Gone Beyond: The Prajnaparamita Sutras, The Ornament of Clear Realization, and Its Commentaries in the Tibetan Kagyu Tradition

The Abhisamayalamkara summarizes all the topics in the vast body of the Perfection of Wisdom sutras. To understand this extraordinarily condensed text, it is necessary to have the assistance of reliable Indian and Tibetan commentaries. Together, they not only discuss the hidden meaning of the Perfection of Wisdom sutras—paths and grounds—but also serve as a basis for further reflection on the explicit topic of these sutras—the principle of emptiness—and how it is to be understood on the progressive levels of realization of bodhisattvas. Thus, these texts describe what happens in the mind of a bodhisattva who meditates on emptiness, making it a living experience from the beginner's stage up through buddhahood. This study of the Abhisamayalamkara and its commentaries in the Tibetan Kagyu School includes the very first complete translation of a commentary on this text. It also closes a long-standing gap in the scholarship on the Perfection of Wisdom sutras and the literature on paths and grounds.