The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti: A Mahayana Scripture 1st Edition

by Vimalakirti (Author), Robert A. F. Thurman (Translator)

22 customer reviews

ISBN-13: 978-0271006017

ISBN-10: 0271006013

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This book presents the major teachings of Mahāyāna Buddhism in a precise, dramatic, and even humorous form. For two millennia this Sūtra, called the “jewel of the Mahāyāna Sūtras,” has enjoyed immense popularity among Mahāyāna Buddhists in India, central and southeast Asia, Japan, and especially China, where its incidents were the basis for a style in art and literature prevalent during several centuries.

Robert Thurman’s translation makes available in relatively nontechnical English the Tibetan version of this key Buddhist scripture, previously known to the English-speaking world only through translations from Chinese texts. The Tibetan version is generally conceded to be more faithful to the original Sanskrit than are the Chinese texts. The Tibetan version also is clearer, richer, and more precise in its philosophical and psychological expression. The twelve books of the Sūtra are accompanied by an introduction and an epilogue by Dr. Thurman and by three glossaries: Sanskrit terms, numerical categories, and technical terms.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert A. F Thurman, who was ordained a Buddhist monk in 1964 by Tenzin Gyatso, the current Dalai Lama, is the current director of Tibet House in New York City. He is the father of five children including the actress Uma Thurman. One of the world's most respected scholars and translators of Tibetan and Sanskrit, Thurman has translated The Tibetan Book of the Dead (1994) and is the author or translator of many books including The Central Philosophy of Tibet: A Study and Translation of Jey Tsong Khapa's Essence of True Eloquence (1984), Speech of Gold: Reason and Enlightenment in Tibetan Buddhism (1989), Inside Tibetan Buddhism (1995), and Infinite Life: Seven Virtues for Living Well (2004). This book was published in cooperation with The Institute for Advanced Studies of World Religions.

Paperback: 176 pages
Publisher: Penn State University Press; 1st edition (August 11, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0271006013
ISBN-13: 978-0271006017
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 22 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,785 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #14 in Mahayana Buddhism
- #18 in Buddhism (Books)
- #38 in Buddhist History (Books)

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22 customer reviews

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Iris

...but really ratings and stars don't exist for this book, which also doesn't exist.

February 15, 2019

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Got this book for a class and really it's a good thing I wasn't trying to read it on my own.

I really enjoyed this teaching because Vimalakīrti was a layperson who schooled monastics and he had a lot of great points. If you're looking for some interesting notions in Buddhism regarding gender and how a person who not a monastic should conduct her life, this might be the book for you.

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The Koan of the Void

May 29, 2011

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This is heavy duty Buddhist scripture. Thurman's prolouge and introduction do a great job of setting up the actual scripture reading itself. Considered advanced for adherents of Buddhist thought, for those that aren't (like myself), the introduction is critical - don't skip it. The proposition is that all is unified, and dualism is not real. The artifical dualism and the concept of voidness (the absence of dualism, not nihiilism) permeate the reading. The aparent paradox of an existent void is exactly the "Zen like" koan that is pondered and meditated on to attempt to understand the profundity of reality. A tough read, but a good one. A strong working knowledge of Buddhist thought will be very helpful before diving in.

16 people found this helpful

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Helden

The Vimalakirti Sutra

August 27, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

We've been studying this Sutra for the past 5 semesters in one of our Zen Buddhism classes at Chung Tai Monastery Sunnyvale. This version--a different translation than the Burton Watson--is not the one we use. It's based on Tibetan sources. However, this translation has PRIMO notes! So I keep it at hand right along with my Watson. Very good for the serious Buddhism student.

6 people found this helpful

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Phil

Five Stars

June 25, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

"[T]hose living beings who, having heard this teaching of the Dharma, accept it, remember it, read it, and understand it deeply will be, without a doubt, true vessels of the Dharma... They will cut off all possibility of unhappy lives, will open their way to all fortunate lives, will always be looked after by all Buddhas, will always overcome all adversaries, and will always conquer all devils." So read it. What have you got to lose?

One person found this helpful

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G. Costa

An almost-tantra sutra!

May 21, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A wonderful teaching for any true spiritual tradition. This is a definitive meaning sutra, wich means it deals with the nature of reallity, emptiness. As Dr. Thurman states in his introduction this sutra can almost be considered a tantric teaching since it expounds the absolute truth in all aspects of the path.

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Consumer

text of the Great Vehicle. In many ways the gentle satire of ...

June 16, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Roots-Thurman. A very readable translation of a profound, yet wry, text of the Great Vehicle. In many ways the gentle satire of this work continues to inform Thurman’s engagement with Buddhist philosophy and religion.

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NAME_NOT_RETURNED

Four Stars

May 1, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The book was not in a good condition

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cloudpeak

Five Stars

March 19, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

If you have found your way to Vimalakirti....you are approaching the summit.

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The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti: A Mahayana Scripture 1st Edition

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