The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Volume 1) (The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path, the Lamrim Chenmo) Paperback – December 9, 2014

Despite this book being written over 600 years ago, it feels completely current and practical. I actually have all three volumes of The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment by Je Tsongkhapa. Sometimes, the book might feel like dense reading, but I use it as a reference and go to sections I'm currently trying to practice. It would be a hard read for me if I attempted to read it it cover to cover like an ordinary book, but these volumes have everything--EVERYTHING--all the steps to enlightenment. I highly recommend these books.

Chapter 14 The Varieties of Karma is extremely helpful. Location 2674 explains the effects of non-virtuous actions. Reading this section made me reflect and strengthened my resolve to observe the precepts.Using killing, the first non-virtuous action of the body, as an example. According to The Great Treatise, killing will result in short lifetime and many illnesses. The environmental effects of killing are described below:From the nonvirtuous action of killing, such things in the external environment as food and drink, medicine, and fruits will have little strength, be ineffective, have little potency and power or, being difficult to digest, will induce illness. Hence, most living beings will die without living out their expected life spans.The Great Treatise states clearly that killing has negative impact on one’s health. This is consistent with the law of karma: when we shorten a life, our life will be shortened; when we take a life, our life will be taken. Knowing that non-Buddhists might have trouble with this way of thinking, I wanted to see if I can find evidence to make better explain how karma works. While I have faith in karma, others might want “proof” that killing is harmful to one’s health. Then an idea came to me, why not look up statistics on various professions and see if jobs that require killing shortens the life of those who are in that line of work?What I found was astounding: according to Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, fishing industry has the highest rate of fatal occupational injuries. At 118 workplace deaths per 100,000 fishermen, a fisherman is more than 30 times more likely to die on job than average! Grouping agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting as a sector, statistics showed that the rate of fatal occupational injuries was seven times higher than average.I connected this finding with what I learned about the lifespan of vegetarians: vegetarians live 7 to 9 years longer than non-vegetarians. While there many views and debates on why vegetarian diet leads to longer lifespan, statistics show unambiguously that vegetarians live significantly longer. This is consistent with Buddhist teaching: those who refrain from killing will live longer.Read this book! Just one section changed my life!

I love this book. As I read I feel I have a personal relationship with Je Tsong-Kha-Pa. I wake in the morning happy to know I am going to read Dharma from a friend and a trusted teacher.The writing is simple and profound. My analytical meditations are deeper. I cannot stress enough the joy I feel having this book in my home. I am so grateful for the original teachings and for the years of work the translation all 3 volumes took to bring Lamrim to an English reading audience. Volume 2 is on its way and it will end up sitting on the shelf for awhile.I read "Liberation in the Palm of your Hand" and found it fairly easy to read. I did not feel compelled to stop, consider, meditate, re read, converse about or ponder. I read until I was finished.With Je Tsong-Kha-Pa the pace is much slower, as though he has given me permission to take the time to discover obscurations and to consider ideas from many different angles. I no longer feel pressure to become enlightened. As a result of reading this book I find I am now determined to attain Buddhahood in order to benefit all sentient beings, and this has totally removed the expectation of I MUST.What I have gotten from this presentation is that as my attachments, aversions, ignorance, anger and bias are cleared away my life is happier, I am kinder and more compassionate and the end result, in this or in a future life will be Buddhahood. While I must study Dharma in this life, I will carry it to the next and the next and the next..... with love and kindness and joy. This book has been instrumental in clarifying the Lamrim path. I am incredibly grateful.

In short, this is THE manual for life.Based on ancient findings and universal laws, the most in depth exploration of the mind by Indian and Tibetan masters, it provides the A to Z 'operational guidelines' for every human being. That includes the ones with lesser, as well the ones with greatest capacity.If you're sincerely interested in developing your potential to any degree - ultimately fully to enlightenment - this is the ultimate and perfect instruction, provided you've found yourself a qualified teacher. If you haven't, the text provides instructions on how to find one and identify the fonies out there.And one final advice - yes, find a qualified teacher ASAP. We're reluctant on this issue, but it's obvious to us to have teacher when learning a new language, music instrument etc. So, a person with higher capacities and exemplary conduct and attainments is inevitable to lead us on the path of our personal/spiritual development.Finally, the text is best studied with the original Atisha's work and the commentaries. Also, try to attend the teachings on this subject you can find online. H.H. Dalai Lama's recent teaching in Mundgod, Southern India is a good start.The knowledge will expand your consciousness to a new extent that will be visible to you, and that you'll be able to use in your daily life. Which, honestly, is the most important after all :)(This review concerns all three volumes of the text)