Nagarjuna's Seventy Stanzas: A Buddhist Psychology of Emptiness [Paperback]

David Ross Komito (Author), Nagarjuna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1999

For almost two thousand years Nagarjuna's teachings have occupied a central position in Mahayana Buddhism.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Tibetan (translation)

About the Author

Geshe Sonam Rinchen was born in Tibet in 1933. He studied at Sera Je Monastery and in 1980 received the Lharampa Geshe degree. He is currently resident scholar at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, India, where he teaches Buddhist philosophy and practice.

Since 1979 David Komito has taught courses on Religious Studies and the Psychology of Religion at the University of Massachusetts, Wesleyan University (CT), John F. Kennedy University, and currently at Eastern Oregon University and the University of San Francisco.

Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: Snow Lion Publications (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0937938394
• ISBN-13: 978-0937938393
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #417,067 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A lifelong investigator of the psychology of religion, Dr. David Komito's interviews of the Dalai Lama for the JOURNAL OF TRANSPERSONAL PSYCHOLOGY (1983/1984) are considered path breaking. His book NAGARJUNA'S "SEVENTY STANZAS": A BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY OF EMPTINESS has been in continuous print since 1987, was translated into French and Dutch, and is now available on the Kindle.

In the early 1990s, while on retreat at Namgyal Monastery (the Dalai Lama's personal monastery), he was asked to edit an English translation of PATHS AND GROUNDS OF GUHYASAMAJA ACCORDING TO ARYA NAGARJUNA, which is a standard meditation manual for the monastery. Later he reflected on his experiences at Namgyal in REHEARSING ENLIGHTENMENT: A RETREAT IN THE BUDDHIST HIMALAYAS. The Kindle edition of this book contains a collection of thankas (Tibetan icons) by his wife, Kayla Komito. Color prints of the thankas are available at Kayla's Amazon store.

David and Kayla teach at Eastern Oregon University and at Buddhist meditation centers in the western USA.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 70 stanzas, November 16, 2006

By 

Jonathan E. Lepoff (North Monmouth, Maine United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nagarjuna's Seventy Stanzas: A Buddhist Psychology of Emptiness (Paperback)

I have taken a couple of courses dealing with Buddhist philosophy so I have some background in the area but I am far from an expert.
That being said, this is about as clear an explanation of this core Buddhist concept as you are likely to find

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, February 13, 2009

By 

Mark Godfrey - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nagarjuna's Seventy Stanzas: A Buddhist Psychology of Emptiness (Paperback)

All too often this topic invites works that seem to go out of their way to use huge obscure words, even to convey simple concepts. This book avoids that as much as possible, it makes the subject much more approachable.

50 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Illusion of life made clear, April 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Nagarjuna's Seventy Stanzas: A Buddhist Psychology of Emptiness (Paperback)

I am not an academic or one who professes any profound intellectual knowledge of Buddhism. I am a practising yogi with only experience of the teachings to convey. In seeking enlightenment I must say this commentary was most profound in both my experience and understanding of life.

I received a large taste of emptiness and the self by reading and rereading the "seventy Stanza's". It cleared up the confusion about relative and absolute truths and paved the way for me to see life in a clearer view. This book also opens the way for further studies of the nature of mind in a most detailed way.

This is not an easy reading and if one believes it is, then one doesn't understand. It is easy to fool oneself and believe they understand but once that happens, life becomes a series of challenges that dare you to understand what you think you "know".

Taking the mind to it's limit of understanding and opening another realm of knowledge also encompasses the heart and this is where one can become befuddled. Living and knowing emptiness on a moment to moment basis is empowering in alleviating all suffering. for oneself and others.It isn't an intellectual exercise that one masters today, it ust be kept in one's conscious, so periodic rereading is required. Each reintroduction is more revealing and if my words annoy or bother your intellectual abilities, then you haven't understood.