2021/04/02

Milarepa - Wikipedia

Milarepa - Wikipedia

Milarepa

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For other uses, see Milarepa (disambiguation).
A famous statue of Milarepa brought from Nyanang Phelgyeling Monastery, Tibet

Jetsun Milarepa (Tibetan: རྗེ་བཙུན་མི་ལ་རས་པ, Wylie: rje btsun mi la ras pa, 1028/40–1111/23)[1] was a Tibetan siddha, who famously was a murderer as a young man before turning to Buddhism and becoming a highly accomplished Buddhist disciple. He is generally considered one of Tibet's most famous yogis and spiritual poets, whose teachings are known among several schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He was a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.[1] He is also famous for the feat of climbing Mount Kailash.

Biography — The Life of Milarepa[edit]

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Overlooking Pelgyeling Gompa at Milarepa's Cave, Tibet.
The nine story tower that Milarepa single-handedly built, Sekhar Gutok, Lhodrag, Tibet.

Milarepa's life-story is famous in Tibetan culture, and retold many times. The best-known biography, The Life of Milarepa, written by Tsangnyön Heruka (1452–1507) in the fifteenth century and drawing from older biographies, is still very popular.[1][2][3] Most of the present-day stories on Milarepa come from this single source, with oral lineage predominating as well as relics including his bearskin coat.[3] While "very little [is known] about him as a historical person at all," Milarepa is venerated by all Tibetan schools "as an exemplar of religious dedication and mastery," and his life story established the lineage of the Kagyu sect and its key figures.[3]

Early life[edit]

According to The Life of Milarepa, Milarepa was born in western Tibet to a prosperous family.[1] When his father died, his family was deprived of their wealth by his aunt and uncle. At his mother's request, Milarepa left home and studied sorcery to take revenge, killing many people.[1]

Training and realisation[edit]

Later he felt sorrow about his deeds, and became student of Marpa the Translator. Before Marpa would teach Milarepa, he had him undergo abuse and trials, such as letting him build and then demolish three towers in turn. Milarepa was asked to build one final multi-story tower by Marpa at Lhodrag, which still stands.[4] Eventually, Marpa accepted him, explaining that the trials were a means to purify Milarepa's negative karma.[1] Marpa transmitted Tantric initiations and instructions to Milarepa, including tummo ("yogic heat"), the "aural transmissions" (Wylie: snyan rgyud), and mahamudra.[3] Marpa told Milarepa to practice solitary meditation in caves and mountain retreats, which, according to the biography, after many years of practice resulted in "a deep experiential realization about the true nature of reality."In some other sources, it is said that Milarepa and Marpa both came to India to seek one most important thing for ultimate realisation from Marpa's guru, but even he didn't know about it. Later on he tried for many years and finally attained enlightenment. Thereafter he lived as a fully realized yogi, and eventually even forgave his aunt, who caused his family's misfortune.[3]

According to Lopez, The Life of Milarepa represents "Buddhism as it was understood and practiced in Tibet in the fifteenth century, projected back in time,"[2] and contains "many of the key terms and doctrines of Buddhism."[2] Tsangnyön Heruka did his best to establish a lineage of teachers which connects the Kagyu tradition with the Indian siddha tradition, portraying Marpa as a student of Naropa, though Naropa had already died when Marpa went to India.[2]

Tibetan buddha[edit]

Lopez notes that Tsangnyön Heruka used stylistic elements from the biography of Gautama Buddha to portray Milarepa effectively as a Tibetan Buddha, "born and enlightened in Tibet, without going to India or receiving the direct instructions of an Indian master."[2] The life story of Milarepa portrays "the rapid method of the Tantric path," in which liberation is gained in one lifetime. It describes how Milarepa practiced the generation stage and completion stage, to achieve mahamudra, "spontaneous realization of the most profound nature of mind."[2] Yet, in his instructions to his Tibetan audiences, Milarepa refers to the basic Buddhist teachings of "impermanence, the sufferings of saṃsāra, the certainty of death and the uncertainty of its arrival, the frightful rebirth that is the direct result of our benighted deeds." But, his own life also is an example that even a murderer can transform into a Buddha.[2] Lopez further notes that The Life of Milarepa portrays two parallel worlds, a profane world and a sacred world, which are ultimately one, showing that the world itself is sacred.[2]

Students[edit]

Gampopa was Milarepa’s most renowned student. Four of Gampopa’s students founded the four major branches of the Kagyu lineage: Barom Kagyu, Karma Kagyu, Phagdru Kagyu, and Tshalpa Kagyu. Another of Milarepa’s students, the yogi Rechungpa, brought several important transmissions into the Karma Kagyu lineage. Along with Gampopa, Rechungpa was a teacher of the 1st Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa (1110-1193). Upon meeting Dusum Khyenpa, Gampopa told his students, “He is pretending to be a disciple of mine in order to hold my lineage for future sentient beings, but in actuality, he has already accomplished the goal of the path.”[5]

The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa[edit]

Milarepa statue, Pango Chorten, Gyantse, Tibet.

The acclaimed spiritual poetry of Milarepa is known of as The Hundred Thousand Songs. Previous biographies of Milarepa were enlarged with religious poetry and song cycles, which doubled the volume of biographical information. Collected for publication in English translation by the Oriental Studies Foundation in 1962, in 1999 these songs were re-published in a separate volume entitled The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa translated and annotated by Garma C.C. Chang, then in 2017 a new translation by Christopher Stagg of the Nitartha Translation Network, both published by Shambhala. These summarize the various song cycles in chapter eleven of The Life of Milarepa.[3]

Historical context[edit]

Milarepa lived during the so-called second dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet (10th–12th century), when Buddhism was re-introduced. Three pivotal figures in this Tibetan Renaissance were Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055), who translated sutras, tantras and commentaries; Atiśa (982–1054), whose student Dromtön founded the Kadam school of Tibetan Buddhism; and Marpa the Translator, the teacher of Milarepa, and himself regarded as student of Naropa. Marpa introduced tantric texts and oral instructions from the Bengali siddha tradition into Tibet,[2] and Marpa's purported connection with Naropa established the lineage of the Kagyu school, thereby reaching back to the Buddha himself.[2][3]

Gallery[edit]

  • Bhutanese painted thanka of Milarepa (1052-1135), Late 19th-early 20th century, Dhodeydrag Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan

    •  

  • Milarepa, Tempera on cotton, 21x30 cm, 2008 Otgonbayar Ershuu

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  • Tibetan or Nepalese painted thanka of Milarepa, 19th century, mineral pigments and gold on cotton clothes of Nepal.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f Quintman 2004, p. 536.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j Lopez 2010.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g Quintman 2010.
  4. ^ prm.ox.ac.uk: Sekhar Gutog monastery in Lhodrag near Bhutan
  5. ^ "Karma Kagyu Lineage". Diamond Way Buddhism.

Sources[edit]

  • Lopez, Donald S. Jr (2010), "Introduction", Tsangnyön Heruka. The Life of Milarepa, Penguin Books
  • Quintman, Andrew (2004), "MI LA RAS PA (MILAREPA)", in Buswell, Robert E. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism, MacMillan
  • Quintman, Andrew (2010), "Translator's Introduction", Tsangnyön Heruka. The Life of Milarepa, Penguin Books

Further reading[edit]

Biography
  • The Life of Milarepa, translated by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa, Book Faith India, 1997, ISBN 81-7303-046-4
  • The Life of Milarepa, translated by Andrew Quintman, Penguin Classics, 2010, ISBN 978-0-14-310622-7
  • The Yogin and the Madman: Reading the Biographical Corpus of Tibet's Great Saint Milarepa, by Andrew Quintman. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. ISBN 978-0-231-16415-3
Songs of Milarepa
  • The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa: A New Translation,Tsangnyön Heruka; under the guidance of Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, translated by Christopher Stagg of the Nitartha Translation Network. Boulder, Shambhala, 2017. ISBN 9781559394482 OCLC 946987421
  • Milarepa, The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, translated by Garma C.C. Chang, City Lights Books, 1999, ISBN 1-57062-476-3

External links[edit]

Preceded by
Marpa Lotsawa		Kagyu schoolSucceeded by
Gampopa

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The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa pdf

The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa

https://unclesuraj.files.wordpress.com/2016/09/milarepa_100000-songs.pdf

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The Hundred Thousand Songs Of Milarepa: Chang, Garma C. C.

The Hundred Thousand Songs Of Milarepa: Chang, Garma C. C.: 9781162918761: Amazon.com: Books

The Hundred Thousand Songs Of Milarepa Paperback – September 10, 2010
by Garma C. C. Chang (Translator)
4.7 out of 5 stars    48 ratings
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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Top reviews from the United States
A carbon-based life form, inseparable & aloof
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the NECESSARY books of my life!
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2015
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This is a book that is takes one on many adventures of awareness. Just when I believe I'm really "getting it", Mila has me laughing at myself and learning that I'm still a stumbling dunce in too many ways. At other times, traveling with him, I understand that there is a kind of ridiculous bravery that has grown up within my nature and it wasn't even anything noticeable before. This also has me laughing along with him at all the "ferocious ones" in the world who hide behind their so-called powerful masks of ownership and authority or thick-skulled machismo, which is all illusory and meaningless. When I walk into the presence of those I consider Hell-Beings, it is always with the companionship of Milarepa in my thoughts quite powerfully... and somehow the sense of humor remains with me, no matter what insanity comes across the fence or in the street in my direction. So they are bullies who have made a lot of noise and cat called me? They wasted a great deal of time and energy. All cowards, of course. This is the reason there is never only one making noise.

I bought the Hardcover edition and am very happy I made this decision. This is a book that will travel with me as much as it takes me traveling. It is almost as though it transports me in time, to be in these places with this most amazing of teachers. It is very healthy to laugh at oneself through times of adversity! Even in my dreams, it seems I'm visiting these magickal places more often. So powerful, these teachings and the worlds that are opened up like intricate paintings in the heart.
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Craig Shoemake
5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous depiction of a true Son of the Buddha
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2012
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Anyone who knows anything about Tibetan Buddhism has heard the name Milarepa (literally "Mila the Cotton Clad"). He is Tibet's Dante, Socrates and Shankara, all rolled into one. Reading this book you cannot help get the sense he was also one of the most remarkable people to ever walk the earth and I just have to wonder: Why have I never managed to meet someone like this? My karma, I guess. But then, it's also my karma to read and appreciate what has been recorded of him.

I would advise readers tackle first his autobiography, of which there are several translations. (I will shortly be reviewing Lobsang P. Lhalunpa's translation, done in 1977 and only the second in English since Evans-Wentz's in 1951.) This is critical, because without that background many things referred to in this book won't make sense. If the biography gives you the structure or bones of Milarepa's life, this book fills it out with flesh.

True to the title, much of the book is in verse. This may bother some people, and if you're one of those who can't bear reading verse then perhaps you should pass. However, this is not poetry in the ordinary sense. It is, rather, an example of "singing dharma," of Buddhist teachings via song. (Sadly, of course, the melodies Milarepa set his verse to are lost. I suspect they were popular and well known tunes of the day.) I can only say I wish I'd been there to see Milarepa sing his songs and teach his patrons, antagonists, and disciples. Apparently he had a lovely singing voice (it is described as "deep" in one verse), and he composed his teaching-songs extemporaneously. This in itself is a remarkable talent, and even if we didn't consider his accomplishments as a yogi, it indicates an extremely gifted, quick and sharp-witted person.

What also stands out is the extraordinary range and depth of Milarepa's meditative accomplishments. He seems to have practiced and mastered most of the contemplative systems in Tibet at the time. The book is replete with descriptions and references to these systems, so there is a fair bit of technical language; the fact that they are related via song and verse in no way means the contents are "dumbed down." As a result, while I am very familiar with Mahayana and Theravadan Buddhism but somewhat new to the Vajrayana, I was sometimes at a loss. So, one should be familiar not only with the general worldview of Tibetan Buddhism, but specifically with tantrism and the terms of subtle physiology. While the translator has provided a great many explanatory footnotes of various terms, a general education in the Vajrayana is really prerequisite.

Now to the contents specifically. Milarepa's songs are interspersed amid a welter of biographical incidents that while seemingly random do in fact follow a roughly chronological order. (It seems a lot of them occurred later in his life as Milarepa is always referring to himself as an "old man.") There are stories about how demons were subdued, how disciples were met and converted, how various antagonists confront Milarepa and then are disarmed, enchanted or just plain bowled over by his spiritual and magical acumen. (Scholars come in for a hard whacking!) The verses themselves have a variety of functions, chiefly instructive and inspirational. They also serve to boast of Milarepa's accomplishments--not, I should note, for the purpose of self-aggrandizement, but for letting people know why he does what he does, what they can achieve through practice, and to exhort those who seem intent on remaining mired in their particular habits of thinking. I feel that the book is at its best in this regard. Some might take it as a meditation instruction manual, but there is clearly a lot of explanatory material missing, so I'm doubtful just how far one would get trying to practice as Milarepa describes. If you educated yourself in Tibetan Buddhism and language, got a lama, and then went at it in the original language, the book might indeed be very helpful as a "how-to" manual. But without all that I think inspiration and exhortation are its best uses.

All of which makes me wonder: Why hasn't someone with the noted credentials done an in depth study of Milarepa's life and habits and really tried to figure out what exactly his practices were? It seems like an obvious task for a motivated scholar-practitioner. Using the Songs and the Life, existing tradition and the rich folklore connected with Milarepa, someone ought to create a scholarly biography that could, I think, go even further in inspiring and instructing us. I would love to see such a book. Please, someone, do this!
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JeffwithBooks
5.0 out of 5 stars A book that established Tibetan Buddhism in the West
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 1999
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Garma C.C. Chang, the translator of these songs, single-handedly preserved this book for the West, for it surely would have disappeared, overlooked by religious popularizers. The degree, Cha Gyur Khan-po, 'professor of translation,' was conferred upon the late Professor Chen-Chi Chang by his guru, a living Buddha, Kong Ka Lama, at the Kong Ka Monestary at Meia Nya, Tibet. The monastery is of the Kargyutpa School, which descended directly from Milarepa's line of gurus. C.C. Chang was more than a translator, however. He was among the greatest Buddhist scholars and teachers of the twentieth century. His studies of both exoteric and esoteric Buddhism are powerful because they are unvarnished. Unfortunately, not all his works are still in print. As he brought Milarepa to the West, he also brought what is perhaps China's greatest contribution to Buddhism (and recall, it was China that gave us Zen), the teachings of the 8th century Hwa Yen school, which is contained in C.C. Chang's book, still in print: The Teaching of Totality. I was deeply fortunate to have known Professor Chang, and I remember his reverence for Milarepa, his delight at the songs. I remember him imploring his students to delve deep into these teachings, from one of Tibet's greatest masters. Now there is this new edition. By itself, the story of Milarepa is magnificent, a tale of naive cruelty, healing, heroic effort and finally mercy and enlightenment. Milarepa is the psalmist of the Himalayas, and the late Professor's translation is a triumph of the heart. The book is a monument and a refuge.
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Stumptown
5.0 out of 5 stars The best and most complete translation.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 13, 2013
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The best translation I've found of Milarepa's fameous songs/poems. Wonderfully complete. Easy to understand. And highly recommended. Well worth the price!
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pam
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 16, 2017
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great book, I just love it
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Mr. Clayton L. Hill
5.0 out of 5 stars Wisdom content
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 28, 2015
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Great book with wisdom content need I say anything more Boom!
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Robert
5.0 out of 5 stars Spiritual
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 7, 2010
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A brilliant collection of Milarepa's wisdom. These songs are a collection of meditation instructions and means to overcome obstacles.
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gary
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2014
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5 stars for the contents! 3 stars for the quality of the book itself, cheaply made.
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화엄철학 : 쉽게 풀어쓴 불교철학의 정수 The Buddhist Teaching of Totality 이찬수

싸니까 믿으니까 인터파크도서 - 화엄철학

화엄철학 : 쉽게 풀어쓴 불교철학의 정수[양장]

저 : 까르마 C.C. 츠앙, 이찬수
출판사 : 경서원발행 : 1990년 08월 20일
쪽수 : 428
[중고] 화엄철학  중  9,000원

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목차
머리말
일러두기
들어가는 말

제1부 총체성의 세계

부처의 무한한 경계
총체성에 관한 대화
무애-총체성의 추축
거울로 둘러싸인 방
총체성의 근본원인
보살이 깨달음에 이르기 위한 열 단계
부사의한 불법
삼매, 신통력, 법계

제2부 화엄의 철학적 기초

머리글

제1장 공의 철학
공-불교의 핵심
반야심경의 요지
무아설과 자성공
절대공
쑤냐타와 논리학
쑤냐타의 의의

제2장 총체성의 철학
상즉과 상입-화엄철학의 두 기본 원리
상즉에 대한 검토
사법계 철학

제3장 유심론
마음과 외부의 세계
알라야식과 총체성

제3부 화엄 문헌 몇편과 조사들의 전기

[보현행원품]
[반야심경약소]
[법계관문]
[금사자장]
조사들의 전기

맺음말
옮긴이의 말
낱말풀이
찾아보기

펼쳐보기
--------------------------
저자소개
까르마 C.C. 츠앙 [저]
펜실바니아 주립대학 종교학과 불교전공 교수.
저서로 [선수행],[티벳 요가의 가르침] 등이 있다.
-------------------------------
이찬수 [저]
서강대학교 화학과를 졸업하고 같은 대학교 대학원 종교학과에서 불교학과 신학으로 각각 석사학위를, 칼 라너(Karl Rahner)와 니시타니 게이지(西谷啓治)를 비교하여 박사학위를 받았다. 강남대학교 교수, (일본)WCRP평화연구소 객원연구원, 대화문화아카데미 연구위원 등을 지냈고, 종교철학에 기반한 평화인문학의 심화와 확장을 연구 과제로 삼고 있다. 저서로 [평화와 평화들: 평화다원주의와 평화인문학], [다르지만 조화한다, 불교와 기독교의 내통], [사람이 사람을 심판할 수 있는가: 사형폐지론과 회복적 정의](공역), [아시아평화공동체]가 있고, 논문으로는펼쳐보기
저자의 다른책
--------------------------------------------
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기대평10.0최근순평점 높은순
kang***

화엄철학의 진수!!

2016/09/07
eunis***

저술이 탁월하여, 화엄경을 읽기 전에, 그리고 읽은 후에 각각 읽어본다면 가슴에 와닿을 것입니다!

2011/04/07
==============
The Buddhist Teaching of Totality: The Philosophy of Hwa Yen Buddhism, 1971
by Garma C.C. Chang (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars    9 ratings
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The Hwa Yen school of Mahayana Buddhism bloomed in China in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. Today many scholars regard its doctrines of Emptiness, Totality, and Mind-Only as the crown of Buddhist thought and as a useful and unique philosophical system and explanation of man, world, and life as intuitively experienced in Zen practice. For the first time in any Western language Garma Chang explains and exemplifies these doctrines with references to both oriental masters and Western philosophers. The Buddha's mystical experience of infinity and totality provides the framework for this objective revelation of the three pervasive and interlocking concepts upon which any study of Mahayana philosophy must depend. Following an introductory section describing the essential differences between Judeo-Christian and Buddhist philosophy, Professor Chang provides an extensive, expertly developed section on the philosophical foundations of Hwa Yen Buddhism dealing with the core concept of True Voidness, the philosophy of Totality, and the doctrine of Mind-Only. A concluding section includes selections of Hwa Yen readings and biographies of the patriarchs, as well as a glossary and list of Chinese terms.
300 pages
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4.7 out of 5 stars 11
Paperback
$24.00
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“That The Buddhist Teaching of Totality is a unique and long-needed contribution to Buddhological literature in English cannot be denied. Not only is it one of the very few introductions to a school of Chinese Buddhism other than Ch’an, it is one of the few attempts in any language to present systematically the essential features of the Flower (Hwa Yen) Garland School, perhaps the most philosophical sophisticated example of Buddhist syncretism ever to be produced.”
—Journal of the American Oriental Society

“Chang’s style is easy and concise, enjoyable, and stimulating. . . . This would be a useful book for any college or university library. Highly recommended.”

—Choice

“[This] is indeed a most welcome addition to the literature on the most comprehensive and most profound branch of Chinese Buddhism, the Hwa Yen School. . . . [It is] a work of real and present value.”

—Main Currents in Modern Thought

“The Western student of Buddhism should be grateful for this first full-length treatment in English of an important and interesting school of Buddhist thought.”

—Philosophy East and West

“This book is highly recommended to advanced students of Buddhism and to Westerners whose interests in Buddhism incline toward the metaphysical and phenomenological.”

—Philosophy and Phenomenological Research

About the Author
Renowned for his English translation of The 100,000 Songs of Milarepa, Garma Chen-Chi Chang was also the author of The Practice of Zen and The Teachings of Tibetan Yoga, and the editor and translator of A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras. At the time of his death in 1988, Dr. Chang was Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at The Pennsylvania State University.

Product details
Publisher : Pennsylvania State University Press; 1st edition (September 1, 1971)
Language : English
Paperback : 300 pages
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Customer Reviews: 4.3 out of 5 stars    9 ratings
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Top reviews from the United States
Tay Yong Meng
3.0 out of 5 stars The book is well written with very good and clear explanations and examples/parables to enhance the meanings
Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2017
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The book is well written with very good and clear explanations and examples/parables to enhance the meanings. However, the ereader version has many typo errors.
One person found this helpful
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richard hunn
5.0 out of 5 stars An authoritative study by an experienced Buddhist
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2002
For an easy ride, visit Disneyland. C.C. Chang's study of the Hua Yen is a demanding work, because it presuposes that the reader wishes to find such insight - through practice. The Hua Yen Ching is said to have been expounded immediately after the Buddha's own enlightenment. It is one of the few sutras that actually endeavour to hint about the enlightened state itself- positively, rather than obliquely, by referring to it in relation to what it is not (viz. asrava, klesa defilements, trsna, dualism) - the 'neither-nor' aspect. Hua Yen deals with the 'mutually inclusive' dimension(s) of totality. Beware! Too many Western writings on Hua Yen (Kegon) jump straight into shih-shih wu ai - the 'non-obstruction between thing-events.' But actually, without insight into li-shih wu ai, seeing 'form' as grounded in the kung or 'void' aspect, nobody knows anything about shih-shih wu ai. C.C. Chang had the best Chinese and Tibetan teachers. He writes with authority - because he writes with eperiential insight into what the Hua Yen teaches. I've savoured Chang's work for 25 years, yet it remnains as inspiring and stimulating, as the day I first saw it. A lifelong study this. Find the meaning in your own experience. Candy is for the kids!
31 people found this helpful
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Barnaby A Thieme
3.0 out of 5 stars Good Intro, though sectarian
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2002
The Hwa Yen school, which drew chiefly from the Avatamsaka Sutra (translated by Cleary), emphasizes Dharma from the perspective of realization, or enlightened mind. Like the Lotus Sutra, The Avatamsaka Sutra is equally an evocation of a state of mind as a presentation of information. The Hwa Yen thinkers of Sung China used this as their starting point to paint a dazzling portrait of our universe filled with mind-blowing images and rich ideas.
This is a pretty good introduction to Hwa Yen Buddhism, although the reader will have to wade through a fair amount of unapologetic sectarianism. Hwa Yen, we learn, is the "highest" and "most advanced" form of Buddhism, and Chang clearly considers himself to have full knowledge of what Buddha "really meant" in his teachings. Despite this sometimes tedious lack of modesty, the book is a good overview of the history and doctrine of this school. Given the unfortunate paucity of material on this intriguing movement, that is a welcome addition.
19 people found this helpful
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accwai
5.0 out of 5 stars Don't skip this one...
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2002
The first reviewer says skip this and go to Thomas Cleary. I would assume that means "Entry into the Inconceivable". I have both actually, and I like "The Buddhist Teaching of Totality" better.
To me, the Cleary approach seems to be just to pick you up and dump you right into the middle of things. By page 24, you're already into the four dharmadatu's. These are very subtle concepts that require serious preparation to understand deeply. They may be interesting doctrines if you're into that kind of thing, but I personally like to see how all the pieces fit together. In that sense, I'm totally lost. The Garma Chang book covers a lot more basics before going into the heavy stuff. The pace may be slower, but in the end, I have a much clearer picture. And after that, the Cleary book becomes much more palatable.
Another reviewer mentioned that Garma Chang seems to think he knows everything. I don't know, but from the writing, it's clear that he has a great deal of personal experience on the subject at hand. His discussion on emptyness, for example, is particularly subtle and insightful. Thomas Cleary, on the other hand, doesn't seem to show much opinion of his own. Much of the "Entry into the Inconceivable" text is translated from Chinese works. Same goes for his translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra itself as well. Even the introduction is paraphrasing of Chinese text. Not that translation is not useful of course...
A bonus included in the Garma Chang book is an almost complete translation of "The Great Vows of Samantabhadra". It is important because it's supposed to give one a good feel for what the complete Avatamsaka is like. It is the last part of the Forty Hwa Yen and is often treated as a separate sutra on its own. (It's also classified as one of the Five Sutras of Pure Land) And it's not in Cleary's English translation of Avatamsaka Sutra, which is strictly a translation of Eighty Hwa Yen.
In any case, I'd probably get both books. They serve different purposes. Seems to me that the person who says to skip this one is treating the meaning of the books as self-existent and real and therefore their relative merit should be completely self-evident. We all know that is not true right?
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43 people found this helpful
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Frank J. Boccio
5.0 out of 5 stars A justifiably classic "Classic."
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2007
Chang has done something really important and necessary in writing this concise and comprehensible overview of Hwa-Yen philosophy. I'd recommend this to any student who wishes to cultivate a deeper understanding of the Avatamsaka Sutra and the elements of Mahayana thought that culminates in Hwa-Yen.
3 people found this helpful
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Peter Kalnin
Apr 13, 2020Peter Kalnin rated it it was amazing
This was another writer whom Professor Francis Cook introduced to a very small class of students at the University of California, Riverside in 1971. I felt honored and privileged to have been a part of that group and very lucky to have Professor Cook as a guide to an esoteric but beautiful part of the Buddhist cannon.
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Thank you Professor Cook.
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Greg
Mar 30, 2009Greg rated it really liked it
Shelves: buddhism
This is an excellent introduction to the doctrines of Hwa Yen Buddhism. The author does a good job of distinguishing that school from other schools of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism. One thing that the author stresses is that although there is a large doctrinal literature, really what the doctrine is meant to do is not build philosophical systems, but rather to explain the experiences that practitioners have while meditating - i.e., enlightenment.



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