The Root Text, a Commentary by Khenpo Kunpal, and an Overview by Rinchen Jangchub
The Single Intention by Jigten Sumgön (1143–1217), the founder of the Drikung Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, contains teachings for the whole Kagyu tradition in 150 pithy “vajra statements” and their 46 additions.
The main theme of this work is the fundamental intention that underlies all the Buddha’s teachings and unites all the categories of Buddhist concepts within one central principle – the “actual reality of the nature or state of all phenomena.” These concepts are, for example, the three turnings of the Dharma wheel, the vehicles, the three vows, the realization of various Buddhist practitioners as steps on a single path, the three kayas and so on. One of the main messages is the universal validity and unchangeable nature of virtue and non-virtue, which means that no one can bypass the foundational practices and the observance of disciplined conduct.
This book consists of three parts: an overview by Jigten Sumgön’s direct disciple Rinchen Jangchub, the versified root text, and a word-by-word commentary by Khenpo Kunpal (1872–1943).
