Teachers of the Eternal Doctrine, Vol. II: Indian and Tibetan Teachers

By Editor on Monday, December 3
Teachers of the Eternal Doctrine, Vol. II: Indian and Tibetan Teachers has just been published by Theosophy Trust Books.
The articles in this new volume consist of a selection of remarkable Buddhist teachers and promulgators of the Bodhisattva Path, the path of service to all humanity. There are many illustrious teachers of this path who have labored for the world in the last two and a half millennia, and this selection is designed to give a sense of the immense range and richness of the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition. This is the second volume in the collection of teachers from diverse spiritual schools of thought. The first volume presented those figures associated with the Seven-Century Plan initiated by Tsong Kha Pa for the Western world, culminating in the founding of the Theosophical Movement. There Tsong Kha Pa was discussed in terms of this Plan and its esoteric meaning. In this volume, Tsong Kha Pa is presented as the Buddhist teacher who rejuvenated Buddhism in Tibet, creating the Gelukpa Order, of which the Dalai Lamas are spiritual leaders. The third volume will focus on Chinese teachers—Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist—and Japanese Buddhist exemplars.
Since these articles were written, an enormous amount of scholarship has emerged, especially regarding the teachers and schools found in this volume. Many Tibetan texts have been carefully translated into English by highly trained individuals and teams of translators, thanks to the spread of Tibetan centers across the globe. Much of this ocean of material is profound but quite technical. The articles in this volume can serve as a general introduction to what is rapidly becoming a vast library of Buddhist history, teaching and knowledge. And they intimate the deeper meanings of the Bodhisattva Path which become clear only as a student or disciple assimilates the Teachings over a lifetime of study, self-examination, and self-sacrifice.