Longchen Nyingthig Preliminaries The Excellent Path to Omniscience

This book centres on the liturgy for doing the preliminary practices of Longchen Nyingthig. It was written by the first Dodrupchen, one of the heart disciples of Jigmey Lingpa. The book features a fresh translation of the liturgy that corrects the many mistakes, omissions, and un-necessary additions found in the several translations available at the moment. At the same time, it words the liturgy in a way that is convenient for recitation in English. The Tibetan liturgy assumes a high level of understanding of the system and its terminology. Therefore, several Tibetan commentaries have been written to explain it. Four of them are included in the book. The commentary of the first Khyentse Rinpoche, Khyentse Wangpo is presented in order to explain the procedures involved. It is regarded as one of the root texts of the Longchen Nyingthig scriptures. It focusses on the procedures and does not delve into the theory or terminology involved. To explain the terminology and the theory where needed, the author was encouraged by his lineage gurus to write a major commentary in English. His commentary, the first written by an English lama, has been included. This commentary clarifies the unique terminology of the system and also the meaning of the liturgy in a straightforward but precise way. It also clarifies several very difficult points of the liturgy, such as the refuge section, showing how they should be understood according to the lineage. To write the commentary, the author relied on the extensive oral instructions he has received from a variety of lineage gurus and his extensive reading of Tibetan commentaries. These sources are quoted throughout the commentary.