A complete translation of two of the eleventh-century Seventeen Tantras--texts that are among the most important in all of Tibetan Buddhism.
"If one knows the
Self-Arisen Vidya Tantra, the
Self-Liberated Vidya Tantra, and the
Tantra Without Syllables, one will have command over the general meaning of the tantras, like a king who has command over his subjects."--
Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle The eleventh-century Seventeen Tantras are the most important texts in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of the Great Perfection. This boxed set provides two luminous translations. The first is the only complete English translation of the
Self-Arisen Vidya Tantra, which is the major commentary tantra on all aspects of the doctrine of the Great Perfection. The second, the
Self-Liberated Vidya Tantra, outlines the structure of Dzogchen tantras in general and also provides a detailed outline of the
Self-Arisen Vidya Tantra.
Malcolm Smith also offers a comprehensive introduction and two vital appendices: (1) a brief historical account and survey of the Seventeen Tantras and (2) an examination of the themes of the Seventeen Tantras, translated from the commentary to the
String of Pearls Tantra. This is vital reading for any student of Dzogchen.
Smith, Malcolm: - Born in 1962, Malcolm Smith was raised in Western Massachusetts. Captivated by the sound of Tibetan ritual music in 1984, he began his study of the Dharma. He met his first formal teacher, H. H. Sakya Trizin, in 1989. He studied Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language under the guidance of Khenpo Migmar Tseten for the next five years at Sakya Institute for Buddhist Studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1990 Malcolm travelled to Nepal to receive lamdré from the late H. H. Sakya Dagchen.
He received his first Dzogchen teachings from Chögyal Namkhai Norbu in 1992. In 1993 he met his second Dzogchen teacher, Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, receiving important transmissions. During this year he entered a three-year solitary retreat. In 1998 he met H. H. Penor Rinpoche and received the complete empowerments of the mahayoga section of the Nyingma Kama as well as teachings on the Namchö preliminary practices. In 2001, he met his third Dzogchen teacher, the late Kunzang Dechen Lingpa, from whom he received the
Nyinthig Yazhi in its entirety, as well as the formal Ngakpa empowerment in 2004. He met his fourth Dzogchen teacher, H. H. Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, in 2001, from whom he received the entire transmission of the Gongpa Zangthal in 2010, as well other transmissions. He received the transmission of the Seventeen Tantras from Khenpo Tenzin Thinley in 2012 and again from Tulku Dakpa Rinpoche in 2022. Since 2018, he has been studying under Khenchen Namdrol Tsering of Namdrol Ling MonasteryIn addition, Malcolm has received Sakya, Kagyü, and Nyingma teaching cycles from many other lamas.
Malcolm Smith was awarded the title of acarya by Khenpo Migmar Tseten of Sakya Institute in 2004. In 2008 Malcolm was granted the title of lama by Lama Ngawang Tsultrim, abbot of Dhongag Tharling. In 2009 Malcolm graduated from Shang Shung Institute of America as a doctor of Tibetan medicine, completing an internship in Xining, in the Amdo province of northeast Tibet.
Since 1992 Malcolm Smith has worked on a wide variety of texts for Sakya, Drikung Kagyü, and Nyingma groups, as well as medical and astrological texts.
