Madhyamaka & Other Tenets
 Click to enlarge |
ABSORPTION IN NO EXTERNAL WORLD: 170 Issues In Mind-Only Buddhism by Jeffrey Hopkins. 580 pages, cloth. #ABNOEX - list price $ 59.95 Our Price $41.97 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion This book examines a plethora of fascinating points raised in six centuries of Tibetan and Mongolian commentary concerning the first two sections of Dzong-ka-ba's The Essence of Eloquence, the Prologue and the section on the Mind-Only School. By providing vivid detail, Jeffrey Hopkins reveals the liveliness of Tibetan scholastic controversies, showing the dynamism of thoughtful commentary and stimulating the reader's metaphysical imagination. In the process of examining 170 issues, this volume treats many engaging points on Great Vehicle presentations of the three natures and the three non-natures, including how to apply these to all phenomena, the selflessness of persons, and the emptiness of emptiness. It concludes with a delineation of the approaches through which the Mind-Only School interprets scriptures. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
APPEARANCE AND REALITY: The Two Truths in the Four Buddhist Tenet Systems by Guy Newland 107 pp., notes, biblio. #APRE - list price $ 17.95 Our Price $12.56 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion When someone seeks to understand Buddhism, where should that person start? With the meaning of taking refuge in the three jewels? With the four noble truths? The Dalai Lama, when asked this question, suggested that for many in the West today, understanding the two truths, conventional truth and ultimate truth, is the best place to start. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
THE BUDDHA FROM DOLPO: A Study of the Life and Thought of the Tibetan Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen by Cyrus Stearns; a Tsadra Foundation Series book 496 pp., 16 illust., 8 color plates, cloth. #BUFRDO - list price $ 39.95 Our Price $27.97 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion "This revised edition of Cyrus Stearns's The Buddha from Dölpo is a must read for all interested in the intellectual history of Tibet. New translations of some of the key works of Dolpopa open philosophical and cosmological ideas of one of the great thinkers of the Tibetan tradition. This is a marvelous piece of scholarship."—E. Gene Smith, founder and senior research scholar, Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY: Losang Gonchok's Short Commentary to Jamyang Shayba's Root Text on Tenets by Daniel Cozort and Craig Preston 352 pp. #BUPH - list price $ 18.95 Our Price $13.27 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion What are the most important points of difference between the major schools of Buddhist philosophy? This rich, medium-length survey offers a lively answer. The introduction, aimed at those new to Buddhist thought, sets up a dialogue between the schools on the most controversial topics in Buddhist philosophy. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
THE CENTER OF THE SUNLIT SKY: Madhyamaka in the Kagyu Tradition by Karl Brunnholzl 1000 pp. 6 x 9, cloth. #CESUSK - list price $ 78.00 Our Price $54.60 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion Madhyamaka is a potent and universally accessible means of calming our suffering and awakening to our innate wisdom. The Center of the Sunlit Sky artfully rescues this brilliant teaching from its unwarranted reputation for intellectual opacity and reinstates it as a supremely practical tool kit for everyday living. The aim of this book is to take Madhyamaka out of the purely intellectual corner into which it--unjustly--gets boxed. It is an attempt to show how Madhayamaka actually addresses and works with all of our experiences in life. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
CUTTING THROUGH APPEARANCES: Practice and Theory of Tibetan Buddhism by Geshe Sopa & Jeffrey Hopkins. 376 pp., a Namgyal Institute Textbook. #CUTHAP - list price $ 29.95 Our Price $20.96 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion Presents the practice and theory of Tibetan Buddhism. First is a meditation manual written by the Fourth Pan-chen Lama (1781-1852) based on Tsongkhapa's Three Principal Aspects of the Path and covers the daily practice of Tibetan monks and yogis. It details how to properly conduct a meditation session that contains the entire scope of the Buddhist path. Next is the Presentation of Tenets, written by Gon-chok-jik-may-wang-bo. It covers Indian Buddhist schools as viewed in Tibet and provides a solid introduction to the Buddhist theory animating the practice. Topics include the two truths, consciousness, hindrances to enlightenment, paths to freedom, and fruits of practice. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
DEBATE IN TIBETAN BUDDHISM Daniel E. Perdue Paper, 1025 pp., notes, biblio., index. (See description above.) #DETIBP - list price $ 59.95 Our Price $41.97 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion The practice and theory of Tibetan Buddhist logic and epistemology is the focus of this clear and thorough exposition. Debate is the investigative technique used throughout Tibetan education to sharpen analytical capacities and convey philosophical concepts- it is essential to master the procedure of debate. Using a debate manual by Pur-bu-jok Jam-ba-gya-tso (1825-1901) as its basis, Daniel Perdue covers elementary debate and demonstrates its application to a variety of secular and religious educational contexts. The translation is supplied with annotations on procedure and content drawn from Tibetan teachers expert in debate. 0937938769 | |
 Click to enlarge |
ECHOES FROM AN EMPTY SKY: The Origin of the Buddhist Doctrine of the Two Truths by John B. Buescher 176 pp., 6" x 9". #ECFREM - list price $ 16.95 Our Price $11.86 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion 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. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
EMPTINESS YOGA: The Tibetan Middle Way by Jeffrey Hopkins. 504 pp., a Namgyal Institute Textbook, cloth. #EMYOC - list price $ 39.95 Our Price $27.97 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion An absorbing exposition of the methods of realization of the Middle Way Consequence School (Prasangika Madhyamika) by Prof. Hopkins--considered by many as the foremost Western authority on Tibetan Buddhism. His presentation is based on Jang-gya's famous work--the original and translation are included. The reasonings used to analyze persons and phenomena to establish their true mode of existence are discussed in the context of meditative practice. This exposition includes a masterful treatment of the compatibility of emptiness and dependent-arising. Emptiness Yoga will be greatly appreciated by both beginners and advanced students for its immediacy, profundity, and precision. "Hopkins deserves congratulations for making this difficult material as transparent as possible."--E.K. Dargyay, Religious Studies Review More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
by Jeffrey Hopkins. 504 pp., a Namgyal Institute Textbook, paper. #EMYOP - list price $ 22.95 Our Price $16.06 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion | |
 Click to enlarge |
THE ESSENCE OF OTHER-EMPTINESS by Taranatha, trans. & annotated by Jeffrey Hopkins, in collaboration with Lama Lodro Namgyel 154 pp. #ESOTEM - list price $ 16.95 Our Price $11.86 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion Jeffrey Hopkins continues his groundbreaking exploration of the Jo-nang-ba sect of Tibetan Buddhism with this revelatory translation of one of the seminal texts from that tradition. Whereas Dol-bo-ba's massive Mountain Doctrine authenticates the doctrine of other-emptiness through extensive scriptural citations and elaborate philosophical arguments, Taranatha's more concise work translated here situates the doctrine of other-emptiness within the context of schools of tenets, primarily the famed four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, through comparing the various schools' opinions on the status of the noumenon and phenomena. Also included is a supplementary text by Taranatha which presents the opinions of a prominent fifteenth-century Sakya scholar, Shakya Chok-den, and contrasts them with those of the leading Jo-nang-ba scholar, Dol-bo-ba. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
GONE BEYOND: The Prajnaparamita Sutras, The Ornament of Clear Realization, and Its Commentaries in the Tibetan Kagyu Tradition, (in 2 volumes) translated and introduced by Karl Brunnhölzl, forewords by H.H. the Seventeenth Karmapa and Dzogchen Ponlop, a Tsadra Foundation Series and Nitartha Institute Series book Volume 1 942 pp., cloth bound. #GOBEPR - list price $ 54.95 Our Price $38.47 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion The Abhisamayalamkara summarizes all the topics in the vast body of the Prajnaparamita Sutras. Resembling a zip-file, it only comes to life through its Indian and Tibetan commentaries. Together, these texts not only discuss the "hidden meaning" of the Prajnaparamita Sutras—the paths and bhumis of sravakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas—but also serve as contemplative manuals for the explicit topic of these sutras—emptiness—and how it is to be understood on the progressive levels of realization of bodhisattvas. Thus, these texts describe what happens in the mind of a bodhisattva who meditates on emptiness, making it a living experience from the beginner's stage up through buddhahood. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
translated and introduced by Karl Brunnhölzl, forewords by H.H. the Seventeenth Karmapa and Dzogchen Ponlop, a Tsadra Foundation Series and Nitartha Institute Series book Volume 2 688 pp., cloth bound. (See description above.) #GOBEV2 - list price $ 44.95 Our Price $31.47 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion | |
 Click to enlarge |
THE HEART ATTACK SUTRA: A New Commentary on the Heart Sutra by Karl Brunnhölzl Pre-order Now--Available May 2012. 160 pp., paper. #HEATSU - list price $ 16.95 Our Price $11.86 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion The radical message of the Heart Sutra, one of Buddhism's most famous texts, is a sweeping attack on everything we hold most dear; our troubles, the world as we know it, even the teachings of the Buddha himself. Several of the Buddha's followers are said to have suffered heart attacks and died when they first heard its assertion of the basic groundlessness of our existence—hence the title of this book. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
HOW TO REALIZE EMPTINESS by Gen Lamrimpa, translated by B. Alan Wallace, edited by Ellen Posman Formerly Realizing Emptiness 136 pp., paper. #HOREEM - list price $ 15.95 Our Price $11.16 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion Realizing emptiness, or grasping the true nature of reality, lies at the heart of the Buddhist path. In this book, Gen Lamrimpa offers practical instruction on Madhyamaka insight meditation aimed at realizing emptiness. Drawing on his theoretical training as well as his extensive meditative experience, he explains how to use Madhyamaka reasoning to experience the way in which all things exist as dependently related events. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
THE KARMAPA'S MIDDLE WAY: Feast for the Fortunate by the Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje, trans. by Tyler Dewar Cloth. 794 pp. #KAMIWA - list price $ 59.95 Our Price $41.97 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion Marked by eloquent poetry, vigorous and extensive analysis, and heart instructions on breaking through the veils of confusion to independently experience the true nature of things, The Karmapa's Middle Way contains the Ninth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje's comprehensive commentary on the Indian master Chandrakirti's seminal text, the Madhyamakavatara, or Entrance to the Middle Way. This commentary, Feast for the Fortunate, is the Ninth Karmapa's abridgement of the Eighth Karmapa, Mikyo Dorje's masterpiece, the Chariot of the Takpo Kagyu Siddhas. In it readers will find previously unavailable material on the Karmapa's Middle Way view and a rare window into a philosophically charged era of Middle Way exposition in Tibetan Buddhism. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
KNOWING, NAMING, AND NEGATION: A Sourcebook of Tibetan Texts and Oral Commentary on Buddhist Epistemology by Anne Klein. 330 pp., a Namgyal Institute Textbook, cloth. #KNNANC - list price $ 35.95 Our Price $25.17 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion Several years in the Tibetan monastic curriculum are devoted to study of the Sautrantika tenet system, for it forms the basis for Madhyamika epistemology. The systematization of Sautrantika assertions has interested generations of Tibetan scholars to the present. Three major types of scholastic literature developed: presentations of the whole tenet system; syllogistic debate texts on problematic topics; and expository treatments of single important issues. Klein annotates translations of outstanding texts in these categories and supplements them with commentary from Tibetan yogi/scholars. This is a challenging book on the nitty-gritty issues of Sautrantika philosophy. More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
by Anne Klein. 330 pp., a Namgyal Institute Textbook, paper. #KNNANP - list price $ 39.95 Our Price $27.97 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion | |
 Click to enlarge |
KNOWLEDGE AND LIBERATION by Anne Klein. 283 pp. A Namgyal Institute Textbook. #KNLIP - list price $ 19.95 Our Price $13.96 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion "Anne Klein presents vividly and intimately many concepts essential to a deeper understanding of Buddhist philosophy and for realizing emptiness--the process of naming, positive and negative phenomena, direct perception, and more. I highly recommend this book!"--Prof. Jeffrey Hopkins More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
LUMINOUS HEART: The Third Karmapa on Consciousness, Wisdom, and Buddha Nature trans. and intro. by Karl Brunnhölzl 484 pp., cloth #LUHEAR - list price $ 39.95 Our Price $27.97 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion This superb collection of writings on buddha nature by the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339), focuses on the transition from ordinary deluded consciousness to enlightened wisdom, the characteristics of buddhahood, and a buddha's enlightened activity. These materials, most of them never before translated, comprehensively represent the Third Karmapa's unique and well-balanced view which synthesizes Yogacara, Madhyamaka, and the classical teachings on buddha nature. Rangjung Dorje not only shows that these teachings do not contradict each other, but also that they supplement each other and share the same essential points in terms of the ultimate nature of mind and all phenomena. His fusion is remarkable because it clearly builds on Indian predecessors and precedes the later, often highly charged debates in Tibet about the views of Rangtong ("self-empty") and Shentong ("other-empty"). More ... | |
 Click to enlarge |
MAPS OF THE PROFOUND: Jam-yang-shay-ba's "Great Exposition of Buddhist and Non-Buddhist Views on the Nature of Reality" by Jeffrey Hopkins 1136 pp., cloth bound. #MAPR - list price $ 79.95 Our Price $55.97 (you save 30%) Published by Snow Lion "Maps of the Profound is a monumental achievement. Drawing on a lifetime's experience with leading figures in Tibetan oral scholarly traditions, Jeffrey Hopkins presents the most comprehensive and at the same time most detailed exploration available of Tibetan tenet systems. No other single volume opens as wide a window onto the interlocking literature of Tibet's philosophical interlocutors over the last five centuries and more, including their expansive articulation of non-Buddhist Indian systems of thought."—Anne C. Klein, Professor, Rice University; author of Knowledge and Liberation and Meeting the Great Bliss Queen More ... | |