Calming the Mind and Discerning the Real

Lam Rim Chen Mo (roughly the great book on stages (to enlightenment), is the abbreviated title to a huge encyclopedic manual that Tson-kha–pa, founder of Gelugpa sect, wrote. The English debut of the two most important sections of this book, Calming the Mind & Discerning the Real, marks the first time they have been translated. Alex Wayman, translator, notes that “from the beginning of Buddhist literature, we find the terms ‘calming’ and ‘discerning’ paired as natures to cultivate. Over centuries of religious teaching, however, the exact connotations of these terms changed and “calming” became “discerning”, at different times to allow natures to be cultivated and catagories to cover various steps toward spiritual goals.