Book Description
Dzong-ka-ba's (1357-1419) The Essence of Eloquence is the one book on wisdom that the Dalai Lama carries with him wherever he goes. Composed by Tibet's great yogi-scholar and founder of the Ge-luk-ba school, it stands as a landmark in Buddhist philosophy. In this first of a three-volume series, Jeffrey Hopkins focuses on how the conflict between appearance and reality is presented in the Mind-Only, or Yogic Practice, School.
The Essence of Eloquence is so rich that for the last six centuries numerous Tibetan and Mongolian scholars have been drawn into a dynamic process of both finding and creating consistency in Dzong-ka-ba's often terse and cryptic tract. Hopkins makes extensive use of these commentaries to annotate the translation. Included are historical and doctrinal introductions and a critical edition of the text, as well as a lengthy synopsis to aid the general reader. Specialists and nonspecialists alike will find this important book indispensable.
Back Cover copy
"This is a scholarly tour de force, the likes of which are rarely seen in the academy."-José Ignacio Cabezón, Illif School of Theology "An exceptionally clear and detailed account of a central debate in Tibetan Buddhist scholastic philosophy."-Matthew Kapstein, University of Chicago "This is without question the finest and most complete discussion of the renowned Mind-Only school and its Tibetan context."-Anne C. Klein, author of Knowledge & Liberation, Path to the Middle "An important new contribution to our understanding of the development of Buddhist philosophical thought in Tibet."-Matthew T. Kapstein, author of The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism: Conversion, Contestation, and Memory
