The Flower Adornment Sutra - Volume Two: An Annotated Translation of the Avataṃsaka Sutra with "A Commentarial Synopsis of the Flower Adornment Sutra" (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.

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.

As a person who has been working on translations of Ancient Buddhist Chinese texts into English – especially sections of the Flower Adornment (Avatamsaka) Sutra – for over 40 years, I have a profound appreciation of the work that Bhikshu Dharmamitra has done. It must have taken many years to produce a work that was done with such meticulous care and exceptional accuracy. For Mahayana Buddhists this sacred text is considered the king of kings of sutras. Without doubt it has a special place on the top of all sacred Mahayana sutras along with the Lotus Sutra. This translation has over a thousand endnotes referring to Sanskrit terms and noting relevant information from various sources in the Buddhist Canon including the famous commentary by the Tang Dynasty National Master Qing Liang. The Flower Adornment Sutra gives one of the most detailed explanations of the Bodhisattva’s path to becoming a Buddha. The first 38 chapters describe the various stages of enlightenment traversed by the Bodhisattva. The final chapter, which makes up a quarter of the entire sutra, covers the famous spiritual pilgrimage of the Youth Sudhana in which he has over 50 personal encounters with Bodhisattvas representing all the levels of enlightenment on the path to becoming a Buddha. Bhikshu Dharmamitra has done an outstanding job in this translation!