Based on the Buddhist wisdom tradition, this easy-to-read book discusses in simple but inspiring language how we can live a life full of love, satisfaction, and happiness. The author represents a new voice among Dharma teachers.

Dragpa Gyaltsan's writings in Tibetan fill four volumes of almost a thousand pages each. He was a statesman, a physician, an historian, and a poet, not to mention an adept in Buddhist practice, both exoteric and esoteric. The present volume of translations represents a mere sampling of his extraordinary literary acumen. I have made selections from his poetry and historical writings, an account of his dreams, and a few practice related works. These works will be interesting to many kinds of readers, depending on their personal inclinations. I have included one work written by his brother, Sonam Tsemo: The Six Dharmas of Guru Vajrasana. I present these to you as literature for you to enjoy. The practices that are described in some of the works are meant to be pursued under the instruction of a qualified teacher. Readers who find them intriguing are encouraged to seek out such guidance. My translation of a biography of Dragpa Gyaltsan, written by Sakya Pandita, is to be found in the first volume of the Sakya Kongma Series: Sakya Pandita's Poetic Wisdom. A Melody of Experience for Yeshe Dorje, included in this volume, was first published in Melody of Dharma, the official magazine of the Sakya Drolma Podrang.

The present volume is devoted to the writings of Sakya Pandita, and includes a biography of him written by the King of Gungthang, Zhang Gyalwa Pal. Sakya Pandita is famous among the Tibetans for his contributions in the fields of logic, ethics, and folklore. His Treasure on the Science of Logic (Tshad ma rig gter), Discrimination of the Three Vows (sDom gsum rab dbye), and Treasure of Eloquent Aphorisms (Legs bshad rin chen gter) are monumental contributions to their classes of literature. These works have attracted enormous attention throughout the world, particularly among the scholarly. The present collection of translations is intended to reveal Sakya Pandita's character as a poet who contributed to many fields of art and leaning. In his lifetime he worked hard at the reconstruction of Samye Library, one of the very first edifices constructed during Tibet's dynastic period. He contributed largely to efforts at public education and a clear presentation of the Buddhist teachings. He is best known to political historians for his travel to China, where he went with his two nephews and was effectively Tibet's ambassador to the Mongol court there. In his senior years he retired to Wu Tai Shan. I have translated short works, correspondence, and poetry he wrote over the course of his life in an effort to let my readers see Sakya Pandita's humanity and enlightened spirit as he himself expressed it. I do not wish to analyze or comment on these works, as I believe they speak for themselves. The Sakya Kabum, or Collected Works of the Sakya Founders, consists of about fifteen thousand pages of writings in fifteen volumes by five men: Kunga Nyingpo, Sonam Tsemo, Dragpa Gyaltsan, Sakya Pandita, and Chogyal Phagpa. Sakya Pandita's writings take up three volumes of this collection. The translations you are reading represent a sampling of the contents of Sakya Pandita's life's work, and are part of a larger translation effort for which I have, at this writing, completed volumes representing the works of all five Sakya Founders, soon to be published. My intention is to continue with this translation effort toward a comprehensive collection of their writings, while it is my hope that the present compendium will give readers a taste for the quality and variety of the literature you may discover. Critical readers will, of course, find much room for improvement. Please note that I have followed Sakya Pandita's own spellings of Sanskritic loan-words in his work, rather than normalize them into a corrected form of classical Sanskrit. Throughout most of these translations, Tibetan names are converted into a form that will be easy for English readers to read and pronounce. In the case of historical passages, such as those you will find in Sakya Pandita's Biography of his guru, I have transcribed the Tibetan into Wylie Romanization, so that the historically minded will be able to use this information in their research. I apologize for any inconvenience this compromise in the rendering of Tibetan words may cause. There are many loan words that are already commonly used in English, such as "nirvana." You will see a very few loan words that I have not translated. One of these is "Upadesha," which refers to a kind of direct, person to person, often mouth to ear, and experiential advice regarding a teaching or practice. The word "samaya," indicating the vows or obligations one takes on in entering the esoteric Vajrayana path, is another. I do my best to employ the King's English, avoiding hybrid usages and terminology that might be confusing for all but a certain class of insiders. The present volume does not contain esoterica for which special empowerments or privileges are considered requisite. There will be content that excites inquiry and discussion, which I consider a good thing.

This book contains practical instructions on the view of the two truths given according to the conventional or common Great Vehicle approach. The instructions are contained in a short text by a very well-known Tibetan teacher, Jigmey Chokyi Wangpo, also known as Dza Patrul 1808-1887]. A feature of this text is that although it is about sutra, the profound Dzogchen perspective is obviously present. Some masters write compositions in which they keep within the immediate context of their subject. Yogins, and Dza Patrul was a great yogin, often teach a subject but within the context of their own realization. In the text here, Dza Patrul gives a presentation of the two truths that fits with the sutra presentation of the subject, but goes on to connect it to the practical wisdom teachings of the third turning of the wheel and the Quintessence Dzogchen teachings of which he was a master. For example, in a presentation of the two truths that adhered to the sutra context in which the two truths were originally taught, there would be no mention of the key Dzogchen terms "rigpa," "crossing over into," "appearances of the liveliness," and so on, yet these terms appear later in the text. In fact, the final section of teaching in the text is a direct presentation of the Thorough Cut teaching of Quintessence Dzogchen which has been skilfully added to the rest of the compilation to show that, in the end, the practice of the two truths is none other than the practice of Thorough Cut.