Nagarjuna's Guide to the Bodhisattva Path (Kalavinka Buddhist Classics) Paperback – Abridged, February 15, 2009

This is simply a gem of a text for any Buddhist, be they a longtime practitioner or new to the path. It is profound, yet accessible, and made all the more so by the helpful commentary and translator's notes contained in the second section. Bhikshu Dharmamitra's translation is clear and lucid, and the depth of his knowledge shines through not just in his skillful translation but in the helpful notes he provides. We are very fortunate to have this available to us.

GREAT

The excellent translator Bhikshu Dharmamitra has abridged the long commentary by Bhikshu Vasitva (ca 400?) to Arya Nagarjuna's work. Nothing of the root text by Nagarjuna is missing from this valuable text.

Arya Nagarjuna (ca. 150-250 CE) was an important Buddhist teacher and philosopher whose significance was such that in some Mahayana traditions, he is regarded as a second Buddha. He is credited, along with his disciple Aryadeva, with founding the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhism. He is renowned for his penetrating analysis of reality. In this Guide to the Bodhisattva Path (Bodhisambhara Shastra or Treatise on the Provisions for Enlightenment), Nagarjuna provides a clear and concise description of the essentials of the path to Buddhahood.The text (translated by Bhikshu Dharmamitra from the Chinese translation of Dharmagupta (550?-619 CE)) is accompanied here by an abridged version of its only known commentary, written by the early Indian Bhikshu Vasitva (ca 300-500 CE). Bhikshu Dharmamitra has also provided some translators notes to provide background information and to elucidate elements of the text. This volume also includes the source text for the stanzas in both traditional and simplified Chinese scripts on the verso pages.There is also an edition of the text with the complete commentary of Bhikshu Vasitva available ( The Bodhisambhara Treatise Commentary (Kalavinka Buddhist Classics) ).Also of interest may be  A Strand of Dharma Jewels , in which Nagarjuna offers advice to a king on how to conduct one's life and how to construct social policies that reflect Buddhist ideals. The fact that the text is addressed to a king however does not limit it's use to those of us of less lofty position.In addition there is a useful collection of what is known as Nagarjuna's "analytic corpus",  Nagarjuna , which includes The Fundamental Verses of the Middle Way, Nagarjuna's most well known work. The Bodhisambhara Treatise Commentary (Kalavinka Buddhist Classics)A Strand of Dharma JewelsNagarjuna