Tantric Buddhist Practice in India : Vilasavajra’s commentary on the Manjusri-namasamgiti Paperback / softback

by Anthony Tribe

Part of the Routledge Studies in Tantric Traditions series

Paperback / softback

Out of stock

Description

Using a commentary on the influential text, the MaÃ±juÅ›rÄ«-nÄmasaá¹ƒgÄ«ti, â€˜The Chanting of the Names of MaÃ±juÅ›rÄ«â€™, this book deals with Buddhist tantric meditation practice and its doctrinal context in early-medieval India.

The commentary was written by the 8th-9th century Indian tantric scholar VilÄsavajra, and the book contains a translation of the first five chapters.

The translation is extensively annotated, and accompanied by introductions as well as a critical edition of the Sanskrit text based on eight Sanskrit manuscripts and two blockprint editions of the commentaryâ€™s Tibetan translation. The commentary interprets its root text within an elaborate framework of tantric visualisation and meditation that is based on an expanded form of the Buddhist Yoga Tantra mandala, the VajradhÄtu-maá¹‡á¸ala.

At its heart is the figure of MaÃ±juÅ›rÄ«, no longer the familiar bodhisattva of wisdom, but now the embodiment of the awakened non-dual gnosis that underlies all Buddhas as well their activity in the cosmos. The book contributes to our understanding of the history of Indian tantric Buddhism in a period of significant change and innovation.

With its extensively annotated translation and lengthy introductions the book is designed to appeal not only to professional scholars and research students but also to contemporary Buddhists.