Gateway to Knowledge, Volume IV

The Gateway to Knowledge is a condensation of the Tripitaka and its accompanying commentaries. Consolidating the intent of Buddha Shakyamuni's teachings into a unified body of textbooks, it is the philosophical backbone of the living tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

Volume IV of this rich source book elucidates the Four Seals of the Dharma, which are that all conditioned things are impermanent, everything defiling is suffering, nirvana is peace, and all phenomena are empty and devoid of self-entity. It also includes the four right discriminations, which are meaning, Dharma, definitive words, and ready speech, as well as the four reasonings taught in the sutras: the principle of efficacy, the principle of dependence, the principle of reality, and the principle of valid proof and the four reliances.

Every volume in this series includes the Tibetan text and the English translation on facing pages. The Tibetan master, Jamgon Mipham Rinpoche (1846-1912), is an exceptional treasure of wisdom, compassion, and scholarship. His accomplishments in practice, learning, composition, and teaching are immense.

The student of The Gateway to Knowledge can begin to comprehend the meaning of the major works on Buddhist philosophy and the traditional sciences. When you want to extract their meaning, you need an expert system, a key. The Gateway to Knowledge is like that key, a magical key: it opens up the treasury of precious gemstones in the expansive collection of Buddhist scriptures.