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The Tree of Wisdom
The She-rab Dong-bu (Tree of Wisdom) is a metrical translation in Tibetan of a Sanscrit ethical work entitled Prajnya Danda, written by Nagarjuna who flourished in the fourth century of the Buddhist era (about 100 B.C.), The Tibetan version was probably made about the 11th century of our era but the exact date has not been determined. It is included in the Ten-gyur, beginning at leaf 165.
- GenresPhilosophyReligion
38 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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About the author
Nāgārjuna
159 books130 followersAcharya 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 21, 2016
Highly misogynist in some places. That withstanding, there are some beautiful adages, most of which appear towards the end of the text. Here are some examples:
"Although a man may be learned in written works, if he doesn't apply what he knows, he resembles the blind man who even with a lamp in his hand, cannot see the road." (#169)
"It is easier to have the clever man for one's enemy than to be friends with the stupid." (#171)
"The unhelpful relative is like a stranger, but he who helps, even if he be an outsider, is a relative." (#189)
"He who, having seen the excellence of others, is afflicted by disturbance in his own mind, will not even gain a little of the truth. Such a being destroys his own merit." (#211)
"Let all hear this moral maxim, and having heard it keep it well: Whatever is not pleasing to yourself, do not that unto others." (#212)
"He who has good intellect but is lazy, such a being will not become exalted. He is like a youthful writer who makes his calculations in the dust." (#215)
"The god of death does not wait to ask whether your posit works are completed or not. Therefore, do tomorrow's work today, and the evening's work in the morning." (#217)
"Although a man may be learned in written works, if he doesn't apply what he knows, he resembles the blind man who even with a lamp in his hand, cannot see the road." (#169)
"It is easier to have the clever man for one's enemy than to be friends with the stupid." (#171)
"The unhelpful relative is like a stranger, but he who helps, even if he be an outsider, is a relative." (#189)
"He who, having seen the excellence of others, is afflicted by disturbance in his own mind, will not even gain a little of the truth. Such a being destroys his own merit." (#211)
"Let all hear this moral maxim, and having heard it keep it well: Whatever is not pleasing to yourself, do not that unto others." (#212)
"He who has good intellect but is lazy, such a being will not become exalted. He is like a youthful writer who makes his calculations in the dust." (#215)
"The god of death does not wait to ask whether your posit works are completed or not. Therefore, do tomorrow's work today, and the evening's work in the morning." (#217)
September 15, 2022
When you read philosophy, you could easily get lost in translation, especially if the text is not in your mother tongue. This is a Tibetan book of wisdom, like the Gospel of Budha but not.
It contains 260 sayings, probably roughly translated becouse some, one could consider them, rude or better chapters of Sun Tzu's art of war and not a religious book.
What interests me is the evolution of Buddhism AFTER the conquest of India by Alexander the Great. It is a historical fact that Buddhism started with Great Ashoka when he published his Edicts in the Greek city of Bactria, in his mother tongue, which was Greek.
Empires to be ruled, they need moral codes and ethics; you either provide them by making citizens philosophers or by establishing religious systems or by monologues like Marcus Aurelius' meditations. So Sha rab Dong is part of that Empire building method of the Greeks in Asia. HOWEVER, Indian thought has similarly influenced the Greeks.
The concept of ATARAXIA which is prominent in the Epicurian school of thought, probably has come from the east as it's similar to Nirvana and Taoism. Perhaps the concept of ADIAFORIA came from the Tibetian school of thought and influenced Pyrros and his Pyrrhonism (scepticism).
The same ADIAFORIA concept, when translated from Greek to Latin, changed the meaning a bit, and from NO DIFFERENCE (the middle way in any argument as Tibetian teacher) changed in Stoicism to INDIFFERENCE.
When moved to the west, significant concepts from the east were categorized as branches of thought and expanded by great Greek and partly Roman teachers. The Greeks did it to educate citizens, and the Romans to pacify them with a framework of thinking. Either way is fantastic that after all those years, we have an opportunity to look a bit deeper into the logic and morality of our ancestors and make the connections between east and west.
PS: If you are a hardcore feminist you might find this book insulting
It contains 260 sayings, probably roughly translated becouse some, one could consider them, rude or better chapters of Sun Tzu's art of war and not a religious book.
What interests me is the evolution of Buddhism AFTER the conquest of India by Alexander the Great. It is a historical fact that Buddhism started with Great Ashoka when he published his Edicts in the Greek city of Bactria, in his mother tongue, which was Greek.
Empires to be ruled, they need moral codes and ethics; you either provide them by making citizens philosophers or by establishing religious systems or by monologues like Marcus Aurelius' meditations. So Sha rab Dong is part of that Empire building method of the Greeks in Asia. HOWEVER, Indian thought has similarly influenced the Greeks.
The concept of ATARAXIA which is prominent in the Epicurian school of thought, probably has come from the east as it's similar to Nirvana and Taoism. Perhaps the concept of ADIAFORIA came from the Tibetian school of thought and influenced Pyrros and his Pyrrhonism (scepticism).
The same ADIAFORIA concept, when translated from Greek to Latin, changed the meaning a bit, and from NO DIFFERENCE (the middle way in any argument as Tibetian teacher) changed in Stoicism to INDIFFERENCE.
When moved to the west, significant concepts from the east were categorized as branches of thought and expanded by great Greek and partly Roman teachers. The Greeks did it to educate citizens, and the Romans to pacify them with a framework of thinking. Either way is fantastic that after all those years, we have an opportunity to look a bit deeper into the logic and morality of our ancestors and make the connections between east and west.
PS: If you are a hardcore feminist you might find this book insulting
May 10, 2021
I found some verses entirely similar with Chanakya Niti slokas and one with Tulsidas'(can't remember the book). The folly of misogyny can be found in surplus. However, most of the nonsensical verses are the result of poor translation.
Ok, now the reason I really liked the book is because of some floating Lotus.
Ok, now the reason I really liked the book is because of some floating Lotus.
March 4, 2018
For me (infj) this was very interesting. I am always looking for the "laws" of life and how we are supposed to work out way through it. After reading this I am humbled and enlightened.
March 2, 2019
Misogyny, sex-work shaming, I’m sure I could list many more ways I just couldn’t identify with this “wisdom”.
April 20, 2013
Just read The Tree of Wisdom attributed to Nāgārjuna (Devanagari: नागार्जुन, Telugu: నాగార్జున, Tibetan: ཀླུ་སྒྲུབ་ klu sgrub, Chinese: 龍樹, Japanese: 龍樹 Ryūju, Sinhala නාගර්ජුන) (ca. 150–250 CE)
It is a collection of moralisms. While often quoted in the following cultural tradition that led into Tibetan Buddhism, I was disappointed coming from a modern viewpoint. It offered basic advice on "avoid hanging out with evil people." One quote suggested that those who are not religious are like the smith's bellows, blowing air but not alive. Ok this was amusing at first and upon reflection a viscous jab at those who would be a bit skeptical of metaphysical authority. It pleaded that we should devalue this world in the hopes for rewards in a magical one afterwards by saying that the wise man is like a miser, giving alms as a way of greedily collecting rewards in another promised world. It struck me how much truth there was in this portrayal, and perhaps how unflattering for people who have those as primary motivations. Rather than finding the value and helping people because of the good we see in it, the "wise man" does it with a perspective that in some ways devalues the act. The moralisms were not apparently ordered with a strong sequential coherence, but there were many bits of sound yet mundane advice interspersed with rather derogatory advice about women and broad statements about enemies and religion. I'm hoping to read other works attributed to Nagarjuna though because I've found many good commentaries on his work and this appears to be one of the less published. This did not show up in a list I found of works with strong confirmation that it was written by Nagarjuna. For me, the Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu, is much better. And perhaps even better is The Teachings of Boddhi Dharma.
It is a collection of moralisms. While often quoted in the following cultural tradition that led into Tibetan Buddhism, I was disappointed coming from a modern viewpoint. It offered basic advice on "avoid hanging out with evil people." One quote suggested that those who are not religious are like the smith's bellows, blowing air but not alive. Ok this was amusing at first and upon reflection a viscous jab at those who would be a bit skeptical of metaphysical authority. It pleaded that we should devalue this world in the hopes for rewards in a magical one afterwards by saying that the wise man is like a miser, giving alms as a way of greedily collecting rewards in another promised world. It struck me how much truth there was in this portrayal, and perhaps how unflattering for people who have those as primary motivations. Rather than finding the value and helping people because of the good we see in it, the "wise man" does it with a perspective that in some ways devalues the act. The moralisms were not apparently ordered with a strong sequential coherence, but there were many bits of sound yet mundane advice interspersed with rather derogatory advice about women and broad statements about enemies and religion. I'm hoping to read other works attributed to Nagarjuna though because I've found many good commentaries on his work and this appears to be one of the less published. This did not show up in a list I found of works with strong confirmation that it was written by Nagarjuna. For me, the Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu, is much better. And perhaps even better is The Teachings of Boddhi Dharma.
October 23, 2014
Audio from LibriVox. Nice that someone read it unfortunately, the reader did not know how to pronounce many Tibetan and Sanskrit words - including how to say the author's name. More lists and rules on how to behave and be.
May 4, 2014
A collection of 260 Buddhist teachings essential for every day living...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews