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The Nirvana Sutra, Volume 1
One of the most influential Buddhist texts in East Asia, the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana sutra takes the occasion of Shakyamuni Buddha's last sermon to present a thoroughly Mahayana message in which buddhas are mythically eternal yet a constant presence in our world, all living beings possess buddha-nature and attain liberation when they realize this, vegetarianism is asserted as the new standard for monastics, and icchantikas are problematic individuals whose liberation is usually hopeless.
More commonly called by its abbreviated title, Nirvana Sutra, there are three Chinese translations of this text, the most influential being the forty-fascicle effort by Dharmakshema produced between 420-431 C.E. There is no complete Sanskrit text for this sutra, but a number of Sanskrit fragments are extant, and the material in these fragments and the parallel Chinese translation by Faxian have been taken into consideration in preparing the present translation. This book translates the first ten fascicles of the Dharmakshema translation into English, and is the first of four volumes.
More commonly called by its abbreviated title, Nirvana Sutra, there are three Chinese translations of this text, the most influential being the forty-fascicle effort by Dharmakshema produced between 420-431 C.E. There is no complete Sanskrit text for this sutra, but a number of Sanskrit fragments are extant, and the material in these fragments and the parallel Chinese translation by Faxian have been taken into consideration in preparing the present translation. This book translates the first ten fascicles of the Dharmakshema translation into English, and is the first of four volumes.
- GenresBuddhism
423 pages, Hardcover
Published November 20, 2013
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October 22, 2015
About the Translation.
The translation is the best available in English. Unlike the Dr Tony Page translation, this appears quite readable yet still academic. The only quibble I have is the choice of endnotes vs footnotes --- I would've preferred the author use footnotes instead of endnotes.
About the Content
I don't know how anyone could read this, and get something from it, without first reading the Lotus Sutra...since it really appears to clarify the "Life Span" chapter quite well.
The style is what one may expect from an oral tradition: it's very repetitive. It's not uncommon to find twenty or thirty paragraphs each having one analogy, and the final sentence in the paragraph be the same (or remarkably similar). E.g., "Good man, x is Liberation, and Liberation is what the Tathagata is."
There are a few typos, e.g., in 3 sentences capitalization is botched, and in one sentence it erroneously repeats (a copy/paste typo). But that's to be expected.
The translation is the best available in English. Unlike the Dr Tony Page translation, this appears quite readable yet still academic. The only quibble I have is the choice of endnotes vs footnotes --- I would've preferred the author use footnotes instead of endnotes.
About the Content
I don't know how anyone could read this, and get something from it, without first reading the Lotus Sutra...since it really appears to clarify the "Life Span" chapter quite well.
The style is what one may expect from an oral tradition: it's very repetitive. It's not uncommon to find twenty or thirty paragraphs each having one analogy, and the final sentence in the paragraph be the same (or remarkably similar). E.g., "Good man, x is Liberation, and Liberation is what the Tathagata is."
There are a few typos, e.g., in 3 sentences capitalization is botched, and in one sentence it erroneously repeats (a copy/paste typo). But that's to be expected.
Displaying 1 of 1 review