The Flower Adornment Sutra - Volume Two: An Annotated Translation of the Avataṃsaka Sutra with "A Commentarial Synopsis of the Flower Adornment Sutra": 15 (Kalavinka Buddhist Classics)

Students of Buddhism will find in this scrupulous and thoughtful translation of the massive and eloquent Avatamsaka or Flower Array Sutra an introduction to the foundation of Buddhist culture and religious practice in China for the last Thousand Years.Chan , (which became Zen in Japan), as well as the cult of the Lotus Sutra and Pure Land Buddhism, all in time became informed by the profound spirituality and vast point of view represented by the infinite Landscapes of the tales and teaching found in these three large volumes of unequalled Buddhist literary genius.Importantly this is the first actually complete presentation of these materials from the authoritative Chinese translations.With a supplemental commentary giving a needed overview of the whole work and generous footnotes and supporting apparatus, this will remain the standard work for decades to come.

Bhikṣu Dharmamitra has provided the English-speaking world with its first complete translation of Śikṣānanda's Chinese translation of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra 華嚴經. Though an earlier translation of this sūtra was completed by Cleary, that translation splices sections from the Chinese and various Sanskrit recensions together without alerting the reader to where and when these changes take place. As one of the Five Great Mahāyāna sūtras 五部大乘經, it has been much to the English-speaking Sangha's detriment that a proper edition of as crucial a work as the Avataṃsaka has remained untranslated. The sheer length of the text has deterred even the most erudite translators, and a huge debt is owed to Bhikṣu Dharmamitra for this most precious of translations.

I purchased and received the 3 set volume from the publisher after a week in putting in the order with Amazon and the texts arrived in excellent condition. These texts are truly a gem as they are the second full translation of the entire Avatamsaka / Garland / Flower Adornment / Flower Ornament Sutra in English. The other version was published by Shambhala titled the Flower Ornament Scripture translated by the late Dr. Thomas Cleary decades ago. These voluminous texts translated by Bhikshu Heng Shou / Dharmamitra are printed on heavier paper than Cleary’s and welcomed for those who want to thumb through the sutra pages for study without worry about tearing the pages. I can’t wait to dig into the sutra texts during the rainy winter months in Seattle. Peace in the Dharma.