Dzogchen Foremost Instructions, "A Garland of Views"

Title	Dzogchen Foremost Instructions, “A Garland of Views” by Padmasambhava
Sub-title	With commentaries by Ju Mipham and Longchen Rabjam
Author	Tony Duff
Details	218 pages, 3 colour plates, 6" X 9" (large format), US$25
ISBN	paper book 978-9937-572-84-2, e-book 978-9937-572-81-1
Texts	Tibetan texts in Tibetan script included

The text Foremost Instructions called “A Garland of Views” by Padmasambhava is regarded as one of the very important texts of the Nyingma tradition. It is an explanation of the thirteenth chapter of the root tantra of Mahayoga, the Guhyagarbha Tantra, the chapter on how the view of Dzogchen applies to the deity practices of Mahayoga. Padmasambhava’s teaching is short, so further explanation is needed. For this we have provided a partial translation of the thirteenth chapter with explanations, Mipham’s commentary which is the one most commonly used these days to explain Padmasambhava’s teaching, and a translation of the relevant section of Longchen Rabjam’s major commentary to the tantra Dispelling the Darkness of the Ten Directions. A very long introduction filled with explanations to make all of those items clearer has been provided.

It is very important to understand that the teachings on Dzogchen in this book are not limited to instructions on the development stage of Mahayoga. They provide a complete explanation of what Dzogchen is at all levels and are regarded in the Nyingma tradition as required reading for all Dzogchen practitioners. Through this book you will gain an excellent grounding in what Dzogchen is and how it fits into the teachings of the nine vehicles.

This book is truly an amazing collection of material that is regarded as crucial for Nyingma practitioners, but has not been available till now in English with all the commentaries needed to unravel the meaning of Padmasambhava’s text. The Western Lama Richard Roth, who has been well-trained in the Dzogchen system, has said what an important and well-presented book this is.

The book contains a translation of the following texts:

	Foremost Instructions called “A Garland of Views” by Padmasambhava
	Mipham’s Annotational Commentary “A Warehouse of Jewels” to Padmasambhava’s teaching
	The first half of the thirteenth chapter of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, the root tantra of Mahayoga
	Longchenpa’s explanation of the first half of the thirteenth chapter of the Guhyagarbha Tantra, from his very famous commentary ”Dispelling the Darkness of the Ten Directions”

Download Tibetan text in TibetD format: not available yet.

Introduction
1. The authors
2. The basis of Padmasambhava’s teaching, the Guhyagarbha Tantra
2.1. Explanation of the first part of the thirteenth chapter by Longchen Rabjam
2.2. Explanation of the first part of the thirteenth chapter by the author of this book
3. About Padmasambhava’s teaching
3.1. The purpose of the teaching
3.2. The title of the teaching
3.2.1. More about foremost instruction
3.3. Content of the teaching
4. An explanation of the eight categories of view
4.1. The worldly views
4.1.1. Phyal ba or Vacancy
4.1.2. Charvaka or Sweet Talkers
4.1.3. Paryantika or Bounded
4.1.4. Tirthika or Those at the Brink
4.2. Beyond-worldly views
5. A short explanation of the nine vehicles and their views
5.1. The conventional vehicles
5.2. The unconventional vehicles
5.3. The unconventional vehicles more fully explained
5.3.1. The pinnacle teaching of Great Completion
5.3.2. The version of Great Completion taught here
6. Great Completion
6.1. Origin and meaning of the term great completion
6.2. Mis-translations promoting misunderstanding
6.3. Etymology of Great Completion
6.4. Levels of the Great Completion teaching
7. Terminology
7.1. Realization
7.2. Superfact and fiction
8. Other matters
8.1. Sanskrit
8.2. Further study

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An extract from “Dispelling the Darkness of the Ten Directions” by Longchen Rabjam
Foremost Instruction “A Garland of Views” by Padmasambhava
An Annotational Commentary Called “A Warehouse of Gems” to the Great Master Padmasambhava’s “Foremost Instruction ‘A Garland of Views’” Compiled by Jamyang Lodro Gyatso
Glossary of Terms
Supports for Study
Tibetan Texts
A Garland of Views
A Warehouse of Gems
Index