Ordinary Wisdom : Sakya Pandita's Treasury of Good Advice

by Pandita, Sakya; Davenport, John J.

• ISBN13: 9780861711611
• ISBN10: 0861711610
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-06-15
• Publisher: Wisdom Publications

Summary

A popular guide to the art of living, the Sakya Legshe--or "Treasury of Good Advice"--has been fundamental to the development of Tibetan culture and character. As in Aesop's Fables, Sakya Pandita uses proverbs and stories to address the basic question: "How are we to live peaceably with ourselves and with others?"

This is the only available English translation of the Sakya Legshe--a book that reveals the heart of the Buddhist way of life.

Author Biography

Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen (1182-1251) was a renowned scholar and Tibetan statesman who staved off a Mongolian invasion by converting Emperor Godan Khan to Buddhism. A luminary of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, his peerless erudition stands out even among a tradition known for its scholastic adepts, and many of his works have been bedrock texts for study and practice since the thirteenth century.

John Davenport is a water resources development specialist with wide experience as an aid consultant in South and East Asia and Tibet, including for the Tibetan government-in-exile. He is currently the team leader of the ADB supported Western Basins Water Resources Management Project in Herat, Afghanistan. He has served as vice president of Deer Park Buddhist Center near Madison, Wisconsin. He lives in Eugene, Oregon.

His Holiness Sakya Trizin is the revered forty-first throne holder of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism, which dates back to 1073. He is a member of the Khon family, who have been important teachers of Buddhism in Tibet since the eighth century. A brilliant master, he manifests profound wisdom and compassion, and his command of English renders his teachings particularly beneficial to students in the West. He was born in 1945 in Sakya, Tibet, and in 1959 escaped with tens of thousands of Tibetan people to India, where he continues to live and work tirelessly to rebuild the Sakya tradition. He has guided the establishment of over thirty monasteries in India and Nepal and has helped found Sakya centers around the world. His seat in North America is Tsechen Kunchab Ling in Walden, New York.
"

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Translators' Preface	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
A Jewel Treasury of Good Advice with Commentary
Introductory Verses of Praise	p. 19
The Correspondence of the Title of the Text with Sanskrit	p. 21
The Content of the Text	p. 23
Salutation to the Buddha	p. 23
Promise to Compose the Commentary by Explaining the Meaning of the Title	p. 23
An Examination of the Wise	p. 25
An Examination of the Noble	p. 53
An Examination of the Foolish	p. 71
An Examination of Both the Wise and Foolish	p. 89
An Examination of Bad Conduct	p. 111
An Examination of Natural Tendencies	p. 139
An Examination of Unseemly Tendencies	p. 171
An Examination of Deeds	p. 197
An Examination of the Dharma	p. 253
The Manner in Which the Text Was Composed	p. 295
The Conclusion: An Expression of Gratitude to the Author	p. 301
Sakya Khenpo Sangyay Tenzin's Concluding Prayer	p. 301
Notes	p. 305
Glossary	p. 319
Bibliography	p. 331
Subject Index	p. 337
Table of Contents provided by Syndetics. All Rights Reserved.