Abhisamayalamkara With Vrtti And Aloka - Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

~ Maitreya-natha (Author), Gareth Sparham (Translator), Arya Vimuktisena (Commentary), Haribhadra (Commentary)

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Product Description

Maitreya's Abhisamayalamkara is the most widely studied book in Tibet, where it was brought from India many centuries ago. It is used in all the monasteries to teach the path to Buddhahood, in accordance with the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. It teaches this in outline form, so it requires a commentary to be understood. The oldest extant commentary is Arya Vimuktisena's Vrtti. Haribhadra, the most influential Indian commentator, drew upon this to write his Aloka. Virtually all of the many famous Tibetan teachers who wrote their own commentaries on the Abhisamayalamkara relied on Haribhadra as their primary source.

This is the first of four volumes.

About the Author

Gareth Sparham, who lived a traditional life as a Buddhist monk in
Dharmshala, India for more than twenty years, holds a Ph D. in Asian
Studies from the University of British Columbia and now teaches Tibetan
and Sanskrit in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the
University of Michigan. Amongst his most recent publications are
Tantric Ethics and a number of works on Prajnaparamita. He lives in
Ann Arbor, Michigan and Toronto, Canada.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 330 pages
• Publisher: Jain Pub Co (April 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895819910
• ISBN-13: 978-0895819918
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,110,154 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important new translation, June 24, 2008

By	A. Reader (United States) - See all my reviews

Students of Tibetan Buddhism in the English-speaking world have long known of the importance of Maitreya's Abhisamayalamkara, "Ornament for the Clear Realizations," a central text in the monastic curriculum. Due to its complexity, however, no English translation of it has appeared on the market. The truth is, as shown by Edward Conze's 1954 translation in the Rome Oriental Series, it is practically incomprehensible without a commentary. Thanks to the devoted labors of Gareth Sparham, this longstanding need is now being met, and in spades. We are not getting just any commentary; we are getting the single most influential one in existence, the Aloka of Haribhadra. This itself is based on an earlier commentary, the oldest one known, the Vrtti by Arya Vimuktisena. We are getting that, too. Together, they provide us with the most essential source material available for understanding Maitreya's cryptic text.And if that is not enough, Gareth Sparham is translating separately the detailed Tibetan commentary by Tsong kha pa, under the title, Golden Garland of Eloquence.

Of course, these volumes are not easy reads. They demand much of the reader. This can hardly be helped, due to the technical nature of their subject matter. Their subject matter is nothing less than a detailed map of the path to Buddhahood. For some readers, this is worth the effort required to study them.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important new translation, June 25, 2008

By	A. Reader (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Abhisamayalamkara with Vrtti and Aloka - Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

With volume 2 we reach the halfway mark of Maitreya's Abhisamayalamkara, "Ornament for the Clear Realizations," with its two major Indian commentaries. (See my review of vol. 1.) Gareth Sparham has also separately translated the detailed Tibetan commentary on this by Tsong kha pa, the Golden Garland of Eloquence. These demanding books are for the serious student of the Buddhist path to enlightenment.