The text translated here is the first part of the Decisive Analysis of the Commentary on Valid Cognition by Jam-yang-zhay-pa Ngag-wang-tson-dru (1648–1721). The Decisive Analysis is a large commentary on Dharmakīrti’s (ca. 600–660) Commentary on Valid Cognition, a masterpiece of Buddhist logic and epistemology. Up to the present day, the Decisive Analysis has been used as a textbook at Drepung Gomang, Labrang Tashikhyil, and other allied institutes of the Gelugpa sect throughout Inner Asia. The title of Dharmakīrti’s text is “Pramāṇavārttika,” which is translated here as Commentary on Valid Cognition. According to Jam-yang-zhay-pa, “valid cognition” stands for “a commentary on the treatises of valid cognition.” The most relevant treatise is Dignāga’s (ca. 480–540) Compilation of Valid Cognition, and Jam-yang-zhay-pa also indicates that the Dharmakīrti’s text is also intended as a commentary on the Buddha’s words that reveal the nature of valid cognition.

Thus the subject matter is the entire doctrine of the Buddha. Jam-yang-zhay-pa says that in Dharmakīrti’s second chapter the Buddha’s doctrine is elaborated in terms of the path to liberation and omniscience, and in the third chapter it is discussed in terms of the interpretable and definitive. The first chapter explains reasons serving as means of determining such topics by oneself, and the fourth chapter explains the correct way to teach these to others.