Ornament to Beautify the Three Appearances : The Mahayana Preliminary Practices of the Sakya Lamdre Tradition

The latest offering from a renowned translator in the Buddhist world of one of the most important texts in the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This translation was made at the request of the head of the Sakya tradition.

Ornament to Beautify the Three Appearances is the first book of a two-volume set of works written by the Sakya master Ngorchen Knchok Lhundrup (14971557) to explain the Lamdre teachings, the most precious system of tantric theory and practice in the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. These translations have been made at the personal request of His Holiness the Sakya Trichen, who is certain that they will benefit everyone striving for liberation.

The extensive practices of the Lamdre, or Path with the Result, are based on the Vajra Lines, a small text of the great Indian adept Virupa (ca. seventh-eighth centuries). The Vajra Lines represents the distilled essence of the Hevajra Tantra and its two explanatory tantras, and is almost entirely concerned with esoteric tantric practice. The first topic, however, is the fundamental teachings of Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism, which are the essential basis for the main tantric practices of Vajrayana. In the Lamdre system, this first topic of preliminary instructions is known as the Three Appearances. The guiding instructions on impure appearance are for the purpose of developing renunciation. The guiding instructions on the appearance of the experiences are for the purpose of producing the altruistic intent. The guiding instructions on pure appearance are for the purpose of producing enthusiasm for the ultimate result of complete awakening. The preliminary practices presented in Ornament to Beautify the Three Appearances may be practiced by anyone, without specific, required preparation.

Having absorbed these preliminary instructions, the practitioner may go on to the second volume of Ngorchen's works, a restricted text that explains the main tantric practices of the Three Continua, intended for students who have at least received the great initiation of Hevajra.