Skip to Main Content

The Tibetan Book of Everyday Wisdom

Edited by Jinpa Thupten / Translated by Beth Newman
Published by Wisdom Publications
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

Enjoy popular Tibetan collections of advice, fables, and aphorisms for following the way of the wise and avoiding the paths of fools.

The Tibetan Book of Everdyay Wisdom: A Thousand Years of Sage Advice presents a genre of Tibetan works known as “wise sayings” (lekshé). While most Tibetan literature focuses on the Buddhist path, “wise sayings” literature has traditionally been a centerpiece of secular education in Tibet and in the cultivation of social mores and an honorable way of life. Drawing inspiration from classical Indian literature on human virtue and governance (nitisastra), including the folktales in the Pañcatantra, the authors of these Tibetan works strove to educate young minds in the ways of the civilized world, especially by distinguishing the conduct of the wise from that of the foolish.

This anthology includes some of the best-loved classics of Tibetan literature, such as Sakya Pandita’s Jewel Treasury of Wise Sayings, Panchen Sönam Drakpa’s Ganden Wise Sayings, and Gungthang’s Treatise on Trees and Treatise on Water. The final work is the intriguing Kaché Phalu’s Advice. Ostensibly written by a wise Tibetan Muslim, this versified text enjoys great popularity within Tibetan-speaking communities, such that most people are able to recite at least a few verses from memory.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Wisdom Publications (April 24, 2018)
  • Length: 520 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781614295136

Browse Related Books

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books in this series: Library of Tibetan Classics