The Way of Light: All the Wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The current Dalai Lama analyzes here The essence of pure gold, a renowned text by the third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso. The work of the man who became the guru of the Mongol ruler Altan Khan is one of the jewels of the Lam Rim tradition, based on The chanting of the stages of the spiritual path by Je Rinpoche. The Lam Rim, essence of all the Buddha's teachings, presents all the levels and degrees of the techniques transmitted through Nagarjuna and Asanga. Mainly from Sutra on the Perfection of Wisdom, it deals with the deep nature of existence and insists on the importance of spiritual progress in order to progress gradually towards enlightenment.

For this, it is necessary to have a master possessing the six basic qualifications and the other altruistic qualities indicated in The Ornament of the Mahayana Sutras. “By working with the guru and with the laws of cause and effect, you can take advantage of your extremely precious human life,” explains Sonam Gyatso. The teachings of the Buddha are intended to benefit sentient beings and satisfy their spiritual needs, in order to produce high rebirth in samsara, attain the liberated state of nirvana and omniscient enlightenment. In this view, the spiritual aspirant needs a role model. In Buddhism, he takes refuge in the Triple Jewel: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

In order to achieve the higher degree of meditation practice, the aspirant must develop the awakened mind, the central pillar of Mahayana practice. Once he has acquired the three qualities of the free mind of non-attachment, the mind of great compassion and a correct understanding of the doctrine of emptiness, he can enter the path of secret mantra, Vajrayana, by receiving complete attunements from a fully qualified lineage holder. The Dalai Lama points out that the sign of spiritual progress becomes palpable when the longing for freedom begins to exert a continuous influence on the mind, day and night...