List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgments Abbreviations 1. The Topic of the Twenty Sa gha Methodological Considerations Tsong kha pa's Hermeneutical Strategy Hermeneutical Strategies in Approaching the Twenty Sa gha 2. Tsong kha pa and the Abhisamay a lamk a ra Commentarial Tradition Indian Predecessors in the Abhisamay a lamk a ra Tradition Tsong kha pa's Tibetan Predecessors in the Abhisamay a lamk a ra Tradition The Abhisamay a lamk a ra and Twenty Sa gha in Tsong kha pa's Life and Works Summary 3. Contextual and Doctrinal Presumptions Locating the Twenty Sa gha in the Abhisamay a lamk a ra Sa gha in Early Buddhism and in the Abhisamay a lamk a ra Avaivartika-Sa gha as Refuge in the Abhisamay a lamk a ra Path and Yogic Systems of the Abhisamay a lamk a ra Cosmological Factors Summary 4. Analysis of the Twenty Sa gha An Introduction to the Topic from the Root Texts The Allegorical Sa gha of s r a vakas 5. An Assembly of Irreversible Bodhisattvas The Actual Sa gha of Bodhisattvas Enumerating Bodhisattva s in the Praj ña p a ramit a Relationship between the Actual Sa gha and the Allegorical Sa gha Conclusion Notes Glossary References Index.