Written in the eleventh century amid the snow peaks of western Tibet, The Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment is one of the most influential works in all of Buddhism — a single luminous poem that distills the whole of the Buddha's teaching into a journey any person can walk. Atisha, the great Indian master, was invited to Tibet to revive the Dharma's flame. His answer was this short text, which organizes the path by three motivations — the wish for a better life, the wish for liberation, and the great wish to free all beings — and then guides the reader through refuge, karma, vows, the awakening of compassion, the teacher-student bond, and the deep meditations of calm abiding and insight. Clear, warm, and practical, it remains the seed of Tibetan Buddhism's entire 'stages of the path' tradition. This Modern Reader's Edition renders Atisha's classic in plain, present-day English while keeping every verse's meaning and spirit intact. Part of The World Scriptures Library.