Jamgon Kongrul Lodro Taye (Books)

Jamgon Kongrul Lodro Taye Books

Jamgon Kongtrul was a preeminent scholar of 19th-century Tibet, a founder of the non-sectarian movement in Tibetan Buddhism, and a respected physician and diplomat. His comprehensive compilations, known as the Five Great Treasuries, offer profound insights into Tibetan religious and philosophical traditions. He was a figure dedicated to unifying diverse spiritual paths and emphasizing their shared value. His work embodies deep wisdom and a commitment to the peaceful dissemination of spiritual knowledge.

The Treasury of Knowledge. Indo-Tibetan Classical Learning and Buddhist Phenomenology

992 pages
35 hours of reading

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Jamgön Kongtrul’s encyclopedic Treasury of Knowledge presents a complete account of the major lines of thought and practice that comprise Tibetan Buddhism. Among the ten books that make up this tour de force, Book Six is by far the longest—concisely summarizing the theoretical fields of knowledge to be studied prior to the cultivation of reflection and discriminative awareness. The first two parts of Book Six, contained in this volume, respectively concern Indo-Tibetan classical learning and Buddhist phenomenology. The former analyzes the traditional subjects of phonology and Sanskrit grammar, logic, fine art, and medicine, along with astrology, poetics, prosody, synonymics, and dramaturgy. The principal non-Buddhist philosophical systems of ancient India are then summarized and contrasted with the hierarchical meditative concentrations and formless absorptions through which the “summit of cyclic existence” can genuinely be attained. Part Two examines the phenomenological structures of Abhidharma—the shared inheritance of all Buddhist traditions—from three distinct perspectives, corresponding to the three successive turnings of the doctrinal wheel.