In the present work. Taranatha paints a miraculous picture of the great Siddhas of India - their lives and the lineages which sprang from their teachings. In all, the lives of some 59 Siddhas are related - some well known, others more obscure, but all linked by their various lineages and the instructions handed down from Siddha to disciple. Taranatha's account of these remarkable lives is especially valuable as he had as his gurus, and as the sources of these accounts, three Indians from the very traditions about which he wrote with such conviction.
The lineage accounts are very important for a clear understanding of the Tantric upadesas themselves. In several places Taranatha makes quite sure that his own lineage is irrefutably established so that there is no doubt that he is a participator in the upadesas themselves, not merely a hander down of legends. The accounts were evidently passed on and, due to the special factors involved in the tantric oral tradition, we cannot but understand them as being accurate and reliable.

Seven Instruction Lineages, Jonang Taranatha, LTWA, Paperback,
162 pages, $10.00

Taranatha (1575�1634) was a Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent. Taranatha was born in Tibet, supposedly on the birthday of Padmasambhava. His original name was Kun-dga'-snying-po, the Sanskrit equivalent of which is Anandagarbha. However, he adopted Taranatha, the Sanskrit name by which he was generally known, as an indication of the value he placed on his Sanskrit scholarship in an era when mastery of the language had become much less common in Tibet than it had once been. He was also paying homage to his Indian teacher, Buddhaguptanatha.[1] His exceptional qualities are said to have been recognized by others at a young age, as is often the case with great masters. He studied under such masters as Je Draktopa, Yeshe Wangpo, Kunga Tashi and Jampa Lhundrup, although his primary teacher was Buddhaguptanatha. Taranatha was recognized by Khenchen Lungrik Gyatso as the rebirth of Krishnacarya and the Khenchen's own teacher, Jetsun Kunga Drolchok.[2]