Emptiness in the Mind-Only School of Buddhism (Hopkins, Jeffrey. Dynamic Responses to Dzong-Ka-Ba's the Essence of Eloquence, 1.)

Dzong-ka-ba's (1357-1419) The Essence of Eloquence is the one book on wisdom that the Dalai Lama carries with him wherever he goes. Composed by Tibets great yogi-scholar and founder of the Ge-luk-ba school, it stands as a landmark in Buddhist philosophy. In this first of a three-volume series, Jeffrey Hopkins focuses on how the conflict between appearance and reality is presented in the Mind-Only, or Yogic Practice, School. The Essence of Eloquence is so rich that for the last six centuries numerous Tibetan and Mongolian scholars have been drawn into a dynamic process of both finding and creating consistency in Dzong-ka-ba's often terse and cryptic tract. Hopkins makes extensive use of these commentaries to annotate the translation. Included are historical and doctrinal introductions and a critical edition of the text, as well as a lengthy synopsis to aid the general reader. Specialists and nonspecialists alike will find this important book indispensable. "This is a scholarly tour de force, the likes of which are rarely seen in the academy." --Jose Ignacio Cabezn, Illif School of Theology "An exceptionally clear and detailed account of a central debate in Tibetan Buddhist scholastic philosophy." --Matthew Kapstein, University of Chicago