The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra, taught by the Buddha in sixteen assemblies in four places during twenty-two years and recorded posthumously by his disciples in six hundred fascicles with approximately five million words, is regarded as the largest canon in Buddhism.
The translator has worked on this sutra since 2008 and has completed the whole text. The present version is, so far, the only complete presentation of this great sutra in English translated from the Chinese Da Bo Re Bo Luo Mi Duo Jing (600 Juan, or 600 fascicles), rendered from Sanskrit about 1,350 years ago (from 660 to 663) by Xuanzang (Hsuantsang, c. 602-664). This English translation appears as a set of thirty hardbound volumes, with twenty fascicles in each volume.
A translator's introduction and an extensive glossary of terms are included in volume 1.
The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra is important not only because of its extensive teaching but also because it demonstrates what the great bodhisattva, the great bodhisattva path of cultivation, and the great bodhisattva vehicle are. It also indicates how one should cultivate and learn to become a bodhisattvam -- and eventually a Buddha - transcending self-interest to reach a state of emptiness, selflessness, and nonattachment. This sutra depicts, manifests, and elaborates an entire learning process leading to Buddhahood.
Regardless of where you are on the path to enlightenment, you will be nourished by the parables and dialogues within.
Great Prajna Paramita Sutra - Volume 3, Naichen Chen (Translator), Wheatmark, Hardcover, 480 pp, $41.95
Naichen Chen (1941- ) earned a PhD in philosophy of education at the University of Florida, USA. He has served as a professor of philosophy, Buddhism, and education at universities in Taiwan and the United States. He also has 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.
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