Flower Ornament Scripture translated by Thomas Cleary

"As to the Avatamsaka-Sutra, it is really the consummation of Buddhist thought, Buddhist sentiment, and Buddhist experience. To my mind, no religious literature in the world can ever approach the grandeur of conception, the depth of feeling, and the gigantic scale of composition, as attained by this sutra. Here not only deeply speculative minds find satisfaction, but humble spirits and heavily oppressed hearts, too, will have their burdens lightened. Abstract truths are so concretely, so symbolically represented here that one will finally come to a realization of the truth that even in a particle of dust the whole universe is seen reflected - not this visible universe only, but a vast system of universes, conceivable by the highest minds only." - D.T. Suzuki Known in Chinese as Hua-yen and in Japanese as Kegon-kyo, the Avatamsaka Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture, is held in the highest regard and studied by Buddhists of all traditions.  Through its structure and symbolism, as well as through its concisely stated principles, it conveys a vast range of Buddhist teachings. This one-volume edition contains Thomas Cleary's definitive translation of all thirty-nine books of the sutra, along with an introduction, a glossary, and Cleary's translation of Li Tongxuan's seventh-century guide to the final book, the Gandavyuha, "Entry into the Realm of Reality." There is really no way to explain all that is in the scripture, and it would seem a travesty to attempt to place it in some particular historical or intellectual context, when there is that in it which could be applied to any such context, and that which clearly transcends any such context. Immersing one's consciousness in an immense scripture like this by reading it repeatedly with judgment suspended may not recommend itself to the impatient; but supposing that the scripture, like a Zen koan, has in itself a quality that forces one to work through it on its own terms or lose the effect altogether, it might be better to leave its challenging open. As the Chan master Wu-men said, "Let another finish this poem..." - from the Introduction

Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism According to the Esoteric Teachings of the Great Mantra Om Mani Padme Hum by Lama Anagarkia Govinda

~~ A classic introduction to the inner science of the Mantrayana from a great mind. A thorough presentation of Tibetan esoteric principles, Foundations of Tibetan Mysticism is one of the most valuable books ever written on the subject. Lama Anagarika Govinda spent over 20 years of his life as a member of the Kargyutpa Order. Studying at the feet of masters in Tibetan hermitages and monasteries, his direct experience has given him a clear insight into much that has remained totally obscure to the world. This work, regarded as a classic of Tibetan mysticism, explains the exoteric principles of Mantra and clarifies the differences between Hindu and Tibetan yoga, and is our direct link to the spiritual achievements of the past and their relationship to a future higher civilization of humanity. "Lama Govinda's informed and masterful book...is the last living link that connects us with the civilizations of the past and with their knowledge of the hidden forces of tlhe human soul." The importance of Tibetan tradition for our time and for the spiritual development of humanity lies in the fact that Tibet is the last living link that connects us with the civilizations of a distant past. The mystery-cults of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece, of Incas and Mayas, have perished with the destruction of their civilizations and are for ever lost to our knowledge, except for some scanty fraqgments. The old civilizations of India and China, though well preserved in their ancient art and literature, and still glowing here and there under the ashes of modern thought, are buried and penetrated by so many strata of different cultural influences, that it is difficult, if not impossible, to separate the various elements and to recognize their original nature. Tibet, due to its natural isolation and its inaccessibility (which was reinforced by the political conditions of the last centuries) has succeeded not only in preserving but in keeping alive the traditions of the most distant past, the knowledge of the hidden forces of the human soul and the highest achievements and esoteric teachings of Indian saints and sages. But in the storm of world-transforming events, which no nation on earth can escape and which will drag even Tibet out of its isolation, these spiritual achievements will be lost for ever, unless they become an integral part of a future higher civilization of humanity. Anticipating the future, Tomo Geshe Rimpoche, one of the greatest spiritual teachers of modern Tibet and a real master of inner vision, left his remote mountain hermitage, in which he had practised meditation for twelve years, and proclaimed that the time had come to open to the world the spiritual treasures which had been hidden and preserved in Tibet for more than a thousand years. Because humanity stands at the cross-roads of great decisions: before it lies the Path of Power, through control of the forces of nature - a path leading to enslavement and self-destruction - and the Path of Enlightenment, through control of the forces within us - leading to liberation and self-realization. To show this path (the Bodhisattva-marga) and to transform it ito reality, was the life's task of Tomo Geshe Rimpoche. The living example of this great teacher, from whose hands the author received his first initiation twenty-five years ago, was the deepest spiritual stimulus of his life and opened to him the gates to the mysteries of Tibet. It encouraged him, moreover, to pass on to others and to the world at large, whatever knowledge and experience he had thus gained - as far as this can be conveyed in words. If, in spite of all imperfections which any such attempt is bound to contain, the author should have been able to be of some help to other seekers, thatnks are due first of all to the Guru who gave the highest: namely, himself. And with him the author remembers all those teachers who since the demise of his first Guru took his place, in order to bring to maturity the seeds he had sown. To them all the author owes deep gratitude. Through all of them radiates the exalted figure of the primordial Guru, who dwells imperishably in the innermost heart of his disciples. Honour to Him, the Enlightened One! OM MUNI MUNI MAHA-MUNI SAKYAMUNIYE SVAHA! Kasar Devi Ashram, Kumaon Himalaya, India, in the fifth month of the year 2500 after the Buddha's Parinirvana (October 1956). -Lama Anagarika Govinda

Footsteps on the Diamond Path Crystal Mirror Volumes I-III by Tarthang Tulku

~~ Created to present Buddhism to the west, this revised and expanded edition introduces the Nyingma lineage from the Buddha to the present. Includes writings by Paltrul Rinpoche, Lama Mipham and Longchenpa as well as modern Nyingma teachings on mind and meditation. Contains a wealth of line drawings of great mastersand a color frontispiece of Shakyamuni.

Four-Themed Precious Garland An Introduction to Dzogchen, the Great Completeness Commentary by H.H.Dudjom Rinpoche, and Beru Khyentze Rinpoche, translated and edited by Alexander Berzin with Sherpa Tulku and Matthew Kapstein

To realise the beginningless purity and perfeciton of all reality as an indivisible unity of Voidness and appearance is to realise Dzog-ch'en, the Great Completeness. The lineage of this Mahayana system of meditation traces from Shakyamuni Buddha and was taken from India to Tibet by such masters as Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava and Vimalamitra. It has been transmitted mainly through the Nying-ma Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and its oral teachings preserved unbroken until the present day. This text by Long-ch'en Rab-jam-pa (1303-1363), one of the greatest codifiers of the Dzog-ch'en teachings as witnessed by his trilogy Kindly Bent to Ease Us, is an exposition of the "Four Themes of Gam-po-pa," the author of The Jewel Ornament of Libetation. It includes a survey of the nine vehcles to Enlightenment as travelled progressively through the sutra, tantra and Dzog-ch'en modes of approach, as well as a description of the goal. This it does primarily by expounding the techniques utilised at each of these stages for removing confusion about the abiding nature of reality. The commentary to this text was provided orally by His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, the late head of the Nyingma Tradition, and supplemented by Beru Khyentze Rinpoche.

The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way : Nagarjuna's Mulamadhyamakakarika, translated with commentary by Jay Garfield

~~A new translation of the greatest work by Mahayana Buddhism's most influential philosopher ~~ The Buddhist saint Nagarjuna, who lived in South India in approximately the second century CE, is undoubtedly the most important, influential, and widely studied Mahayana Buddhist philosopher. His many works include texts addressed to lay audiences, letters of advice to kings, and a set of penetrating metaphysical and epistemological treatises. His greatest philosophical work, the Mulamadhyamikakarika - read and studied by philosophers in all major schools of Tibet, China, Japan, and Korea - is one of the most influential works in the history of Indian philosophy. Now, in The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, Jay L. Garfield provides a clear and eminently readable translation of Nagarjuna's seminal work, offering those with little or no prior knowledge of Buddhist philosophy a view into the profound logic of the Mulamadhyamikakarika. He offers an illuminating verse-by-verse commentary that explains Nagarjuna's positions and arguments in the language of Western metaphysics and epistemology, and connects Nagarjuna's concerns to those of Western philosophers such as Sextus, Hume, and Wittgenstein. An accessible translation of the foundational text for all Mahayana Buddhism, The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way will offer insight to all those interested in the nature of reality.