HH the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa teaches monks in Rumtek monastery

Which texts did HH the1 16th Gyalwa Karmapa recommend?

Letter by the 16th Karmapa, November 1977
Guidelines for Buddhist Studies in the Karma Kagyu School
 
Texts for students at a high level
The Jewel Ornament of Liberation
The Sun Disc, a commentary on the Vinaya Sutra, written by the 8th Karmapa Mikyö Dorje
The Vinaya Sutra of Gunaprabha
The Madhyamaka Vehicle of the Dhagpo Kagyu Siddhas by Mikyö Dorje
The Madhyamavatara of Chandrakirti
The Heart of Realisation, a Commentary on the Abhidharmakosha by Mikyö Dorje
The Abhidharmakosha of Vasubandhu
The Ocean of Evidence through Right Realisation expounded by the 7th Karmapa Chödrak Gyamtso
The Profound Inner Meaning from the 3rd Karmapa  zab mo nang don zhes bya ba'i gzhung
The Uttara Tantra Shastra by Maitreya/ Asanga
The Hevajra Tantra of Buddha Shakyamuni, compiled by Dorje Nyingpo
The Treasure of Knowledge by Lodrö Thaye
 
 
Texts for students at average levels
The Jewel Jewellery of Liberation
The profound inner meaning of the 3rd Karmapa zab mo nang don zhes bya ba'i gzhung
The Uttara Tantra Shastra by Maitreya/ Asanga
The Hevajra Tantra of Buddha Shakyamuni, compiled by Dorje Nyingpo
 
 
Texts for students at a lower level
The Jewel Ornament of Liberation
The profound inner meaning of the 3rd Karmapa
The Uttara Tantra Shastra of Maitreya/Asanga
 
 
 
These are the different teaching programms for students of different levels in the Karma Kagyu School. With this I have clearly indicated what kind of studies are essential for a Kagyu practitioner.
 
November 1977
Karmapa

(Note: In each epoch practitioners are different. Those guidelines apply to the practioners of the 1970ies. They are not neccessarily adapted to our times.)

 
Khenchen Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche [1]
When he was staying in Europe, the lord guru [Khenchen Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche] posed a question to His Holiness the 16th Karmapa: (…) What texts are uniquely important to the Kagyü tradition?” The Karmapa’s answer came in a letter in which he wrote, “For the Kagyü, there are eight great texts of sūtra and tantra.” [2]
[1] From: Dance of Great Bliss: A Biography of Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, http://www.ktgrinpoche.org/about/biography-dzogchen-ponlop-rinpoche
[2] The eight great texts of sūtra and tantra are actually eight sets of root texts and commentaries. There are five sūtra topics and three tantra topics. For the five sūtra topics, the root text for Vinaya is the Summary of the Vinaya (Vinayasūtra,’Dul ba mdo) by Gunaprābha; the main commentary used is Orb of the Sun (Nyi ma’i dkyil ’khor) by the 8th Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje. The root text for the Abhidharma is the Treasury of Abhidharma (Abhidharmakosha, Chos mngon pa mdzod) by Vasubandhu; the main commentary used is Extracting the Delight of Accomplishment and Bliss (Grub bde dpyid ’jo) by the 8th Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje. The root text for Prajñāpāramitā is the Ornament for Clear Realization (Abhisamayālaṃkāra, mNgon rtogs rgyan) by Maitreya and Asaṅga; the main commentary used is In Relief of the Noble Ones (rJe btsun ngal gso) by the 8th Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje. The root text for the Middle Way is the Entrance to the Middle Way (Madhyamakāvatāra, dBu ma la ’jug pa) by Chandrakīrti; the main commentary used is Chariot of the Takpo Kagyü Siddhas (Dvags brgyud grub pa’i shing rta) by the 8th Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje. The root texts for Valid Cognition are the Seven Treatises on Valid Cognition (Tshad ma sde bdun) by Dharmakīrti (the main text among the seven is the Commentary on Valid Cognition or Pramāṇavarttīka, Tshad ma rnam ’grel) and the Compendium of Valid Cognition (Pramāṇasamuccaya, Tshad ma kun btus) by Dignāga; the main commentary used is the Ocean of Texts on Reasoning (Rigs gzhung rgya mtsho), a work that comments on all eight of those texts, by the 7th Karmapa, Chödrak Gyamtso. For the three tantra topics, there is the Treatise on Buddha Nature (Uttaratantra, rGyud bla ma) by Maitreya and Asaṅga and its main commentary, The Lion’s Irreversible Roar (Mi blzog seng ge’i nga ro), by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye; the Hevajra Tantra (brTag gnyis) by the Buddha Shākyamuni and its main commentary, Elucidating the Indestructible Vajra Secret (gZhom med rdo rje’i gsang ba ’byed pa), by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye; and the Profound Inner Reality (Zab mo nang don) by the 3rd Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje, along with the author’s autocommentary, as well as a main commentary by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye called Illuminating the Profound Reality (Zab don snang byed).