A groundbreaking study of the lost tradition of Tibetan Zen containing the first translations of key texts from one thousand years ago.
SAM VAN SCHAIK received his PhD in Tibetan Buddhist literature from the University of Manchester, England. He currently works at the British Library's international Dunhuang Project in London, researching early Tibetan manuscripts, and is the author of Tibet- A History (Yale, 2011).
"Tibetan Zen is an unprecedented work. Van Schaik’s explanations
expand our notion of just what Tibetan Buddhism was—and is—while
his translations offer contemporary readers the opportunity to
expand their own minds by engaging classic Zen writings from a
deeply creative period of Buddhism."—Kurtis R. Schaeffer,
University of Virginia
"The Chinese character Zen (禪) has two parts that mean ‘symbolize
the single’ or ‘inseparable meaning,’ while the great Kagyu master
Phagmodrupa says nonduality is Mahamudra. Therefore, there is no
essential difference between Zen, Mahamudra, and Dzogchen
teachings."—His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon Chetsang, author of
The Practice of Mahamudra
"This selection of some core texts of Tibetan Zen provides us with
another map through the mysteries of our human hearts and minds and
helps us walk our own way to realization. How wonderful!"—James
Ishmael Ford, author of Zen Master Who?
"In this beautifully written book, Sam van Schaik guides his reader
into a lost world, bringing the Dunhuang manuscripts to life
through his careful analyses. The result is a comprehensive
presentation of an extinct and in many ways unique Buddhist
tradition, a study whose brilliant insights into early esoteric
ritual, the bodhisattva precepts, and much more shed light on the
origins of both Tibetan Buddhism and Chinese Chan/Zen.—Jacob P.
Dalton, author of The Taming of the Demons
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