The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra, Volume One

His Holiness the Dalai Lama illuminates the highly practical and compassionate use of Tantra for spiritual development in this important classic work.


This is the first book in a series presenting The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra. The other two books are Deity Yoga and Yoga Tantra. Tantra in Tibet consists of three parts published under the auspices of the Dalai Lama. "Essence of Tantra" by the Dalai Lama discusses tantra for practice, refuge, the three paths, greatness of mantra, clear light, and initiation. "The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra--Part 1" by Tsongkhapa is one of the principal classic texts on tantra. It presents the main features common to all the Buddhist tantra systems as well as the differences between sutra and tantra. In this volume Tsongkhapa covers paths to Buddhahood, vajra vehicle, deity yoga, and method in the four tantras. "Supplement" by Jeffrey Hopkins discusses the meaning of emptiness, transformation, and the purpose of the four tantras.

HIS HOLINESS THE FOURTEENTH DALAI LAMA is considered the foremost Buddhist leader of our time. The exiled head of the Tibetan people, he is a Nobel Peace Laureate, a Congressional Gold Medal recipient, and a remarkable teacher and scholar who has authored over one hundred books. TSONGKHAPA (1357-1419), founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, was one of Tibet's greatest philosophers and a prolific writer. His most famous work, The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path, is a classic of Tibetan Buddhism. JEFFREY HOPKINS is Founder and President of the UMA Institute for Tibetan Studies. He is Professor Emeritus of Tibetan Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia, where he taught Tibetan Buddhist Studies and Tibetan language for thirty-two years from 1973. He served as His Holiness the Dalai Lama's chief interpreter into English on lecture tours for ten years, 1979-1989, and has translated and edited fifteen books from oral teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He has also published numerous translations of important Buddhist texts that represent the diversity of views found in Tibetan Buddhism.