Aryadeva's Lamp That Integrates the Practices (Caryamelapakapradipa)

Abstract

The Lamp that Integrates the Practices is a systematic and comprehensive exposition of the most advanced yogas of the Esoteric Community (Guhyasamaja) Tantra as espoused by the Noble Tradition, an influential school of interpretation within the Mahayoga traditions of Indian Buddhist esoterism. Equal in authority to Nagarjuna's famous Five Stages (Pañcakrama), Aryadeva's work is perhaps the earliest prose example of the "stages of the mantra path" genre in Sanskrit. Its studied gradualism exerted immense influence on later Indian and Tibetan tradition, and it is widely cited by masters from all four major lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. This volume presents the Lamp in a tri-lingual format: its Sanskrit original critically-edited from recently-identified manuscripts, a critical edition of the eleventh-century Tibetan translation by Rin-chen Bzang-po (including notes on readings found in "lost," alternative translations), and a thoroughly-annotated English translation. Includes an introductory study discussing the history of the Guhyasamaja and its exegetical traditions, surveying the scriptural and commentarial sources of the Noble Tradition, and analyzing in detail the contents of the Lamp. Features a detailed, tri-lingual glossary.