Prologue Venerable teachers whose compassion is infinite and unconditional, I prostrate myself before you all Conquerors of the mind lineage; Vidyadharas of the symbol lineage; Most fortunate of ordinary beings who, Guided by the enlightened ones, have attained the twofold goalTeachers of the three lineages, I prostrate myself before you In the expanse where all phenomena come to exhaustion, you encountered the wisdom of dharmakaya; In the clear light of empty space you saw sambhogakaya Buddhafields appear; To work for beings' benefit you appeared to them in nirmiiiJ'lkiiya form Omniscient Sovereign of Dharma, • I prostrate myself before you In your wisdom you saw the true nature of whatever can be known; The light of your love beamed benefit upon all beings; You elucidated the teachings of the profound path, summit of all vehicles !Ugdzin ]igme Lingpa, I prostrate myself before you You were Lord Avalokitesvara himself in the form of a spiritual friend; Whoever heard you speak was established on the path to freedom; To fulfil all beings' needs your activity was infinite; Gracious root teacher, I prostrate myself before you • Longchenpa PROLOGUE The writings of Omniscient Longchenpa and his lineage contain the Buddha's entire teachings: The quintessential pith instructions that bring Buddhahood in a single lifetime, The ordinary outer and the inner preliminaries of the path And the additional advice on the swift path of transference May the Buddhas and the teachers bless me That I may explain definitively as I have remembered them Wonderfully profound yet clear and easy to understandThe unerring words of my perfect teacher This faithful record of my peerless teacher's instructions on the general outer and inner preliminaries for the Heart-essence of the Vast Expanse from the Great Perfection is divided into three parts: the ordinary outer preliminaries; the extraordinary inner preliminaries; and, as part of the main practice, the swift path of transference Part One THE ORDINARY OR OUTER PRELIMINARIES THE DIFFICUL1Y OF FINDING THE FREEDOMS AND ADVANTAGES THE IMPERMANENCE OF LIFE THE DEFECTS OF S.AMSARA ACTIONS: THE PRINCIPLE OF CAUSE AND EFFECT THE BENEFITS OF LIBERATION HOW TO FOLLOW A SPIRITUAL FRIEND ]amyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820-1892) The first Khyentse One of the main holders of the Heart-essence of the Vast Expanse He was one of the founders of the ecumenical movement in which the teachings particular to all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism are studied impartially, creating a spiritual renaissance in Tibet He saved many teachings whose lineages were about to disappear ... unerring words of my perfect teacher This faithful record of my peerless teacher's instructions on the general outer and inner preliminaries for the Heart-essence of the Vast Expanse from the Great Perfection... into three parts: the ordinary outer preliminaries; the extraordinary inner preliminaries; and, as part of the main practice, the swift path of transference Part One THE ORDINARY OR OUTER PRELIMINARIES... TO FOLLOW A SPIRITUAL FRIEND ]amyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820-1892) The first Khyentse One of the main holders of the Heart-essence of the Vast Expanse He was one of the founders of the ecumenical