Khenpo Tsultrim and Thrangu Rinpoche taught the four Kagyu regents of the Kagyu lineage in Rumtek, India after the 1959 cultural revolution.

Khenpo Tsultrim spent many years before as a yogi wandering in Tibet, but was also a Khenpo having studied the classic texts in Buddhism. He has always tried to explain important Buddhist topics and practice with an easy to understand terminology to students in the West.

Ascertaining Certainty About the View, a book of 268 pages, is an explanation of the important seventh chapter in Jamgon Kongtrul, the Great’s Treasury of Knowledge. This text gives a wonderful translation of the root text and then Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche’s lucid commentary on this root text both of which were translated by Michele Martin.

Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche begins by discussing prajna and the four seals and the Middle-way path. This involves explaining the importance of understanding the empty nature or no-self of the person and the illusory nature or no-self of phenomena.

Khenpo following Jamgon Kongtrul’s outline then begins to explain the key points, the classifications of, why understanding this important, the different philosophical systems, and how to ascertain through Madhyamaka reasoning of both the no-self of persons and the no-self of phenomena.

Finally, there are several explanations of the Rangtong view of emptiness held mostly by the Gelug lineage and the Shentong view of emptiness held by the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages. Again this has important implications to the meditator who wants to work with their mind and the meaning of Buddha-nature.

It is unfortunate that the wonderful teaching on one of the more complicated aspects of Buddhist philosophy is very hard to get and we are pleased to make it more available as a PDF.