Prajnaparamita Translations & Commentaries

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Nalanda
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Prajnaparamita Translations & Commentaries

Post by Nalanda »

Are all of the Prajnaparamita translated already in English? Where could I access them?

And what are the essential commentaries to ready / study?
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Zhen Li
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Re: Prajnaparamita Translations & Commentaries

Post by Zhen Li »

Nalanda wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:59 pm Are all of the Prajnaparamita translated already in English? Where could I access them?
The chart here gives a breakdown of currently available translations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prajnapar ... anslations

The "Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and its Verse Summary" is probably the most accessible version. You can find a PDF on google.

While they have flaws, the Conze translations are all decent. The 84000 translation of the Ten Thousand Line version is also good.

For the Diamond Sutra, the Red Pine one is okay, but I suggest looking for Paul Harrison's version. I am preparing a translation of my own from 8 different versions, and will post a link on DW when it's eventually finished.

Don't bother with the Naichen Chen translations of "The Great Prajna Paramita Sutra." I don't know what his translation methodology is, but it's not working and they are poor translations.

There's essentially no decent translation of the full 25,000 line version or 100,000 line version. Conze's "The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom" is a bit of a mishmash but might be a good place to start.

For translations from Chinese, BDK is going to publish a translation of (I think) Kumārajīva's Xiaopin version soon by Matt Orsborn and Lewis Lancaster. So, that should be pretty good.
Nalanda wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:59 pm And what are the essential commentaries to ready / study?
The four-volume Abhisamayālaṃkāra with Vṛtti and Ālokā translated by Gareth Sparham is the main one from Sanskrit. It is essentially a verse commentary (Abhisamayālaṃkāra) by Maitreyanātha, with two sub-commentaries (Vṛtti and Ālokā) by Vimuktisena and Haribhadra. The Haribhadra one is maybe the most helpful. The way Sparham prepared the text is such that you can essentially read the Sūtra through the commentaries. There are PDFs of this online. If you can't find it just PM me.

From Chinese, the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra, translated by Étienne Lamotte and Gelongma Karma Migme Chödrön.
https://www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book ... ita-sastra

This is a bit of a master commentary that is 100 fascicles in Chinese. It is attributed to Nāgārjuna and comments on the 25,000 line version. The translation isn't complete, but this site posts what is essentially in 5 volumes, so it's really a massive work. I have only gone through it a bit, but it's really a treasure trove and also contains a lot of Lamotte's own insights and appendices which are just as interesting as the core text.
Nalanda
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Re: Prajnaparamita Translations & Commentaries

Post by Nalanda »

84000.co and FPMT haven't done translations on this? :o
IF YOU PRACTICE WITH A STRONG BELIEF IN WHAT
YOU ARE DOING, THEN THERE IS NO LIMIT TO WHAT
YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH WITH YOUR PRACTICE.

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Svalaksana
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Re: Prajnaparamita Translations & Commentaries

Post by Svalaksana »

Zhen Li wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:53 am
Nalanda wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:59 pm Are all of the Prajnaparamita translated already in English? Where could I access them?
The chart here gives a breakdown of currently available translations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prajnapar ... anslations
Thank you for your kind and comprehensive reply as usual, Zhen Li. Seems like Gareth Sparham's translation of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra would be a useful purchase for those looking acquire a better understanding of the subject.

I've recently acquires both volumes of "Gone Beyond", by Karl Brunnhölzl, whilst waiting for a discount on "Groundless Paths" as well. Would you say thay these works can be helpful too?
Looking but not seeing - that's my eye.
Thinking but not minding - that's my mind.
Speaking but not expressing - that's my tongue.
Traveling but not going - that's my path.
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Zhen Li
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Re: Prajnaparamita Translations & Commentaries

Post by Zhen Li »

Svalaksana wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 2:00 pm
Zhen Li wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 7:53 am
Nalanda wrote: Tue Jan 18, 2022 8:59 pm Are all of the Prajnaparamita translated already in English? Where could I access them?
The chart here gives a breakdown of currently available translations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prajnapar ... anslations
Thank you for your kind and comprehensive reply as usual, Zhen Li. Seems like Gareth Sparham's translation of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra would be a useful purchase for those looking acquire a better understanding of the subject.

I've recently acquires both volumes of "Gone Beyond", by Karl Brunnhölzl, whilst waiting for a discount on "Groundless Paths" as well. Would you say thay these works can be helpful too?
I haven't read them, but Gone Beyond is another sub-commentary on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra from the Kagyu tradition. So, it's continuing on in the same vein as Haribhadra and Vimuktisena. Some people find Indian commentaries to be a bit pedantic, so Gone Beyond might be clearer for a contemporary reader. If you already have it, maybe you should start with that.

I found some of the Tsadra translations to be lacking but that one looks very good and well-annotated.

"Groundless Paths" is also the same kind of work, but from the Nyingma tradition.

There's definitely an argument to be made that you should familiarise yourself well with the sūtra before digging into the commentaries. Personally, I find that you can gain a lot from just reading the sūtra without the centuries of layers of Madhyāmaka and Yogācāra philosophy. Put yourself in the shoes of someone from the 1st century BCE hearing this for the first time. Just a suggestion.
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Javierfv1212
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Re: Prajnaparamita Translations & Commentaries

Post by Javierfv1212 »

IMO, the best versions of the longer sutras so far are Matt Orsborn's and the 84000 one.
It is quite impossible to find the Buddha anywhere other than in one's own mind.
A person who is ignorant of this may seek externally,
but how is it possible to find oneself through seeking anywhere other than in oneself?
Someone who seeks their own nature externally is like a fool who, giving a performance in the middle of a crowd, forgets who he is and then seeks everywhere else to find himself.
— Padmasambhava

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Malcolm
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Re: Prajnaparamita Translations & Commentaries

Post by Malcolm »

Zhen Li wrote: Thu Jan 20, 2022 7:21 am
"Groundless Paths" is also the same kind of work, but from the Nyingma tradition.
The AA commentary by Paltrul is basically just a crib of Tsongkhapa’s AA commentary. So, one should just get Sparhams translation of Tsongkhapa’s commentary.
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