In the Lamrim Chenmo, Tsongkhapa explains the path in terms of the three levels of practitioners, those of small capacity who seek happiness in future lives, those of medium capacity who seek liberation from the cycle of suffering, and those of great capacity who seek full enlightenment in order to benefit al beings. This volume covers the topics common to the first level: Tsongkhapa's explanations of the role of this teacher, his exhortation to take the essence of human existence, the contemplation of death and future lives, and going for the refuge.

Given his vast knowledge and his experience in both the Tibetan and Western contexts, Geshe Sopa is the ideal commentator for this work for the modern student of Tibetan Buddhism.

Praise & Reviews "Western students will welcome Geshe Sopa's STEPS ON THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT, and [also]Yangsi Rinpoche's Practicing the Path. They will serve their readers as indispensable companions to Tsongkhapa's elegant and elaborate Great Exposition on the Stages of the Path, without which the entry into a text of such rigorous thoroughness may seem overwhelming. Students newer to the endeavor will receive a wonderful education from reliable guides. All of us will find our attention focused upon matters of importance."—Buddhadharma: The Practitioners' Quarterly, in a joint review of Wisdom's two recent books on the Lamrim "From my first encounter with Professor Geshe Lhundub Sopa in 1962, I have been impressed with his kindness, patience, and thorough-going scholarship, qualities so strong that they obviously are based on profound realization. When he received his Geshe degree, he graduated first among the first rank, emerging as his year's national hero; he truly embodies what being a well-versed Tibetan scholar requires-the ability to think and react within many different systems. His good-humored, compassionate persistence and forbearance over the course of his long and often difficult life shine throughout the heartfelt, practical explanations in these books."—Professor Jeffrey Hopkins, author of 'Cultivating Compassion', and translator of The Dalai Lama's 'How to Practice' "Geshe Sopa is one of the great living lamas we have today."—Lama Surya Das, author of Awakening the Buddha Within "My first real exposure to the great textual tradition of Tibetan Buddhism was through Geshe Sopa's lectures on the Lamrim. It is no overstatement when I say that studying Tsongkhapa through the teachings of one of the greatest living scholars of the tradition indelibly changed my life. And now 'here we are,' as Geshela says in the opening line to this great work. Here we are indeed, more than a quarter century later, in the presence of this vibrant text, a superbly edited compilation of Geshela's lectures. Read it and you will see that his words still sparkle, and that his wit, insight and erudition come through on every page. But read these volumes slowly, savoring them. Make them last, so that they become for you what they have become for so many of Geshela's students throughout the years: a source of tremendous intellectual excitement, and untold spiritual nourishment."—Jos‚ Ignacio Cabez¢n, XIVth Dalai Lama Professor of Tibetan Buddhism and Cultural Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara

Geshe Lhundub Sopa, Author Born in Tibet in 1923, Geshe Lhundub Sopa is both a spiritual master and a respected academic. He moved to the United States in 1967 to teach in the Buddhist Studies Program at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he is now professor emeritus. He founded the Deer Park Buddhist Center in Oregon, Wisconsin. He lives in Madison, Wisconsin. David Patt, Editor