- The hardcopy book is shipped from the US. International customers may wish to explore local booksellers, Shambala Publications, or Amazon to save on shipping cost.
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This version is for Self-Paced Online Course (SPOC) only. The UPDATED version for non Self-Paced Online Course will be available in the Fall 2023.
Mind and Its World III first concludes the investigation into causes and results as presented in Collected Topics. It then turns to the analysis of the ways in which mind cognizes phenomena, particularly the ways in which conceptuality functions, by investigating the modes of engagement from Classifications of Mind and the methods that lead to cognition from Collected Topics. Selected readings, analytical meditations, study questions, and review summaries are included in the sourcebook. Also available as an eBook for Apple or Android devices. -
For Self-pace Online Course, students will be using the Mind and Its World IV, Provisional Draft; students must agree with the following policy before placing the order:
PROVISIONAL DRAFT COURSEWARE POLICY & ELECTRONIC FILE SHARING ARRANGEMENT:
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- You may use the Mind and Its World IV, Provisional Draft PDF for the duration of the class. However, once the course has concluded, usually determined by the expiration of access to the course video and audio recordings, you MUST delete the PDF file from your computer, as well as delete the email containing the PDF file attachment.
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Mind and Its World IV examines the two Hinayana philosophical tenet systems: the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika schools. Specific topics include the definitions of the two schools, a discussion of their subschools, an in-depth examination of their presentations of the process of perception and objects of knowledge. Also included is a description of the paths and fruition. Selected readings, analytical meditations, study questions, and review summaries are included in the sourcebook. -
- The hardcopy book is shipped from the US. International customers may wish to explore local booksellers, Shambala Publications, or Amazon to save on shipping cost.
Translator: Mitra Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl
The Abhisamayalamkara summarizes all the topics in the vast body of the Prajnaparamita Sutras. Resembling a zip-file, it comes to life only through its Indian and Tibetan commentaries. Together, these texts not only discuss the "hidden meaning" of the Prajnaparamita Sutras—the paths and bhumis of sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas—but also serve as contemplative manuals for the explicit topic of these sutras—emptiness—and how it is to be understood on the progressive levels of realization of bodhisattvas. Thus these texts describe what happens in the mind of a bodhisattva who meditates on emptiness, making it a living experience from the beginner's stage up through buddhahood. Gone Beyond contains the first in-depth study of the Abhisamayalamkara (the text studied most extensively in higher Tibetan Buddhist education) and its commentaries in the Kagyu School. This study (in two volumes) includes translations of Maitreya's famous text and its commentary by the Fifth Shamarpa Goncho Yenla (the first translation ever of a complete commentary on the Abhisamayalamkara into English), which are supplemented by extensive excerpts from the commentaries by the Third, Seventh, and Eighth Karmapas and others. Thus it closes a long-standing gap in the modern scholarship on the Prajnaparamita Sutras and the literature on paths and bhumis in mahayana Buddhism. The first volume presents an English translation of the first three chapters of the Abhisamayalamkara and its commentary by the Fifth Shamarpa. The second volume presents an English translation of the final five chapters and its commentary by the Fifth Shamarpa. Karl Brunnhölzl, MD, was trained as a physician and also studied Tibetology. He received his systematic training in Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy and practice at the Marpa Institute for Translators, founded by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. Since 1989 he has been a translator and interpreter from Tibetan and English. He is presently involved with the Nitartha Institute as a teacher and translator. -
- The hardcopy book is shipped from the US. International customers may wish to explore local booksellers, Shambala Publications, or Amazon to save on shipping cost.
Translator: Mitra Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl
The Abhisamayalamkara summarizes all the topics in the vast body of the Prajnaparamita Sutras. Resembling a zip-file, it comes to life only through its Indian and Tibetan commentaries. Together, these texts not only discuss the "hidden meaning" of the Prajnaparamita Sutras—the paths and bhumis of sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas—but also serve as contemplative manuals for the explicit topic of these sutras—emptiness—and how it is to be understood on the progressive levels of realization of bodhisattvas. Thus these texts describe what happens in the mind of a bodhisattva who meditates on emptiness, making it a living experience from the beginner's stage up through buddhahood. Gone Beyond contains the first in-depth study of the Abhisamayalamkara (the text studied most extensively in higher Tibetan Buddhist education) and its commentaries in the Kagyu School. This study (in two volumes) includes translations of Maitreya's famous text and its commentary by the Fifth Shamarpa Goncho Yenla (the first translation ever of a complete commentary on the Abhisamayalamkara into English), which are supplemented by extensive excerpts from the commentaries by the Third, Seventh, and Eighth Karmapas and others. Thus it closes a long-standing gap in the modern scholarship on the Prajnaparamita Sutras and the literature on paths and bhumis in mahayana Buddhism. The first volume presents an English translation of the first three chapters of the Abhisamayalamkara and its commentary by the Fifth Shamarpa. The second volume presents an English translation of the final five chapters and its commentary by the Fifth Shamarpa. Karl Brunnhölzl, MD, was trained as a physician and also studied Tibetology. He received his systematic training in Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy and practice at the Marpa Institute for Translators, founded by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. Since 1989 he has been a translator and interpreter from Tibetan and English. He is presently involved with the Nitartha Institute as a teacher and translator. -
- The hardcopy book is shipped from the US. International customers may wish to explore local booksellers, Shambala Publications, or Amazon to save on shipping cost.
Author: Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
In the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism, the Great Perfection is considered the most profound and direct path to enlightenment. The instructions of this tradition present a spiritual shortcut--a radically direct approach that cuts through confusion and lays bare the mind's true nature of luminous purity. For centuries, these teachings have been taught and practiced in secret by some of the greatest adepts of the Buddhist tradition. Great Perfection: Outer and Inner Preliminaries contains detailed instructions on the foundational practices of this tradition, from "The Excellent Chariot," a practice manual compiled by the Third Dzogchen Rinpoche. Distilling the teachings of the Heart Essence of the Dakinis into an accessible, easy-to-practice format, The Excellent Chariotleads the reader through the entire Buddhist path, starting with basic Buddhist contemplations that work to dislodge deeply ingrained patterns of thinking and behaving, and continuing on to the most advanced and secret meditative practices of the Great Perfection. The teachings in this volume are drawn largely from the writings of the great Nyingma master Longchenpa and the root texts of the Heart Essence of the Dakinis itself. The Third Dzogchen Rinpoche begins by discussing the correct way to study and practice the Great Perfection teachings before presenting an overview of the Great Perfection lineage and an explanation on the meaning and importance of empowerment. In the chapters that follow, he presents practical instructions on the outer and inner preliminaries, the so-called "ng ndro" practices. These practices enable the practitioner to transform and purify the mind, preparing it for the advanced Great Perfection meditation of Trekch and T gal, the breakthrough and direct leap. In addition to the translation mentioned above, Great Perfection: Outer and Inner Preliminaries contains a beautiful introduction by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, a contemporary Great Perfection master, and an extensive glossary of key Great Perfection terminology. The Heart Essence Series presents translations of seminal writings on the Great Perfection. Beginning with the works of the Heart Essence of the Dakinis and the Heart Essence of Vimalamitra, two cycles that lie at the core of the Great Perfection lineage, the series aims to provide scholars, teachers, and practitioners of these profound teachings with accurate and readable translations of the most important Great Perfection texts. Great Perfection: Separation and Breakthrough, a companion volume of restricted teachings, is also available, containing advanced teachings on the separation or rushen practices and the breakthrough stage of Great Perfection meditation. The Third Dzogchen Rinpoche (1759-1792) was the abbot of Dzogchen Monastery, one of the largest monastic centers in eastern Tibet. He was known particularly for his mastery of the Great Perfection teachings and his clear and accessible works on this topic. -
- The hardcopy book is shipped from the US. International customers may wish to explore local booksellers, Shambala Publications, or Amazon to save on shipping cost.
Translator: Mitra Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl
The Abhisamayalamkara summarizes all the topics in the vast body of the praj aparamita sutras. Resembling a zip-file, it comes to life only through its Indian and Tibetan commentaries. Together, these texts not only discuss the "hidden meaning" of the praj aparamita sutras--the paths and bhumis of sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas--but also serve as contemplative manuals for the explicit topic of these sutras--emptiness--and how it is to be understood on the progressive levels of realization of bodhisattvas. Thus these texts describe what happens in the mind of a bodhisattva who meditates on emptiness, making it a living experience from the beginner's stage up through buddhahood.
Groundless Paths contains the first in-depth study of the Abhisamayalamkara (the text studied most extensively in higher Tibetan Buddhist education) and its commentaries from the perspective of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. This study consists mainly of translations of Maitreya's famous text and two commentaries on it by Patrul Rinpoche. These are supplemented by three short texts on the paths and bhumis by the same author, as well as extensive excerpts from commentaries by six other Nyingma masters, including Mipham Rinpoche. Thus this book helps close a long-standing gap in the modern scholarship on the praj aparamita sutras and the literature on paths and bhumis in mahayana Buddhism.
Arya Maitreya's Ornament of Clear Realization, with its Indian and Tibetan commentaries, presents the complex dynamics of the path to liberation as a succession of realizations of the empty nature of all phenomena. This presentation is a powerful antidote to whatever two-dimensional views we might hold about spiritual experience and the journey to enlightenment.
Karl Brunnhölzl, MD, was trained as a physician and also studied Tibetology. He received his systematic training in Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy and practice at the Marpa Institute for Translators, founded by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. Since 1989 he has been a translator and interpreter from Tibetan and English. He is presently involved with the Nitartha Institute as a teacher and translator.
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A commentary on THE GATEWAY THAT REVEALS THE PHILOSOPHICAL SYSTEMS TO FRESH MINDS by Ācārya Sherab Gyaltsen.
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- Available as an eBook for Apple and Android devices.
- The hardcopy book is shipped from the US. International customers may wish to explore local booksellers, Shambala Publications, or Amazon to save on shipping cost.
Translator: Dr. Mitra Karl Brunnhölzl
An extraordinary collection of writings on buddha nature by the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339). The Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje’s unique and balanced view synthesizes Yogācāra Madhyamaka and the classical teachings on buddha nature. His work focuses on the transition from ordinary deluded consciousness to enlightened wisdom, the characteristics of buddhahood, and a buddha’s enlightened activity. Included are commentaries by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Tayé that supplement the view of the Third Karmapa on two fundamental treatises on buddha nature, emphasizing the luminous empty mind of buddha nature as presented by the great Indian masters Maitreya and Asaṅga. For those practicing the sutrayāna and the vajrayāna in the Kagyü tradition, what these texts describe can be transformed into living experience. -
Also available as an eBook for Apple and Google. Mind and Its World I begins a detailed analysis of the subjective side of experience. It examines mind and how it perceives its world in valid and invalid ways based on the Classifications of Mind, which provides divisions and definitions of the types of mind identified in the epistemological tradition of Dignaga and Dharmakirti. The key point is the discernment of the aspects of mind that validly perceive things the way they are, which are distinguished from those aspects of mind that are mistaken and tainted by fundamental delusion, and thus keep one bound in samsara. It also introduces the two Hinayana philosophical systems, the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika schools, covering the two truths and the process of perception. Selected readings, analytical meditations, study questions, review summaries are included in the sourcebook. -
Also available as an eBook for Apple and Google. Mind and Its World II examines the theme of karma. It begins the study of causes and conditions as presented in Collected Topics, the twelve nidanas, or chain of interdependent origination, and the distinction between primary minds and mental factors. It includes a detailed presentation of the mental factors from the Classifications of Mind. Selected readings, analytical meditations, study questions, and review summaries are included in the sourcebook. -
This is the updated Mind and Its World 4 Sourcebook for semester course and Summer Institute (not for Self-Paced Online Course).
Also available as an ebook for Apple and Google.The Mind and Its World 4 sourcebook presents the path and result of foundational Buddhism as found in the Vaibhāṣika and Sautrāntika philosophical traditions, based on The Gateway that Reveals the Philosophical Traditions to Fresh Minds root text. Talks by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, Acharya Kelsang Wangdi, Acharya Sherab Gyaltsen, and Professor Phil Stanley bring clarity to the subjects discussed in the root text. Key topics include the meaning of the path, the four applications of mindfulness, personal identitylessness, dependent origination, the four realities of the noble ones, the thirty-seven branches of enlightenment, and the results of the path. Numerous charts and diagrams are included as aids to understanding the material.
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This is the updated Mind and Its World 3 Sourcebook for semester course and Summer Institute (not for Self-Paced Online Course).
Also available as an ebook for Apple and Google. Mind and Its World III first concludes the investigation into causes and results as presented in Collected Topics. It then turns to the analysis of the ways in which mind cognizes phenomena, particularly the ways in which conceptuality functions, by investigating the modes of engagement from Classifications of Mind and the methods that lead to cognition from Collected Topics. Selected readings, analytical meditations, study questions, and review summaries are included in the sourcebook. -
Author: Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen Translators: Kimberly Colwell and Marcus Perman
Root text written by Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen. It presents the divisions and definitions of the Mind Only philosophical system. -
This sourcebook offers a systematic presentation of the Mind Only (Cittamātra) tenet system, one of the principal Mahāyāna philosophical schools. The Mind Only school emphasizes the doctrine that the subjective and objective poles of perception are not different in substance, but mental in nature. Specific topics include discussions on perception, the fundamental notion of “mind only,” the three natures, self-awareness, and the all-base consciousness. Also included is a brief discussion of the paths and the fruition. Selected readings, analytical meditations, study questions, and review charts are included in the sourcebook. Includes root text written by Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen. -
- The hardcopy book is shipped from the US. International customers may wish to explore local booksellers, Shambala Publications, or Amazon to save on shipping cost.
Author: Dr. Mitra Karl Brunnhölzl
Mining for Wisdom within Delusion: Maitreya's "Distinction between Phenomena and the Nature of Phenomena" and Its Indian and Tibetan Commentaries
Maitreya’s Distinction between Phenomena and the Nature of Phenomena distinguishes the illusory phenomenal world of saṃsāra produced by the confused dualistic mind from the ultimate reality that is mind’s true nature. The transition from the one to the other is the process of “mining for wisdom within delusion.” Maitreya’s text calls this “the fundamental change,” which refers to the vanishing of delusive appearances through practicing the path, thus revealing the underlying changeless nature of these appearances. In this context, the main part of the text consists of the most detailed explanation of nonconceptual wisdom—the primary driving force of the path as well as its ultimate result—in Buddhist literature. The introduction of the book discusses these two topics (fundamental change and nonconceptual wisdom) at length and shows how they are treated in a number of other Buddhist scriptures. The three translated commentaries, by Vasubandhu, the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, and Gö Lotsāwa, as well as excerpts from all other available commentaries on Maitreya’s text, put it in the larger context of the Indian Yogācāra School and further clarify its main themes. They also show how this text is not a mere scholarly document, but an essential foundation for practicing both the sūtrayāna and the vajrayāna and thus making what it describes a living experience. The book also discusses the remaining four of the five works of Maitreya, their transmission from India to Tibet, and various views about them in the Tibetan tradition. -
A commentary by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
This series (Introduction to Topic 8) presents Maitreya’s Ornament of Clear Realization based on the commentary by the eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje, Relief of the Noble Ones. Maitreya’s work is the central Mahayana text on the stages of the path and their fruition, for both the Hinayana and Mahayana. It is traditionally summarized in seventy points, or more generally in eight chapters. Whereas the Madhyamaka literature presents the explicit meaning of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, the subject matter of the Abhisamayalamkara is the hidden or implied meaning: the various stages of bodhisattvas, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas on the path of the meditation on emptiness, from the stage of beginner up through buddhahood. Includes root text by Maitreya and commentary by Mikyö Dorje, translated by Mitra Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl. -
A commentary by Ācārya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen
This series (Introduction to Topic 8) presents Maitreya’s Ornament of Clear Realization based on the commentary by the eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje, Relief of the Noble Ones. Maitreya’s work is the central Mahayana text on the stages of the path and their fruition, for both the Hinayana and Mahayana. It is traditionally summarized in seventy points, or more generally in eight chapters. Whereas the Madhyamaka literature presents the explicit meaning of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, the subject matter of the Abhisamayalamkara is the hidden or implied meaning: the various stages of bodhisattvas, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas on the path of the meditation on emptiness, from the stage of beginner up through buddhahood. Includes root text by Maitreya and commentary by Mikyö Dorje, translated by Mitra Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl. -
A commentary by Āchārya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen
This series (Introduction to Topic 8) presents Maitreya’s Ornament of Clear Realization based on the commentary by the eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje, Relief of the Noble Ones. Maitreya’s work is the central Mahayana text on the stages of the path and their fruition, for both the Hinayana and Mahayana. It is traditionally summarized in seventy points, or more generally in eight chapters. Whereas the Madhyamaka literature presents the explicit meaning of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, the subject matter of the Abhisamayalamkara is the hidden or implied meaning: the various stages of bodhisattvas, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas on the path of the meditation on emptiness, from the stage of beginner up through buddhahood. Includes root text by Maitreya and commentary by Mikyö Dorje, translated by Mitra Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl. -
A commentary by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
This series (Introduction to Topic 8) presents Maitreya’s Ornament of Clear Realization based on the commentary by the eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje, Relief of the Noble Ones. Maitreya’s work is the central Mahayana text on the stages of the path and their fruition, for both the Hinayana and Mahayana. It is traditionally summarized in seventy points, or more generally in eight chapters. Whereas the Madhyamaka literature presents the explicit meaning of the Prajnaparamita Sutras, the subject matter of the Abhisamayalamkara is the hidden or implied meaning: the various stages of bodhisattvas, shravakas, and pratyekabuddhas on the path of the meditation on emptiness, from the stage of beginner up through buddhahood. Includes root text by Maitreya and commentary by Mikyö Dorje, translated by Mitra Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl. -
A commentary by Ācārya Kelsang Wangdi
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Traducción del tibetano al inglés por Karl Brunnhölzl Traducción del inglés al español por Israel Lifshitz
Un texto raíz escrito por Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. Presenta las divisiones y definiciones de los tipos de mente identificados en la tradición epistemológica de Dignāga y Dharmakīrti. -
Author: Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé Translator: Karl Brunnhölzl
A root text based on sections of Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye’s Treasury of Knowledge. It systematically presents the Madhyamaka view of the two truths, the assertions of the subschools of the tradition, and formulates the emptiness reasonings.
