Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sutras
By Maitreya
By Jamgon Mipham
Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee
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Snow Lion10/06/2014Pages: 1040Size: 6 x 9ISBN: 9781559394284DetailsThe Buddhist masterpiece Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sūtras, often referred to by its Sanskrit title, Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra, is part of a collection known as the Five Maitreya Teachings, a set of philosophical works that have become classics of the Indian Buddhist tradition. Maitreya, the Buddha’s regent, is held to have entrusted these profound and vast instructions to the master Asaṅga in the heavenly realm of Tuṣita.
The Ornament provides a comprehensive description of the bodhisattva’s view, meditation, and enlightened activities. Bodhisattvas are beings who, out of vast love for all sentient beings, have dedicated themselves to the task of becoming fully awakened buddhas, capable of helping all beings in innumerable and vast ways to become enlightened themselves. To fully awaken requires practicing great generosity, patience, energy, discipline, concentration, and wisdom, and Maitreya’s text explains what these enlightened qualities are and how to develop them.
This volume includes commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham, whose discussions illuminate the subtleties of the root text and provide valuable insight into how to practice the way of the bodhisattva. Drawing on the Indian masters Vasubandhu and, in particular, Sthiramati, Mipham explains the Ornament with eloquence and brilliant clarity. This commentary is among his most treasured works.RelatedCheck items to add to the cart orAuthor BioMaitreya is traditionally considered one of the progenitors of the Yogācāra, one of two great currents of Mahāyāna view and practice. His works have achieved the status of unique spiritual classics.
Jamgon Mipham (1846–1912), one of the great luminaries of Tibetan Buddhism in modern times, has had a dominant and vitalizing influence on the Nyingma School and beyond. He was an important member of the Rimé, or nonsectarian movement, which did much to strengthen and preserve the entire tradition. A scholar of outstanding brilliance and versatility, his translated works are eagerly anticipated by English-language readers.The Dharmachakra Translation Committee draws its inspiration from the vision, commitment, and magnificent achievements of past Buddhist translators. Directed by Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, the Committee is dedicated to making Buddhist classics available to modern readers in their native languages.Praise"In his Five Teachings the protector Maitreya, the Regent who has mastered the ten grounds, reveals fully and flawlessly the view, meditation, conduct, and fruition that are accomplished through the Great Vehicle. With utmost profundity his teachings reach far and wide; they are a treasury of scripture, reasoning, and oral instruction." —Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche
"Although one of the most important and frequently cited texts in Mahāyāna Buddhism, the Ornament has received comparatively little attention in scholarly literature, and its reception by Tibetan scholars is not well known. Fortunately, the Dharmachakra Translation Committee has now made available Ornament along with, for the first time, commentaries by two of the most influential scholar-practitioners of the Tibetan 'Non-Sectarian,' or Rimé, movement. This outstanding translation is a precious resource of serious scholars and practitioners alike." —John Dunne, author of Foundations of Dharmakīrti's Philosophy
"The Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra was central in establishing Mahāyāna Buddhism in India. This treatise was one of the earliest and most comprehensive Indian manuals of Mahāyāna thought and practice, systematizing concepts of base, path, fruit, epistemology, buddhology, ritual, and meditation from a wide array of early Mahāyāna scriptures. The translators have rendered this text, together with two of its most informative Tibetan commentaries, into the most accessible and readable English now available. For the systematic study and practice of Mahāyāna Buddhism, there is no better classical source than this." —John Makransky, Associate Professor of Buddhism, Boston College
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