eighty-four thousand collections in all) came into existence. This
Dharma was originally widespread in the land of India and was
later faithfully translated into the Tibetan language by erudite
scholars who had endured great hardship to gain these teachings.
These translators thus allowed the Dharma to survive in the
impenetrable mountains of Tibet long after Buddhism was all but
destroyed in the Indian subcontinent.
By virtue of the power and blessings of this faithfully preserved tradition of Buddhadharma in Tibet, a great number of practitioners have become realized saints and siddhas. They are said to be so numerous that they equal the number of stars in the sky. The efforts and practice that brought realization of the true nature of the mind has allowed this tradition, which is quite profound, to become very advanced.
In Tibet, the teachings of the Dharma include five disciplines, known as the five great branches of learning. These branches incorporate the very important and extensive studies of medicine, astrology, and art, which were brought together as a single unified doctrine. Thus, in our tradition, the basic spiritual teachings of the Buddha also have the enrichment of these other approaches. The branches of learning to which I refer are known as the outer branches of learning, and the many Tibetan traditions present different formats of these outer forms. The basic Dharma taught by the Buddha comprises the inner branch of learning. Within these five great branches of learning are subdivisions called the five lesser subdivisions, which incorporate the traditions of astrology, debate, poetry composition, language, linguistics, and philosophy. Thus, there are ten branches, both the greater and the lesser, which form the whole of Buddhadharma as taught in the Tibetan tradition. Both the inner and outer form comprise what is commonly referred to as Tibetan Buddhism.
While in the West, I have noticed Westerners who are very educated and developed in their own particular academic traditions. I feel that many outer traditions with which I have become acquainted are quite similar, either in content or approach, to those taught in the traditions of the five lesser branches of learning in Buddhadharma. In the great libraries and universities of this modern world, several different philosophical discourses are xviii