What do you think?
Rate this book
Entering the Way of the Great Vehicle: Dzogchen as the Culmination of the Mahayana
The first English translation of a classic treatise on how the Tibetan practice of Dzogchen, or Great Perfection, is in fact the culmination of the path of Mahayana Buddhism.
Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo wrote this treatise in the eleventh century during the renaissance of Buddhism in Tibet that was spurred by the influx of new translations of Indian Buddhist texts, tantras, and esoteric transmissions from India. For political and religious reasons, adherents of the “new schools” of Tibetan Buddhism fostered by these new translations cast the older tradition of lineages and transmissions as impure and decadent. Rongzompa composed the work translated here in order to clearly and definitively articulate how Dzogchen was very much in line with the wide variety of sutric and tantric teachings espoused by all the Tibetan schools. Using the kinds of philosophic and linguistic analyses favored by the new schools, he demonstrates that the Great Perfection is indeed the culmination and maturation of the Mahāyāna, the Great Vehicle.
The central topic of the work is the notion of illusory appearance, for when one realizes deeply that all appearances are illusory, one realizes also that all appearances are in that respect equal. The realization of the equality of all phenomena is said to be the Great Perfection approach to the path, which frees one from both grasping at, and rejecting, appearances. However, for those unable to remain effortlessly within the natural state, in the final chapter Rongzompa also describes how paths with effort are included in the Great Perfection approach.
Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo wrote this treatise in the eleventh century during the renaissance of Buddhism in Tibet that was spurred by the influx of new translations of Indian Buddhist texts, tantras, and esoteric transmissions from India. For political and religious reasons, adherents of the “new schools” of Tibetan Buddhism fostered by these new translations cast the older tradition of lineages and transmissions as impure and decadent. Rongzompa composed the work translated here in order to clearly and definitively articulate how Dzogchen was very much in line with the wide variety of sutric and tantric teachings espoused by all the Tibetan schools. Using the kinds of philosophic and linguistic analyses favored by the new schools, he demonstrates that the Great Perfection is indeed the culmination and maturation of the Mahāyāna, the Great Vehicle.
The central topic of the work is the notion of illusory appearance, for when one realizes deeply that all appearances are illusory, one realizes also that all appearances are in that respect equal. The realization of the equality of all phenomena is said to be the Great Perfection approach to the path, which frees one from both grasping at, and rejecting, appearances. However, for those unable to remain effortlessly within the natural state, in the final chapter Rongzompa also describes how paths with effort are included in the Great Perfection approach.
- GenresBuddhism
370 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 17, 2017
About the author
Rongzom Chokyi Zangpo
5 books1 followerRongzom Chokyi Zangpo (Tibetan: རོང་ཟོམ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་བཟང་པོ Wylie: rong zom chos kyi bzang po; also known as Rongzom Mahapandita, Rongzom Dharmabhadra, or simply Rongzompa) was a translator and practitioner of Buddhist tantric yoga who is held among the greatest intellectuals in Tibetan history.
One of the first Tibetan to gain acceptance as an author of Buddhist works at a time of heavy bias in favor of Indian Sanskrit sources, Rongzom's translations and commentaries played a significant role in making Vajrayāna Buddhism and tantric philosophy truly Tibetan—a point emphasized by his being considered the reincarnation of multiple Indian masters, as though he personally embodied their authority. Over the centuries, scholars of both Old and New traditions have described Rongzom's compositions as masterworks of penetrating analyses authored in the distinctive style of classical Indian literature.
One of the first Tibetan to gain acceptance as an author of Buddhist works at a time of heavy bias in favor of Indian Sanskrit sources, Rongzom's translations and commentaries played a significant role in making Vajrayāna Buddhism and tantric philosophy truly Tibetan—a point emphasized by his being considered the reincarnation of multiple Indian masters, as though he personally embodied their authority. Over the centuries, scholars of both Old and New traditions have described Rongzom's compositions as masterworks of penetrating analyses authored in the distinctive style of classical Indian literature.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 2, 2021
A challenging but hugely rewarding work. The author is, along with Longchenpa and Mipham Rinpoche, one of the three pillars who systematized the Nyingma teachings. His mastery in this endeavor is on full display here. This is essential reading for practitioners intent on really establishing their view. It is also a work that demands rereading, and consulting with their teacher.
It will also be of interest to those more philosophically minded and even those more disposed towards madhyamaka teachings who will be struck at the sophistication of this presentation.
Note: I am affiliated with the publisher but this is an honest ant heartfelt review.
It will also be of interest to those more philosophically minded and even those more disposed towards madhyamaka teachings who will be struck at the sophistication of this presentation.
Note: I am affiliated with the publisher but this is an honest ant heartfelt review.
April 17, 2026
Rongzompa is often named as one of the most important Nyingma authors in the history of Tibetan Buddhism, along with Mipham Rinpoche and Longchenpa. Until recently, almost none of his work had appeared in English translation, presumably at least in part because of its difficulty. Khenpo Dza Tsering Tashi, who has given an outstanding and extensive commentary on Rongzompa's "Black Snake Discourse" (available in full on YouTube), explains that one of the thrilling things about reading his work in the original is his enormous vocabulary, and his tendency to use a large number of near-synonyms for the same terms in order to convey subtle shades of nuance.
Rongzompa was also probably the first major Tibetan authors to write an indigenous defense of a particular tradition or view, per the translator Dominic Sur. He was, in other words, a very early Tibetan author, writing before the development and consolidation of a fairly stable set of terms and concepts that are mostly agreed upon within the different schools, at least, if not between them. In other words, he was writing in an age before the terms of Buddhist philosophy were largely fixed by Tibetan authors and translators in terms that became more or less sacrosanct.
Now, this turns out to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Rongzompa sometimes lacks particular terminology or concepts that were subsequently worked out, and which would have made some of his thought somewhat more clear. For example, Nyingma scholars after his time would distinguish between two different ways of positing the two truths: one in which conventional truth refers to appearances and ultimate truth appears to emptiness, and one in which the former refers to the disharmony of appearance and the actual mode of abiding and the latter refeers to their harmony. Such a distinction would have made certain parts of his Entering the Way clearer and easier to understand.
On the other hand, Rongzompa writes with great conceptual freedom, as he's not pinned down by the weight of a great tradition. In this, I'm reminded somewhat of the experience of reading Plato, who likewise at times exhibits confusion owing to a lack of concepts that later authors take for granted, but who also demonstrates a thrilling freedom to radically challenge the very foundations of the idea-world we take for granted. In particular, I'm going to re-read the fourth chapter, which examines the nature and limits of conventional conceptuality, probably more than once.
This work is an apologetic justification of the Dzogchen view, written at a time when the early Nyingma school was coming under increasing pressure and political repression by advocates of the New Translation schools. In particular, the work seeks to rebut critics who maintain that Dzogchen is not congruent with sutric Mahayana Buddhism. Instead, Rongzompa argues, Atiyoga represents the pinnacle of views, and, properly understood, Mahayana Buddhism is a gateway to that perspective.
This is an extremely difficult work, there is no getting around it. Its difficulty is aggravated by the inadequacy of this current edition, which by no means provides sufficient commentary in the notes to understand the work on a basic level - at least in parts. The translator has apparently retained such commentary for a separate volume, which ironically enough, was scheduled to appear in print a few days before I finally finished this work. It is vexing, and I do not think this book should have been published alone in its current condition. The lack of a glossary was especially unfortunate, and difficult to understand, given the density of technical terms.
Rongzompa was in certain respects a great stylist, but this book was not particularly written to be easily read - I daresay his focus was on presenting its contents in a systematic and methodical fashion, rather than presenting a graded argument in a way that is relatively easy to track. I would highly recommend that a reader of this work consider reading the later sections first - especially the section "What is Resolved in Great Perfection" and the next couple of sections. This is where he really lays out his own actual views, and it's often quite difficult in early sections of the book to deduce what his own position actually is.
Despite all of the above-mentioned difficulties and limitations, this is a very, very great work, of titanic significance, and is frequently quite mind-blowing. It is remembered in the highest terms by some of the greatest masters of the tradition, and I found it incredibly profound, really one of the great works of the tradition that I've encountered thus far. Rongzompa has such a unique and particular voice, and his insight is very, very deep. It is a difficult work, but well worth the difficulties. If you're a serious student of Dzogchen philosophy, you simply must read it, it's one of the cornerstones of the entire tradition.
Rongzompa was also probably the first major Tibetan authors to write an indigenous defense of a particular tradition or view, per the translator Dominic Sur. He was, in other words, a very early Tibetan author, writing before the development and consolidation of a fairly stable set of terms and concepts that are mostly agreed upon within the different schools, at least, if not between them. In other words, he was writing in an age before the terms of Buddhist philosophy were largely fixed by Tibetan authors and translators in terms that became more or less sacrosanct.
Now, this turns out to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, Rongzompa sometimes lacks particular terminology or concepts that were subsequently worked out, and which would have made some of his thought somewhat more clear. For example, Nyingma scholars after his time would distinguish between two different ways of positing the two truths: one in which conventional truth refers to appearances and ultimate truth appears to emptiness, and one in which the former refers to the disharmony of appearance and the actual mode of abiding and the latter refeers to their harmony. Such a distinction would have made certain parts of his Entering the Way clearer and easier to understand.
On the other hand, Rongzompa writes with great conceptual freedom, as he's not pinned down by the weight of a great tradition. In this, I'm reminded somewhat of the experience of reading Plato, who likewise at times exhibits confusion owing to a lack of concepts that later authors take for granted, but who also demonstrates a thrilling freedom to radically challenge the very foundations of the idea-world we take for granted. In particular, I'm going to re-read the fourth chapter, which examines the nature and limits of conventional conceptuality, probably more than once.
This work is an apologetic justification of the Dzogchen view, written at a time when the early Nyingma school was coming under increasing pressure and political repression by advocates of the New Translation schools. In particular, the work seeks to rebut critics who maintain that Dzogchen is not congruent with sutric Mahayana Buddhism. Instead, Rongzompa argues, Atiyoga represents the pinnacle of views, and, properly understood, Mahayana Buddhism is a gateway to that perspective.
This is an extremely difficult work, there is no getting around it. Its difficulty is aggravated by the inadequacy of this current edition, which by no means provides sufficient commentary in the notes to understand the work on a basic level - at least in parts. The translator has apparently retained such commentary for a separate volume, which ironically enough, was scheduled to appear in print a few days before I finally finished this work. It is vexing, and I do not think this book should have been published alone in its current condition. The lack of a glossary was especially unfortunate, and difficult to understand, given the density of technical terms.
Rongzompa was in certain respects a great stylist, but this book was not particularly written to be easily read - I daresay his focus was on presenting its contents in a systematic and methodical fashion, rather than presenting a graded argument in a way that is relatively easy to track. I would highly recommend that a reader of this work consider reading the later sections first - especially the section "What is Resolved in Great Perfection" and the next couple of sections. This is where he really lays out his own actual views, and it's often quite difficult in early sections of the book to deduce what his own position actually is.
Despite all of the above-mentioned difficulties and limitations, this is a very, very great work, of titanic significance, and is frequently quite mind-blowing. It is remembered in the highest terms by some of the greatest masters of the tradition, and I found it incredibly profound, really one of the great works of the tradition that I've encountered thus far. Rongzompa has such a unique and particular voice, and his insight is very, very deep. It is a difficult work, but well worth the difficulties. If you're a serious student of Dzogchen philosophy, you simply must read it, it's one of the cornerstones of the entire tradition.
October 15, 2019
I have to admit I read this book twice, slowly, and there are still parts I don't fully understand. But the parts I did get made it worth while and I hope to read it again until I can understand it all. Rongzom Chokyi Zangpo is a very astute master, and he explains the Buddhist teachings, including the different paths, in a precise and clear way.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews