ESSENCE OF THE HEART SUTRA: The Dalai Lama's Heart of Wisdom Teachings, by the Dalai Lama, trans. & ed. by Thupten Jinpa

ESSENCE OF THE HEART SUTRA: The Dalai Lama's Heart of Wisdom Teachings

by H.H. the Dalai Lama, trans. & ed. by Thupten Jinpa

In Essence of the Heart Sutra, the Dalai Lama masterfully unpacks the Heart Sutra so that any reader can benefit from its teachings--teachings meant to help us release ourselves from suffering and live with true compassion. Comprised of his "Heart of Wisdom" talks, originally delivered to thousands of listeners in 2001, the book offers the Dalai Lama's commentary as well as his easy-to-follow overview of Buddhist philosophy that places the sutra within its historical and philosophical context. With additional contributions by scholar and translator Thupten Jinpa, Essence of the Heart Sutra is the authoritative presentation of a text seminal to the world's religious heritage.

For more than two thousand years, the Heart Sutra has been part of the daily life of millions of Buddhists. This concise text, so rich and laden with meaning, concentrates the very heart of Buddhism into a powerful and evocative teaching on the interdependence of all reality.

The Heart Sutra is a presentation of profound wisdom on the nature of emptiness and selflessness, but these terms can be easily misunderstood. Here, the Dalai Lama identifies misconceptions and shows how an understanding of emptiness leads not to nihilism, but to a view of reality and to a deep and compassionate understanding. Masterfully edited by Thupten Jinpa, this book includes an overview of Buddhism.

Includes the complete text of the Heart of Wisdom teachings given over several days in 2001 by the Dalai Lama in San Jose.

"In this volume, the Dalai Lama demonstrates how the core teachings of Buddhism and other major schools of thought are contained within the text of the Heart Sutra. [In fact,] the worldview in these ancient teachings has an eerie resemblance to the world as described by 20th-century
quantum physics. ... With his usual penetrating intelligence, simple humanity, humor and compassion, he advocates that we should maintain our own spiritual traditions (Hindu, Christian, etc) while learning from others. 'In family life, social life, working life, and political life, inner
disarmament is, above all, what humanity needs.'"-- NAPRA ReView

"Lovingly and wisely edited...useful to established practitioners as well as neophytes."--Publishers Weekly

Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, is the spiritual and temporal leader of the Tibetan people. Since fleeing the Chinese Communist takeover of Tibet in 1959, he has dedicated his life to teaching compassion and understanding, placing special attention on interreligious dialogue and the sciences. His tireless efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict in his homeland earned him the Wallenberg Award (conferred by the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Foundation), the Albert Schweitzer Award, the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the Nobel Peace Prize.