Buddha taught The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra in sixteen assemblies in four locations over twenty-two years. It was recorded posthumously by his disciples in six hundred fascicles of approximately five million words and is regarded as the largest canon in Buddhism.

For the last decade, translator Naichen Chen has worked on this sutra, and it is the only complete English translation from the Chinese Da Bo Re Bo Luo Mi Duo Jing rendered from Sanskrit about 1,350 years ago by Xuanzang (Hsuan-tsang). This is the second volume in a multi-volume set. The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra is important not only because of its extensive teaching, but because it explains what the great bodhisattva, the great bodhisattva path of cultivation, and the great bodhisattva vehicle are. It depicts, manifests, and provides guidance on how one should learn to become a bodhisattva--and eventually a Buddha--transcending self-interest to reach a state of emptiness, selflessness, and nonattachment.

Regardless of where you are on the path to enlightenment, you will be nourished by its parables and dialogues.

Great Prajna Paramita Sutra Vol 2, Naichen Chen (Translator), Wheatmark, Hardcover, 462 pp, $41.95

NAICHEN CHEN was a professor of philosophy, Buddhism, and education at universities in Taiwan and the United States. He served as the president of National Hua Lien Teachers College in Taiwan and the University of the West (formerly Hsi Lai University) in Los Angeles, California. He has authored essays and books on education, religion, and philosophy in both Chinese and English. He holds a PhD in philosophy of education from the University of Florida.