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Prajñāpāramitā Series

English (11) | Español (1) | བོད་ཡིག (11)


Prajñāpāramitā

Courtesy of Himalayan Art Resources

Further Information:

Beyond words, beyond thought, beyond description, Prajñāpāramitā

Unborn, unceasing, the very essence of space

Yet it can be experienced as the wisdom of our own awareness:

Homage to the mother of the buddhas of past, present and future!

The following texts are now available as part of our Prajñāpāramitā (shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa) and Abhisamayālaṃkāra (mngon rtogs rgyan) Series:

Sūtras

Perhaps the most famous of all Mahāyāna sūtras, the Heart Sūtra is so named because it encapsulates the heart or essence of the transcendent perfection of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā).

This edition of the famous Heart Sūtra complete with additional material, including a section for averting obstacles, is arranged for recitation.

In this (Tōh. 23), the shortest of the Prajñāpāramitā or Perfection of Wisdom sūtras, the Buddha teaches the syllable ‘A’, which encapsulates the transcendent perfection of wisdom and all the literature related to it.

Commentaries

Summarizing the entire text of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, but with special focus on the first of the eight topics, omniscience, this concise overview serves as a useful introduction to Maitreyanātha's famous guide to the Prajñāpāramitā. Written in 1875 to mark the enthronement of the Fifth Dzogchen Rinpoche.

Having identified the Abhisamayālaṃkāra as one of the five treatises of Maitreyanātha, Khenpo Shenga explains the features of each of the five texts in this collection, before focusing on the Ornament of Realization itself, which he discusses under five rubrics: its author, sources, category, theme, and purpose.

Studied in Nyingma colleges, or shedra (bshad grwa), before the full study of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, this text covers the following topics: various ways of identifying the founders of the Prajñāpāramitā commentarial tradition, the sūtras which the Abhisamayālaṃkāra explains, the 21 Indian commentaries on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, and the most important commentarial works studied in the Nyingma tradition.

This commentary, known as The Words of Jigme Chökyi Wangpo, briefly presents the each of the eight principal topics and seventy points of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, following the explanation of Patrul Rinpoche (whose full name is Orgyen Jigme Chökyi Wangpo). It is thus a useful summary of, and guide to, both the root text and Patrul Rinpoche's own famous 'overview' (spyi don) commentary.

In this practical guide to meditating on the teachings of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, as outlined in Maitreya's Abhisamayālaṃkāra, Patrul discusses the attitude and training of a bodhisattva. He repeatedly emphasises the fact that enlightened activity for others' benefit—and not simply realization—is the ultimate goal.

This short commentary (Tōh. 4353) on the secret mantra or tantric meaning of the famous Heart Sūtra is attributed to the Atiyoga teacher Śrī Siṃha. According to the colophon, he gave this explanation to his disciple Vairocana, who put it into writing and taught it to King Trisong Detsen.

Topical Outlines

This short topical outline reveals the various topics and subtopics conveyed within the famous Heart Sūtra or Sūtra of the Heart of Transcendent Wisdom.

Sādhanas

A short practice of visualization and mantra recitation focused on the Great Mother (yum chen) Prajñāpāramitā in her golden, four-armed appearance.

Related Topics

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