Skip to Main Content

The Guru Yoga of Je Tsongkhapa

A Commentary by Choden Rinpoche

Translated by Ian Coghlan and Voula Zarpani
Published by Wisdom Publications
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

Explore the guru yoga practice of Je Tsongkhapa with a legendary meditation master.

The Hundreds of Deities of Tusita is an inspiring and well-loved guru yoga practice that originated from Je Tsongkhapa himself and was disseminated by the First Dalai Lama. In this book, Choden Rinpoche—a celebrated scholar who was chosen as a debate partner for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, as well as an accomplished yogi who spent nineteen years in solitary retreat—offers two different commentaries to guide the reader’s understanding.

Rinpoche’s first commentary is based on the tantric oral tradition as presented by the great lama and scholar Pabongkha Dechen Nyingpo in his own inspired commentary on The Hundreds of Deities of Tusita, called A Treasury of Precious Jewels, which is presented here in full. Rinpoche adds clarifying instruction to Pabongkha Rinpoche's work, bringing out the deeper meaning of the text and revealing how ordinary practitioners may understand and apply the instructions. The second commentary from Rinpoche is a condensed commentary based on the sutra tradition. Thus, the reader is treated to two different perspectives of the guru yoga practice of Je Tsongkhapa.

Previously published as Opening the Door of Blessings, this edition has been revised and updated, and is an essential addition to any practitioner’s library.

About The Author

His Eminence Chöden Rinpoché was born in eastern Tibet in 1930 and was recognized as a young boy as the reincarnation of the previous Chöden Rinpoché. When he was fifteen, he enrolled at Sera Jé monastic college, where he excelled; he completed all the study necessary for the highest degree of geshé lharampa, was renowned as one of the great Tibetan teacher-yogis of our modern era, and was chosen as a debate partner for the Fourteenth Dalai Lama when His Holiness was taking his geshe exams. After the Chinese takeover of Tibet, Rinpoché entered solitary retreat, in which he stayed for nineteen years. In 1985 the Dalai Lama asked him to leave Tibet to teach in India and Nepal. He taught students in the geshé program at Sera Jé for many years, as well as offering teachings all over the world. He passed away in 2015.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Wisdom Publications (March 3, 2026)
  • Length: 328 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781614298366

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

“I am delighted that Wisdom is publishing one of the fundamental practices of the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, an important preliminary to many tantric practices and ritual prayers. I rejoice in the efforts of the translators for making this important teaching available in English.”

– Sharpa Tulku Tenzin Trinley

“I spent twenty-five years with His Eminence Chöden Rinpoché as his student and attendant. Rinpoche was from everyone’s perspective a true yogi who could, through his personal realizations, unpack the subtleties of the most difficult passages of Dharma. If you dedicate yourself to the clarity of Rinpoche’s words, you will definitely understand how the inexpressible becomes manifest through the special relationship of guru yoga.”

– Gyalten Khen Rinpoche, co-founder, with His Eminence Chöden Rinpoche, of Awakening Vajra International

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images