Thuken Chokyi Nyima's The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is the widest-ranging account of religious philosophies ever written in pre-modern Tibet. After covering the major schools of India, both Buddhist and non-Buddhist, Thuken discusses in detail the entire range of Tibetan traditions, with separate chapters on the Nyingma, Kadam, Kagyu, Shiji, Sakya, Jonang, Geluk, and Bon schools. He then describes the major traditions of China, Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist as well as those of Mongolia, Khotan, and Shambhala. Not content with simply describing and analyzing doctrines, Thuken traces the historical development of the various traditions. While he favors his own Geluk school, Thuken treats the views of other traditions with sympathy and respect, sometimes even defending them against criticisms from his own tradition. Eloquent, erudite, and informative, The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems is evidence that serious and balanced study of the history of religions has not been a monopoly of Western scholarship.

Thuken Losang Chokyi Nyima (1737�1802) was among the most cosmopolitan and prolific Tibetan Buddhist masters of the late eighteenth century. Hailing from the �melting pot� region of Amdo, he was Mongol by heritage, and educated in Gelukpa monasteries. Throughout his life, he traveled widely in east and inner Asia, spending significant time in Central Tibet, Amdo, inner Mongolia, and at the Qing court in Beijing. He served as abbot of several important monasteries, and wrote hundreds of texts on Buddhist thought and practice, the most enduring and influential of which is the Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems.

Born in the Tsang region of Tibet in 1923, Geshe Lhundub Sopa was both a spiritual master and a respected academic. He rose from a humble background to complete his geshe studies at Sera Je Monastic University in Lhasa with highest honors and was privileged to serve as a debate opponent for the Dalai Lama�s own geshe examination in 1959. He moved to New Jersey in the United States in 1963 and in 1967 began teaching in the Buddhist Studies Program at University of Wisconsin�Madison, where he was professor emeritus. In 1975, he founded the Deer Park Buddhist Center in Oregon, Wisconsin, site of the Dalai Lama�s first Kalachakra initiation granted in the West. He is the author of several books in English, including the five-volume comprehensive teaching, Steps on the Path to Enlightenment. Geshe Lhundub Sopa passed away on August 28, 2014, at the age of 91. His Holiness the Dalai Lama composed a prayer of request for the swift return of Geshe Sopa.

	Contents: The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems: A Tibetan Study of Asian Religious Thought
	General Editor's Preface	xi
	Translator's Preface	xv
	Editor's Introduction	1
	Map of Tibet	24
	Technical	27
	The Crystal Miror: An Excellent Explanation Showing the Sources and Assertions of All Philosophical Systems
1.	Preface	33
2.	Indian Schools	37
3.	Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism	71
4.	The Nyingma Tradition	77
5.	The Kadam Tradition	97
6.	The Kagyu Tradition	117
7.	The Shije Tradition	157
8.	The Sakya Tradition	169
9.	The Jonang and Minor Traditions	197
10.	The Geluk Tradition 1: Tsongkhapa	215
11.	The Geluk Tradition 2: Tsongkhapa's Successors	267
12.	The Geluk Tradition 3: The Distinctiveness of Geluk	299
13.	The Bon Tradition	321
14.	Chinese Traditions 1: Non-Buddhist	331
15.	Chinese Traditions 2: Buddhist	351
16.	Central Asian Traditions	371
17.	Conclusion	387
	Appendix: Detailed Outline of Thuken's Text	397
	Notes	411
	Glossary	497
	Glossary of Enumerations	515
	Bibliography	535
	Index	577
	About the Contributors	665