Ebook: Illumination of the Hidden Meaning Vol. 2: Yogic Vows, Conduct, and Ritual Praxis (Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences)

This is the second volume of the annotated translation of Tsong Khapa’s Illumination of the Hidden Meaning (sbas don kun gsal), a magnificent commentary on the Cakrasamvara Tantra.

This is the first English translation of this important work, which marked a milestone in the Tibetan understanding and practice of the Indian Buddhist tantras. It covers the vows, observances, and conduct of the initiated yogi, particularly in relation to the yoginis, whose favor he must cultivate. It describes in great detail the rites of the tradition, including homa fire sacrifice and the uses of the mantras of the mandala’s main deities. The author provides a trilingual English-Tibetan-Sanskrit glossary.

Together with the present author’s related publications in this series—including a translation of the Cakrasamvara root tantra (2007) and critical editions of its Sanskrit and Tibetan texts (2012), and the first volume of this master Tibetan commentary (2017)—the reader will have the first full study of this important tantra available in English.

Review
"A timely, painstakingly precise, engagingly readable translation of an important scholastic treatise on Buddhist tantric tradition from early 15th-century Tibet.... worthy of extended reflection and analysis by anyone wanting to understand Tibetan perspectives on Indian Buddhist tantra." (Kurtis Schaeffer, University of Virginia )

"A crucial contribution to our understanding of the formation of tantric Buddhism in Tibet and an impressive feat of translation by a leading scholar… explores the key sources available to the Tibetan author and how he established himself as a major authority on Cakrasamvara while grounding tantric practice in philosophical study and the realization of emptiness.” (Jacob Dalton, University of California, Berkeley )

“Consistent and exemplary… careful… thorough… always thoughtful in providing both specialist and general reader with a consistently useful analysis.” (Todd Lewis, College of the Holy Cross )

About the Author
David B. Gray is Bernard J. Hanley Professor of Religious Studies at Santa Clara University. He is the author of The Cakrasamvara Tantra (The Discourse of Sri Heruka): A Study and Annotated Translation (AIBS 2007); The Cakrasamvara Tantra (The Discourse of Sri Heruka): Editions of the Sanskrit and Tibetan Texts (AIBS 2009); Tsong Khapa’s Illumination of the Hidden Meaning: Mandala, Mantra, and the Cult of the Yoginis (Chapters 1–24) (AIBS 2015); Tsong Khapa’s Illumination of the Hidden Meaning: Yogic Vows, Conduct, and Ritual Praxis (Chapters 25–51) (AIBS/WP 2019); as well as numerous articles.