The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic
from Wisdom Publications
The Heart of Understanding: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra
by Thich Nhat Hanh
from Parallax Press
Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. In The Heart of Understanding, Thich Nhat Hanh offers a lucid and engaging interpretation of this core Buddhist text—The Heart Sutra—which is one of the most important sutras, offering subtle and profound teachings on nonduality.
The Diamond Sutra
by Red Pine
from Counterpoint
No other text is as important to Buddhists, especially Zen Buddhists, and this translation includes commentary from major Chinese and Japanese historical sources. Zen Buddhism is often said to be a practice of "mind-to-mind transmission" without reliance on texts --in fact, some great teachers forbid their students to read or write. But Buddhism has also inspired some of the greatest philosophical writings of any religion, and two such works lie at the center of Zen: The Heart Sutra, which monks recite all over the world, and The Diamond Sutra, said to contain answers to all questions of delusion and dualism. This is the Buddhist teaching on the "perfection of wisdom" and cuts through all obstacles on the path of practice.
As Red Pine explains: "The Diamond Sutra may look like a book, but it's really the body of the Buddha. It's also your body, my body, all possible bodies. But it's a body with nothing inside and nothing outside. It doesn't exist in space or time. Nor is it a construct of the mind. It's no mind.
And yet because it's no mind, it has room for compassion. This book is the offering of no mind, born of compassion for all suffering beings. Of all the sutras that teach this teaching, this is the diamond."
The Lotus Sutra
from Columbia University Press
Since its appearance in China in the third century, has been regarded as one of the most illustrious scriptures in the Mahayana Buddhist canon. The object of intense veneration among generations of Buddhists in China, Korea, Japan, and other parts of the world, it has had a profound impact on the great works of Japanese and Chinese literature, attracting more commentary than any other Buddhist scripture. As Watson notes in the introduction to his remarkable translation, " is not so much an integral work as a collection of religious texts, an anthology of sermons, stories, and devotional manuals, some speaking with particular force to persons of one type or in one set of circumstances, some to those of another type or in other circumstances. This is no doubt why it has had such broad and lasting appeal over the ages and has permeated so deeply into the cultures that have been exposed to it."
Transformation and Healing: Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness
by Thich Nhat Hanh
from Parallax Press
The Heart Sutra
from Shoemaker & Hoard
For this new English translation, Red Pine, award-winning translator of Chinese poetry and religious texts, has utilized various Sanskrit and Chinese versions, refining the teachings of dozens of ancient teachers together with his own commentary to offer a profound word-for-word explication. Divided into four parts and broken into thirty-five lines to make it easier to study or chant, and containing a glossary of names, terms, and texts, The Heart Sutra is a wise book of deep teaching destined to become the standard edition of this timeless statement of Mahayana truth.
Buddhism Day by Day: Wisdom for Modern Life
by Daisaku Ikeda
from Middleway Press
Essence of the Heart Sutra: The Dalai Lama's Heart of Wisdom Teachings
by The Dalai Lama
from Wisdom Publications
In Essence of the Heart Sutra, the Dalai Lama translates and interprets a central teaching of Buddhism with his trademark precision and straight talk. In the Heart Sutra, the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara describes how to train in the perfection of wisdom by seeing through the illusions of all things. The Dalai Lama goes through the text passage by passage, after an extensive introduction to the basics of Buddhism and the Mahayana tradition's emphasis on emptiness. This doesn't take long, as the entire sutra covers all of three pages, but the Dalai Lama shows how understanding emptiness is a key to happiness and liberation from suffering. Although Essence of the Heart Sutra does not differ significantly in overall message from previous offerings such as The Meaning of Life and An Open Heart, in this book the Dalai Lama stays focused on the relevance of the Heart Sutra, and who better to explain it than the man reported to be the present-day incarnation of Avalokiteshvara himself. --Brian Bruya
For more than 2,000 years, the Heart Sutra has been of central importance to millions of Buddhists. Whether memorized, chanted, or studied, this sacred text is often looked to for inspiration. Based on talks the Dalai Lama gave in the spring of 2001, Essence of the Heart Sutra is a masterful translation of the Dalai Lama's teachings and reflections on the Heart Sutra, teachings that provide fresh insights on a mainstay of Buddhist practice. In addition to providing the words of the Dalai Lama, this book also brings together an overview of Buddhism, background material, and complete commentaries to elucidate the teachings and place them in their proper context. These bonus materials make Essence of the Heart Sutra a book that can be valued by beginners as well as one that provides seasoned Buddhists with many delightful new facts and ideas. A deeply profound and powerful book, Essence of the Heart Sutra provides precious thoughts on how to appreciate life's endeavor.
The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Diamond Sutra
by Thich Nhat Hanh
from Parallax Press
The Supreme Source: The Fundamental Tantra of the Dzogchen Semde
by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu
from Snow Lion Publications
The aim of Dzogchen is the reqwakening of the individual to the primordial state of enlightenment which is naturally found in all beings.
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