The Swift Path: A Meditation Manual on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment

Translated by Szegee Toh

The Swift Path by the Second Panchen Lama has long been heralded in the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism as one of the “eight great lamrims,” or works presenting the stages of the path to enlightenment, but it is the last to become widely available in English translation. Composed by a preceptor of two Dalai Lamas, this practical and systematic guide to meditating on the lamrim is based on the Easy Path, a more concise work by the First Panchen Lama. In the Swift Path, Pa?chen Losang Yeshé expands on the earlier Pa?chen Lama’s meditation guide with more detailed instructions on how to generate a clear and profound experience of the key recognitions that allow us to advance on our spiritual journey. These include the recognition of the opportunity afforded by our human existence, both its preciousness and its precariousness, and the way to adopt and live out the practices of a bodhisattva. The guided meditations here make use of a visualization of one’s teacher in the guise of Sakyamuni Buddha to unlock our own innate potential for buddhahood, complete enlightenment, to best benefit humanity and all living beings.

2023 edition, 376 pages.

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