Books in Brief

FUNDAMENTAL MIND

MI-PAM-GYA-TSO;

COMMENTARY BY KHETSUN SANGPO RINBOCHAY; JEFFREY HOPKINS, TRANS.

Snow Lion Publications, 2006

175 pp.; $16.95 (paper)

IN HIS INSIGHTFUL and practical commentary on Mipham Gyatso’s The Meaning of Fundamental Mind, Clear Light, senior Nyingma lama Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche explores the difference between mistaken mind—with which we engage in all our daily activities—and the fundamental mind of buddhas. Fundamental Mind begins with the biography of Mipham Gyatso (1846-1912), tracing the Tibetan scholar-yogi’s journey from a childhood in Kham to his position as one of the leaders of the Rime movement. Translated and edited by leading scholar Jeffrey Hopkins, this collaboration is a valuable introduction to the concept of fundamental mind.

ALL IS CHANGE: THE 2,000-YEAR JOURNEY OF BUDDHISM TO THE WEST

LAWRENCE SUTIN

Little, Brown and Company, 2006

416 pp., $25.99 (cloth)

 

IN THIS SPRAWLING HISTORY, award-winning memoirist and biographer Lawrence Sutin charts the elaborate passage of Buddhism to the West, beginning with the Buddhist influence on ancient Greece two thousand years ago. From the earliest Jesuit encounters with Buddhism to America’s first engagement with Japanese Zen masters, Sutin delves into the extensive dialogue between Western and Eastern religious traditions. Along the way, the reader is introduced to such extraordinary findings as the seventh-century “Jesus Messiah Sutra,” a document that describes Christianity using Buddhist and Confucian terminology.

ON BUDDHA ESSENCE: A COMMENTARY ON RANGJUNG DORJE’S TREATISE

KHENCHEN THRANGU RINPOCHE

Shambhala Publications, 2006

200 pp., $16.95 (paper)

 

KHENCHEN THRANGU RINPOCHE, the renowned Tibetan Buddhist teacher, contributes to the development and understanding of Tibetan Mahamudra teachings in this new book. Rangjung Dorje’s Treatise on Buddha Nature, the oldest text of the Kagyu lineage, focuses on Buddha-essence—the fundamental nature of all beings. Thrangu Rinpoche’s accessible commentary on the text clarifies Dorje’s extensive meditation instructions, which aim to help each person find his individual Buddhahood. Also out this year from Thrangu is a commentary on Saraha’s A Song For The King from Wisdom Publications.