"This book presents an English translation of the bSam-gtan mig-sgron (pron. Samten Migdron, Lamp for the Eye of Contemplation) by gNubs-chen Sangs-rgyas ye-shes (pron. Nubchen Sangye Yeshe), a seminal 10th-century Tibetan Buddhist work on contemplation. This treatise is one of the most important sources for the study of the various meditative currents that were transmitted to Tibet from India and China during the early dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet. Written from the vantage point of the Great Completeness (rDzogs-chen, pron. Dzogchen) and its vehicle of effortless spontaneity, it discusses, in the manner of a doxography, both sutra-based-including Chan-and tantric approaches to meditation. The unabridged, annotated English translation of the Tibetan treatise is preceded by a general introduction situating the author-a pivotal figure in what would become the rNying-ma (pron. Nyingma) school of Tibetan Buddhism-and discussing the historical and doctrinal context of his work.

The detailed annotations to the translation provide elucidating comments as well as crucial references for the numerous texts quoted by the Tibetan author. This book gives access to a groundbreaking Tibetan work on meditation and opens fascinating windows on early forms of contemplative practice in Tibet"--.