This book is the autobiography of the great scholar and translator Vairochana, as told to a group of his students near the end of his life in the eighth century. Responsible for bringing seminal Buddhist teachings to Tibet from India, his deep understanding of the Dharma was what enabled him to translate the essence of enlightened mind, conveyed in the Sanskrit texts, with great accuracy.


Great Image; The Life Story of Vairochana the Translator, Yudra Nyingpo, Ani Jinba Palmo, tr., Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 2004, 330 Pages, $34.95

Ani Jinba Palmo, translator, born and educated in Holland, is a nun in the Tibetan tradition. She was a student of and translator for Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche until his death in 1991. She currently divides her time between retreats in Nepal and India and translating for Tibetan teachers in the United States and Europe.

	Contents: The Great Image; The Life Story of Vairochana the Translator
	Foreword - by Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche	vii
	Introduction: Putting the Story in Historical Context - by Thinley Norbu Rinpoche	ix
	Introduction: The Significance of This Biography - by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche	xvii
	Translator's Preface	xxxi
	The Homage	3
	Preface: How the Effortless Ati Doctrine Was Taught	5
1	How This Precious Doctrine Occurred in Akanishta	7
2	The History of the Appearance of This Precious Doctrine in the Celestial and Human Realms	12
3	The History of how the Effortless Vehicle Appeared in the Three Celestial Realms	35
4	The History of the Appearance of the Effortless Ati Doctrine in the Human Realm	43
5	The History of the Effortless Ati Doctrine Flourishing in India	48
6	The History of the Appearance of the Effortless Doctrine in Tibet	83
7	The Trials of Vairotsana	92
8	Master Shri Singha Entrusts Vairotsana with the Entire Doctrine	117
9	Vairotsana Tames King Rahula Bhibhi's Arrogance	125
10	Vairotsana's Arrival in Tibet	133
11	Vairotsana Is Banished to Tsawarong	145
12	Vairotsana Arrives in Tsawarong and Entrusts Yudra Nyingpo with the Pith Instructions	179
13	Going to the Pure Lands After Completing the Instructions in Tibet	193
	Aspiration and Summary	240
	Appendix: The Nine Vehicles	245
	Notes	257
	Glossary	277
	Bibliography	309
	Translator's Acknowledgments	319
	Index	321