Foundations of T'Ien-T'Ai Philosophy: The Flowering of the Two Truths Theory in Chinese Buddhism (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture) [Paperback]

Paul Swanson (Author), James A. Heisig (Editor), David Chappel (Designer)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0895819198 | ISBN-13: 978-0895819192 | Publication Date: December 1995 | Edition: annotated edition

A chronological account of the development of the Two-Truth theory which forms the foundation of T'ien T'ai philosophy, the teaching of the Threefold Truth, and includes an annotated translation of Chih-i's Fa hua hsuan i.

"...a "must" for all major libraries..." Choice

"...a "must" for all Buddhist collections..." Religious Studies Review

Product Details

• Paperback: 412 pages
• Publisher: Asian Humanities Press; annotated edition edition (December 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895819198
• ISBN-13: 978-0895819192
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #857,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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0 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Minor Clarification about contents of the book, May 26, 2010

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A. Nelson "Swagman extraordinaire" (Davis, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Foundations of T'Ien-T'Ai Philosophy: The Flowering of the Two Truths Theory in Chinese Buddhism (Nanzan Studies in Religion and Culture) (Paperback)

Hello,

I am studying Nichiren Buddhism, and Nichiren often refers to Zhiyi's works. I originally purchased this thinking I was going to get a translation, with annotations, of Zhiyi's "Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra".

This is, in addition to a good introduction to T'ien-T'ai's philosophy (for lack of a better word), the most complete translation of Zhiyi's "Fa-hua hsuan-i" (Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra) but it is still incomplete...it is missing the introduction by Kuan-ting, the introduction by Chih-i, the shared characteristics [of the sutras?] investigating: (1) the title, (2) quotations from the Lotus Sutra, (3) the sequence of teaching, (4) analyzing the meaning, (5) questions and answers, (6) practice, (7) harmonizing the differences.

It also ends short...I don't know if this was intentional, or if it's because the extant manuscripts do not contain these passages.

Actually, according to the outline and the Taisho page numbering, the complete text ranges from 681a to 814a. The translation covers 691a until the end of 705a. So bear in mind...that's about 10% translated.