The Diamond Sutra: From the Final Teachings of the Buddha - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0877730059 ISBN 13: 9780877730057

Publisher: Shambhala Publications Inc, 1974

Synopsis

The Diamond Sutra, composed in India in the fourth century CE, is one of the most treasured works of Buddhist literature and the oldest extant printed book in the world. It is known as the Diamond Sutra because its teaching is said to be like a diamond that cuts away all dualistic thought, releasing one from attachment to objects and bringing one to the further shore of enlightenment. The Sutra of Hui-neng, also known as the Platform Sutra, contains the autobiography of this pivotal figure in Zen history and some of the most profound passages in Zen literature. Hui-neng (638–713), the Sixth Patriarch of Zen in China, is often regarded as the true father of the Zen tradition. A poor illiterate woodcutter, he was said to have attained enlightenment upon hearing a recitation of The Diamond Sutra. Taken together, these two scriptures present the central teachings of a major Buddhist tradition and are essential reading for all students of Buddhism.

About this title

About the Author:

Wong Mou-lam (1886-1934) was from Guangdong, China. He completed the first published English translation of The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch in 1930. Mou-lam also translated The Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Hui Neng, two of the most treasured works of Buddhist literature, the first of which is considered the oldest existing printed book in the world.

A. F. Price is the translator of the ancient and revered Zen Buddhist scriptures The Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Hui-neng. In her book Embracing Illusion: Truth and Fiction in the Dream of the Nine Clouds, author Francisca Cho praised Price's work for its "readability and faithfulness to Kumarajiva's Chinese translation."

W. Y. Evans-Wentz (1878-1965) was an American author and anthropologist. Evans-Wentz was an innovator in the study of Tibetan Buddhism, whose work helped to introduce Tibetan Buddhism to Western culture. While best known for publishing an early English translation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead, he translated many other significant Tibetan texts and wrote the foreword to The Diamond Sutra and the Sutra of Hui-neng.

Christmas Humphreys (1901-1983) took an interest in Buddhism at a young age and founded the Buddhist Society in London in 1924. The Buddhist Society is now the biggest and oldest Buddhist organization in Europe. In 1945, he expressed his interest in world Buddhism in his famous "Twelve Principles of Buddhism." He is the author of Buddhism: An Introduction and Guide and A Western Approach to Zen, among others.

Synopsis:

"The Diamond Sutra" was composed in India in the 4th century C.E. and is one of the treasured books in a vast body of Buddhist literature called the "Perfection of Wisdon Sutras". It is known as such because its teachings are said to be like diamonds that cut away all dualistic thought, releasing one from the attachment to objects and bringing one to the further shore of enlightenment. "The Sutra of Hui Neng", also known as the "Platform Sutra", contains the autobiography of a pivotal figure in Zen history and some of the most profound passages of Zen literature. Hui Neng (638-713) was the sixth patriarch of Zen in China, but is often regarded as the true father of the Zen tradition. A poor, illiterate woodcutter, he is said to have attained enlightenment upon hearing a recitation of "The Diamond Sutra". He later became successor to the fifth patriarch, Hung Yen.

About this edition

• Publisher: Shambhala Publications Inc
• Publication date: 1974
• ISBN 10: 0877730059
• ISBN 13: 9780877730057
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 168