Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being was composed by Maitreya, the regent of the Lord Buddha, during the golden age of Buddhism in India. The name Maitreya means “loving kindness,” a name he will continue to bear when he manifests as the fifth of the one thousand historical buddhas of our world system.

The text was recorded in written form by the noble Asanga, one of the greatest meditation masters of the two and a half millennia since Buddha Shakyamuni turned the Wheel of Dharma.

The commentary (on this great work of Maitreya), Distinguishing Wisdom and Appearance, was composed by Mipham Jamyang Namgyal (1846-1912), a great master of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and one of the leading figures of the Ri-me (nonsectarian) movement that began in Tibet during the middle of the nineteenth century.

In response to the express wishes of His Holiness the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa, Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, one of the most learned and accomplished contemporary masters of the Kagyu lineage, founded The Kagyu Institute of Mahayana Studies in 1978. Its purpose was to provide formal education for Westerners in the classical texts fundamen- tal to the lineage. In another of its aspects, this institute has provided train- ing in the Tibetan language for those wishing to translate the texts studied.