migdron

This book presents an English translation of the Samten Migdron (Lamp for the Eye of Contemplation) by Nubchen Sangye Yeshe, a seminal 10th-century Tibetan Buddhist work on contemplation. This treatise is one of the most important sources for the study of the various meditative currents that were transmitted to Tibet from India and China during the early dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet. Written from the vantage point of the Great Completeness (Dzogchen) and its vehicle of effortless spontaneity, it discusses, in the manner of a doxography, both sutra-based-including Chan-and tantric approaches to meditation.

The unabridged, annotated English translation of this Tibetan treatise is preceded by a general introduction situating the author-a pivotal figure in what would become the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism-and his work in historical and doctrinal context. The detailed annotations provide elucidating comments as well as crucial references to the numerous texts quoted by the Tibetan author. This book makes this groundbreaking Tibetan work on meditation accessible in English and opens fascinating windows on early forms of contemplative practice in Tibet.

Dylan Esler is a scholar and translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts. He holds a PhD in Languages and Literature from the Université catholique de Louvain and an MA in Buddhist Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. He currently works at the Center for
Religious Studies (CERES) of the Ruhr-University Bochum and is also affiliated with the Oriental Institute of Louvain (CIOL). His research interest focuses on early Nyingma expositions of Dzogchen and Tantra.