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Eastern Classics

ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS TR. WATSON

ANALECTS OF CONFUCIUS TR. WATSON

By: Watson, Burton
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Compiled by disciples of Confucius in the centuries following his death in 479 B.C.E., The Analects of Confucius is a collection of aphorisms and historical anecdotes embodying the basic values of the Confucian tradition: learning, morality, ritual decorum, and filial piety. Reflecting the model eras of Chinese antiquity, the Analects offers valuable insights into successful governance and the ideal organization of society. Filled with humor and sarcasm, it reads like a casual conversation between teacher and student, emphasizing the role of the individual in the attainment of knowledge and the value of using historical events and people to illuminate moral and political concepts.

Confucius's teachings focus on cultural and peaceful pursuits and the characteristics of benevolent and culturally distinguished government. He also discusses ancestor worship and other rites performed for the spirits of the dead. The single most influential philosophical work in all of Chinese history, The Analects of Confucius has shaped the thought and customs of China and neighboring countries for centuries. Burton Watson's concise translation uses the pinyin romanization system and keeps explanatory notes to a minimum, yet his intimate knowledge of the Confucian tradition and precise attention to linguistic detail capture the original text's elegance, cogency, and wit.

AWAKENED COSMOS: THE MIND OF CLASSICAL CHINESE POETRY

AWAKENED COSMOS: THE MIND OF CLASSICAL CHINESE POETRY

By: Hinton, David
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A deep and radically original exploration of Taoist and Ch'an (Zen) Buddhist wisdom through the lens of the life and work of Tu Fu, widely considered China's greatest classical poet.

What is consciousness but the Cosmos awakened to itself? This question is fundamental to the Taoist and Ch'an (Zen) Buddhist worldview that shapes classical Chinese poetry. A uniquely conceived biography, Awakened Cosmos illuminates that worldview through the life and work of Tu Fu (712-770 C.E.), China's greatest classical poet. Tu Fu's writing traces his life from periods of relative normalcy to years spent as an impoverished refugee amid the devastation of civil war. Exploring key poems to guide the reader through Tu Fu's dramatic life, Awakened Cosmos reveals Taoist/Ch'an insight deeply lived across the full range of human experience.

Each chapter presents a poem in three stages: first, the original Chinese; then, an English translation in Hinton's masterful style; and finally, a lyrical essay that discusses the untranslatable philosophical dimensions of the poem. The result is nothing short of remarkable: a biography of the Cosmos awakened to itself in the form of a magisterial poet alive in T'ang Dynasty China.

Thirty years ago, David Hinton published America's first full-length translation of Tu Fu's work. Awakened Cosmos is published simultaneously with a newly translated and substantially expanded version of that landmark translation: The Selected Poems of Tu Fu: Expanded and Newly Translated (New Directions).

BASIC WRITINGS MO TZU TR. WATSON

BASIC WRITINGS MO TZU TR. WATSON

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Mozi (fifth century B.C.) was an important political and social thinker and formidable rival of the Confucianists. He advocated universal love--his most important doctrine according to which all humankind should be loved and treated as one's kinfolk--honoring and making use of worthy men in government, and identifying with one's superior as a means of establishing uniform moral standards. He also believed in the will of Heaven and in ghosts. He firmly opposed offensive warfare, extravagance--including indulgence in music and allied pleasures--elaborate funerals and mourning, fatalistic beliefs, and Confucianism.
BASIC WRITINGS TR. WATSON

BASIC WRITINGS TR. WATSON

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Trenchant, sophisticated, and cynical, Han Feizi has been read in every age and is still of interest today when people are more than ever concerned with the nature and use of power. Han Feizi (280?-233 B.C.), a prince of Han, was a representative of the Fa-chia, or Legalist, school of philosophy and produced the final and most readable exposition of its theories. His handbook for the ruler deals with the problems of strengthening and preserving the state, the way of the ruler, the use of power, and punishment and favor. Ironically, the ruler most influenced by Han Feizi, the king of Qin, eventually sent Han Feizi to prison, where he later committed suicide.
BHAGAVAD GITA IN MAHABHARATA TR.VAN BUITENEN

BHAGAVAD GITA IN MAHABHARATA TR.VAN BUITENEN

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No other Sanskrit work approaches the Bhagavadgita in the influence it has exerted in the West. Philosophers such as Emerson and the other New England Transcendentalists were deeply affected by its insights, a dozen or more scholars, including Annie Besant and Mahatma Gandhi, have attempted its translation, and thousands of individuals struggling with the problems divided loyalties have found comfort and wisdom in its pages.

The Bhagavadgita ("Song of the Lord") tells of the young and virtuous Prince Arjuna who is driven to lead his forces into battle against an opposing army composed of close relatives and others whom he loves. The Lord Krsna, appearing in the poem as Arjuna's friend and charioteer, persuades him that he must do battle, and we see Arjuna changing from revulsion at the thought of killing members of his family to resignation and awareness of duty, to manly acceptance of his role as warrior and defender of his kingdom.

The Bhagavadgita is a self-contained episode in the Mahabharata, a vast collection of epics, legends, romances, theology, and metaphysical doctrine that reflects the history and culture of the whole of Hindu civilization. The present edition forms a part of J. A. B. van Buitenen's widely acclaimed translation of this great work. Here English and Sanskrit are printed on facing pages, enabling those with some knowledge of Sanskrit to appreciate van Buitenen's accurate rendering of the intimate, familial tone and directness of the original poem.

CLASSICAL CHINESE FOR EVERYONE: A GUIDE FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS

CLASSICAL CHINESE FOR EVERYONE: A GUIDE FOR ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS

By: Van Norden, Bryan W
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In just thirteen brief, accessible chapters, this engaging little book takes "absolute beginners" from the most basic questions about the language (e.g., what does a classical Chinese character look like?) to reading and understanding selections from classical Chinese philosophical texts and Tang dynasty poetry.

"An outstanding introduction to reading classical Chinese. Van Norden does a wonderful job of clearly explaining the basics of classical Chinese, and he carefully takes the reader through beautifully chosen examples from the textual tradition. An invaluable work." --Michael Puett, Harvard University

COMPANION TO GONDA SANSKRIT REV.

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COMPLETE WORKS OF ZHUANGZI tr. Watson

COMPLETE WORKS OF ZHUANGZI tr. Watson

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Only by inhabiting Dao (the Way of Nature) and dwelling in its unity can humankind achieve true happiness and freedom, in both life and death. This is Daoist philosophy's central tenet, espoused by the person--or group of people--known as Zhuangzi (369?-286? B.C.E.) in a text by the same name. To be free, individuals must discard rigid distinctions between good and bad, right and wrong, and follow a course of action not motivated by gain or striving. When one ceases to judge events as good or bad, man-made suffering disappears and natural suffering is embraced as part of life.

Zhuangzi elucidates this mystical philosophy through humor, parable, and anecdote, deploying non sequitur and even nonsense to illuminate a truth beyond the boundaries of ordinary logic. Boldly imaginative and inventively worded, the Zhuangzi floats free of its historical period and society, addressing the spiritual nourishment of all people across time. One of the most justly celebrated texts of the Chinese tradition, the Zhuangzi is read by thousands of English-language scholars each year, yet only in the Wade-Giles romanization. Burton Watson's pinyin romanization brings the text in line with how Chinese scholars, and an increasing number of other scholars, read it.

DIAMOND SUTRA & SUTRA OF HUI-NENG

DIAMOND SUTRA & SUTRA OF HUI-NENG

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Two classic Zen Buddhist texts that present the foundational teachings of the tradition--now collected in one volume for the modern practitioner

The Diamond Sutra, composed in India in the fourth century CE, is one of the most treasured works of Buddhist literature and is the oldest existing printed book in the world. It is known as the Diamond Sutra because its teachings are said to be like diamonds that cut away all dualistic thought, releasing one from the attachment to objects and bringing one to the further shore of enlightenment. The format of this important sutra is presented as a conversation between the Buddha and one of his disciples.

The Sutra of Hui-neng, also known as the Platform Sutra, contains the autobiography of a pivotal figure in Zen history and some of the most profound passages of Zen literature. Hui-neng (638-713) was the sixth patriarch of Zen in China but is often regarded as the true father of the Zen tradition. He was a poor, illiterate woodcutter who is said to have attained enlightenment upon hearing a recitation of the Diamond Sutra. Together, these two scriptures present the central teaching of the Zen Buddhist tradition and are essential reading for all students of Buddhism.

DIAMOND SUTRA TR RED PINE

DIAMOND SUTRA TR RED PINE

By: Pine, Red
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A masterful translation of the Diamond Sutra, an essential Zen Buddhist scripture--with insightful commentary and helpful historical context.

Zen Buddhism is often said to be a practice of mind-to-mind transmission without reliance on texts--in fact, some great teachers forbid their students to read or write. But Buddhism has also inspired some of the greatest philosophical writings of any religion, and two such works lie at the center of Zen: The Heart Sutra, which monks recite all over the world, and The Diamond Sutra, said to contain answers to all questions of delusion and dualism.

This is the Buddhist teaching on the perfection of wisdom and cuts through all obstacles on the path of practice. As Red Pine explains: The Diamond Sutra may look like a book, but it's really the body of the Buddha. It's also your body, my body, all possible bodies. But it's a body with nothing inside and nothing outside. It doesn't exist in space or time. Nor is it a construct of the mind. It's no mind. And yet because it's no mind, it has room for compassion. This book is the offering of no mind, born of compassion for all suffering beings. Of all the sutras that teach this teaching, this is the diamond.

Difference Between Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism; Attaining Enlightenment in This Very Existence; Meanings of Sound, Word, and Reality

Difference Between Exoteric and Esoteric Buddhism; Attaining Enlightenment in This Very Existence; Meanings of Sound, Word, and Reality

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EARLY BUDDHIST DISCOURSES TR.HOLDER

EARLY BUDDHIST DISCOURSES TR.HOLDER

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Twenty discourses from the Pali Canon--including those most essential to the study and teaching of early Buddhism--are provided in fresh translations, accompanied by introductions that highlight the main themes and set the ideas presented in the context of wider philosophical and religious issues. Taken together, these fascinating works give an account of Buddhist teachings directly from the earliest primary sources.

In his General Introduction, John J. Holder discusses the structure and language of the Pali Canon--its importance within the Buddhist tradition and the historical context in which it developed--and gives an overview of the basic doctrines of early Buddhism.

EASTERN CLASSICS MANUAL SPRING

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ESSAYS IN IDLENESS AND HOJOKI " Record of the Ten-Foot Square Hut tr. McKinney

ESSAYS IN IDLENESS AND HOJOKI " Record of the Ten-Foot Square Hut tr. McKinney

By: Chomei
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Two of the most important Buddhist tracts from Japan

A Penguin Classic

Both of these works on life's fleeting pleasures are by Buddhist monks from medieval Japan, but each represents a different worldview. In Essays in Idleness, his lively and sometimes ribald collection of anecdotes, advice, and observations, Kenko displays his fascination with earthly matters. In the short memoir Hojoki, or The Ten Foot Square Hut, however, Chomei recounts his decision to withdraw from worldly affairs and live as a hermit.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

ESSAYS IN IDLENESS tr. Keene

ESSAYS IN IDLENESS tr. Keene

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Written sometime between 1330 and 1332, the Essays in Idleness, with their timeless relevance and charm, hardly mirror the turbulent times in which they were born. Despite the struggle between the Emperor Go-Daigo and the usurping Hojo family that rocked Japan during these years, the Buddhist priest Kenko found himself "with nothing better to do, jotting down at random whatever nonsensical thoughts have entered my head." The resulting essays, none of them more than a few pages in length and some consisting of but two or three sentences, treat a great variety of subjects in a congenial, anecdotal style. Kenko clung to tradition, Buddhism, and the pleasures of solitude, and the themes he treats are all suffused with an unspoken acceptance of Buddhist beliefs. Above all, Kenko gives voice to a distinctively Japanese aesthetic principle: that beauty is bound to perishability.
FOUR HUTS

FOUR HUTS

By: Watson, Burton
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This beloved Eastern classic on living simply and in harmony with nature is back as part of the new Shambhala Pocket Library series.

The short works collected in Four Huts give voice to one of the most treasured aesthetic and spiritual ideals of Asia--that of a simple life lived in a simple dwelling. The texts were written between the ninth and the seventeenth centuries and convey each author's underlying sense of the world and what is to be valued in it. Four Huts presents original translations by Burton Watson--one of the most respected translators of Chinese and Japanese literature. The qualities that emerge from these writings are an awareness of impermanence, love of nature, fondness for poetry and music, and an appreciation of the quiet life. Four Huts features eleven brush paintings by renowned artist Stephen Addiss.

FUNDAMENTAL WISDOM MIDDLE WAY TR. GARFIELD

FUNDAMENTAL WISDOM MIDDLE WAY TR. GARFIELD

By: Garfield, Jay L
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The Buddhist saint Nāgārjuna, who lived in South India in approximately the second century CE, is undoubtedly the most important, influential, and widely studied Mahāyāna Buddhist philosopher. His many works include texts addressed to lay audiences, letters of advice to kings, and a set of penetrating metaphysical and epistemological treatises. His greatest philosophical work, the Mūlamadhyamikakārikā--read and studied by philosophers in all major Buddhist schools of Tibet, China, Japan, and Korea--is one of the most influential works in the history of Indian philosophy. Now, in The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way, Jay L. Garfield provides a clear and eminently readable translation of Nāgārjuna's seminal work, offering those with little or no prior knowledge of Buddhist philosophy a view into the profound logic of the Mūlamadhyamikakārikā.
Garfield presents a superb translation of the Tibetan text of Mūlamadhyamikakārikā in its entirety, and a commentary reflecting the Tibetan tradition through which Nāgārjuna's philosophical influence has largely been transmitted. Illuminating the systematic character of Nāgārjuna's reasoning, Garfield shows how Nāgārjuna develops his doctrine that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, that is, than nothing exists substantially or independently. Despite lacking any essence, he argues, phenomena nonetheless exist conventionally, and that indeed conventional existence and ultimate emptiness are in fact the same thing. This represents the radical understanding of the Buddhist doctrine of the two truths, or two levels of reality. He offers a verse-by-verse commentary that explains Nāgārjuna's positions and arguments in the language of Western metaphysics and epistemology, and connects Nāgārjuna's concerns to those of Western philosophers such as Sextus, Hume, and Wittgenstein.
An accessible translation of the foundational text for all Mahāyāna Buddhism, The Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way offers insight to all those interested in the nature of reality.
GITA GOVINDA LOVE SONG OF DARK LORD TR. STOLER-MILLER

GITA GOVINDA LOVE SONG OF DARK LORD TR. STOLER-MILLER

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Jayadeva's dramatic lyrical poem Gitagovinda is one of the most important works in Indian literature and a source of religious inspiration in both medieval and contemporary Vaishnavism. Revealing an intense earthly passion to express the complexities of divine and human love, its songs are an important part of Indian devotional music and literature.

The twentith anniversary edition of the renowned translation by noted scholar Barbara Stoler MIller brings this classic to a new generation of readers and offers fresh insights for those familiar with the text.

GRAND SCRIBES RECORDS: BASIC ANNALS PRE HAN CHINA

GRAND SCRIBES RECORDS: BASIC ANNALS PRE HAN CHINA

By: Ch'ien, Ssu-Ma
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"An essential source for the study of events in early China, a guide to the moral philosophy of the gentlemen of Han, and a splendid work of literature which may be read for the pleasure of its style and the power of its narrative. ... This work makes Shi ji and its scholarship accessible to any reader of English, and it is a model for any work in this field and style." --Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

"Through such work as this, the scholarly and literary community of the West will learn more of the splendour and romance of early China, and may better appreciate the lessons in humanity presented by its great historian." --Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

"Nienhauser's new translation is scrupulously scholarly... the design of this series is nearly flawless... the translation itself is very precise..." --Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews

This project will result in the first complete translation (in nine volumes) of the Shih chi (The Grand Scribe's Records), one of the most important narratives in traditional China. Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145-c.86 B.C.), who compiled the work, is known as the Herodotus of China.

GREAT IMAGE HAS NO FORM, OR ON THE NONOBJECT THROUGH PAINTING

GREAT IMAGE HAS NO FORM, OR ON THE NONOBJECT THROUGH PAINTING

By: Jullien, François
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In premodern China, elite painters used imagery not to mirror the world around them, but to evoke unfathomable experience. Considering their art alongside the philosophical traditions that inform it, The Great Image Has No Form explores the "nonobject"--a notion exemplified by paintings that do not seek to represent observable surroundings.

François Jullien argues that this nonobjectifying approach stems from the painters' deeply held belief in a continuum of existence, in which art is not distinct from reality. Contrasting this perspective with the Western notion of art as separate from the world it represents, Jullien investigates the theoretical conditions that allow us to apprehend, isolate, and abstract objects. His comparative method lays bare the assumptions of Chinese and European thought, revitalizing the questions of what painting is, where it comes from, and what it does. Provocative and intellectually vigorous, this sweeping inquiry introduces new ways of thinking about the relationship of art to the ideas in which it is rooted.

HAN 1 RECORDS GRAND HISTORIAN

HAN 1 RECORDS GRAND HISTORIAN

By: Sima, Qian
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Sima Qian (145?-90? BCE) was the first major Chinese historian. His Shiji, or Records of the Grand Historian, documents the history of China and its neighboring countries from the ancient past to his own time. These three volumes cover the Qin and Han dynasties.
HAN 2 RECORDS GRAND HISTORIAN

HAN 2 RECORDS GRAND HISTORIAN

By: Sima, Qian
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This second volume of the history of the Han dynasty consists of chapters dealing principally with the reign of Emperor Wu, one of the most energetic and strong-willed of China's Rulers. Here the historian is chronicling events he has witnessed and writing of the men he personally knows or has known. In Nagano Hozan's (1783-1837) words, He makes us see in our minds the character of the men of the time, and this is why he is a great historian.:
HEART OF DOGEN'S SHOBOGENZO

HEART OF DOGEN'S SHOBOGENZO

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Two of Dōgen's most esteemed translators provide key chapters from his Zen masterpiece, the Shōbōgenzō, in English with annotations to guide the reader.
HOLY TEACHING OF VIMALAKIRTI: A MAHAYANA SCRIPTURE

HOLY TEACHING OF VIMALAKIRTI: A MAHAYANA SCRIPTURE

By: Thurman, Robert A F
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This book presents the major teachings of Mahāyāna Buddhism in a precise, dramatic, and even humorous form. For two millennia this sūtra, called the "jewel of the Mahāyāna Sūtras," has enjoyed immense popularity among Mahāyāna Buddhists in India, central and southeast Asia, Japan, and especially China, where its incidents were the basis for a style in art and literature prevalent during several centuries.

Robert Thurman's translation makes available, in relatively nontechnical English, the Tibetan version of this key Buddhist scripture, previously known to the English-speaking world only through translations from Chinese texts. The Tibetan version is generally conceded to be more faithful to the original Sanskrit than are the Chinese texts. The Tibetan version also is clearer, richer, and more precise in its philosophical and psychological expression. The books of the sūtra are accompanied by an introduction by Dr. Thurman and by three glossaries: Sanskrit terms, numerical categories, and technical terms.

INTRODUCTION TO SANSKRIT PART 1

INTRODUCTION TO SANSKRIT PART 1

By: Egenes, Thomas
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INTRODUCTION TO SANSKRIT PART 2

INTRODUCTION TO SANSKRIT PART 2

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KUKAI: MAJOR WORKS

KUKAI: MAJOR WORKS

By: Kūkai
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Kukai, more commonly known by the honorific Kobo Daishi, was one of the great characters in the development of Janpanese culture. He was active in literature, engineering, calligraphy, and architecture and is represented in this work in terms of his major effort--the introduction of esoteric Buddhism from China, which resulted in the formation of the Shingou sect still active in Japan. Eight of his works are presented here.
LOTUS SUTRA TR. WATSON

LOTUS SUTRA TR. WATSON

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Since its appearance in China in the third century, The Lotus Sutra has been regarded as one of the most illustrious scriptures in the Mahayana Buddhist canon. The object of intense veneration among generations of Buddhists in China, Korea, Japan, and other parts of the world, it has had a profound impact on the great works of Japanese and Chinese literature, attracting more commentary than any other Buddhist scripture.

As Watson notes in the introduction to his remarkable translation, " The Lotus Sutra is not so much an integral work as a collection of religious texts, an anthology of sermons, stories, and devotional manuals, some speaking with particular force to persons of one type or in one set of circumstances, some to those of another type or in other circumstances. This is no doubt why it has had such broad and lasting appeal over the ages and has permeated so deeply into the cultures that have been exposed to it."

MAHABHARATA 1 TR. VAN BUITENEN

MAHABHARATA 1 TR. VAN BUITENEN

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The Mahabharata, an ancient and vast Sanskrit poem, is a remarkable collection of epics, legends, romances, theology, and ethical and metaphysical doctrine. The core of this great work is the epic struggle between five heroic brothers, the Pandavas, and their one hundred contentious cousins for rule of the land. This is the first volume in what will ultimately become a multi volume edition encompassing all eighteen books.
MAHABHARATA 2 TR. VAN BUITENEN

MAHABHARATA 2 TR. VAN BUITENEN

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The Mahabharata, an ancient and vast Sanskrit poem, is a remarkable collection of epics, legends, romances, theology, and ethical and metaphysical doctrine. The core of this great work is the epic struggle between five heroic brothers, the Pandavas, and their one hundred contentious cousins for rule of the land. This is the second volume of van Buitenen's acclaimed translation of the definitive Poona edition of the text. Book two, The Book of the Assembly Hall, is an epic dramatization of the Vedic ritual of consecration that is central to the book. Book three, The Book of the Forest, traces the further episodes of the heroes during their years in exile. Also included are the famous story of Nala, dealing with the theme of love in separation, and the story of Rama, the subject of the other great Sanskrit epic, the Ramayana, as well as other colorful tales.