MOUNTAIN DOCTRINE: Tibet's Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha Matrix, by Dol-bo-ba Shay-rap-gyel-tsen

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MOUNTAIN DOCTRINE: Tibet's Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha Matrix

by Dol-bo-ba Shay-rap-gyel-tsen, translated and introduced by Jeffrey Hopkins, edited by Kevin Vose

Translated here for the first time into any language, Mountain Doctrine, Ocean of Definitive Meaning: Final Unique Quintessential Instructions is a seminal fourteenth-century Tibetan text on the nature of reality. The author, Dol-bo-ba Shay-rap-gyel-tsen, was on of the most influential figures of that dynamic period of doctrinal formulation and his text is a sustained argument about the buddha-nature, also called the matrix-of-one-gone-thus.

Dol-bo-ba recognizes two important types of emptiness—self-emptiness and other-emptiness—and shows how other-emptiness is the actual ultimate truth. He justifies this controversial formulation by arguing that it was the favored system of all the early outstanding figures of the great vehicle and by showing how important these doctrines were in India.

The translator's introduction includes a short biography of Dol-bo-ba and an exposition of nine focal topics in his religious philosophy.

Jeffrey Hopkins is a seminal and influential scholar of Tibetan Buddhism. Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia, he is the author and translator of over thirty-five books on Tibetan Buddhism, including Emptiness in the Mind-Only School of Buddhism(1999), Cultivating Compassion(2001), and, as translator-editor, His Holiness the Dalai Lama's How to Practice(2002).

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REVIEWS
"The Mountain Doctrine of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen is one of the great monuments of Tibetan philosophical literature. For nearly 700 years Dolpopa's work has been a fundamental source of inspiration for practitioners attracted to the definitive meaning of the Buddha's teachings. Jeffrey Hopkins deserves our sincere gratitude for making this profound message finally available to students of the Dharma outside Tibet."—Cyrus Stearns, author of The Buddha from Dolpo

"At long last a translation of one of the great classics of Tibetan Buddhism, Dolpopa's Mountain Doctrine. Hopkins' many years of careful study of this important work make it the most detailed, extensive, and accurate treatment in a Western language of the Jo nang pas' influential interpretation of emptiness, the 'emptiness of what is other' ...A landmark in the study of Tibetan Buddhist thought."—Jos� Ignacio Cabez�n, XIVth Dalai Lama Professor of Tibetan Buddhism and Cultural Studies, University of California Santa Barbara

"Professor Hopkins has already translated into English and clearly explained fundamental texts by Tsongkhapa that give a clear understanding of his particular version of Buddhist Mahayana Middle Way philosophy. With the publication of his translation of this important work by Dolpopa he has made available perhaps the most important influential book written in Tibet in the fourteenth century. A masterpiece in its own right, it provides the much-needed context that helps to explain the development of Tsongkhapa’s philosophical and religious thought. Truly a stupendous contribution by one of the few able to bridge cultures."—Gareth Sparham

"It is only fitting that Hopkins, who wrote the single most important monograph on the central Buddhist concept of emptiness, should have undertaken to translate D�lboba’s text for the first time. Few others would have been qualified for this challenging task...contains mountains of material for deep philosophical reflection and once again drives home the point that conceptual differences exist even between awakened masters and that, regardless of doctrinal differences, their fine-tuned teachings can point the way to enlightenment. A magnificent volume."—Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D., is the author over 40 books on yoga and health, including Yoga Morality: Ancient Teachings at a Time of Global Crisis, The Deeper Dimension of Yoga, Holy Madness: Spirituality, Crazy-Wise Teachers, and Enlightenment, Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga, and the periodical, Traditional Yoga Studies

"This monumental publication will serve as an invaluable source on emptiness and buddhanature for generations to come."—Buddhadharma magazine

"Another astonishing translation from J. Hopkins, this vast pinnacle of doctrinal analysis represents a major advance in the study of one of Tibet's most influential and controversial philosophers.... Dolpopa's brilliant, innovative interpretation of the doctrine of emptiness and the nature of ultimate reality is here presented in copious scriptural citation and luminous argument. This masterwork of a truly great systematic thinker has been contentious in the Tibetan world for more than six centuries, but it has never before been translated. It is a boon to have it available in English, and no Buddhological collection will be complete without it...relevant, expressive and readable."—Religious Studies Review

"For those unable to read the original Tibetan text, Professor Jeffrey Hopkins has performed a great service...this is a book of reference to be used for a lifetime...it is richly rendered into almost poetic English."—Thomas Peter von Bahr, New Age Retailer

155939238X, 9781559392389

Mountain Doctrine: Tibet's Fundamental Treatise on Other Emptiness and the Buddha Matrix