Tibetan

Tibetan Buddhist translations, scholastic treatises, devotional texts, letters, praises, ritual works, and Dunhuang Buddhist materials.

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Texts

Ascertaining Dharmas — RatnakīrtiA comprehensive philosophical treatise ascertaining the nature of dharmas — from the foundations of faith and wisdom, through ethics, karma, and all four Buddhist philosophical schools, to a spirited defense of luminous consciousness against nihilistic Madhyamaka. First English translation from the Tibetan Buddhist Tengyur (D4084).Jewel Praise of Śabarapāda — VanaratnaTwenty-four-verse praise of Śabarapāda, one of the eighty-four Mahāsiddhas, by Vanaratna (1384–1468). A name-acrostic on ŚA-BA-RA followed by a systematic reading of every Mahāsiddha ornament as a philosophical truth. First English translation from the Degē Tengyur (D1176).Praise of Ārya Jambhala — CandraA devotional prayer to the Buddhist wealth deity Jambhala attributed to the venerable Candra — likely Candrakīrti, the great Mādhyamika philosopher. Nine verses of raw emotional plea: the poet stands before the god with tears streaming down his face, asking why the lord of wealth will not look upon the poor. Translated by Pa Tshab Nyi ma Grags. First English translation from the Tibetan Tengyur (D3748).Praise of Ārya Jambhala — JñānavajraA tantric praise of the Buddhist wealth deity Jambhala composed by the Indian paṇḍita Jñānavajra. Five verses describe the god’s dark blue body, skull cup, treasure-mongoose, and dwarfish wrathful form, culminating in a dedication prayer for all beings to be freed from poverty. First English translation from the Tibetan Tengyur (D3749).Praise of the Deities of the Four Yogas — RatnakīrtiA devotional praise of the four objects of Buddhist yogic meditation — the Buddha in samādhi, the bodhisattva and arhat assemblies, the Dharmakāya as Prajñāpāramitā, and the Buddha's body adorned with the thirty-two marks and eighty minor signs. Composed by the great Indian paṇḍita Ratnakīrti, translated into Tibetan by the Nepalese Mahāvana. First English translation from the Tibetan Buddhist Tengyur (D1170).The Discourse Showing the Good Path — Acārya VīraA systematic treatise on the Buddhist threefold training by Acarya Vira, translated into Tibetan by Atisa and Rinchen Zangpo. The first complete English translation of this Tengyur text.The Illuminating Lamp — Śrī SiṃhaA tantric commentary on the Heart Sūtra by Śrī Siṃha, the foundational Dzogchen master, transmitted by Vairocana to King Trisong Detsen. Interprets every phrase of the Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya on three levels — outer, inner, and secret — revealing the Heart Sūtra as a teaching on primordial awareness. First English translation from the Tibetan Buddhist Tengyur (D4353).The Rite of Receiving the Bodhisattva Vow — AbhayākaraguptaA liturgical manual for receiving the bodhisattva’s vow of moral discipline, compiled by Abhayākaragupta from the Bodhisattva Piṭaka. First English translation.The Trunk of Virtue — RatnakīrtiA systematic map of the entire Buddhist path — from the sixteen unwholesome acts and their reversals, through the Four Noble Truths, the ten perfections each in three aspects, a survey of all four philosophical schools, to the bodhisattva's nine minds of compassion. By Ratnakīrti of Vikramaśīla, 11th century.