Nagarjuna's Precious Garland: Buddhist Advice for Living and Liberation

by Nāgārjuna, Jeffrey Hopkins (Editor)

Nagarjuna is renowned for his penetrating analysis of reality. In the Precious Garland, he offers intimate counsel on how to conduct one's life and how to construct social policies that reflect Buddhist ideals. The advice for personal happiness is concerned first with improving one's condition over the course of lifetimes, and then with release from all kinds of suffering, culminating in Buddhahood. Nagarjuna describes the cause and effect sequences for the development of happiness within ordinary life, as well as the practices of wisdom, realizing emptiness, and compassion that lead to enlightenment. He describes a Buddha's qualities and offers encouraging advice on the effectiveness of practices that reveal the vast attributes of Buddhahood. In his advice on social and governmental policy, Nagarjuna emphasizes education and compassionate care for all living beings. He also objects to the death penalty. Calling for the appointment of government figures who are not seeking profit or fame, he advises that a selfish motivation will lead to misfortune. The book includes a detailed analysis of attachment to sensual objects as a preparation for realization of the profound truth that, when realized, makes attachment impossible.

Genres: Buddhism, Philosophy, Esoterica

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Acharya Nāgārjuna (Telugu: నాగార్జున) (c. 150 - 250 CE) was an Indian philosopher and the founder of the Madhyamaka school of Mahāyāna Buddhism.

His writings are the basis for the formation of the Madhyamaka school, which was transmitted to China under the name of the Three Treatise (Sanlun) School. He is credited with developing the philosophy of the Prajnaparamita sutras, and was closely associated with the Buddhist university of Nalanda. In the Jodo Shinshu branch of Buddhism, he is considered the First Patriarch.

Reviews

[Marco Sán Sán]

Sospecho de la autoría de este texto, habiendo leído “abandono de la discusión” y “fundamento de la vía media” en los que intenta un refriegue para incitar la reflexión, en este es un estatuto moral en el que pocas veces deja al lector reflexionar solo da directrices. Un texto pobre en contraste de los otros dos, ni siquiera parecen del mismo autor.

[michael lequire · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's stunning to finish a book and feel excitement to re-read. Read, learn and share. Make discovery of knowledge easy for everyone. Make the discovery of goodness (or renewal of goodness) readily available for everyone.