The Swift Path by the Second Panchen Lama has long been heralded in the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism as one of the "eight great lamrims," or works presenting the stages of the path to enlightenment, but it is the last to become widely available in English translation. Composed by a preceptor of two Dalai Lamas, this practical and systematic guide to meditating on the lamrim is based on the Easy Path, a more concise work by the First Panchen Lama. In the Swift Path, Panchen Losang Yeshe expands on the earlier Panchen Lama's meditation guide with more detailed instructions on how to generate a clear and profound experience of the key recognitions that allow us to advance on our spiritual journey. These include the recognition of the opportunity afforded by our human existence, both its preciousness and its precariousness, and the way to adopt and live out the practices of a bodhisattva. The guided meditations here make use of a visualization of ones teacher in the guise of Shakyamuni Buddha to unlock our own innate potential for buddhahood, complete enlightenment, to best benefit humanity and all living beings.

Swift Path: A Meditation Manual on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Panchen Losang Yeshe, Szegee Toh (Translator), Wisdom Publications, Hardcover, 376 pages, $44.95

The author of the Swift Path, Panchen Losang Yeshe, is commonly known as the Second Panchen Lama. In 1668 at the age of four he was recognized as the reincarnation of the famous teacher Losang Chokyi Gyaltsen by the Fifth Dalai Lama and enthroned at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Shigatse. Years later he conferred ordination vows on the Sixth Dalai Lama and subsequently the Seventh Dalai Lama. By the time he passed away in 1737 at the age of about seventy-four, he had written on a vast range of subjects, including biographies, poetry, lamrim explanations, tantric commentaries, and supplication prayers.

Szegee Toh (translator) holds an honors degree in mathematics from the National University of Singapore. She graduated from the FPMT (Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition) Masters Program in Buddhist philosophy in 2004. Since then she has served variously as interpreter and teaching assistant in the Masters Programs held in Istituto Lama Tsong Khapa, Italy, as well as Nalanda Monastery, France. Several of her text translations are used in the FPMT study programs.