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THE SNOW LION NEWSLETTER
MAITREYA'S DISTINGUISHING PHENOMENA AND PURE BEING with Commentary by
Mipham
trans. by Jim Scott, under the guidance of Khenpo
Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche.
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240 pp.
#MADIPH $18.95
Order Now!
Mipham, a great master of the Nyingma lineage,
wrote a wonderful commentary to Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being by
Maitreya-a detailed analysis of how ordinary confused consciousness can be
transformed into wisdom. Precise and detailed instructions guide the
reader through the profound meditation that gradually brings about this
transformation. This important and comprehensive work belongs on the
bookshelf of any serious Buddhist practitioner-and, indeed, of anyone
interested in realizing their full potential as a human being. The
translator of this new book, Jim Scott, is a long-time student of Khenpo
Tsültrim Gyamtso. |
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This text, along with Ju Mipham Rinpoche's commentary,
is taught extensively throughout the world by Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche,
who considers this text to be of pivotal importance. It will be the study text
for his 2004 world tour.
Here's an excerpt from the Translator's
Preface:
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In response to the wishes of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa,
Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, one of the most learned and accomplished
contemporary masters of the Kagyu lineage, founded The Kagyu Institute of
Mahayana Studies in 1978. Its purpose was to provide formal education for
Westerners in the classical texts fundamental to the lineage. In another
of its aspects, this Institute has provided training in the Tibetan
language for those wishing to translate the texts studied. In 1987,
Rinpoche renamed it Marpa Institute for Translators.
This present translation is a result of that training and is thus a
product of Rinpoche's unlimited kindness towards beings, knowledge of the
Dharma, and skill in transmitting it. Specifically, this translation is
based on Rinpoche's word-by-word commentary, first given in Boudhanath,
Kathmandu, Nepal, during the Marpa Institute's 1988 winter course and
further explained either in part or in full in Singapore in 1989, at Kagyu
Samye Ling in Scotland during the spring of 1990, and at Karma Triyana
Dharmachakra in Woodstock, New York during June of 1991.
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Khenpo
Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche is requesting that students read this book for his 2004 teaching
tour.
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Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being was composed by Maitreya, the
regent of the Lord Buddha, during the golden age of Buddhism in India.
The name Maitreya means "loving kindness," a name he will continue to bear when he
manifests as the fifth of the one thousand historical buddhas of our world
system.
The text was recorded in written form by the noble Asanga, one of the
greatest meditation masters of the two and a half millennia since Buddha
Shakyamuni turned the Wheel of Dharma.
The commentary, Distinguishing Wisdom and Appearance, was composed by Mipham
Jamyang Namgyal (1846-1912), a great master of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan
Buddhism and one of the leading figures of the Ri-me (nonsectarian) movement
that began in Tibet during the middle of the nineteenth century.
Although a lengthy introduction to the subject matter does not seem
necessary, the reader may find Rinpoche's brief explanation of it helpful. It
includes two points:
- The section of the text treating of phenomena follows the Chittamatra
(mind only) tradition and serves the important purpose of explaining how the
mind confuses itself and thus wanders in samsara by assuming that outer
perceived objects and the inner perceiving mind actually exist as two
different things, just because they appear to do so.
- The section on pure being follows the shentong Madhyamaka (empty-of-other
middle way) tradition by describing the nature of mind in an affirmative
fashion, as self-present wisdom-awareness, the clear light. This non-dual
awareness free of all conceptual fabrications is arrived at by means of a
complete transformation of ordinary dualistic consciousness. This
transformation and how to accomplish it are presented here with wonderful
precision and in great detail.
To anyone brave enough to read this, a word of warning. Because it belongs to
the category of texts devoted to what is called "the profound aspect of the
teachings," it is said to be difficult to understand and difficult to realize.
So don't expect it to be easy. And, because pure being, the very content of the
profound secret hidden in this text, is not a conceptual construct, don't expect
it to be difficult.
Jim Scott
Aarhus, Denmark
December, 2003
Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche 2004 World Tour
For schedules and locations of his teachings, please go to Khenpo's website:
www.ktgrinpoche.org for contact
information for the individual centers and when he will be there.
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