ECHOES FROM AN EMPTY SKY: The Origin of the Buddhist Doctrine of the Two Truths by John Buescher
The important Buddhist doctrine of the two truths- conventional truths and ultimate truths- is the subject of this book. It examines how the doctrine evolved within early Buddhism from efforts to make sense of contradictions within the collected sayings of the Buddha. The two truths, however, came to refer not primarily to statements or language, but to thre realities to which statements or language referred. As such, the doctrine of the two truths became one through which Buddhist philosophers focused their efforts to elaborate an abhidharma, a "higher teaching," which allowed them to explain how the mind apprehends and misapprehends the world, how it attaches itself to objects that do not exist in and of themselves, thereby creating suffering. In effect, the doctrine then evolved into a distinction between different sorts of objects rather than a distinction between different sorts of statements. The doctrine of the truths, understood in this way, played a key role in the articulation of the Mahayana by its followers in distinguishing it from what they called Hinayana, especially in defining the central ideas of selflessness and emptiness. Unlike prior books on this topic, which concentrate on the doctrine within the context of the Mahayana, Buescher's examines it within the context of the Hinayana.
This anthology illustrates the vast scope of Buddhist practice in Asia, past and present, by presenting a selection of forty-eight translated texts including hagiographies, monastic rules, pilgrimage songs, apocryphal Sutras, and didactic tales from India, China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Burma. Most of these pieces have never before been translated into a Western language, and each is preceded by a substantial introduction by its translator. Together they are designed to do nothing less than reshape the way in which Buddhism is understood.
IN THE MIRROR OF MEMORY: Reflections on Mindfulness and Remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism by Janet Gyatso, Ed.
This book studies the diverse array of species of memory which are discussed in Buddhist theoretical discourse and which are thought to function in religious practice. Included are discussions of Buddhist meditation, visualization, prayer, commemoration of the Buddha, dharani practice, the use of mnemonic lists to condense lengthy scriptures, and the purported recollection of infinite previous lives that immediately preceded Sakyamuni's attainment of buddhahood. Even enlightened awareness itself is said by some Buddhist schools to consist in a 'mnemic engagement' with reality as such.
POINTING THE WAY TO REASONING commentary by Sermey Khensur Lobsang Tharchin Rinpoche
The cornerstone of Gelug monastic education, on which all other study is built, is covered in three essential texts--Compendium of Debates; Types of Mind; and Analysis of Reasons--which are studied for the first 3 years in monasteries. This useful commentary elucidates these core issues: analysis of logic, reasons, types of minds and so on.
MIPHAM'S DIALECTICS AND THE DEBATES ON EMPTINESS: To be, not to be or neither by Karma Phuntsho
This thematic examination of Nyingma philosopher Mipham's critique of emptiness--varying from the Gelugpa presentation--focuses on what is negated by the doctrine of emptiness, the nature of ultimate reality, and the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic emptiness. These issues continue to be the subject of lively debate among contemporary exponents of Tibetan Buddhist thought. Karma Phuntsho's book aptly undertakes a thematic and selective discussion of these debates and Mipham's qualms about the Gelukpa understanding of Emptiness in a mixture of narrative and analytic style. For the first time, a major variant understanding of Emptiness to the Gelukpa interpretation that has become dominant in both Tibet and the West is revealed.
Mipham (1846-1912) is one of Tibet's brightest and most versatile minds.
EMPTINESS IN THE MIND-ONLY SCHOOL OF BUDDHISM: Dynamic Responses to Dzong-ka-ba's The Essence of Eloquence: vol. I by Jeffrey Hopkins
Dzong-ka-ba's "The Essence of Eloquence" is the one book on wisdom that the Dalai Lama carries with him wherever he goes. Composed by Tibet's great yogi-scholar and founder of the Ge-luk-ba school, it stands as a landmark in Buddhist philosophy. In this first of three volumes, Jeffrey Hopkins focuses on how the conflict between appearance and reality is presented in the Mind Only or Yogic Practice School. 'The Essence of Eloquence" is so rich that over the past six centuries numerous Tibetan and Mongolian scholars have been drawn into a dynamic process of both finding and creating consistency in Dzong-ka-ba's often terse and cryptic tract. Hopkins has made extensive use of these commentaries to annotate the translation in such a way that the issues come alive. Included are historical and doctrinal introductions, a critical edition of the text, and a lengthy synopsis to aid the general reader. Specialists and nonspecialists alike will find this important book indispensable.
REFLECTIONS ON REALITY: The Three Natures and Non-Natures in the Mind-Only School, vol. 2 by Jeffrey Hopkins
This is the second volume in Jeffrey Hopkins' valuable series on the Mind-Only School of Buddhism and a focal description of it in Dzong-ka-ba's The Essence of Eloquence. Dzong-ka-ba (1357-1419) is generally regarded as one of the greatest Tibetan philosophers, and his "Mind-Only" discourse on emptiness is considered a landmark in Buddhist philosophy. In Volume I, Emptiness in the Mind-Only School of Buddhism, Hopkins provided a translation of the introduction and the section on the Mind-Only School in The Essence of Eloquence.
HISTORY OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY: Continuities and Discontinuities by David J. Kalupahana
Representing the culmination of Dr. Kalupahana's thirty years of scholarly research and reflection, "A History of Buddhism" provides a complete, detailed analysis of both early and later Buddhism.
Part 1 is devoted to early Buddhism, opening with a thorough examination of pre-Buddhist thought and its absolutist character, followed by a biographical sketch of Siddartha, the historical Buddha.
ORDINARY WISDOM: Sakya Pandita's Treasury of Good Advice trans. by John Davenport
A profound, down to earth, and practical guide to the art of living, the "Sakya Legshe"- or "Treasury of Good Advice"- has been fundamental to the development of Tibetan culture and character for a thousand years.
Like 'sop's Fables, renowned scholar and Tibetan statesman Sakya Pandita uses proverbs and stories to address the basic question: "How are we to live peaceably with ourselves and with others?" With great humor and grace, he offers inspiration and advice relevant to human life in every era and in all cultures, addressing questions of achievement and failure, anger and kindness, deceit and desire, intelligence and foolishness, and wealth and wisdom.
In the sending and receiving practice, the mind is trained in a meditative way, with a basic understanding of the friendship and the goodness that could be brought about. There is also a sense of responsibility towards eliminating the suffering and the confusion of others. To begin with, we sit in the formal meditation and follow the breath. With the outgoing breath, we send out towards all beings whatever goodness, health, and wholesome situation we have.
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