The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Vol.I: Lam Rim Chen Mo

The volume begins with Atisha, situating the graded-path tradition within the lineage of the Lamp on the Path to Enlightenment, then proceeds to The Greatness of the Teaching, which explains the authority and value of the lamrim system. How to Listen to and Explain the Teachings establishes the proper discipline of receiving and transmitting Dharma, while Relying on the Teacher presents spiritual mentorship as the foundation of the path. The Meditation Session and Refuting Misconceptions About Meditation clarify how practice should be structured and how mistaken views about meditation should be avoided. A Human Life of Leisure and Opportunity, The Three Types of Persons, and Mindfulness of Death train the practitioner to recognize the urgency and purpose of spiritual life. Reflecting on Your Future Life, Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels, and The Precepts of Refuge develop commitment to the Buddhist path. The General Characteristics of Karma and The Varieties of Karma explain moral causality, while Cultivating Ethical Behavior presents discipline as the operational basis of liberation. The chapters on The Attitude of a Person of Small Capacity and The Attitude of a Person of Medium Capacity distinguish different levels of motivation. The Eight Types of Suffering, The Six Types of Suffering, Further Meditations on Suffering, and The Origin of Suffering deepen renunciation. The Twelve Factors of Dependent-Arising, Ascertaining the Nature of the Path Leading to Liberation, and The Nature of the Three Trainings complete the volume by presenting the causal structure of bondage and the disciplined path of ethics, concentration, and wisdom.