Lamrim
Tibetan Buddhist textual form presenting stages to enlightenment.
Last updated
Ippolito Desideri, a Jesuit missionary, made the Lamrim the first Tibetan text rendered into a European language; he studied Tsongkhapa's Lam Rim Chen Mo between 1716 and 1721.[1]
Last updated 2026-10-03 from the source article.
Key facts and history
Atiśa, the originator of the lamrim, came from India to Tibet at the request of king Jang Chub Ö to give a complete summary of the doctrine.[2] Atiśa wrote the Bodhipathapradīpa based on this request, and his presentation became known as the Kadampa tradition.[3] Tibetan Buddhists believe lamrim teachings are based on the sutras and contain essential points of all sutra teachings in logical order for practice.[4] Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug school, wrote The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path of Enlightenment, which has about 1000 pages and is primarily based on literary sources.[5]
The study of Lamrim is a major focus of the Gelug school, and numerous Gelug figures wrote Lamrim works.[6] One formulaic presentation of the Buddhist path in the Nikayas is anupubbikathā, "graduated talk," on generosity, virtue, heaven, danger of sensual pleasure, and renunciation.[7] Tsong Khapa stated that Atiśa derived the number and sequence of topics from the Abhisamayalankara by Maitreya-natha and Asaṅga, using this as the foundation for his own text.[4] The Eight Great Commentaries on Atisha's Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment is the name given to a set of significant Lamrim works.[6]
What the cited sources add
The stages of the path to enlightenment is the backbone of Kadampa Buddhism, containing all essential teachings of Buddha Shakyamuni arranged for practice in a single meditation session.[8] Many great Kadampa Teachers have said gaining experience of Lamrim is far more important than attaining clairvoyance, miracle powers, or high social status.[8] There are 21 Lamrim meditations, usually practiced in a three-week cycle as a daily meditation practice.[8] The Dalai Lama accepted these requests and began teachings on the Eight Great Lamrims and ten additional Jangchup Lamrim treatises in November 2012.[9]
In 2002, Ling Rinpoche requested the Dalai Lama to deliver teachings on the Eight Great Lamrim Treatises at Sera, Drepung, and Ganden Monasteries.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Lamrim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Gopnik, "Could David Hume Have Known about Buddhism? Charles François Dolu, the Royal College of La Flèche, and the Global Jesuit Intellectual Network" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lamrim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lam Rim Meditation — What is it?; Lam Rim Meditation — What is it? (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lamrim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lam Rim Meditation — What is it? (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lamrim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Abhisamayalankara; Introduction to the Lamrim series; Preeminent qualities of the compilers and of the teachings pgs. 4-6; Lamrim - The Stages of the Path (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lamrim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lamrim: the Gradual Path to Enlightenment (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lamrim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Eighteen Commentaries", Jangchup Lamrim (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lamrim" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Carole Anderson (2013), Pain and its Ending, p.143; Majjhima Nikaya 56, To Upali, verse 18.Bhikkhu Nanamoli & Bhikku Bodhi.; In regards to translating ādīnava, Bullitt uses the word "drawbacks" while Ñāṇamoli & Bodhi (2001) use "danger" (p. 485), and Rhys Davids & Stede (1921–25) reco (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Lamrim - The Stages of the Path. facts only, no text reused. kadampa.org
- "The Eighteen Commentaries", Jangchup Lamrim. facts only, no text reused. jangchuplamrim.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Lamrim (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Lamrim (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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