New and Noteworthy Texts In Translation

Debate in Tibetan Buddhism
By Daniel Perdue.
Snow Lion: Ithaca, 1992.
1,025 pp. $45.00 (hardcover).

Debate is the investigative technique used in Tibetan monastic education to lead students through the intricacies of Buddhist philosophy, to sharpen minds, and to develop analytical capacities. This volume is based on a foundational text on debate composed by Pur-bu-jok Jam-ba-gya-tso (1825-1901). Using Tibetan and Western sources, the author presents an overview of the tradition and an evaluation of its didactic role.

Knowing, Naming, and Negation: A Sourcebook on Tibetan Sautrantika
By Anne C. Klein.
Snow Lion: Ithaca, 1991.330 pp.
$35 (hardcover); $19.95 (paperback).

Sautrantika, a Hinayana school of thought that emerged around 150 C.E., looks to the Sutra-pitaka as its only authority. Sautrantikas posit the existence of a refined consciousness that persists from rebirth to rebirth, extinquished in the attainment of nirvana. This volume presents the writings of Sautrantika together with an overview of the system as a whole.

The Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones
By Patrul Rinpoche. Commentary by Dilgo Khyentse.
Shambhala: Boston, 1992.
240 pp. $16.00 (paperback).

This commentary by Dilgo Khyentse, illuminates a brief instructive text by Patrul Rinpoche. The book comprises three sections: on the suffering experienced by those who live a worldly life of attachments; instruction on how to use dharma practice to deal with suffering; and instruction on practices for everyday life. These instructions include meditation techniques that focus on Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion.

The Road to Nirvana: A Selection of the Buddhist Scriptures
Translated from the Pali By E. J. Thomas.
Charles E. Tuttle: Boston, 1992.
112 pp. $12.95 (hardcover).

The Pali scriptures are the earliest written documents of Buddhism. As such they give a historical perspective on the ancient roots as well as the progress of Buddhist thought. This reissued work presents essential doctrines of the Buddha as well as accounts of his life and ethical teachings.

Tracing Back the Radiance: Chinul’s Korean Way of Zen
By Robert E. Buswell, Jr.
University of Hawaii Press: Honolulu, 1991.
232 pp. $15.95 (paperback).

Chinul (1158-1210) was the founder of Zen in Korea. This tradition emphasizes a sudden awakening, which results when the radiance of the mind is traced back to its source, that is, the naturally enlightened state. Buswell presents an extensive introduction to Chinul’s life and thought as well as translations of three of his most representative works. 

The Blue Cliff Record
Translated by Thomas Cleary and J.G. Cleary.
Shambhala: Boston, 1992.
682 pp. $60.00 (hardcover).

Ch’an (Zen) koans are intended to guide students through the stages of Buddhist insight. The Blue Cliff Record is the only complete translation of the Chinese Pi-yen-lu, a collection of one hundred koans together with their commentaries. One of the major koan collections of Ch’an literature, and the oldest, this work dates back in its written form to the early part of the twelfth century.