The Self-Arisen Vidya Tantra (vol 1) and The Self-Liberated Vidya Tantra (vol 2)

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“Ācārya Malcolm Smith has certainly given the world a rare gift by presenting to English-reading Dzogchen practitioners this skilled translation of the first two volumes of the Seventeen Tantras, the Self-Arisen Vidyā Tantra and its accompanying commentarial tantra, the Self-Liberated Vidyā Tantra. The exceptional features of each of the seventeen tantras of Ati Yoga’s quintessential secret cycle of the upadeśa class are described with metaphors. The Self-Arisen Vidyā Tantra is described with the metaphor of the ocean. The eighty-four chapters of this oceanic treatise detail the pinnacle view, meditation, conduct, and result of all paths of Buddhadharma presented in this world. As the destined Dharma of this time, this translation is extremely timely. I wish to express deep gratitude to Malcolm and the wonderful Zangthal team for their noble aspiration and qualified capacity to finally bring these most precious teachings that exist in our world into the English language.”—Sangye Khandro, translator and teacher, Light of Berotsana Translation Group

“Malcolm Smith’s translation of these two tantras has opened a door to fundamental, previously inaccessible Nyingma teachings. With a comprehensive knowledge and experience of the subject, Smith has created an erudite translation that is not only accurate but also clear in meaning and beautiful to read. This work is an important milestone in the translation of Tibetan Buddhist texts.” —Peter Alan Roberts, translator of The Mind of Mahāmudrā

"In 1975, when the magnificent Buddhist master Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche visited the West for the first time, an event comparable to the Indian adept Vimalamitra bringing Dzogchen from India to Tibet, among the very first transmissions he gave was the reading of the Rigpa Rangshar Tantra (Self-Arisen Vidyā Tantra). Now this preeminent tantra, the Self-Arisen Vidyā Tantra, has arrived in the English language to be taught and studied, read and reread, contemplated and savored, and practiced by any/every fortunate person. This crown jewel of human civilization covers all the big questions in life and brings certainty about the deepest topics to interrupt, transform, and free the mind from confusion and ignorance . . . I deeply rejoice in this."—Erik Pema Kunsang, translator, Rangjung Yeshe

THE SELF-ARISEN VIDYA TANTRA (VOL 1) AND THE SELF-LIBERATED VIDYA TANTRA (VOL 2)

A Translation of the Rigpa Rang Shar (vol 1) and A Translation of the Rigpa Rangdrol (vol 2)

Malcolm Smith

“If one knows the Self-Arisen Vidya Tantra, the Self-Liberated Vidya Tantra, and the Tantra Without Syllables, one will have command over the general meaning of the tantras, like a king who has command over his subjects.”—Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle

The eleventh-century Seventeen Tantras are the most important texts in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of the Great Perfection. This boxed set provides two luminous translations. The first is the only complete English translation of the Self-Arisen Vidyā Tantra, which is the major commentary tantra on all aspects of the doctrine of the Great Perfection. The second, the Self-Liberated Vidyā Tantra, outlines the structure of Dzogchen tantras in general and also provides a detailed outline of the Self-Arisen Vidyā Tantra.

Malcolm Smith also offers a comprehensive introduction and two vital appendices: (1) a brief historical account and survey of the Seventeen Tantras and (2) an examination of the themes of the Seventeen Tantras, translated from the commentary to the String of Pearls Tantra. This is vital reading for any student of Dzogchen.

If you would like to purchase the ebook of these volumes please click here for volume 1 and here for volume 2.

book information
  • Hardcover/Boxed Set
  • 736 pages, 6.25 x 9.50 inches
  • $120
  • ISBN 9781614294863
about the author
The Self-Arisen Vidya Tantra (vol 1) and The Self-Liberated Vidya Tantra (vol 2)

Born in 1962, Malcolm Smith was raised in Western Massachusetts. Captivated by the sound of Tibetan ritual music in 1984, he began his study of the Dharma. He met his first formal teacher, H. H. Sakya Trizin, in 1989. He studied Buddhist philosophy and Tibetan language under the guidance of Khenpo Migmar Tseten for the next five years at Sakya Institute for Buddhist Studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1990 Malcolm travelled to Nepal to receive lamdré from the late H. H. Sakya Dagchen.

He received his first Dzogchen teachings from Chögyal Namkhai Norbu in 1992. In 1993 he met his second Dzogchen teacher, Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, receiving important transmissions. During this year he entered a three-year solitary retreat. In 1998 he met H. H. Penor Rinpoche and received the complete empowerments of the mahayoga section of the Nyingma Kama as well as teachings on the Namchö preliminary practices. In 2001, he met his third Dzogchen teacher, the late Kunzang Dechen Lingpa, from whom he received the Nyinthig Yazhi in its entirety, as well as the formal Ngakpa empowerment in 2004. He met his fourth Dzogchen teacher, H. H. Taklung Tsetrul Rinpoche, in 2001, from whom he received the entire transmission of the Gongpa Zangthal in 2010, as well other transmissions. He received the transmission of the Seventeen Tantras from Khenpo Tenzin Thinley in 2012 and again from Tulku Dakpa Rinpoche in 2022. Since 2018, he has been studying under Khenchen Namdrol Tsering of Namdrol Ling MonasteryIn addition, Malcolm has received Sakya, Kagyü, and Nyingma teaching cycles from many other lamas.

Malcolm Smith was awarded the title of acarya by Khenpo Migmar Tseten of Sakya Institute in 2004. In 2008 Malcolm was granted the title of lama by Lama Ngawang Tsultrim, abbot of Dhongag Tharling. In 2009 Malcolm graduated from Shang Shung Institute of America as a doctor of Tibetan medicine, completing an internship in Xining, in the Amdo province of northeast Tibet.

Since 1992 Malcolm Smith has worked on a wide variety of texts for Sakya, Drikung Kagyü, and Nyingma groups, as well as medical and astrological texts.

Other books by Malcolm Smith:
Yoga of the Natural State
The Tantra Without Syllables (vol 3) and The Blazing Lamp Tantra (vol 4)
Buddhahood in This Life

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