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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.
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