Branches of insight

From Rigpa Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Branches of insight (Skt. nirvedha-aṅga; Tib. ངེས་འབྱེད་ཡན་ལག་, ngepar jepa yenlak, Wyl. nges par 'byed pa yan lag) — the fourth of the ten factors that illustrate omniscience, from among the seventy points of the Abhisamayalankara. They come about on the path of joining as a result of the spiritual instructions.

In his Seventy Points of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, Khenpo Tsondru says:

The mahayana branches of insight are defined as realizations with five particular features, which develop following the stage conducive to liberation [i.e. the path of accumulation] in the mahayana, and are included within the level of aspirational practice.[1]

Alternative translations

  • Aids to penetration (Jeffrey Hopkins)
  • Branches of penetration (Brunnholz)
  • Ascertainment (Thomas Doctor)

References

  1. Tibetan: theg chen thar pa cha mthun gyi rjes su skyes pa'i khyad chos lnga ldan gyi mngon rtogs gang mos spyod kyi sas bsdus pa theg chen nges 'byed yan lag gi mtshan nyid See The 70 Points of the Abhisamayalankara by Khenpo Tsöndrü