| Title | The Six Topics That All Buddhists Learn |
| Sub-Title | A Text by the Great Khenpo Zhan-ga of Dzogchen Shri Singha College |
| Author | Tony Duff |
| Details | 214 pages, 1 colour plate, 6" X 9" (large format), US$25, available in paper format |
| ISBN | paper book 978-9937-572-13-2, e-book 978-9937-572-12-5 |
| Texts | Tibetan text in Tibetan script included |
This is the translation of a text written by Zhanphen Chokyi Nangwa or Khenchen Zhan-ga as he is more commonly known, the greatest of all abbotts who presided over the Shri Singha monastic college at Dzogchen Monastery, Tibet.
The Buddha himself said in a Lesser Vehicle sutra:
“Son of the family! You are to become expert in the skandhas. You are to become expert in the āyatanas. You are to become expert in the dhātus. You are to become expert in pratītyasaṃutpāda. You are to become expert in topics. You are to become expert in non-topics.”With these words, the Buddha indicated that there are six topics which must be learned, at least to some extent, by every one of his followers. Although the Buddha gave these teachings in the Lesser Vehicle, they are a necessary foundation for practitioners of all levels, from those studying the Lesser Vehicle to those practising Mahamudra and Great Completion.
This book, which contains a complete teaching on the six topics, is very similar to Mipham Namgyal’s famous “mkhas ’jug” or Gateway to Knowledge as it has been called. Unfortunately, Mipham’s text is difficult for beginners. Zhan-ga’s text is different; it was not written merely as a piece of scholarship but was carefully composed so as not to exclude beginners with excessively difficult explanations and moreover to be helpful to practitioners of all levels. For these reasons, Gangteng Tulku has selected this text for students in the second year of his shedra rather than Mipham’s text. The book begins with an explanation of all six topics that everyone should learn, then proceeds to explain the details of the Great Vehicle according to Mind Only, then according to the Middle Way, and finally according to Great Completion.
The text itself is a product of a very glorious period in East Tibet when Jigmey Lingpa and his main disciples were transmitting the innermost, unsurpassed Quintessence Great Completion teachings received in visions of Longchen Rabjam. Following that, there was a period of scholars of astounding levels of knowledge who also attained very high realization through the Longchen Nyingthig system of teachings that was being freshly transmitted. Thus, this text is not just another text on scholarly matters but is fully connected with the flourishing of the exceptionally profound Great Completion or Dzogchen teachings at Dzogchen and other nearby monasteries. The connection of the text to that period is clearly explained, with short biographies of the main people involved—Zhanphen Thaye, Orgyan Tenzin Norbu, and Zhanphen Chokyi Nangwa—included.
Further, extensive explanations of the meaning of the six topics is provided by Lama Tony from his own knowledge gathered during forty years of studying with the Gelug, Kagyu, and Nyingma traditions, not to mention his extensive stays at Dzogchen Monastery where he learned the approach of Zhan-ga directly from Zhan-ga’s successors. Ample footnotes, an extensive glossary, and a carefully corrected edition of the Tibetan text are also provided. An effort has been made to make the book amenable to those who would like to study the English translation and the Tibetan text together.
The book contains a translation of the following text:
 | “A Mirror Revealing Knowables”, A Teaching on the Six Topics in which One is to Become Expert by Khenchen Zhanphen Chokyi Nangwa |
Download Tibetan text in TibetD format: not available yet.
| Title | Samantabhadra’s Prayer With Commentaries |
| Sub-Title | The original sutra, prayer, and three commentaries by Nagarjuna, Ontrul Tenpa’i Wangchug, and the author |
| Author | Tony Duff |
| Details | ~400 pages, 1 colour plate, 6" X 9" (large format) |
| ISBN | paper book 978-9937-572-60-6, e-book 978-9937-572-61-3 |
| Texts | Tibetan texts in Tibetan script included |
The Prayer of Samantabhadra, also known as “Noble Excellent Conduct King of Prayers” is one of the five great prayers of the Great Vehicle tradition and one of the most popular prayers for all followers of that tradition. It is recited every day without fail by many Tibetan followers and we think would be recited more often by non-Tibetans if they had access not only to a reliable translation but to a clear explanation of it.
The prayer contains many prayers within the sixty four-line verses of the prayer. The great meaning in each of these prayers is not readily visible, even in a clear translation of the words, so a guide to it is needed. There have been several commentaries written by Indian masters; the author reviewed all the ones available and, finding that the one by Nagarjuna was particularly clear, translated and included that. There have also been commentaries by a number of well-known Tibetan masters, though these often attempt to cast the meaning of the prayer in a way that does not fit well with what the earlier Indian masters explained. Ontrul Tenpa’i Wangchuk, who is one of the greatest living Dzogchen masters in Tibet, has written a particularly clear explanation which goes through the prayer word by word, showing the meaning in accordance with the oral tradition of Dza Patrul. Fortunately for us, it was not written as a scholarly exercise but as practical advice for ordinary Buddhists who need to be shown the meaning in a useful way. Ontrul Tenpa’i Wangchug’s commentary is exceptional for its clarity yet utterly practical approach. The full title (see below) of the commentary makes it clear that the text is not a scholarly exercise for monks in the monastic college but is a down-to-earth explanation given so that ordinary practitioners can read it and get on with making the prayer in a meaningful way. The title also illustrates the very extensive nature of the instruction contained in the explanation when it calls the commentary an ‘Enlightenment Highway”.
This prayer, together with Shantideva’s Entering the Bodhisatva’s Conduct, is the basis for bodhisatva training in the Longchen Nyingthig system, and is recited daily by everyone who is seriously practising Longchen Nyingthig. In some Tibetan monasteries in Tibet that follow the Longchen Nyingthig system, a long liturgy has been constructed around the prayer, which is then used for a whole day of practice dedicated to the recitation again and again of the prayer. Lama Tony has done this practice for days at a time in Tibet and would like in the future to conduct this kind of prayer festival in the West. He made this book both so that Longchen Nyingthig practitioners would have what they need and so that prayer festivals like that could be conducted nicely in English.
The book contains a fresh translation of the prayer and the extensive commentaries of both the Indian master Nagarjuna and the Tibetan master Ontrul Tenpa’i Wangchug. The usual introduction, notes, and glossary are provided as are all relevant Tibetan texts.
These notes will be revised and some substantial extracts will be provided as the translation work approaches completion.
The book contains a translation of the following texts:
| Noble Excellent Conduct, King of Prayers spoken by Samantabhadra in the Avatamsaka Sutra |
| Noble Excellent Conduct King of Prayers Together with Explanation by Noble One Nagarjuna |
| “The Enlightenment Highway”, A Commentary to the Excellent Conduct Prayer, Or Notes of This and That Remembered, Written as Practical Instructions for Men and Women Householders Encouraging them to Virtue by Tenpa’i Wangchuk |
Download Tibetan text in TibetD format: not available yet.
| Title | Maitreya’s Sutras and Prayer |
| Sub-Title | With Commentary by Padma Karpo |
| Author | Tony Duff |
| Details | 206 pages, 0 colour plate, 6" X 9" (large format) |
| ISBN | paper book 978-9937-572-62-0, e-book 978-9937-572-63-7 |
| Texts | Tibetan texts in Tibetan script included |
The Prayer of Maitreya, found in the forty-first chapter of the Ratnakuta Great Vehicle Sutra, is one of the five great prayers of the Great Vehicle tradition and, after Samantabhadra’s Prayer, one of the most popular prayers for all followers of that tradition. It is recited every day without fail by many Tibetan followers and we think would be recited more often by non-Tibetans if they had access to a reliable translation with a clear explanation.
The prayer is approximately half the size of Samantabhadra’s Prayer, though the content of the two prayers is sufficiently similar that learning about one considerably enhances an understanding of the other. Thus, this text of Maitreya’s Prayer will be an excellent support for those trying to understand more of Samantabhadra’s prayer and vice versa. Maitreya’s Prayer is a little less complicated than Samantabhadra’s Prayer and hence easier to understand and also easier to use as a prayer. Essentially, it consists of the seven limbs followed by an explanation of emptiness followed by explanations of the six paramitas.
In order to understand the prayer, it is necessary to read the sutra in which the prayer is first presented. Many think that the prayer was made by Maitreya, one of the heart sons of Buddha Shakyamuni. However, it was not—it was made by a former incarnation of Maitreya many aeons before Maitreya himself appeared. The Buddha himself recalled the prayer with his omniscience and presented it in an important sutra petitioned by Maitreya. The Buddha recalled it in order to show the difference between his own approach to enlightenment and the approach taken by Maitreya. Without reading these events in the sutra, it is not possible to understand the prayer, let alone correctly translate it. Therefore, the book contains a complete translation of that discourse, and to give the reader even more sense of the bodhisatva Maitreya and his works, includes a second sutra petitioned by Maitreya.
The prayer itself contains many prayers within its twenty-four verses, so a guide to it is needed. There are not many commentaries available, though a highly informative one by the great Drukpa Kagyu author Padma Karpo is very useful.
Thus, the book is a very rich collection of materials, containing two previously un-translated Great Vehicle sutras, plus the prayer of Maitreya, plus a major commentary to it. A long introduction clarifying all these materials is also included. Finally, all of the Tibetan sources are included in Tibetan script to assist translators and those studying the Tibetan language.
The book contains a translation of the following sutras and texts:
| Of The Great Stack of Jewels’s hundred thousand chapters of dharma enumerations, the forty first chapter, An Authoritative Statement Petitioned by Noble Maitreya |
| Of The Great Stack of Jewels’s hundred thousand chapters of dharma enumerations, the forty-second chapter, An Authoritative Statement Concerning Eight Dharmas Petitioned by Maitreya |
| Maitreya’s Prayer extracted from the forty-first chapter of the Stack of Jewels Sutra |
| A Commentary to Noble One Maitreya’s Prayer; Asanga’s Understanding Clearly Shown by All-Knowing Padma Karpo |
Download Tibetan text in TibetD format: not available yet.
| Title | The Sutra of the Householder Uncouth |
| Sub-Title | A Teaching of the Buddha Showing All-Knowing Wisdom and the Householder’s Way |
| Author | Tony Duff |
| Details | 214 pages, 0 colour plate, 6" X 9" (large format) |
| ISBN | paper book 978-9937-572-56-9, e-book 978-9937-572-57-6 |
| Texts | Tibetan text in Tibetan script included |
This book presents a Great Vehicle sutra of the third turning of the wheel of dharma which has not been translated until now and which is regarded as specially important for two reasons. Firstly the sutra deals with the issue of whether a bodhisatva can live a householder’s life and effectively practice dharma at a high level. In the time when the Buddha gave this discourse it was regarded in Indian culture as a whole that it was necessary to leave the hpusehold and additionally to become ordained as a monk or nun in order to practice dharma at the highest level. The Buddha ends the sutra by saying that not only is it possible to practise whilst living as a householder but that a householder bodhisatva can be a much more capable and effective bodhisatva than a bodhisatva living the celibate life of an ordained bodhisatva.
The person who petitioned the Buddha for his authoritative statements on this matter was a householder bodhisatva named “Uncouth”. His concerns, which are the main issues in the sutra, result in the sutra fitting very closely with the situation of today’s Western Buddhists, most of whom do not wish to leave home and become mendicants and most of whom are equally determined that this should not mean that they are relegated to a life which has been officially stamped as lesser than that of an ordained life. These have become prominent issues for Western Buddhists at this time and a careful consideration of the actual meaning embodied in this sutra can be a very fruitful exercise for today’s Western Buddhists. I have found that investigating the sutra carefully raises many issues of great relevance and interest to today’s Western Buddhists, but more than that, the issues are raised in the environment of the Buddha giving his authoritative statements about them. We found it to be very provocative but very rich at the same time.
The sutra is very rich; it has many very interesting threads. Aside from the above, it has another very important feature, which is that it teaches non-dual wisdom at the highest level. It is one of the ten sutras which the Other Emptiness followers of Tibet marked out as the ten essential sutras of the third turning that show the Other Emptiness meaning. We have also translated another of those ten, which has the title “Point of Passage Wisdom Sutra”. These two sutras are indispensable for those who are trying to understand the Other Emptiness teaching. A lot more could be said about this but it would take up too much space here. The book includes a long introduction which deals with the main themes of the household bodhisatva and Other Emptiness that appear in the sutra. The book contains a translation of the following sutra:
| The nineteenth chapter of The Noble One, The Great Stack of Jewels’ dharma enumerations in a hundred thousand chapters: The one Petitioned by the Householder Uncouth |
Download Tibetan text in TibetD format: not available yet.
| Title | Dza Patrul’s Collected Works: The View and Practice of Maha Ati |
| Sub-Title | |
| Author | Tony Duff |
| Details | 216 pages, 6" X 9" (large format) |
| ISBN | paper book 978-9937-57 2-64-4, e-book 978-9937-572-65-1 |
| Texts | Tibetan texts in Tibetan script included |
PKTC has translated and published many of the works on Dzogchen written by Dza Patrul, one of the very important early holders of the Longchen Nyingthig lineage. This book came to life with the intention to present all remaining, unpublished works on Dzogchen by Dza Patrul. We found that there were three texts to be included. Each has its own, distinct approach, so there is no overlap of material at all.
All the texts are interesting, but the record of Jigmey Gyalway Nyugu’s appearance immediately following his death to the fourth Dzogchen Rinpoche, Mingyur Namkha’i Dorje, and the teaching given by Jigmey Gyalway Nyugu to him on innermost unsurpassed Great Completion was an unexpected treasure. This teaching falls in the class of “post-death” teachings given by really great masters of the early Great Completion lineage in ancient India, so it really is very special. The text starts with a record that was written by the fourth Dzogchen Rinpoche upon waking from the transmission. It is followed by a word-by-word commentary composed by Dza Patrul on the basis of the instructions that he received on it. The text is even more interesting for the fact that we get a sense of the person of Jigmey Gyalway Nyugu, one of the most important Longchen Nyingthig lineage holders but one whose actual works and teachings are not all that well known; in fact, we think this is the first teaching of Jigmey Gyalway Nyugu to be published in English.
There are so many wonderful points to the collection of texts in this book and they present such an important piece of early Longchen Nyingthig history that an especially long introduction explaining the lineage, the specific people involved, the meaning of the texts, and so on has been added to help the reader gain the full import of this book.
The book contains translations of the following texts:
| From the Supreme Vehicle Ati: Foremost Instructions Clearly Showing Actuality |
| “Lamp for a Dim Room” The Meanings of the Key Points of Secret, Quintessential Great Completion’s Tantras Protected with Thorough Distinctions |
| “Luminosity’s Appearance Aspect”, The Ultimate Key Points in the Practise of Great Completion: Root and Commentary |
Download Tibetan text in TibetD format: not available yet.
| Title | From Longchen Nyingthig: Prayer of Ground, Path, and Fruition |
| Sub-Title | With Commentary by Yontan Gyatso |
| Author | Tony Duff |
| Details | ~40 pages, 0 colour plate, 5.5" X 8.5" |
| ISBN | not available yet |
| Texts | Tibetan texts in Tibetan script included |
The Prayer of Ground, Path, and Fruition is one of the very important prayers of the Longchen Nyingthig system of Quintessence Dzogchen. It one of the many mind treasures Jigmey Lingpa received from Longchen Rabjam and is included in the Root Volumes of Longchen Nyingthig. The prayer is short but contains the entire teaching of Thorough Cut (thregcho) according to that system. Most Longchen Nyingthig followers recite it every day.
The prayer is very difficult to understand correctly without instruction. A commentary by Yontan Gyatso was included in the additional volumes added to the Root Volumes of Longchen Nyingthig by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. This commentary is terse and will not be comprehendable without having received full teachings on Thorough Cut. However, it does explain the meaning of the prayer sufficiently that anyone with the teachings will be able to use the prayer effectively.
These notes will be revised and some substantial extracts will be provided as the translation work approaches completion.
The book contains a translation of the following texts:
| From Longchen Nyingthig: The Prayer of Ground, Path, and Fruition |
| Yontan Gyatso’s Commentary to the Prayer of Ground, Path, and Fruition |
Download Tibetan text in TibetD format: not available yet.
