The eleventh-century Seventeen Tantras are among the most important texts in the tradition of the Great Perfection-and in all of Tibetan Buddhism.

This set provides these two luminous root texts in crystal-clear translation, along with their commentaries, which break down the tantra passage by passage under headings that contextualize many instructions for the practice of the Great Perfection. The two texts are published together because they contain some of the most detailed expositions on which are based the two essential practices of the Great Perfection: trekcho (cutting through delusion to innate empty essence, the primordial purity of the nature of mind) and thogal (skillful means, the spontaneous presence of primordial purity of mind; effortless and immediate crossing the illusory gap between perceiver and perceived, effortless shift from dualistic perspective directly to the nonduality that is innate rigpa).

The Tantra Without Syllables focuses on the theoretical basis for trekcho, and the Blazing Lamp focuses on the theoretical basis of thogal. The actual tantra discussed is not the body of the root text of the tantra, but rather the subject matter that the root text points to: the continuum of one's own vidya confirmed in a direct perception, which cannot be explained in words. (Tantra of the Blazing Lamps discusses how a luminous awareness, located at the heart, can be projected through the eyes and seen in vision.)

Malcolm Smith's simple and lucid introductions bring clarity to an intricate subject, making these volumes vital reading for any student of Dzogchen
Tantra Without Syllables (Vol 3) and the Blazing Lamp Tantra (Vol 4): A Translation of the Yige Mepai Gyu (Vol. 3) and of the Dronma Barwai, Wisdom Publications, Hardcover, 630 pp, $120.00

Malcolm Smith (translator) is a graduate of the Shang Shung Institute's School of Tibetan Medicine (2009) and has been a student of Chogyal Namkhai Norbu since 1992. He is a veteran of a traditional three-year solitary Tibetan Buddhist retreat, a published translator of Tibetan Buddhist texts (in Treasures of the Sakya Lineage, Shambhala, 2008), and was awarded the acarya degree by the Sakya Institute for Buddhist Studies in 2004. He has worked on translations for renowned lamas since 1992, including His Holiness Sakya Trichen, Kunzang Dechen Lingpa, Lama Migmar Tseten, Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen and many other lamas.

He's the translator of Buddhahood in This Life and The Self-Arisen Vidya Tantra and the Self-Liberated Vidya Tantra.

NOTE: There are separate tables of contents below for the two books in this set.
CONTENTS: The Tantra Without Syllables and The Blossoming Lotus
The Seventeen Tantras of the Great Perfection			vii
Foreword by Lama Chonam and Sangye Khandro			ix
Introduction to Volume 3 of the Seventeen Dzogchen Tantras			1
The Tantra Without Syllables
	Nidana		17
	1.	The Chapter That Follows the Nidana	19
	2.	The Basis of Preparation for the Transcendent State	25
	3.	The Dharma That Is Unfabricated in Undeluded Vidaya	33
	4.	Ultimate Appearances	37
	5.	Deviating from the Great Perfection with Words	39
	6.	Final Instructions	43
The Blossoming Lotus
	Introduction to the Tantra Without Syllables		49
	1.	The Chapter That Follows the Nidana	71
	2.	The Basis of Preparation for the Transcendent State	105
	3.	The Dharma That Is Unfabricated in Undeluded Vidaya	139
	4.	Ultimate Appearances	155
	5.	Deviating from the Great Perfection with Words	163
	6.	Final Instructions	183
Table of Tibetan Equivalents			207
Abbreviations			215
Bibliography			217
Index			219
About the Translator			241
CONTENTS: The Blazing Lamp Tantra and The Threaded String of Pearls
The Seventeen Tantras of the Great Perfection			vii
Introduction to Volume 4 of the Seventeen Dzogchen Tantras			1
The Blazing Lamp Tantra
	1.	The Lamp of the Watery Far-Reaching Lasso	19
	2.	The Lamp of the Self-Originated Wisdom	27
	3.	The Lamp of the Empty Bindu	33
	4.	The Lamp of the Pure Dhatu	41
The Threaded String of Pearls
	Homage		51
	Introduction to the Blazing Lamp Tantra		53
	1.	The Lamp of the Watery Far-Reaching Lasso	107
	2.	The Lamp of the Self-Originated Wisdom	149
	3.	The Lamp of the Empty Bindu	193
	4.	The Lamp of the Pure Dhatu	223
Table of Tibetan Equivalents			261
Abbreviations			269
Bibliography			271
Index			275
About the Translator			303