The Five Stages (Pancakrama) and Condensed Stage (Pindikrama) of Nagarjunapada: With the Gloss of Parahitaraksita

The "Five Stages" (Pancakrama) and "Condensed Stage" (Pindikrama) translated herein are renowned in Indo-Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism as two of most fundamental Tantric works of the illustrious philosopher-sage Arya Nagarjuna (2nd Cent.CE). Author of many treatises of a rigorous dialectical logic known as "consequentialism" (prasanga), Nagarjuna is esteemed as "second Buddha" for his exposition of Buddhist doctrines, exoteric and esoteric. The treatises herein translated from the original Sanskrit (with reference to Tibetan versions), are expository works on the fourth and highest division of Buddhist Tantra, the Peerless class, known as Anuttarayoga Tantra. Devoted to the exposition of the Peerless Yoga Tantra class generally, the "Five Stages" and "Condensed Stage" are more specifically expository treatises on the "Secret Assembly Tantra" (Guhyasamaja Tantra), widely regarded as the prototypical Tantra of the Anuttara-class. The "Five Stages" lays out the Path-conception derived from the aforesaid "Guhysamaja Tantra", while the "Condensed Stage" is the practice-manual (sadhana) connected with that Tantra. The translation of both treatises, written in verse (slokas), are accompanied by the prose commentary, the "Panchakramatippani" of Parahitaraksita, also translated herein from the original Sanskrit for the first time. The translations are accompanied by an introduction and interpretive essays elucidating and contextualizing the treatises historically and doctrinally-philosophically. Extensive exposition of the yoga practices in the treatises has also been undertaken as a central feature. Additionally, arguments are made for the cogency of the Tantric world-view and practice as well as its relevance to the scientific age. Extensive footnotes and appendices are provided. I am pleased to present to a wide readership these most fundamental expository treatises of Buddhist Tantra by the incomparable Nagarjunapada, master of exoteric and esoteric Buddhism, the completion of a decade-long endeavor. Their importance in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism cannot be overestimated. For scholars and practitioners of Vajrayana Buddhism and anyone interested in Tantra, these treatises should be regarded as indispensable.