From the main practice manual studied by the lay yogi-practitioner lineages of Tibet, now in English for the first time, this volume presents the foundational stages of the Buddhist path according to the Nyingma, or Ancient, tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

In 1838, Choying Tobden Dorje, a Buddhist yogi-scholar of eastern Tibet, completed a multivolume masterwork that traces the entire path of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism from beginning to end. Written by a lay practitioner for laypeople, it was intended to be accessible, informative, inspirational, and above all, practical. Its twenty-five books, or topical divisions, offer a comprehensive and detailed view of the Buddhist path according to the early translation school of Tibetan Buddhism, spanning the vast range of Buddhist teachings from the initial steps to the highest esoteric teachings of great perfection. Choying Tobden Dorje’s magnum opus appears in English here for the first time.

In Foundations of the Buddhist Path, which covers the first ten of the treatise’s twenty-five books, the author surveys the scope of the entire work and then begins with the topics that set the cornerstones for all subsequent Buddhist practice: what constitutes proper spiritual apprenticeship, how to receive the teachings, how to make the best use of this life, and how to motivate ourselves to generate effort on the spiritual path. He then describes refuge and the vows that define the path of individual liberation before turning to the bodhisattva’s way—buddha nature, how to uplift the mind to supreme awakening, the bodhisattva’s training, and the attainments of the paths leading to supreme awakening.

CHÖYING TOBDEN DORJÉ: (1785–1848) was a brilliant Buddhist master from the Amdo region of eastern Tibet, renowned for his realization of great perfection. A disciple of the first Dodrupchen Rinpoche, he founded the monastery of Dzokchen Namgyal Ling and was instrumental in establishing the community of lay tantric practitioners known as the Repkong Ngak-mang.

NGAWANG ZANGPO (Hugh Thompson) is a disciple of Kalu Rinpoche and Chatral
Sangye Dorje Rinpoche. His translations include Jamgön Kongtrul’s Retreat Manual,
Enthronement, Sacred Ground, Guru Rinpoche, Timeless Rapture, Butön’s History of Buddhism in India and Its Spread to Tibet, and Refining Our Perception of Reality. He has been a Tsadra Foundation Fellow since 2000.

Foreword by Alak Zenkar Rinpoché
Translator's Introduction
Book 1: Discipleship
Book 2: The Transmission of Buddhism
Book 3: Our Precious Human Life
Book 4: Reflection on Death and Impermanence
Book 5: The Workings of Karma
Book 6: The Flaws of the Round of Rebirth
Book 7: Taking Refuge and the Lesser Way
Book 8: The Foundation of the Middle Way
Book 9: The Path of the Middle Way
Book 10: The Result of the Middle Way
The Outline: Books 1-10
The Root Text: Books 1-10
The Word-by-Word Commentary: Books 1-10
Author and Translator's Postscript
List of Books Cited
Index