"In our present situation, all the causes of physical and mental suffering: beating, fighting, robbing, slander and the like, seem to come from other people. But the cause of them all is in ourselves. They are like booming echoes returning to their source. Indeed, if we had no ego-clinging, there would be no one for the enemy to attack; so we should reflecton the way situations of conflict are called forth by our own past actions. Moreover, if we think about it, we can see that patience can only ever arise in adversity, which is consequently not negative but extremely beneficial. Thanks to the hostility of enemies, we can embark on the ship of patience and sail upon the ocean of the Mahayana, gaining for ourselves the precious jewel of bodhichitta, the source of immediate and ultimate benefit for self and others. Enemies should therefore be looked upon as the object and source of patience. They are as worthy of offerings as the sacred Dharma itself." Kangyur Rinpoche.
"The view of the Great Perfection
(Dzogchen) is difficult and profound. The main texts that explain it are
Longchen Rabjampa's Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle, which is itself
quite difficult, and the Treasury of the Expanse of Reality. It is my
advice that people who are interested in the Nyingma path and the Great
Perfection teachings in particular should study Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa's
more accessible Treasury of Precious Qualities. The work translated here
is the first volume of a commentary to that book by Kangyur Rinpoche."
The Dalai Lama.The well-known original text which serves as the basis for this book presents in elegant verse the entire Buddhist path according to the Nyingma school. Despite the separation in time between the lives of Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798), and the great Longchenpa (fourteenth century), who is considered to be the brightest luminary of the Nyingma school, the two are closely linked. Jigme Lingpa was a terton (discoverer of treasure teachings) who encountered Longchenpa in a series of visions. The Longchen Nyingtik, Jigme Lingpa's terma cycle of teachings and practices, is one of the most important systems in the Nyingma tradition. His Treasury of Precious Qualities is regarded as the summary and quintessence of Longchenpa's Seven Treasures. It is pithy and concise, makes use of elaborate poetic language, and is often presented as a concluding summary, indeed a crowning masterpiece, to the long, traditional course of studies in both the sutras and tantras.
Of the numerous commentaries that exist, the present text was composed by Longchen Yeshe Dorje, Kangyur Rinpoche (1987-1975), of the monastery of Riwoche in Kham, who, like Jigme Lingpa, was a great scholar and terton. He left Tibet in the 1950s and was one of the first Tibetan masters to accept Western disciples.
The Treasury of Precious Qualities consists of two sections devoted, respectively, to the sutras and the tantras. The sutra section, which is the subject of the present volume, covers the ethical, psychological, and philosophical teachings common to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It gives a comprehensive presentation of such fundamental issues as karma, the four noble truths, and the twelvefold chain of dependent arising. The general thrust of the work is toward the Mahayana, and it is designed to prepare the student for the teachings of the tantras. To make the text more readily accessible to Western Buddhists, detailed notes and appendixes have been added from other texts and authorities.
The Padmakara Translation Group, based in France, has a distinguished reputation for its translations of Tibetan texts and teachings. Its work has been published in several languages and is renowned for its clear and accurate literary style.