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The Third Turning of the Wheel: Wisdom of the Samdhinirmocana Sutra
In his previous book, Being Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts , Reb Anderson Roshi described how we must become thoroughly grounded in conventional truth through the practice of compassion before we can receive the teachings of the ultimate truth. In The Third Turning of the Wheel , he introduces us to the next stage of our journey by invoking the wisdom of the Samdhinirmocana Sutra .
According to Anderson, the main purpose behind this enigmatic sutra is to reconcile the apparent contradictions between the original teachings of the historical Buddha and the later teachings of Mahayana Buddhism. Anderson reflects on the great metaphysical questions proposed in the Samdhinirmocana Sutra —the nature of ultimate reality, the structure of human consciousness, the characteristics of phenomena, the stages of meditation, and the essential qualities of a buddha—with the clarity of a scholar and the insight of a practitioner.
According to Anderson, the main purpose behind this enigmatic sutra is to reconcile the apparent contradictions between the original teachings of the historical Buddha and the later teachings of Mahayana Buddhism. Anderson reflects on the great metaphysical questions proposed in the Samdhinirmocana Sutra —the nature of ultimate reality, the structure of human consciousness, the characteristics of phenomena, the stages of meditation, and the essential qualities of a buddha—with the clarity of a scholar and the insight of a practitioner.
256 pages, Paperback
First published May 8, 2012
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March 14, 2018
Respected Teacher, Important Teachings, Sometimes Stilted/Repetitive Presentation
This is an important book, and generally the ideas are presented in a way that clarifies Yogacara as best I can judge. That said, this book could have used the kind of writerly love and time that would more often go into such books. Usually, the book reads like a Reb talk, and that's all fine and good. But the glaring problems (needless--sometimes endless--repetitions, sometimes too-subtle leaps of logic) don't generally make for ideal reading. This book needs a strong editor with a commitment to the integrity of the original format of the dharma talks which spawned the book (minus asides and interruptions, but also without the repetitions that may have crept in over time). The weird, quasi-poetic tapdance into the wild blue yonder is such a jarringly vapid finish to a book treating such an incredibly weighty subject that it physically took the wind out of me.
A revision that brings these talks out of needless repeitions and steers clear of artificiality at the end may cause history (and the American Zen tradition) to judge this book as a serious English-language contribution to American Zen literature.
This is an important book, and generally the ideas are presented in a way that clarifies Yogacara as best I can judge. That said, this book could have used the kind of writerly love and time that would more often go into such books. Usually, the book reads like a Reb talk, and that's all fine and good. But the glaring problems (needless--sometimes endless--repetitions, sometimes too-subtle leaps of logic) don't generally make for ideal reading. This book needs a strong editor with a commitment to the integrity of the original format of the dharma talks which spawned the book (minus asides and interruptions, but also without the repetitions that may have crept in over time). The weird, quasi-poetic tapdance into the wild blue yonder is such a jarringly vapid finish to a book treating such an incredibly weighty subject that it physically took the wind out of me.
A revision that brings these talks out of needless repeitions and steers clear of artificiality at the end may cause history (and the American Zen tradition) to judge this book as a serious English-language contribution to American Zen literature.
Displaying 1 of 1 review