Dvags. Po. Lha. Rje's "Ornament of Liberation"

TIBETAN STUDIES have been concerned with either the history and languages of Tibet proper or with a comparison of Sanskrit texts with their Tibetan translations or with an attempt to restore lost Sanskrit texts from Tibetan translations, but so far no research has been done with respect to the contribution to and application of Buddhism by the Tibetans themselves. A few names of the more important teachers and their disciples are known from historical works, but none of their works have been edited or translated. Yet a study of their works would greatly increase our knowledge about Buddhism as a living power and make us grasp the practical side of this doctrine which is as much important for an understanding of cultural developments as are the more abstract and theoretical aspects as preserved in the Sanskrit texts that have come down to us. Such knowledge may be gained from Dvags. po. lha. rje's Ornament of or as the full title runs, The explanation of the Stages on the Mahayanic Path toward Liberation, called a Jewel-ornament of Liberation or the Wish-fulfilling Gem of the Noble Doctrine (dam. chos. yid. bzin. gyi. nor. bu. thar. pa. rin. po. chei. rgyan . zes . bya. ba. theg . pa. chen. poi. lam . rim.gyi. bsad.pa. bzugs.so), of which the first chapter outlining the whole work is given in translation at the end of this introduction. Dvags.po.lha.rje's work contains a complete course in Buddhist spiritual education and is one of the most highly appreciated works among the Lamas and lay adherents of the bk . rgyud.pa order of Buddhism.1 It is the first of its kind

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