CLASSICS OF INDIAN BUDDHISM
A new translation series

The flourishing of Buddhism in South Asia during the first millennium of the Common Era produced many texts that deserve a place among the classics of world literature. Probing the depths of the human condition and the limits of language and reason, these texts have the power to edify and entertain a wide variety of readers. Unfortunately, many of them have never been translated into Western languages, or have been translated in such a way that they are accessible only to specialists and determined Buddhist practitioners.

The Classics of Indian Buddhism series has been established to publish accessible translations, primarily from Sanskrit, of important texts from the Buddhist traditions of South Asia. Each volume will contain a single text and may range dramatically in size. An introductory essay will place the text in its intellectual and historical context, and the translations will otherwise be presented free of commentary. This series of texts central the Mahayana Buddhist tradition is imagined to be parallel to Wisdom’s Teachings of the Buddha series of translations of the Pali Nikayas.

Scholars benefit greatly from the existence of accurate and readable translations of core texts. The Dalai Lama frequently touts the importance for Buddhist practitioners to gain a secure grounding in the Nalanda tradition. Scientists and philosophers have been increasingly open to the insights developed in classical Indian literature. And on the widest level, the recognition is steadily growing that the intellectual traditions and internal technologies of non-Western cultures have an important, even vital, role to play in the long-term health of the world community.

Wisdom Publications and the editorial board for the series is working hard to establish Classics of Indian Buddhism as a respected venue for translations that will stand the test of time as scripture, scholarship, and literature.

Editorial Board
Andy Rotman, Smith College, chair
Paul Harrison, Stanford University
Jens-Uwe Hartmann, University of Munich
Sara L. McClintock, Emory University
Parimal Patil, Harvard University
Akira Sait, University of Tokyo
David Kittelstrom, Wisdom House Editor

. . Divine Stories Divyavadana Part 1 Andy Rotman, The Divyavadana is an enormous compendium of Indian Buddhist narratives written in Sanskrit from the early centuries of the Common Era, whose stories have since spread throughout Asia, as both narrative and narrative art, leaving an indelible mark on Buddhist thought and practice. The stories in the collection were frequently used in the education of both monastics and laity in premodern Asia, exerting a powerful influence as moral exempla and legal precedent, and they were considered by many to be the word of the Buddha himself. These stories were likewise canonical in their influence on Buddhist art. Representations of these stories can be found across Asia, from Kizil in China to Sanchi in India to Borobudur in Indonesia. It is not hyperbole to say that these are some of the most influential stories in the history of Buddhism. The stories presented here, among the first texts to be inscribed by Buddhists, highlight the moral economy of karma, illustrating how gestures of faith, especially offerings, can bring the reward of future happiness and ultimately liberation. Click here to return to the complete Classics of Indian Buddhism Series ISBN:0-86171-295-1_|_528 pages_|_Our Price: $19.96 (20% OFF)_|_More Info Nagarjuna’s Middle Way Mulamadhyamakakarika Mark Siderits, Author Shoryu Katsura, Author Nagarjuna's renowned twentyseven-chapter Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way (Mulamadhyamakakarika), the definitive, touchstone presentation of the doctrine of emptiness, is the foundational text of the Madhyamaka school of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy. Professors Siderits and Katsura prepared this translation using the four surviving Indian commentaries in an attempt to reconstruct an interpretation of its enigmatic verses that adheres as closely as possible to that of its earliest proponents. Each verse is accompanied by concise, lively exposition by the authors conveying the explanations of the Indian commentators. The result is a translation that balances the demands for fidelity and accessibility. ISBN:1-61429-050-4_|_368_|_Our Price: $23.16 (20% OFF)_|_More Info

Prospective Translators
Manuscript Submission Guidelines can be found here http://wisdompubs.org/Pages/manuscripts.lasso

Benefactors
If you are interested in partnering with Wisdom to help fund a translation or underwrite production costs enabling  the Classics of Indian Buddhism series to flourish more information can be found here http://wisdompubs.org/Pages/cib_benefactors.lasso

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