“It helps to recognize all teachings to be free of contradictions;
It helps the dawning of all scriptures as pith instructions;
It helps to find easily the enlightened intention of the conquerors;
It helps also to guard against the abyss of grave negative deeds.” 

–Tsongkhapa, on the greatness of the Lamrim, from Songs of Spiritual Experience

ལམ་རིམ་
lam rim
Sanskrit: mārgakrama

Stages of the Path 
Graded path; graded stages of the path; graded stage of motivation; graded stages of pathway minds. A course of training in the Mahayana sutra teachings through which one makes progress by developing graded stages of motivation, which act as pathway minds leading to enlightenment. (Berzin Definitions)

Subject Guide Sections

  • Lamrim Quicklinks
  • Five Lamrim Texts by Tsongkhapa
  • Modern Commentaries
  • Other Lamrim Texts
  • Lamrim Teachings
  • Indian Sources

Five Lamrim Texts by Tsongkhapa

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment
ལམ་རིམ་ཆེན་མོ་
lam rim chen mo
archive.org: volume 1, volume 2, volume 3

  • Tsong-kha-pa Blo-bzang-grags-pa and the Lamrim Translation Committee. 2002. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Snow Lion Publications. JABL

The Medium Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment 
ལམ་རིམ་འབྲིང་པོ་
lam rim ‘bring po

  • Quarcoo, Philip, trans., and Yongzin Ling Rinpoche. 2021. The Middle-Length Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Wisdom Publications. WorldCat

The Concise Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment also known as Song of the Stages of the Path
ལམ་རིམ་བསྡུས་དོན་
lam rim bsdus don
Concise Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment
ལམ་རིམ་ཉམས་མགུ་
lam rim nyams mgu
Song of the Stages of the Path

  • Maureen O’Malley and Lama Zopa Rinpoche, trans. 2020. The Foundation of All Good Qualities. FPMT. Lama Zopa Rinpoche Practice Series. (shantidevanyc.org)

Foundation of All Good Qualities
ཡོན་ཏན་ཞིར་གྱུར་མ་
yön tän zhir gyur ma

  • Berzin, Alexander, trans. The Foundation of All Good Qualities. Study Buddhism by Berzin Archives. English   Tibetan

Three Principal Aspects of the Path
ལམ་གྱི་གཙོ་བོ་རྣམ་པ་གསུམ་
lam gyi gtso bo rnam pa gsum
Tibetan

Modern Commentaries

Bstan-‘dzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV. 2011. Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment. Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive. JABL

Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, and Guy Newland. 2020. From Here to Enlightenment: An Introduction to Tsong-Kha-Pa’s Classic Text The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Shambhala Publications. JABL

Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, Lhakdor, Jeremy Russell, and Tsong-Kha-Pa Blo-Bzang-Grags-Pa. 2019. The Essence of Tsongkhapa’s Teachings: The Dalai Lama on the Three Principle Aspects of the Path. Wisdom Publications. JABL

Lhundup Sopa, Geshe. 2004. Steps on the Path to Enlightenment. Simon and Schuster. JABL

Yangsi Rinpoche, Tsering Tuladhar, trans., and Namdrol Miranda Adams, ed. 2003. Practicing the Path. Simon and Schuster.  JABL

Other Lamrim Texts

Atiśa and Richard Sherburne. 2003. The Complete Works of Atīśa Śrī Dīpaṁkara Jñāna, Jo-Bo-Rje: The Lamp for the Path and Commentary, Together with the Newly Translated Twenty-Five Key Texts (Tibetan and English Texts). Aditya Prakashan. JABL (archive.org)

Bstan-ʼdzin-rgya-mtsho, Dalai Lama XIV, and Thupten Jinpa, trans. 2002. Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment: A Commentary on Atisha Dipamkara Shrijnana’s a Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment and Lama Je Tsong Khapa’s Lines of Experience. Thubten Dhargye Ling Publications. JABL (archive.org)

The Eighteen Jangchup Lamrim Commentaries. jangchuplamrim.org

Jinpa, Thupten, Rosemary Patton, and Dagpo Rinpoche, trans. 2022. Stages of the Path and the Oral Transmission: Selected Teachings of the Geluk School. Wisdom Publications. WorldCat

Panchen Losang Yeshé and Szegee Toh, trans. 2023. The Swift Path: A Meditation Manual on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Wisdom Publications. WorldCat

Sonam Rinchen, Ruth Sonam, and Atīśa. 1997. Atisha’s Lamp for the Path: An Oral Teaching by Geshe Sonam Rinchen. Snow Lion Publications. JABL

Lamrim Teachings

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment, Lehigh University, 2008. (YouTube)

Jangchup Lamrim Teachings:

Bhikṣuṇī Thubten Chodron

Lamrim Teachings:

Guided Meditations on the Lamrim: Study Guide (thubtenchodron.org)

Indian Sources

Lamrim Indian Sources include:

  • Bodhisattva Bhumis by Asaṅga (Bodhisattvabhūmi)
  • Compendium of Training (Śikṣāsamuccaya)
  • Introduction to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra)
  • Letter to a Friend (Suhṛllekha)
  • Ornament of Clear Realization by Maitreya (Abhisamayālaṅkāra)
  • Precious Garland (Ratnāvalī or Ratnamāla)
  • Treasury of Abhidharma by Vasubandhu (Abhidharmakośa)
  • The Universal Vehicle Discourse by Asaṅga, Maitreyanātha & Vasubandhu (Mahāyānasūtrālaṁkāra)