma]

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Tsong kha pa [bLo bzang grags pa]

TKSBThe Collected Works (Gsung 'Bum) of Rje-Tshon-Kha-Pa Blo-Bzan-Grags-Pa. Reproduced from the Bkra shis lhun po edition. New Delhi: Ngawang Gelek Demo, 1978.

Tucci, Giuseppe

1936Indo-Tibetica, III, parte 2. Rome: Reale Accademia d'Italia.

1949Tibetan Painted Scrolls. 3 vols. Rome: Libreria dello Stato.

Tucci, Giuseppe and Walther Heissig

1973Les Religions du Tibet et de la Mongolie. Paris: Payot.

Vasubandhu

AKL'Abhidharmakośa de Vasubandhu. Ed. and trans. by Louis de la Vallée Poussin. Paris: Paul Geuthner, 1923-32.

Vetter, Tilmann

1988The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism. Leiden: Brill.

Wangyal, Geshe

1973The Door of Liberation. New York: Girodias.

Wayman, Alex

1987Researches on Poison, Garuḍa-Birds, and Nāga-Serpents Based on the Sgrub thabs kun btus. In Silver on Lapis: Tibetan Literary Culture and History, pp. 63-76. Ed. by Christopher L. Beckwith. Bloomington, IN: Tibet Society.

[mKhan po] gZhan dga' [gZhan pan chos kyi snang ba]

PJCGByang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa'i mchan 'grel. Blockprint, N.p., n.d.

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[page 261] In the literature and associated oral traditions presenting the grounds (bhūmi, sa) and paths (mārga, lam) of the Hīnayāna, or Low Vehicle, and the Mahāyāna, or Great Vehicle, Buddhist poets, philosophers, and yogins from India and Tibet describe a journey from bondage and ignorance (avidyā, ma rig pa) to liberation (mokṣa, thar pa) and enlightenment (bodhi, byang chub). Here I want to introduce the story that emerges in the literature on grounds and paths. I will begin with a few words about the origin and development of this literature, and then consider some of its prominent themes.

The authors of the Tibetan literature on grounds and paths include scholars working in many parts of Tibet and also in Mongolia from as early as the eleventh century until contemporary times. The earliest literature on grounds and paths that I have found is the presentation of the five paths and the Mahāyāna grounds in sGam po pa's (1079-1153) Thar pa rin po che'i rgyan ("Ornament for Precious Liberation"); the most recent is a text by Blo bzang rta dbyangs (1867-1937) setting forth the grounds and paths of the hearer, solitary realizer, and bodhisattva vehicles from the point[page 262] of view of Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka as interpreted by Tsong kha pa and some among his many followers. Studies of grounds and paths composed during the intervening centuries include treatments by mKhas grub dge legs dpal bzang po (1385-1438), rJe btsun chos kyi rgyal mtshan (1469-1546), 'Jam dbyangs blo bzang bshes gnyen (dates unknown), the eighth Karma pa, Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507-1554), lCang skya rol pa'i rdo rje (1717-1786), 'Jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha' yas (1813-1899) and 'Ju Mi pham rgya mtsho (1846-1912). Other scholars have applied the presentation of grounds and paths to the Vajrayāna, and at least two Bon po writers have written texts on grounds and paths. The proliferation of such literature indicates widespread and persistent interest in the topics of grounds and paths, the study of which continues to occupy an important place in the curriculum of contemporary monastic colleges.

Tibetan scholars say that the Buddha himself initiated the discussion of grounds and paths when he taught a set of discourses known as the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras ("Sūtras on the Perfection of Wisdom") to an assembly of students at Rājagṛha. In that collection of sūtras, the Buddha presented the emptiness that is the profound nature of all phenomena. He indicated also the paths that three types of students—hearers (śrāvaka, nyan thos), solitary realizers (pratyekabuddha, rang sangs rgyas), and bodhisattvas—follow to the liberations they seek, but left it for others to explain those paths in an open and complete way.

The Buddha's teachings on emptiness were clarified by Nāgārjuna (first to second century C.E.) in commentaries known collectively as the Rigs tshogs drug ("Six Collections of Reasonings"). His teachings on the paths of the three sūtra vehicles were elaborated in a treatise (śāstra) by Maitreya known as the Abhisamayālaṃkāra ("Ornament for the Clear Realizations"). The treatises by Nāgārjuna and Maitreya inspired further discussion among many generations of Indian Buddhist scholars. That conversation eventually migrated to Tibet and continues even now in the monastic universities that the Tibetans have established outside their homeland.

In other literature, the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition describes spiritual development as a series of grounds. Tibetan authors writing[page 263] about the grounds of the Mahāyāna frequently use the Daśabhūmika ("Ten Grounds Sūtra") as an authoritative and inspirational source. Nāgārjuna plays an important role here too, for Tibetan authors regularly quote the verses in his Ratnāvalī ("Precious Garland") celebrating the bodhisattva and buddha grounds. Usually they refer also to Maitreya's verses on the Mahāyāna grounds, found in his Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra ("Ornament for the Mahāyāna Sūtras"). If they look to a fourth Indian source, it is frequently to Candrakīrti's (seventh century C.E.) Madhyamakāvatāra ("Entrance into the Middle"), a text in which the ideals of the Mahāyāna tradition are expressed in terms of the ten bodhisattva grounds and the buddha ground. One might expect Asaṅga's Yogācaryabhūmi ("Levels of Yogic Practice"), which contains long and elaborate discussions of the grounds of hearers and bodhisattvas, to play an important role in the Tibetan literature on grounds. To my surprise, I have found that Asaṅga's texts are mentioned only rarely in the literature on grounds and paths with which I am familiar.

The Tibetan texts in which grounds and paths are discussed vary both in format and in point of view. Nevertheless, a close look at the structure of two dGe lugs pa texts gives a sense of the style of such literature and of the topics with which it is concerned. Let us consider a presentation of grounds and paths composed by dKon mchog 'jigs med dbang po, called Sa lam gyi rnam bzhag theg gsum mdzes rgyan ("Presentation of Grounds and Paths, Beautiful Ornament for the Three Vehicles") and another composed by Blo bzang rta dbyangs, called Sa lam gyi rnam bzhag zab don rgya mtsho'i snying po ("Presentation of Grounds and Paths, Essence of the Ocean of Profound Meaning").

dKon mchog 'jigs med dbang po's text opens with an outline of the paths of three types of religious practitioners. The first is those who seek rebirth in a favorable situation rather than liberation from rebirth altogether. These are called "special beings of small capacity" (skye bu chung ngu khyad par can). The second aim merely to accomplish their own welfare by achieving liberation from cyclic existence. They are called "beings of middling capacity" (madhyamapuruṣa, skyes bu 'bring). Those of the third type seek highest enlightenment themselves so as to help all other sentient beings[page 264] find a genuine and enduring happiness. They are called "beings of great capacity" (mahāpuruṣa, skyes bu chen po). dKon mchog 'jigs med dbang po defines and illustrates the paths of each, indicates areas where the paths of the three types of practitioners overlap one another, and discusses the ways in which individual practitioners enhance their ability to consider the long-term welfare of themselves and others.

The second section of dKon mchog 'jigs med dbang po's text identifies the grounds of the Hīnayāna and then provides a detailed explanation of the paths of all three Sūtra vehicles. This includes a discussion of the various names and synonyms for the five paths, the definitions and divisions of each path, and the points at which each path begins and ends.

The final major topic is the ten grounds of bodhisattva superiors (ārya). dKon mchog 'jigs med dbang po explains the names given to the individual grounds, the obstructions that are abandoned over the course of the ten grounds, and the extraordinary qualities that bodhisattvas develop as they journey to complete enlightenment. These qualities are grouped into seven categories: (1) perfections (pāramitā), (2) magical abilities, (3) fruitional rebirths, (4) the trainings in discipline (śīla), meditatve stabilization (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā), (5) the way in which reality is understood in the periods subsequent to nonconceptual realization of emptiness, (6) thorough purification, and (7) the signs of achieving a ground.

Blo bzang rta dbyangs was a Mongolian scholar who wrote prolifically both on Sūtra and on Tantra. His treatise on the grounds and paths of the sūtras is unusual in that it presents the Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka school's point of view, for most texts, including dKon mchog 'jigs med dbang po's, present the views of the Yogācāra-Svātantrika Madhyamaka school. Blo bzang rta dbyangs's text is divided into two major sections that are approximately equal in length. The first section explains the grounds and paths of the Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna. The second section analyzes controversial points on which various scholars and schools disagree. In that latter section, Blo bzang rta dbyangs is particularly interested in distinguishing the Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka school's position from that of the Yogācāra- Svātantrika Madhyamaka.

The section on the grounds and paths of the three Sūtra vehicles begins with a description of the eight Hīnayāna grounds. It then[page 265] presents the five paths of the Hīnayāna in detail, with definitions, divisions, and illustrations of each. This occupies roughly six pages of a thirty-four page section. The remainder—twenty-eight pages—is devoted to a discussion of the grounds and paths of the Mahāyāna. The number of pages alloted to the Hīnayāna and the Mahāyāna, six and twenty-eight, respectively, indicates the author's relatively greater interest in Mahāyāna topics.

The portion concerned with the grounds and paths of the Mahāyāna begins with a presentation of the five Mahāyāna paths, and includes definitions, divisions, and illustrations of each. This is followed by a discussion of the ten grounds of bodhisattva superiors. Each of the ten grounds is described in terms of (1) the magical abilities that bodhisattvas achieve on that ground, (2) the practice of a perfection that has been brought to a superlative level on that ground, (3) the power to advance further that is achieved on that ground, and (4) the fruitional rebirths that are taken on that ground. Blo bzang rta dbyangs cites liberally from works by Nāgārjuna and Maitreya in describing these ten grounds. The citations help to give the reader a sense of the literature on which the Tibetan presentations are based.

After outlining the ten grounds of bodhisattva superiors, bLo bzang rta dbyangs describes the ground of a buddha. His discussion begins with a vivid and eloquent description of the way in which bodhisattvas pass from the tenth bodhisattva ground to the buddha ground. This is followed by a clarification of the nature of a buddha's three bodies, i.e., Truth Body (dharmakāya, chos sku), Complete Enjoyment body (saṃbhogakāya, longs spyod rdzogs pa'i sku), and Emanation Body (nirmāṇakāya, sprul sku).

The presentation of Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna grounds having been completed, Blo bzang rta dbyangs presents thirty-four pages of dialectical discussion in which he differentiates the Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka school's view from that of other schools, and offers extensive support, both scriptural and logical, for the radical positions taken by the Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka school. The topics explored include the ignorance that serves as the root of cyclic existence, the selflessness (nairātmya, bdag med) that hearers, solitary realizers, and bodhisattvas must realize in order to achieve the goals they seek, the difference between the afflictive obstructions (kleśāvarana, nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the obstructions to omniscience (jñeyāvaraṇa, shes bya'i sgrib pa), and the difference between nirvāṇas with remainder and those without remainder.[page 266]

Grounds and paths are presented as keys to liberation from a prison. The prison, called cyclic existence (saṃsāra, 'khor ba), extends both spatially and temporally. Transmigrators (gati, 'gro ba) stumble from one lifetime to another within the limitless prison of cyclic existence, but generally know little about the past from which they have emerged or the future that they are creating. Buddhist literature therefore describes the types of lifetimes that sentient beings (sattva, sems can) experience within cyclic existence and the actions (karma, las) that lead to particular types of rebirths.1

Having visualized cyclic existence, a practitioner considers how to respond to such confinement. As dKon mchog 'jigs med dbang po's text makes clear, one might respond by seeking to ensure a comfortable position within the prison, or one might seek liberation from prison for oneself alone, or one might seek the means to liberate not only oneself but also all others from prison. The literature on grounds and paths outlines the journeys toward freedom as well as the freedom that is achieved. In such literature, one is studying a map of areas that one has never visited. For that reason, the study of grounds and paths, like the study of cyclic existence itself, requires a reader to imagine unknown territory. We find in such literature a carefully crafted set of meaningful images that enable students to imagine areas of progressively greater freedom, to become inspired by the world they have imagined, and to set forth on the journey toward freedom in the very act of imagining an alternative to endless and oppressive confusion. Let us consider three images that are central to the transmission of the Buddhist vision.

To dispel the ignorance that creates and sustains cyclic existence, those who desire liberation generate consciousnesses (jñāna, shes pa) that realize selflessness. The selflessness that they realize is the opposite of the self that is conceived by ignorance. Through realizing selflessness, those consciousnesses uproot the ignorance that conceives self, whereupon the gates of cyclic existence fall open. In the literature on spiritual development, those consciousnesses are called "grounds" (bhūmi, sa) and "paths" (mārga, lam). Moreover, the consciousnesses that lead to realization of selflessness and those that, subsequently, are both deeply marked by that realization[page 267] and centrally involved in strengthening it further are also called "grounds" and "paths."

The first point to realize is that "ground" and "path" are metaphors. The grounds and paths of hearers, solitary realizers, and bodhisattvas are not material highways, and the map of their development does not describe a physical geography. Grounds and paths refer, rather, to consciousnesses. Although only some consciousnesses are grounds and paths, all grounds and paths are consciousnesses.2 Some of those grounds and paths realize selflessness; the others either lead to or arise from such realization. In that sense, we might say that the grounds and paths of the Sūtra vehicles are the study of selflessness.

It is important to realize that all of the grounds and paths of the three vehicles are just consciousnesses. That they are consciousnesses means that they are clear and immaterial awareness, without color, shape, sound, odor, taste, or texture. Although engraved upon the personality of the practitioner, they cannot be seen with the eye or touched with the hand. The presentation of spiritual development in the Buddhist tradition is, in that sense, a careful survey of an invisible, inaudible, and intangible world. As such, it could easily become an uninviting abstraction. That would defeat what must be one of the central purposes of the discussion, which is not only to inform but also to inspire, and that may be why the literature on spiritual development has attracted metaphors that arouse both curiosity and longing.

Why are these consciousnesses called "paths"? dKon mchog 'jigs med dbang po characterizes paths as consciousnesses serving as passageways to the enlightenments that are their fruits (428). He then explains that they are called "paths" because they cause one to progress to the rank of liberation (428). Similarly, Blo bzang rta dbyangs says that such consciousnesses are called "paths" in that they cause one to progress to the city of liberation (74). Both authors use the causative form of the verb, bgrod, here translated as "progress," indicating that these consciousnesses do not merely allow practitioners to achieve liberation but actually impel them toward it.

How do consciousnesses move practitioners toward liberation? In speaking about paths generally, Blo bzang rta dbyangs observes that, although "ground" and "path" are interchangeable terms, in usage, "path" refers mainly to the factor of wisdom (prajñā, shes rab) and "ground" refers mainly to the factor of method (upāya,[page 268] thabs) (74). As becomes apparent in his text, the discussion of spiritual development as a series of five paths presents mainly the development of wisdom, which means the genesis and maturation of the wisdom realizing selflessness. Thus, it is through realizing selflessness that paths drive practitioners toward liberation.

The name "ground" is applied to many different types of consciousnesses. For instance, an intention to emerge from cyclic existence (niḥsaraṇa, nges 'byung gi bsam pa), compassion (karuṇā, snying rje), generosity (dāna, sbyin pa), realizations of selflessness, and other such consciousnesses are all called "grounds." In explaining the reason for this, sGam po pa says:

They serve as the basis for the qualities that are the good qualities of that ground and the occasion of that ground, or, they cause higher grounds to develop, whereby they are called grounds....One dwells in and enjoys that wisdom, whereby they are called grounds; for example, like an enclosure for oxen. One travels on that wisdom, whereby they are called grounds; for example, like racing horses. That wisdom is the basis of all good qualities being born, whereby they are called grounds; for example, like fertile soil. (279)

Similarly, dKon mchog 'jigs med dbang po says:

As for calling these grounds, just as earth serves as the basis for plants, trees, and so forth, so these serve as the basis for the many good qualities of one who has entered a path, whereby they are called such. (426)

Also, Blo bzang rta dbyangs says:

In the world, the ground serves as a basis of production and abiding of fruit trees, forests, and so forth. Similarly, these perform the similar function of serving as the basis of the production and abiding of worldly qualities and qualities that are beyond the world. (74)

These scholars see wisdom, compassion, generosity, and so forth as bases that both nourish and enable further growth, and so they call such consciousnesses "grounds." Just as trees, mountains, lakes, animals, humans, farms, cities, and so forth all depend on the earth, so the beneficial qualities of body, speech, and mind developed by hearers, solitary realizers, and bodhisattvas all depend upon the consciousnesses from which they grow. Like the earth that is the basis for fruit trees and forests, such consciousnesses are the foundation for (1) the increase of beneficial[page 269] qualities and (2) the release of a limitless number of sentient beings from mistaken conceptions and mistaken appearances. As we read, we are invited to regard such minds as fertile points of departure, like good earth in which grow magnificent, shade-giving trees, beautiful flowers, luxurious green grass, and a rich harvest of corn.

In describing the internal structure of the Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna, the literature on grounds and paths creates a basis for discussing both the significant features of each and their differences. In that context, the grounds or paths of any one person's journey are individually distinct. In general, however, "ground" and "path" are synonyms: any consciousness that is one is also the other (ZGN: 74). Generally speaking, then, the names "ground" and "path" point to further extension of the Hīnayāna or Mahāyāna disciplines. As a ground, a consciousness serves as the basis for an increase of one's own good qualities and, in the Mahāyāna, for the liberation of others from suffering. Thus, "ground" suggests the further development both of oneself and of others. As a path, a consciousness invites further steps, and itself carries one part of the way. In brief, grounds and paths encourage motion and expansion.

dKon mchog 'jigs med dbang po gives "vehicle" (yāna, theg pa) as one of six synonyms for "path" (428). Since all paths are also grounds, "ground," "path," and "vehicle" are mutually inclusive: whatever is one is also the other two. However, the terms are used differently and suggest different aspects of the consciousnesses to which they refer. Consciousnesses are called "vehicles" when they are able to bear the welfare of sentient beings. The grounds and paths that carry practitioners to the liberations of arhats and buddhas are vehicles in that they bear sentient beings to the states of well-being that those practitioners seek. The final paths that practitioners achieve at the end of their journeys are also called vehicles because they themselves are the vessel for such well-being.

In each case, the image—ground, path, vehicle—connects one experience to another. Saying that a consciousness realizing emptiness is a "path" leading to liberation connects an extraordinary experience with an ordinary experience. Calling compassion a "ground" associates the fertility of the heart with the fertility of the earth. The metaphor enables a practitioner to think about compassion in a new way. Similar purposes have led Buddhist writers[page 270] to cast the literature of spiritual development in the terms of agriculture, ocean voyages, and warfare, which is to say, in the terms of the ordinary world.

From several points of view, the literature on grounds and paths provides a general environment for study and meditation in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. In it are described the initial steps in the direction of liberation, the obstructions to further progress toward liberation, and the landmarks along the paths to liberation. This literature describes also the qualities that develop as practitioners approach liberation, the nature of the liberations that are achieved, and the varieties of journeys that different kinds of practitioners make toward liberation. However, except for texts that are specifically concerned with the paths of the Vajrayāna, the literature of grounds and paths explains the Sūtrayāna rather than the Vajrayāna. For this reason it does not describe the entirety of Tibetan Buddhist practice and omits in particular the ritual, the vision of sacredness, and the yoga to which Tibetan Buddhists have been overwhelmingly dedicated. Nevertheless, the grounds and paths of sūtra are studied, taught, debated, and have been written about repeatedly since the introduction of this body of knowledge to the people of Tibet. Moreover, the texts that present the grounds and paths of the Vajrayāna correlate the practices and realizations of that vehicle with the grounds and paths of the Sūtrayāna, and speak of Vajrayāna accomplishments in terms of the outline set down in the literature on the grounds and paths of the Sūtrayāna. This indicates that the Sūtra presentation has sufficient authority that the more powerful Vajrayāna of which it is a subset does not render it irrelevant or quaint. On the contrary, the presentation made in the sūtras and śāstras informs and directs Vajrayāna practice to a significant degree, in that the network of metaphors and analogies redefines and enlarges the perspectives of those who bring such a visualization into their own lives, in somewhat the way that remarkable people alter and extend the outlooks of those who meet them. These images reveal a territory that lies beyond the futility of cyclic existence, whereby they also invite and orient a personal exploration of the unknown ground.[page 271]

Asaṅga

NPSrNal 'byor spyod pa'i sa/ Sa'i dngos gzhi (Yogacaryābhūmi/ Bhūmivastu, "Levels of Yogic Practice/ Actuality of the Levels"). P nos. 5536-5538, vols. 109-110.

Blo bzang rta dbyangs

ZGNPhar chen theg pa'i lugs kyi theg pa gsum gyi sa dang lam gyi rnam par bzhag pa mdo tsam du brjod pa zab don rgya mtsho'i snying po ("Brief Expression of the Presentation of the Grounds and Paths of the Three Vehicles According to the System of the Great Perfection Vehicle, Essence of the Ocean of Profound Meaning"). In The Collected Works (Gsuṅg 'Bum) of Rje-Btsun Blo-Bzang-Rta-Mgrin, vol. 4, pp. 65-139. New Delhi: Mongolian Lama Gurudeva, 1975.

Candrakīrti

UJdBu ma la 'jug pa (Madhyamakāvatāra, "Supplement to [Nāgārjuna's] 'Treatise on the Middle'"). P nos. 5261, 5262, vol. 98. Edited Tibetan in Louis de la Vallée Poussin's Madhyamakāvatāra par Candrakīrti. Bibliotheca Buddhica9. Osnabruck: Biblio Verlag, 1970. English translation of Chapters One through Five in Tsong ka pa, Lekden, and Hopkins, Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism, pp. 95-230. Valois, NY: Gabriel/ Snow Lion, 1980, pp. 95-230. English translation of Chapter Six by Stephen Batchelor in Geshé Rabten, Echoes of Voidness, pp. 47-92. London: Wisdom, 1983.

Dalai Lama XIV, Tenzin Gyatso

1975The Buddhism of Tibet and the Key to the Middle Way. Translated by Jeffrey Hopkins and Lati Rimpoche. New York: Harper & Row.

DB

mDo sde sa bcu pa (Daśabhūmikasūtra, "Ten Grounds Sūtra"). P no. 761.31, vol. 25. Translated by M. Honda in An Annotated Translation of the 'Daśabhūmika.' In Studies in Southeast and Central Asia, pp. 115-276. Ed. by D. Sinor. Śata-Piṭaka Series74. New Delhi: 1968.[page 272]

dByangs can dga ba'i blo gros

KZJNdPal gsang ba 'dus pa 'phags lugs dang mthun pa'i sngags kyi sa lam rnam gzhag legs bshad skal bzang 'jug ngogs ("Presentation of the Grounds and Paths of Mantra According to the Superior Nāgārjuna's Interpretation of the Glorious Guhyasamāja, A Good Explanation Serving as a Port for the Fortunate"). Blockprint, N.p., n.d.

dKon mchog 'jigs med dbang po

TSDGSa lam gyi rnam gzhag theg gsum rdzes rgyan ("Presentation of Grounds and Paths, Beautiful Ornament for the Three Vehicles"). In The Collected Works of dKon-mchog-'jigs-med-dbang-po, vol. 7. New Delhi: Ngawang Gelek Demo, 1972.

GT

Shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa'i mdo (Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra, "Eight-Thousand-Stanza Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra"). P no. 734, vol. 21. Translated by E. Conze, Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā. Asiatic Society Bibliotheca Indica284. Calcutta, 1958; reprint Bolinas, CA: Four Seasons Foundation, 1962.

Hopkins, Jeffrey

1992 A Tibetan Perspective on the Nature of Spiritual Experience. In Paths to Liberation: The Mārga and its Transformations in Buddhist Thought. Ed. by Robert E. Buswell, Jr. and Robert M. Gimello. Studies in East Asian Buddhism7. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

'Jam dbyangs blo bzang bshes gnyen

KZMPSa lam gyi rnam bzhag skal bzang mig phyed ("Presentation of Grounds and Paths, Opener of the Eyes of the Fortunate"). Blockprint, N.p., n.d.

'Jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha' yas

SBDbGrod bya sa dang lam gyi rim par phye ba ("Distinguishing the Stages of Those That Are to Be Traversed, the Grounds and Paths"). In Shes bya mdzod/ Theg pa'i sgo kun las btus pa gsung rab rin po che'i mdzod bslab pa gsum legs par ston pa'i bstan bcos shes bya kun khyab ("Treasury of Knowledge/ Treasury of Precious High Speech Gathered from All the Doors of Vehicles, Treatise Pervading All That Is to Be Known and Teaching Well the Three Trainings"). Lhasa: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1983.

'Ju Mi pham rgya mtsho

KJmKhas pa'i tshul la 'jug pa'i sgo zhes bya ba'i bstan bcos ("Treatise Called, 'Door of Entry into the Way of the Learned'"). Blockprint, N.p., n.d.[page 273]

Kalu Rinpoche

1986 The Dharma that Illuminates All Beings Impartially Like the Light of the Sun and the Moon. Edited by The Kagyu Thubten Choling Translation Committee. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Lati Rinbochay et al.

1983Meditative States in Tibetan Buddhism.London: Wisdom Publications.

Karma pa VIII, Mi bskyod rdo rje

DGGSdBu ma la 'jug pa'i rnam bshad dpal ldan dus gsum mkhyen pa'i zhal lung dwags brgyud sgrub pa'i shing rta ("Explanation of [Candrakīrti's] 'Supplement to [Nāgārjuna's] "Treatise on the Middle",' Sacred Speech of the Glorious Knower of the Three Times, Chariot Establishing the Dak po Lineage"). Blockprint, N.p., n.d.

lCang skya rol pa'i rdo rje

TLDGGrub pa'i mtha'i rnam par bzhag pa gsal bar bshad pa thub bstan lhun po'i mdzes rgyan ("Clear Exposition of the Presentations of Tenets, Beautiful Ornament for the Meru of the Subduer's Teaching"). Varanasi: Pleasure of Elegant Sayings Press, 1970.

Maitreya

MTGmNgon par rtogs pa'i rgyan (Abhisamayālamkāra, "Ornament for the Clear Realizations"). P no. 5184, vol. 88. Sanskrit edition by Th. Stcherbatsky and E. Obermiller, Abhisamayālaṃkāra-Prajñāpāramitā-Updeśa-Śāstra. Bibliotheca Buddhica21. Osnabruck: Biblio Verlag, 1970. English translation by Edward Conze, Abhisamayālaṃkāra. Serie Orientale Roma6. Rome: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1954.

DDGTheg pa chen po'i mdo sde rgyan gyi tshig le'ur byas pa (Mahāyāna-sūtrālaṃkārakārikā, "Ornament for the Mahāyāna Sūtras"). P no. 5521, vol. 108.

mKhas grub dge legs dpal bzang po

KYPSa lam gyi rnam gzhag mkhas pa'i yid 'phrog ("Presentation of Grounds and Paths, Captivating the Minds of the Learned"). In The Collected Works (gsuṅ 'bum) of Mkhas-grub Dge-legs Dpal, vol. 9, pp. 309-337. New Delhi: Ngawang Gelek Demo, 1983-1985.

Nāgārjuna

RPrGyal po la gtam bya ba rin po che'i 'phreng ba (Rājaparikathāratnāvalī, "Precious Garland of Advice for the King"). P no. 5658, vol. 129. Translated by Jeffrey Hopkins and Lati Rimpoche in[page 274] The Precious Garland and The Song of the Four Mindfulnesses. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1975. Partial translation by G. Tucci, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 1934, pp. 307-325; 1936, pp. 237-252, 423-435.

Ngag dbang dpal ldan

GZSBgSang chen rgyud sde bzhi'i sa lam gyi rnam bzhag rgyud gzhung gsal byed ("Illumination of the Texts of Tantra, Presentation of the Grounds and Paths of the Four Great Secret Tantra Sets"). Blockprint, N.p., n.d.

Rig 'dzin rgyal mtshan

BTCSLBon theg pa chen po'i sa lam ("Grounds and Paths of the Bon Mahāyāna"). Blockprint, N.p., n.d.

rJe btsun chos kyi rgyal mtshan

KGGmKhas pa'i mgul rgyan ces bya ba sa lam rnam bzhag ("Presentation of Grounds and Paths, Necklace for the Learned"). Blockprint, N.p., n.d.

sGam po pa

TRGDam chos yid bzhin gyi nor bu thar pa rin po che'i rgyan zhes bya ba theg pa chen po'i lam rim gyi bshad pa ("Explanation of the Stages of the Paths of the Mahāyāna, Called 'The Excellent Dharma, the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, the Ornament for Precious Liberation'"). Thimphu: National Library of Bhutan, 1985. Translated by Herbert V. Guenther, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. Berkeley: Shambhala, 1971.

Shes rab rgyal mtshan

PGMSa lam 'phrul gyi sgron me ("Magical Lamp for the Grounds and Paths"). Blockprint, N.p., n.d.

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