The philosophy was familiar to me, as I am aware of Buddhist Sunyavada doctrines and Nagarjuna's works. The book expanded my understanding of the history of Tibetan Buddhism, and the concept of Vajrayana (which amalgamates Mahayana Suttas with Tantric practices to accelerate one's transformation into a Buddha in one lifetime).
A few takeaways among many:
1️⃣ I'm sure this has been a quiz question before: How was the institution of the Dalai Lama created, and what does "Dalai Lama" mean? A: The youngest and currently dominant Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism gained prominence in the 1570s as the Lama Sonam Gyatso formed an alliance with the Mongol chieftain Atlan Khan. The word "Dalai" comes from the Mongol word for Ocean. And Dalai Lama means a teacher who has the depths of an ocean.
2️⃣ Another piece of trivia: Buddhism became the state religion of Mongolia under Kublai Khan. Ghenghiz Khan subjugated Tibet in the 1200s, and later the Khan's grandson Godan took Sakya Pandita Gyeltsen as his guru and adopted Buddhism. The teacher's nephew Chogyal Phagpa became Kublai Khan's guru. At this time, Buddhism became the state religion of Mongolia (53% of Mongolia's population were Buddhists as of 2010).
3️⃣ It is believed that all the three paths (1) Doctrine of emptiness, (2) Infinite Compassion, and (3) Karmic law of cause and effect (including "Dependent Origination") lead to realization of the same whole - that is Enlightenment. I personally found the interconnectedness of these routes fascinating.
4️⃣ A Buddha is said to operate in three planes of existence simultaneously: the universal (dharmakaya), the ideal (sambhogakaya) - or pure land, and the individual (nirmanakaya). Dharmakaya or Truth Body relates to the realization of emptiness in the phenomenological world. Sambhogakaya or Bliss Body relates to what I think is a (Vijnanavadin/Brahmanic) concept of a pure non-material plane of existence without defilement. Nirmanakaya or Form Body relates to the expression of purity in the phenomenal world.
5️⃣ Bodhicitta (heart of an enlightened mind) is an incredibly brave concept. It means the engagement of one's enlightened mind for the well-being of all other sentient beings. One concept I loved is the idea that everyone else in a previous janma could have been our mother or dearest friends; so when we see these "mother sentient beings" suffering, we spontaneously desire to release them from their torment.
Having read this book, I feel worse about what happened to the people of Tibet in the 1950s when the Chinese Communists invade their land "to liberate them". It takes extraordinary courage to build philosophy that is so kind.
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