Entering the Way of the Great Vehicle

“Dominic Sur presents an outstanding study and translation of a renowned treatise by one of the greatest luminaries of Tibetan literature, the great Rongzompa. Starting with the Mahāyāna corpus, this volume illuminates how all the vehicles relate with, and culminate in, the Great Perfection. It is an invaluable addition to Buddhist literature in the West.”—Tulku Thondup, author of The Heart of Unconditional Love “In this book, Dominic Sur has rendered into clear and elegant English Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo’s Entering the Way of the Great Vehicle, one of the great classics of Tibetan thought, and one of the earliest treatises composed by a self-avowed follower of the Nyingma or “Ancient” tradition. Studied to this day in Nyingma monastic colleges, Sur’s translation of this important thousand-year-old work is a must read for anyone interested in Tibetan intellectual history, and especially the early philosophical elaboration of the Great Perfection.”—José Ignacio Cabezón, Dalai Lama Professor of Tibetan Buddhism and Cultural Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara“The nature of suffering; the distinction (or lack thereof) between illusion and reality; the value of reason for the spiritual path: all of these essential Buddhist topics are treated with creativity and freshness in this key early work of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. Sur’s incisive English prose renders this rich philosophical work accessible while still retaining the precision and complexity of the original.”—Kurtis Schaeffer, University of Virginia

Rongzom Ch kyi Zangpo (eleventh century) was an important Tibetan Buddhist translator, fully adept in Sanskrit and, along with Longchenpa and Ju Mipham, is considered to be one of the three great systematizers of the Nyingma tradition. His works, whether translations from Sanskrit, commentaries on canonical texts, or original compositions such as Entering the Way of the Great Vehicle, demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of, and direct experience with, a wide variety of teachings that were coming into Tibet from India.

Dominic Sur first studied with Tibetan masters in India, Nepal, and Tibet for several years before returning to the United States, where he was fortunate enough to study with several outstanding scholars of Buddhism at Sarah Lawrence College, Harvard Divinity School, and the University of Virginia. In 2015, he completed a PhD in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia and is now a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Utah State University.

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