Third edition, copyright 2012 by Thrangu Rinpoche. This edition includes an English translation of the source text. One of the most important concepts in Mahayana Buddhism is the concept of Emptiness. We have experiences that in fact appear, but when they are examined closely in four careful analyses of the Middle-way (Madhyamaka) they are found to have no substantiality or inherent reality. This fact has led the Buddha and many highly realized masters to declare that our reality is like a mirage, a dream, a drop of dew. This is important because if we don't fully comprehend the insubstantiality of phenomena, we cannot really reduce our attachment to the world. Without this, we cannot develop true, universal compassion for all sentient beings. In this book, Thrangu Rinpoche gives a careful evaluation of the four great analyses of Mipham Rinpoche in his Gateway to Knowledge in a simple, direct and practical manner. Rinpoche has taught high lamas, ordinary monks, Western and Eastern lay practitioners for over 30 years in his centers in North America, Europe, India, Nepal, and Asia. "The teachings of Thrangu Rinpoche, the supreme lord of refuge and great abbot, are to be taken not as mere commentary upon the words and an explanation of their meaning, but rather as actual blessings and instructions drawn from his experience ornamented by love, compassion, and realization." --Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche