According to tradition, Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes (Madhyantavibhaga) was revealed by Maitreya to Asanga, and the radical view it presents forever changed the way Mahayana Buddhists perceive reality. Here, the Tibetan master Rongton unpacks this manual and its practices for us in a way that is at once accessible and profound, with actual practical meditative applications. The work explains the vast paths of the three vehicles of Buddhism, emphasizing the view of Yogacara, and demonstrates the inseparability of experience and emptiness. It offers a detailed presentation of the three natures of reality, an accurate understanding of which provides the antidotes to confusion and suffering. The translator's introduction presents a clear overview of all the concepts explored in the text, making it easy for the reader to bridge its ideas to actual practice.

Adorning Maitreya's Intent: Arriving at the View of Nonduality, Rongtonpa, Snow Lion Publications, Paperback, 2016, 158 pages, $24.95

Rongton Sheja Kunrig, also known as Rongtonpa and Shakya Gyaltsen (1367-1449), was one of the greatest scholars of the Sakya school, and indeed in all Tibetan history, who, like his principal teacher Yakton Sangye Pal, is especially renowned for his mastery of the prajnaparamita teachings and the text of the Abhisamayalankara. He taught at the great Sangphu Neuthog, and founded his own monastery of Nalendra in 1436. His most famous disciples were Shakya Chokden and Gorampa Sonam Senge. According to Shakya Chokden, he "had more students who understood philosophical texts than any Tibetan teacher of all time."

Contents: Adorning Maitreya's Intent
Foreword by H.H. Sakya Trizin	vii
Foreword by Khenpo Ngawang Jorden	ix
Acknowledgments	xv
Translator's Introduction	1
The Buddhist Path	1
The Role of Buddhist Philosophy	2
The Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel	3
The Yocara Tradition	4
Scriptural Sources	4
Fundamental Concepts	5
Yogacara in Tibet	10
Maitreya's Madyantavihaga	12
The Text	12
Authorship	13
Overview of the Madyantavihaga	13
Rongton's Commentary	16
A Short Glimpse at the Life of Rongton Sheja Kunrig	16
Rongton's Commentar on the Madyantavihaga	20
On This Translation	20
The Root Text	20
Translation	25
1. Opening Verses of Worship and Explanation of the Narrative	27
2. Explanation of the Title	29
3. Explanation of the Treatise	31
3.1. Presentation of the main body of the treatise	31
3.2. Extensive explanation of the branches	31
3.2.1. Explanation of the first chapter: Characteristics	32
3.2.2. Explanation of the second chapter: The Veils	45
3.2.3. Explanation of the third chapter: Reality	60
3.2.4. Expalantion of the fourth chapter: Cultivation of the antidotes	75
3.2.5. Explanation of the fifth chapter: The unsurpassed vehicle	87
4. Concluding Verses and Verses of Aspiration	107
Appendix 1: Illuminating the Essence	109
Appendix 2: Detailed Outline of the Commentary	113
Notes	119
Glossary	133
Tibetan Names and Places with Transliteration and Notes	141
Bibliography	145
Index	149