Lama Atisha Dipamkara
(982–1054)
“I prostrate to the Bodhisattva Youthful Manjushri.
Having prostrated most respectfully to all the Triumphant of the three times,
To their Dharma and to the Sangha community,
I shall light a lamp for the path to enlightenment,
Having been urged by my excellent disciple, Jangchub-wo.
Since (practitioners) come to have small, intermediate, and supreme (scopes),
They are known as the three types of spiritual persons.
I shall therefore write about these specific divisions,
Clarifying their defining features.”
Thus begins Jowo Je Atisha’s Lamp for the Path Enlightenment, which became the prototype and main textual base for the Lamrim tradition, and is one of the 18 Lamrim texts His Holiness will explain during the Jangchup Lamrim Teachings.
For translations of the 18 Lamrim texts into 8 different languages (with more coming soon), click here.
The above quote is from Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment by Dipamkara Shrijnana Atisha. Translated by Alex Berzin. Available on-line from The Berzin Archives.