Wondrous Ocean of Eloquence is the first ever English translation of a comprehensive historiographical volume on the political, artistic, architectural, biographical, and spiritual dimensions of the Taklung, one of four primary subsects of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. The main text in the volume is a translation of an early seventeenth-century Tibetan history by Taklung Ngawang Namgyel, followed by supplements to that history by Taklung Trirab Ngawang Tenpai Nyima, Jedrung Jampel Gyeltsen, and Kahtok Situ Chokyi Gyatso, written in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, respectively. Centering an otherwise marginal and understudied Buddhist tradition, this volume contains an extraordinary wealth of historical, religious, and biographical information not found in any other published work.

Jane Casey, preeminent scholar of Taklung art, introduces the volume with an exploration of Taklung portraiture and inscriptions, illuminating the connections between recently available artwork and the narratives found in the histories, enlivening prominent Taklung abbots and lineage holders. Phakchok Rinpoche opens the volume with a tribute honoring the Taklung lineage, and John Canti eulogizes the life and works of Gyurme Dorje in his memoriam to the late translator. An editor’s preface to the Tibetan edition by Tharling Jampa Tsering reveals the process of bringing this history from a mouse-eaten manuscript to the critical edition that Gyurme Dorje relied on for the present work.
Shambhala Publications gratefully acknowledges the generous support of Robert H. N. Ho and John Eskenazi in sponsoring the translation, and the Tsadra Foundation in sponsoring the preparation and printing of this book.