Asanga was given five treatises from the Buddha Maitreya. Distinguishing Dharma from Dharmata was one of these texts. This text which is 1,400 years old and consists of 56 root verses that are memorized and extensively studied by the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages. This text is studied even today because it describes, first of all, dharmas or ordinary phenomena that we live in and how these dharmas leads us to suffering and confusion by explaining the origin, the characteristics, and our misconceptions about dharmas. The text then describes dharmata which is pure phenomena by giving its characteristics and explaining how we can develop our perception so we can begin to experience it.
This book is an important text also in understanding the MInd-only school and for understanding the Shentong view which aids us in the practice of Mahamudra and Dzogchen meditation.
This book translated by Jules Levinson is 225 pages long and gives the root text in Tibetan script with an English translation as well as a lengthy verse-by-verse commentary of over 120 pages long by Thrangu Rinpoche. The book includes extensive notes, a glossary, and index.
Also available is a exact copy of this book as a PDF for $ 1.25 in the PDF section of this website.
This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 18 October, 2018.