Simple_Jack

What's interesting is how the 4-noble truths are featured in some of the Tathagatagarbha Sutras ["3rd turning of the wheel of Dharma"]: Chapter 25 Angulimala Sutra "What are the four ? The words 'the four noble truths' are renowned in the Śrāvaka-yāna, but such features are absent from the Mahāyāna. The following inherent natures and functions are the four truths: 1)to say that the Tathāgata is permanent is an absolute truth for Mahāyāna, but suffering (dukha) is not a truth; 2)to say that the Tathāgata is eternal is an absolute truth, but not origination (samudaya); 3)to say that the Tathāgata is supremely unchanging is an absolute truth, but cessation (nirodha) is not a truth; 4)and to say that the Tathāgata is peace is an absolute truth, but not the path (mārga). These are the four noble truths for Mahāyāna. ... "Sutra on the Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala" "Lord, the cessation of suffering is not the destruction of Dharma. Why so? Because the Dharmakaya of the Tathagata is named 'cessation of suffering,' and it is beginningless, uncreate, unborn, undying, free from death; permanent, steadfast, calm, eternal; 10. The One Truth "Lord, among those four Noble Truths, three Truths are impermanent and one Truth is permanent. Why so? Because the three Truths belong to the characteristic of the constructed, and anything belonging to the characteristic of the constructed is impermanent. Anything impermanent has an illusory nature. Everything with illusory nature is untrue, impermanent, and not a refuge. Therefore, the Noble Truths of Suffering, Source of Suffering, and Path leading to the Cessation of Suffering are actually untrue, impermanent, and not a refuge. Lord, among those [four], the one Truth -- Cessation of Suffering -- excludes the realm with the characteristic of the constructed. Anything excluding the realm with the characteristic of the constructed is permanent. Whatever is permanent lacks an illusory nature. Anything that lacks an illusory nature is true, permanent, and a refuge. Therefore, the Truth -- Cessation of Suffering -- is in reality true, permanent, and a refuge.

It's definitely a feature of the [sutra] Mahayana path, considering that the 4th noble truth, is the means to end dukkha i.e. 8-fold noble path. The Prajnaparamita Sutras, as translated by Edward Conze, mention the 4-noble truths and 37 factors of awakening, which includes the 8-fold noble path. In any case, there are certain teachers, in Vajrayana, who make a correlation of the 4-noble truths, etc., to the path of Mahamudra or Dzogchen; one of those teachers is ChNN: Chögyal Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche, Dzogchen Teachings: There is a teaching that is universal to all Buddhists called the Four Noble Truths. This was the first teaching transmitted by Buddha. Even if we have different methods in the teaching, such as Tantra and Dzogchen, they are always based on the Four Noble Truths. Why are they called the Noble Truths? They are noble because they are important for knowledge and understanding. I fail to adhere to "Right Speech" both online and IRL.

I don't necessarily mean to assert that it is, is not, both, neither. All of these are yet more limitations, extremes actually, but I concur that we need to drop all limitations of mind, especially, self-imposed limitations.

From Dzog Chen and Zen, pg.16 by Chogyal Namkhai Norbu: A human being has his limits. And thus in every conceivable way, with every possible means, he tries to make the teaching enter into his own limits.

Well, I'm not expecting this to appeal to everybody, nor do I expect anyone to agree with me, but this is not a contradiction to the sutras and shastras, to how it has been taught to me, or how to apply the principles of the path in day-to-day life. I am not one to grasp at a neutral, indiscriminative, non-conceptual state of presence; to become fixated on this, calling this "meditation". In the storm of affirmation and rejection, swallowed up by the waves, one sinks to the depths of ignorance; yet the lifeboat of prajna, rescues one from the murky depths. The suns beams, disperse the stormy clouds, shining in all its radiance, never obscured, calm seas and clear skies.

It doesn't have to be limited to a sequential process, such as the above, but can be a simultaneous process of all three in a single moment; this is the execution of prajna, simultaneously, in actuality.

Prajna is a discriminative faculty, it's also a type of wisdom, though as I've posted before: its has contaminated and pure expressions; the former for those on the mundane path of a deluded sentient being and the latter for an arya on the supramundane path. Understanding Dharma starts with first hearing the teachings, then contemplating the teachings, and finally meditating on the teachings. Of course, this is a continual process, but prajna is key factor in discerning the principles of Dharma, that is to be applied towards realization, in both the meditative and post-meditative periods.

Sure, but prajna is a very important component of the path, which is why the summation for progress on the path is sila, samadhi, prajna; why prajna is an inherent feature of the teachings from the Prajnaparamita Sutras, and why it's the 6th paramita of the bodhisattva's practice.

Of course Dharma is meant to be scrutinized: this is why prajna is a faculty and power in the 37 factors of awakening. If you have a problem with anything I've been saying thus far, take it up with the Buddha and the people who teach according to these principles, that have been handed down to us.

Of course, these are just my opinions, it's anyone's prerogative to disregard the teachings that have been handed down to us. Also, if someone is adverse to hearing proclamations of what is constituted as "right", then they should not bother with Buddhism at all. The Nikayas (and by extension the Chinese/Tibetan Agamas) especially should be avoided, since the historical Buddha, and at times his disciples, admonishes and refutes, what he constitutes as "wrong" views, etc.

If an individual is going to present information on Buddhism, especially its tenets, than I think it's best if that person does not present skewed information; especially if it's an intentional distortion by means of preconceived notions and biased assumptions.

There is no such dichotomy of "psychological Buddhism": an individual's presentation of key Buddhist principles are either informed or illinformed; which is why I presented information [http://thetaobums.com/topic/33091-immortal-atman/?p=509740] that showed the flaws in his assertions.

You realize, that the development of the major schools of Daoism, have all been heavily influenced by Buddhism, right?

Which, 'path of Daoism', is this? The post Tang and Song dynasties Daoism which was an amalgamation of native Chinese thought with Buddhist philosophical principles, ritual and meditative practice, iconography, etc.? There really is no such thing as a 'pure Daoist path'.

Because, he has made generalized comments of this kind, multiple times; he has maintained that this is a fault of all Buddhist's who adhere to the notion of 'no-self', particularly Theravadin Buddhists. Even after I presented information that shows otherwise, http://thetaobums.com/topic/33091-immortal-atman/?p=509740. Now, I think it's paramount that there be citing of the tipitaka, when subject matter dealing with Buddhist principles are discussed. People should rely on the teachings in the sutta-pitaka or commentarial traditions, so as to avoid unnecessary proliferations, that distorts accurate understandings of the Dhamma. Of course, its your prerogative to not rely on the teachings of Buddhism, but I prefer an environment where I know that I'm receiving the teachings as it was taught in the sutta-pitaka or commentarial traditions, where info can be verified to be coming from a reliable source.

Not necessarily, as skewed inaccuracies, such as the argument that yabyum24 has provided on the previous page, are intentional distortions; it can be a byproduct of mistaken assumptions and biased opinions. An environment of learning should not deliberately follow the sways of ignorance, but should foster objective analysis, so as to avoid biased idiosyncrasies that deliberately distorts information.

Personally, I'm worried that a massive post of this kind, will be skewed towards an inaccurate conclusion, stemming from mistaken assumptions and biased opinions.

You can definitely have an open and intelligent discussion on dedicated Buddhist forums, but if it involves a fallacious argument such as the one you've made above, then expect knowledgeable practitioners to provide counter arguments to correct these assumptions.

There are divergences in the emphasis of practice between the traditions which follow the "Visuddhimagga" and an unadulterated approach of the Nikayas. Although, dharmaoverground, does not emphasize the deep, deep, 'visuddhimagga jhana' (with visual nimitta, shutting down of external sense contact even in 1st jhana, etc.), since they emphasize the simultaneous practice of 'vipassana-jhanas', over that of 'shamatha-jhanas'. I recommend reading the links from this post [http://thetaobums.com/topic/33091-immortal-atman/?p=509673] and becoming familiarized with the 'sixteen insight knowledges aka. 16 nanas [http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=3192]. Anatta = you are just a bundle of impermanent processes i.e. 5 aggregates. Anatta does not only have to be revealed in jhana, since there are many cases in the Nikayas of direct realization into the 4 noble truths & 8-fold noble path + 3 seals i.e. anicca, dukkha, anatta, through 'dry-insight' i.e. not gradually cultivating the path factors and/or jhanas, in order to attain stream-entry, once-returner, etc. A couple of examples from the Nikayas are Sariputta and Moggalana, Buddha's right hand disciples, who separately met a monk on his alms round and inquired the Buddhas teaching; they both attained stream entry after hearing a few sentences of verse summing up the teaching of dependent origination. Yabyum24, who are these 'Buddhists', you keep referring to as rejecting the notion of rebirth, past life recall, etc.? Is this a reference to people who ascribe to the secular atheism/physicalism of the likes of Stephen Batchelor? "...Many Buddhists who believe in the fallacy of "no-self" reject the notion of rebirth, as they see an obvious contradiction between there being no-person and "something" which could take rebirth. I could write a massive post on this alone, but suffice to say, you can discard the idea of no-self.", this is not supported in the Nikayas or by anyone who at least acknowledges the Buddha's teachings on transmigration after death and the ability to recall past lives as a byproduct of the development of jhana. Where are these notions of yours coming from?

These are excerpts from Lama Gendun Rinpoche's collected teachings in Heart Advice from a Mahamdura Master trans. by Jochen Kleinschmidt - http://books.google.com/books?id=Blx4aapCXn8C&source=gbs_navlinks_s Pg. 115-167: ....If we wish to uncover our buddha nature and develop the correct view that is necessary for correct meditation, we need to familiarize ourselves with the two planes of reality, the relative and the ultimate, and recognize their inseparability. The relative plane of reality is the world as it appears to us. But in this manifestation on the relative plane, the ultimate reality, the empty nature of all manifestation, is present at the same time. The Tibetan word for "world" (jigten) means "destructible basis." The material world is considered to be a basis that inevitably is subject to destruction, because it is conditioned. The world is transitory; it arises, exists for some time, and then ceases. It has no lasting existence -- that is its ultimate reality, its emptiness. It is empty of anything that lasts. The fact that it is visible nonetheless and does manifest is its relative reality. In this relative reality, everything changes from moment to moment. The mind expresses itself unceasingly and spontaneously in a never-ending multiplicity of appearances, but these are not real. In an ultimate sense, as everything changes continually and nothing endures. Idea follows idea, one movement of the mind follows another, appearances change incessantly. For that reason, on close inspection, we can see that appearances are not real – they are empty of any true reality. And yet manifestation goes on, as it is the expression of the empty nature and spontaneous luminosity of the mind. Appearances are manifest as well as empty – they are the unity of manifestation and emptiness. By relative reality we denote the manifesting aspect of appearances and by ultimately reality the aspect of the illusory, transitory nature of all manifestation, its being empty of anything lasting. All appearances, whether in the external world or within ourselves, are the inseparable unity of these two planes of reality. Generally speaking, we can classify all phenomena and sentient beings according to their participation in one or the other of two kinds of experience of being: the cycle of conditioned existence fraught with suffering, samsara, or the dimension of liberation beyond suffering, nirvana. The essence of samsara is delusion, and its distinctive mark is suffering, whereas the essence of nirvana is awareness and its mark is true happiness beyond all suffering. But the true nature of samsara as well as of nirvana is emptiness, as neither possesses any true, independent existence. They are “empty” of any essence – nonetheless they manifest. By emptiness of samsara we mean that the entire living and non-living phenomenal world is nothing but the unity of appearance and emptiness, emptiness and form. The goal of spiritual practice is the recognition of this reality. The recognition of the empty nature of all things corresponds to the realization of the truth body, dharmakaya. We recognize all appearances on the relative plane as the manifestation of the luminosity of the dharmakaya -- they are empty but nonetheless they appear. With this recognition, we experience everything as the unity of bliss and emptiness, because our belief in the concrete existence of things has dissolved and we no longer fall prey to attachment and suffering. Since we no longer succumb to the deception, we recognize suffering as being empty, without true existence. And that is nirvana, the dimension beyond all suffering, the end of the cycle death and rebirth.... ....The present moment is simply the way it is. If we rest in it, then things appear by themselves and also dissolve by themselves again. There is no longer any interference, pressure clinging or rejecting, only the play of thoughts that come and go without any hindrance. When we let go of our attachment to thoughts, then they simply appear and disappear, without a chain of thought latching on to them. Thought waves arise and disappear. Since there is no interference, the thought dissolves by itself. Thoughts do not have any autonomous nature. They are like clouds in the sky -- without origin and without destination. Clouds neither originate from a definite location nor do they go to a definite place -- they do not exist in any lasting way. They are the result of the evaporation and condensation of water, are subject to impermanence and change continually, until they finally dissolve. Thoughts are similar. They are the creation of the mind and ultimately have no reality, no lasting existence. When we do not hold on to them, they vanish like clouds, and we recognize them as the natural play of the mind. All confusion regarding their supposed reality dissolves, and we open ourselves to the experience of spontaneous ease.... ....If we wish to arrive at true understanding, we must let go of all personal desire. We should search for the thinker who wants to understand and control. Then we will see that we cannot find them, since they do not exist as such. If there is no thinker, then it is only natural that there is no understanding thought processes and the mind. Thinker and thoughts are empty, without true existence. This fundamental emptiness is the truth body. The luminosity, or dynamics, of this empty mind, its capacity to create thoughts, is the enjoyment body. The manifold expression of the mind, its capacity to assume a myriad of forms in continual change, is the emanation body. When we allow our mind to engage in its natural, spontaneous activity, we will recognize its three fundamental qualities: emptiness, luminosity and unobstructed manifestation. We will not, as we may have feared, find ourselves in an empty, blank state. Rather, we will discover that our thoughts are the treasure of the three bodies of enlightenment, the inexhaustible source of a wealth of qualities.... ....In the view of Mahamudra, in which we make no distinction between good thoughts and bad thoughts but allow all appearances equally dissolve in their true nature, there is one danger. We may regard ourselves as great yogis and think that with this view that is as expansive as the sky, we no longer need to pay attention to the small details of life and our actions. This erroneous view is rooted in a pride that is as big as a mountain. To think that everything in its nature is emptiness and, therefore, it no longer necessary to perform wholesome actions and to avoid unwholesome ones, leads to arrogant, inconsiderate behavior. A "great yogi" of that persuasion would entangle themselves more and more in worldly thinking and acting. Their disturbing emotions would increase, and they would move further and further away from awakening. In order not to fall into this error, we should cultivate the flawless behavior of a bodhisattva and constantly check whether our body, speech and mind conform to the teachings of Buddha. Even with the very expansive view of Mahamudra, a view that is all-embracing as the universe, we have to be very sensitive and exact in our actions. As soon as we have developed the correct view and actuall apply it in practice, we are able to recognize the ultimate reality in ourselves, without having to undertake any great effort to accomplish this. The recognition of the nature of the mind is the only thing that we actually need -- it has the power to liberate us from everything and to liberate all beings in the universe, too. All phenomena of the external world are only the manifestations of the luminosity of our own mind and ultimately have no reality. When we allow our mind to rest in the recognition that everything that it experiences is its own projection, the separation between subject and object comes to an end. Then there is no longer anyone who grasps at something and nothing that is being grasped at -- subject and object are realized to be unreal.... ....In our meditation, we should look directly at the thoughts that arise. Then we will see that they possess neither color nor form -- nothing that would confirm their existence. Recognizing their real nature, our mind enters into its original dimension: emptiness without boundaries, open like the sky -- and as spontaneously as the thought has arisen, so it dissolves again naturally. When we do not become fascinated by our thoughts but look at them directly, then all of our thoughts become opportunities for recognizing the simultaneously creative and empty nature of the mind. In this recognition, thoughts dissolve like snowflakes that fall on a hot stone. A meditator with such a realization is capable of letting their mind rest in the free and unceasing play of arising and passing appearances. Since seeing the arising and vanishing of thoughts is the basis for our recognition of the highest reality, we should welcome them with as much gratitude as we feel for our teacher. Once our mind is relatively stable and has detached itself from clinging to thoughts, then the more thoughts arise, the better it is. Gampopa said: “The meditation of someone who values thoughts will never suffer from hunger. The more firewood, the bigger the fire. The more thoughts, the more radiant the dharmakaya!” To believe that we could see the nature of mind while at the same time prohibiting the arising of thoughts is as absurd as hoping to see the sun while we remain in the darkness of a cave. To allow thoughts to appear without hindrance and to disappear again naturally is the key to the "non-conceptuality" (often translated as "non-thought), of which the traditional instructions speak. Here, to be free of thinking means that our thoughts do not elicit any reactions. Non-conceptuality is a free, naturally aware state of mind in which thoughts appear without our clinging to them, so that no “thinking” occurs, i. e., no thought processes in the ordinary sense of the term. In non-conceptual presence thoughts continue to occur, but we do not regard them as intruders that disturb us. They do not set off waves of hope and fear, or thinking about the past, present and future. In their true nature, the coming and going thoughts are the play of ultimate reality, illusory appearances in the openness of space. To be aware of this frees us from clinging. We might ask: "Who is it who recognizes the unreality of thoughts? After all, there must be someone who thinks and makes this discovery!" But when we look at the one who recognizes the nature of thoughts, we will again discover neither form nor color, etc. Thus we will see that there is no 'I', or subject, that experiences this recognition. Thoughts are like the lama – they show us true reality. For all these reasons, we should regard our thoughts as friends. They manifest, even though they are empty in essence, and they point to the multifariously manifesting and at the same time empty nature of the mind. This “empty” mind is creative and full of qualities, but its qualities are not different from its essential emptiness. The emptiness is the underlying dimension whose spontaneous creativity manifests as thoughts. Because of that, thoughts are not different from the ultimate nature of mind. There is not the "pure and perfect," empty nature of the mind on the one hand, and "impure and disturbing" thoughts on the other. Moreover, with regard to their fundamental nature, among thoughts there are none that are purer than others. We do not need to sort them into good ones and bad ones, so as to keep only those that are pure and perfect. That would constitute an attachment to the idea of a concrete reality of thoughts. When we look, we will see that all thoughts possess the same empty nature and are therefore of "one taste." All of them are equally the expression of the self-revealing creativity of one and the same empty mind. We need do nothing except look directly at them. When we recognize their true nature, our mind is liberated. This is called the "simultaneous arising and self-liberation" of thoughts. And Gendun Rinpoche continues: In the stream of meditation, with time there remains no difference between consciousness and the one who is conscious. Thinker and thought are equally the play of the mind. The separation between perceiver and perceived, between subject and object, drops away. Doer and deed no longer are different – everything happens in the expanse of awareness. Mind is aware of itself and rests in its natural state, without seer and seen. That is non-seeing; that is natural consciousness. Mind is aware, but a subject is no longer present. That is truly becoming conscious – a perfect, lasting certainty ....We should meditate in a completely unconcerned manner, free from hope and fear. it is sufficient for us to recognize that all states of mind are mind. Calmness is mind, and movement is also mind. It would be wrong to judge a quiet mind to be "good" and an agitated mind to be "bad." If we cannot help thinking in this way, then we should look directly at the thoughts "good" and "bad." When we do that, we will see that such judgments again are merely projections of our mind. We could also look directly at the one who comments on these experiences and try and to find the thinker. The recognition that there is no thinker frees us from both the thinker and the thought -- and that is the moment of realization. To look directly at the one who hopes that a pleasant feeling will endure or who fears that his meditation is not correct, is the antidote to hope and fear. Who is this someone who thinks that his meditation is good or bad? Does he have a form, is he located at a particular place, does he possess substance or color? What is his true nature? We attempt to find something that we can pin down as the thinker. We search for it everywhere, but we see nothing. In this not-seeing anything – a seeing without seeing something – we then rest.... ... As long as there is still a separation into "me" and "my meditation," the meditation is artificial. In true meditation, the thinker dissolves in the recognition of their own true nature. For example, when we think, "Finally, my mind is quiet, and I'm resting in my own true nature," then our mind is already no longer resting in its natural state but is analyzing and differentiating. The thought, "Ah, now I've understood what meditation is," too, only indicates that we have not understood anything. There is no such commentary in true meditation, in which there is no separation into subject and object, no meditator and no observer. Awareness simply recognizes itself as empty, without boundaries and without center. The mind rests in openness, emptiness and self-recognition. True meditation is non-meditation. If we do not succumb to the fault of artificial meditation, above all we must truly listen when meditation is explained to us.....

Full length movie Zen: Life of Master Dogen:

@ idiot_stimpy You can thank Loppon Namdrol aka. Malcolm for collaborating with the translation of Virupa's doha with Lama Tseten Migmar. Go Lotsawa's Commentary on The Distinction between Phenomena and the Nature of Phenomena: "You may wonder, "Such is certainly the case, but if one holds that this text of the Bhagavan Maitreya is also a text of what is known as the yogas of Mahamudra, do the four yogas of this [Mahamudra] fit with those [four yogic practices in the Dharmadharmatiivibhaga]?" They do fit very well. The first [Mahamudra yoga] is to look inside and then to focus on [everything being] one's own mind. As for the explanation [in] the second [yogic practice] that there is nothing external, it is the [Mahamudra yoga of] freedom from reference points in which one realizes that all phenomena that are objects of the mind lack any basis or root. The realization that both what appears as [if] external and the inner mind free from reference points are of one taste is the yogic practice of the nonobservation of observation. To not meditate through deliberately focusing on even the nonduality of subject and object is called "nonmeditation," which is the fourth [Mahamudra] yoga." (Mining for Wisdom within Delusion, p 320) http://www.naturalawareness.net/mahamudra.html Resting one’s mind without fabrication is considered the single key point of the realization of all the countless profound and extensive oral instructions in meditation practice such as Mahamudra, Dzogchen, Lamdrey, Cho, Zhije and so forth. The oral instructions appear in various modes due to the differences in ways of human understanding. Some meditators regard meditation practice as simply a thought-free state of mind in which all gross and subtle perceptions of the six senses have ceased. This is called straying into a dull state of shamatha. Some presume stable meditation to be a state of neutral dullness not embraced by mindfulness. Some regard meditation as complete clarity, smooth bliss or utter voidness and cling to those experiences. Some chop their meditation into fragments, believing the objective of meditation to be a vacant state of mind between the cessation of one thought and the arising of the next. Some hold on to such thoughts as, "The mind-nature is dharmakaya! It is empty! It cannot be grasped!" To think, "Everything is devoid of true existence! It is like a magical illusion! It is like space!" and to regard that as the meditation state is to have fallen into the extreme of intellectual assumption. Some people claim that whatever is thought or whatever occurs is of the nature of meditation. They stray into craziness by falling under the power of ordinary thinking. Most others regard thinking as a defect and inhibit it. They believe in resting in meditation after controlling what is being thought and tie themselves up in fixated mindfulness or an ascetic state of mind. In short, the mind may be still, in turmoil as thoughts and disturbing emotions, or tranquil in any of the experiences of bliss, clarity, and nonthought. Knowing how to sustain the spontaneity of innate naturalness directly in whatever occurs, without having to fabricate, reject or change anything is extremely rare. ~ Tsele Natsok Rangdrol, Lamp of Mahamudra

Venerable Huifeng, originally from New Zealand, received full ordination in 2004. He obtained his PhD degree at the University of Hong Kong Presently he is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Buddhist Studies, Fo Guang University in Taiwan, with academic focus on Indian Buddhism, in particular early Mahayana sutra and sastra, translation and hermeneutics, and practices of contemporary Taiwanese Buddhism.

http://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?f=41&t=15494&view=unread#unread Begin forwarded message: > From: kalavinka <[email protected]> > Date: February 2, 2014 at 6:53:12 PM PST > To: Heng Shou <[email protected]> > Subject: Announcement: The First Ever Complete & Genuine Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra > > New Year’s Kalavinka Press Announcement > > > > Three First-Ever[1] Translations by Bhikshu Dharmamitra > > Completed on Lunar New Year’s Day, 2014: > > > > The Greatly Expansive Buddha’s Floral Adornment Sutra > > Mahāvaipulya Buddha Avataṃsaka Sūtra (Śikṣānanda’s 699 ce. edition). > > T279 - 大方廣佛華嚴經 - 實叉難陀譯 > > (39 chapters in 80 fascicles – 3000 pages) > > > > The Ten Grounds Sutra > > Daśabhūmika Sūtra (Kumārajīva’s circa 400 ce edition.) > > T286 -十住經 - 鳩摩羅什譯 > > (Ten Chapters in 4 fascicles – 275 pages) > > > > Nagarjuna’s Commentarial Treatise on the Ten Grounds Sutra > > Daśabhūmika Vibhāṣā Śāstra > > T1521 - 十住毘婆沙論 -鳩摩羅什譯 > > (35 chapters in 17 fascicles – 700 pages.) > > > > The Avatamsaka Sutra translation was finished > > At 12:01 am, January 31st, Lunar New Year’s Day, 2014, > > At West Seattle’s Kalavinka Translation Aranya, > > by Bhikshu Dharmamitra*, a.k.a. Bhikshu Heng Shou (釋恆授). > > > > Kalavinka Press is planning to publish all 3 of these texts in the Fall, 2014. > > (BDK-Numata will also issue an edition of Dharmamitra’s translation of the Avataṃsaka Sutra.) > > > > Although this three-text project was begun in 2004 at Turtle Mountain’s Prajna Translation Aranya, it was interrupted by publication of ten other books, a liver cancer operation, a liver transplant, etc., only to be begun again, 6 months post-transplant, in late 2010. > > > > Bhikshu Dharmamitra* is one of very first American disciples of the late Ven. Master Hsuan Hua (since 1968). > > He was also one of the group of three American monks who were the very first Americans to ever take full bhikshu ordination in the Chinese Buddhist tradition (Hai Hui Monastery, Chilung, Taiwan, Nov., 1969). He is the author of approximately 25 translations of Chinese Buddhist Canonical Texts, most of which originated from Sanskrit. > > [1] Although Thomas Cleary claims to have translated the Avatamsaka Sutra, he did not in fact do so.(For immense parts of the text, Cleary cuts out the Avataṃsaka text, grafts in other texts, and otherwise violates in a host of ways the sanctity of the Śikṣānanda translation from Sanskrit.) > > -- > Bhikshu Dharmamitra > (a.k.a. Rev. Heng Shou - 釋恆授, Michael Kane) > Translator & Publisher of Classic Indian & Chinese Buddhist Texts > Kalavinka Press (Kalavinkapress.org) > 8603 39th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98136 > [email protected]; Office: 206-932-1155 / Cell: *The same person who translated Shramana Zhyi's meditation manuals: http://thetaobums.com/topic/33467-tiantai-shamatha-vipashyana/