Readers are hard-pressed to find books that can help them understand the central concept in Mahayana Buddhism--the idea that ultimate reality is "emptiness." In clear language, Introduction to Emptiness explains that emptiness is not a mystical sort of "nothingness," but a specific truth that can and must be understood through calm and careful reflection.
Newland's contemporary examples and vivid anecdotes will be helpful to students trying to understand one of the great classic texts of the Tibetan tradition, Tsong-kha-pa's Great Treatise.

Introduction to Emptiness,  Tsong-kha-pa, Guy Newland, Snow Lion Publications, Paperback, 125 Pages, $14.95

Guy Newland is Professor of Religion and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Central Michigan University, where he has taught since 1988. He holds a Ph.D. in the history of religions from the University of Virginia, where he studied Tibetan Buddhism with Jeffrey Hopkins. Newland has also studied with many Tibetan scholars in the U.S. and India. He is an editor of the three-volume translation Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment and Changing MInds. He is the author of three other books on Tibetan Buddhism including Appearance and Reality.

	Contents: Introduction to Emptiness
	Author's Introduction	9
	Acknowledgments	11
	1. How to be Free	13
	2. Following the Path of Wisdom	23
	3. Our Choices Matter	33
	4. Ultimate and Conventional Radio	43
	5. Reliable Sources	51
	6. Ultimate Reality Exists Conventionally	59
	7. Intrinsic Nature	69
	8. The Two Types of Madhyamaka	77
	9. Who Am I, Really?	87
	10. From Analysis to Insight	101
	Glossary of Terms and Names	113
	Suggested Reading	123
	Notes	125