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by: John W. Pettit  Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 294.34 EAN: 9780861711574 ISBN: 0861711572 Label: Wisdom Publications Manufacturer: Wisdom Publications Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 576 Publication Date: November 25, 1999 Publisher: Wisdom Publications Studio: Wisdom Publications Related Items:
Editorial Review: Product Description: For centuries, Dzogchen a special meditative practice to achieve spontaneous enlightenment has been misinterpreted by both critics and meditators as being purely mystical and anti-rational. In the grand spirit of Buddhist debate, 19th century Buddhist philosopher Mipham wrote Beacon of Certainty, a compelling defense of Dzogchen that employs the very logic it was criticized as lacking. Through lucid and accessible textural translation and penetrating analysis, Pettit presents Mipham as one of Tibet's greatest thinkers. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Translation is better than mostTranslation of Tibetan texts is notoriously difficult, both for the precise nature of some of the technical terms and for some idiosyncracies of the Tibetan language. And within Tibetan literature, two of the most difficult genres to translate are Madhyamaka and Dzogchen. John Pettit here translates a text that is a cross-section of these genres. Many other translators have approached this material and have created texts that are either turgid or so full of literary flights of fancy that the results ... Read More Rating: - Priceless text supported with solid apparatusGo for it. If you're thinking of taking the plunge here, go for it. I won't bother explaining the virtues of Mipham's text, or of the supporting Tibetan materials Pettit supplements it with here. They speak for themselves. (Incidentally, the 19th Century Mipham Rinpoche who wrote the Beacon and plenty of other invaluable texts, including advice on Kalachakra, is reputedly reincarnated as the cheerful marathon-running Saykyong Mipham Rinpoche who teaches in North America. I'd like the ... Read More Rating: - Point Well-Taken, But in All FairnessA previous reviewer has pointed out that the introductory text and translation of Mipham's Beacon of Certainty are inaccessible for their use of non-standard terminology, Latin terms and so forth. The author ought to acknowledge these observations gratefully, but as someone who has written a book that is in nearly every respect identical to the one under discussion, I have some idea of what goes into the translation and writing of such a book, and also why in this case the use of Greek- and Latin-based ... Read More Rating:  - a quintessential text with somewhat inaccessible translationWhile the mere availability of this text in english is certainly extraordinary and invaluable, the translation and writing will obstruct some of its benefit for most readers. The author's reliance on latin terminology, as well as an unwillingness to use conventional and/or literal tranlations of sanskrit and tibetan terms, makes this a difficult read. I would never describe this book as "readable"- just the opposite. As noted in other reviews, there is a wealth of information in the chapters leading up ... Read More Rating: - correction!previous review should say "200 years" NOT "20 years" thank you, and apologies! 
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