Profound Wisdom of the Heart Sutra: And Other Teachings (Paperback)

by Bokar Rinpoche (Author) "Bhagavati Prajna Paramita Hridaya Heart of the Great Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom Homage to the Noble Lady, the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom..." (more)
Key Phrases: Vulture Peak

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Heart Sutra is one of the most famous texts of Buddhism.Bokar Rinpoche offers here a thorough explanation of the text. How can we approach outer and inner phenomena? This is the subject of the Heart Sutra. As a further help Bokar Rinpoche gives a teaching on anger and Khenpo Donyo comments on karma.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

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Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Clearpoint Pr; English ed edition (August 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963037137
• ISBN-13: 978-0963037138
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,052,914 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent introduction to a central Mahayana Buddhist sutra, July 19, 1998

By A Customer

A great introduction to Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. I found this book infinitely useful. For the beginner this book is probably more reliable than most books you'll find on Buddhism, and at the same time it is enjoyable to read. For the scholar, it serves as a quick reference to the Tibetan interpretation of the heart sutra, and even more importantly, it's a great book to hand out to your friends who show some interest in Buddhist philosophy but aren't ready to convert or change majors.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best book on the Heart Sutra, but valuable nonetheless, June 8, 2006

By	Jason Mierek "uniqueness is ubiquitous" (Urbana, IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is difficult for me to be critical of a work by an author whose goal was not egoic, seeking to be a literary star, but rather selfless and compassionate, seeking to benefit all beings.

That said, the two sections of this book that deal with the Prajnaparamita Hridaya Sutra are neither the most informative nor the most clearly presented that I have read. Admittedly, a good part of this criticism has to do with the layout and formatting of these sections, which seem disjointed at times. For example, Tibetan transliterations---idiosyncratic transliterations at that---are interspersed inconsistently throughout the text with brief commentaries that interrupt the flow of the commentary. As another example of the strange composition of the book, glossary-style definitions of terms will often simply appear, wedged between two sections of commentary, even though the book has a complete glossary at the back. ClearPoint Press is obviously not publishing these books to win prizes in book composition, though, so they can definitely be forgiven. :)

Composition and layout issues aside, the book contains a very powerful commentary on anger by the late author, Bokar Rinpoche, and a thoughtful lesson on karma by his primary disciple Khenpo Donyo. Two specific insights from these sections that continue to resonate like a bell within me are "Anger makes us stupid" and "If it impossible for us to immediately give up some aspects of our conduct, at least we can aspire that they will disappear sometime in the future."

All in all, a very worthwhile read, but perhaps not essential in a world increasingly saturated with books on Buddhadharma.