Ornament of Precious Liberation

by Gampopa, Ken Holmes (Translator), Thupten Jinpa (Editor), Ogyen Trinley Dorje Karmapa (Foreword by)

Overview

A welcome new translation of Gampopa's classic overview of the Buddha's teachings.

Discover the heart of the Buddha’s teachings in this new and beautiful translation of Gampopa’s classic guidebook.

Ornament of Precious Liberation is a spiritual and literary treasure of Tibetan Buddhism and of the Kagyü lineage in particular. Laying out step-by-step the path to buddhahood that is open to us all, to read Gampopa’s text is like receiving the teachings directly from the master himself. It is a quintessential guide to enlightenment that students will return to again and again for its insights into living an awakened life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614294177
Publisher:	Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date:	02/07/2017
Pages:	376
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Thupten Jinpa was educated in the classical Tibetan monastic academia and received the highest academic degree of geshe lharam (equivalent to a doctorate in divinity). Jinpa also holds a BA in philosophy and a PhD in religious studies, both from the University of Cambridge, England. Since 1985 he has been the principal translator to the Dalai Lama, accompanying him to the United States, Canada, and Europe. He has translated and edited many books by the Dalai Lama, including The World of Tibetan Buddhism, Essence of the Heart Sutra, and the New York Times bestseller Ethics for the New Millennium.

Jinpa has published scholarly articles on various aspects of Tibetan culture, Buddhism, and philosophy, and books such as Songs of Spiritual Experience (co-authored) and Self, Reality and Reason in Tibetan Philosophy. He serves on the advisory board of numerous educational and cultural organizations in North America, Europe, and India. He is currently the president and the general series editor of the Institute of Tibetan Classics, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to translating key Tibetan classics into contemporary languages. And he also currently chairs the Mind & Life Institute and Compassion Institute.

Table of Contents

Foreword by His Holiness the Karmapa vii

Editor's Preface ix

Translator's Introduction 1

Ornament of Precious Liberation: A Wish-Fulfilling Gem of Sublime Dharma Gampopa Sönam Rinchen (1079-1153)

Author's Preface 11

I The Prime Cause

1 Buddha Nature 15

II The Basis

2 A Precious Human Existence 25

III The Condition

3 Relying on the Dharma Master 37

IV The Means: The Dharma Master's Instruction

4 The Impermanence of Conditioned Existence 47

5 The Suffering of Samsara 59

6 Karma and Its Effects 77

7 Loving Kindness and Compassion 89

8 Taking Refuge 99

9 The Proper Adoption of Bodhicitta 111

10 Precepts for Generating Aspiring Bodhicitta 145

11 Presentation of the Six Perfections 151

12 The Perfection of Generosity 155

13 The Perfection of Moral Discipline 169

14 The Perfection of Forbearance 181

15 The Perfection of Diligence 191

16 The Perfection of Meditative Concentration 199

17 The Perfection of Wisdom 215

18 The Presentation of the [Five] Paths 247

19 The Presentation of the Levels 253

V The Result

20 The Bodies of Perfect Buddhahood 275

VI Enlightened Activities of the Buddhas

21 Enlightened Activities of the Buddhas 291

Notes 297

Glossary 319

Bibliography 331

Index 341

About the Contributors 357

Editorial Reviews

01/09/2017
Holmes (Stages of the Buddha’s Teachings) lucidly translates the critical text of the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Within Tibetan Buddhism, there are six major schools, most of which are overlooked in the West due to the prominence of the Gelugpa tradition through the 14th Dalai Lama. The Kagyu School traces its lineage back to Milarepa, whose foremost student was the Gampopa. This seminal work of Kagyu Buddhism may best be described as a textbook for meditators, providing a series of truths, reflections, and bodhisattva practices for ascending towards buddhahood. Students of the Kagyu tradition are systematically taught the prime cause (buddha nature), the basis for buddha nature (human existence), the condition for learning (a teacher), the means of learning (the actual teaching, the bulk of the text), and the result (the attainment of buddhahood and enlightened activity). Holmes’s translation flows smoothly and is readable—at least within the bounds that a Kagyu Mahayana textbook allows. Readers new to Buddhism will likely find this text intimidating and too narrowly focused, but the experienced will appreciate the idiosyncratic method for approaching the basic teachings of Buddhism as well as the thoughtful breakdowns of those teachings into their basic constituents. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

A classic work on the spiritual path, brought to life in for contemporary English readers in this lively new translation. This is among the clearest explanations of the Mahayana path in any language.

Kurtis R. Schaeffer

Though there are several earlier translations of Ornament of Precious Liberation, this translation is the most readable and faithful, and the extensive footnotes will be of help to practitioners and scholars alike.

The Seventeenth Karmapa

The Ornament of Precious Liberation by the dharma lord Gampopa is not only an authoritative and comprehensive blueprint of Buddhist spirituality, it is also a classic of world literature. Ken Holmes’s beautiful new translation will help ensure that these much needed guidelines of Gampopa for developing wisdom and compassion will receive timely new attention in our shared experience of the 21st century.

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche

The Ornament of Precious Liberation by the dharma lord Gampopa is not only an authoritative and comprehensive blueprint of Buddhist spirituality, it is also a classic of world literature. Ken Holmes’s beautiful new translation will help ensure that these much needed guidelines of Gampopa for developing wisdom and compassion will receive timely new attention in our shared experience of the 21st century.

Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche