BUDDHIST TEXT TRANSLATION SOCIETY

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The Surangama Sutra, Volume 1, 248 pages, $8.50. This first volume contains Tripitaka Master Hua's detailed explanation of the first nine of the Ten Doors to Discrimination. The tenth door, the specific explanation of the meaning of the text begins with a preface, which describes events leading up to Sakyamuni Buddha's expounding of this Sutra. When Ananda asks for instruction, the Buddha uses precise logical arguments in a brilliant dialogue with Ananda to refute all his disciple's intellectual stances. After miraculous displays of light, designed each time to bring Ananda to sudden awakening, the Buddha then patiently and cleverly expounds Dharma to out-wit the functions of Ananda's conditioned consciousness and reveal to him the inherent enlightenment of all beings.

The Dharani Sutra, 352 pages, $12.00. Manual for understanding the cultivation of the Great Compassion Mantra and Great Compassion Mudras, this Sutra contains line-by-line explanations of these Dharmas in the commentary of Tripitaka Master Hsuan Hua. More than a hundred woodcut illustrations of Kuan Yin Bodhisattva's transformations illumine the text. A manual of healing, remedies and formulas, blessed always by the mantra, are described in detail.

The Dharma Flower Sutra, Volume I Introduction, 66 pages, $3.95. This first volume contains a detailed discussion of the Five Periods and Eight Teachings and of the Five Profound Meanings as they apply to this Sutra. A descriptive biography of Kumerajiva, who translated the Sutra from Sanskrit to Chinese, is also part of this volume. Lively and easy to read, the Master's commentary brings the Buddhadharma to the Western world in his unfolding of the orthodox oral tradition expressing the mind-seal of all Buddhas.

The Dharma Flower Sutra Volume II, Chapter 1, Introduction, 357 pages, $7.95. This first chapter contains a dialogue between Maitreya Bodhisattva and Manjusri Bodhisattva regarding the six portents manifested by Sakyamuni Buddha on Vulture Peak, near the City of the House of Kings. Manjusri remembers to same portents being manifested by the former Sun-Moon-Lamp Buddha prior to his speaking of the Dharma Flower Sutra and surmises that Sakyamuni Buddha is about to do the same. Information on the lives of the Buddha's disciples and detailed explanations of the terms and concepts basic to an understanding of the Buddhadharma are contained in the Venerable Master Hua's commentary. The Buddha's teaching now blooms, lotus-like, in the Western world. Volume complete with outline and index.

The Sixth Patriarch Sutra, 380 pages, $10 soft cover; $15 hard cover. Understand the mind and see the nature, is exactly what the Sixth Patriarch, the Great Master Hui Neng did. Without reading the words, he could listen and explain the principles of the Dharma Flower Sutra to Bhiksuni Wu Chin Tsang; without exchanging a word, he could pinpoint what was on Bhiksu Fa Da's mind; with unassuming clarity, he could predict the coming of Patriarch Ma Tzu a generation in advance; without hesitation he could seal and certify the One Enlightened Overnight; with apt analogies he counters young Shen Hui's extreme views. The Dharmas of prajna, repentance and reform, samadhi and wisdom, and sudden and gradual are elucidated in the Sutra.

The Sutra in Forty-two Sections, 94 pages, $4.00. Forty-two lessons for us all, these sections aim at cutting away confusion at its root and piercing through to clear understanding and pure practice. The lessons are universal, such as those expressed in the twelfth section: "...It is difficult to abandon life and face the certainty of death...it is difficult to be born at the time of a Buddha...It is difficult to bear lust and desire...it is difficult to be insulted and not become angry. It is difficult not to gossip."

COMING IN 1978:

Avatamsaka Sutra: Preface by T'ang Dynasty National Master Ch'ing Liang, the succinct verse commentary to the overwhelming profusion of the Avatamsaka (Hua-yen) Sutra by the T'ang Dynasty Master known as a transformation body of Avatamsaka Bodhisattva, presents the Sutra's profound principles in concise and elegant form: explained for modern readers in the appended commentary by the Venerable Master Hua.

Avatamsaka Sutra: The Ten Grounds, Chapter Twenty-six, part one. The Buddhist Text Translation Society will be publishing the chapters of the Avatamsaka Sutra (Hua-yen) Sutra with commentary by the Venerable Master Hua in separate volumes to make them rapidly accessible to the public. The Ten Grounds chapter details the Bodhisattva's ten successive stages of cultivation and achievement just prior to achieving Enlightenment equal to that of a Buddha. Part one includes the introduction and the First Bodhisattva Ground, Happiness, which corresponds to the Perfection of Giving.

Avatamsaka Sutra: The Ten Dwellings, Chapter Fifteen. The major stages passed through by Bodhisattvas after an initial perfection of the Ten Faiths are: the Ten Dwellings, the Ten Practices, the Ten Transferences, the Ten Grounds, Equal Enlightenment and Wonderful Enlightenment. During the course of the Ten Dwellings, the Bodhisattva truly brings forth the great thought for Bodhi, is reborn in the household of the Thus Come One, and receives Annointment of the Crown. The inconceivable practices and attainments of the Bodhisattva in these ten initial stages on the Path are described and commented upon by the Venerable Master Hua.