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
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