The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyu Tradition (Nitartha Institute Series)

The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyu Tradition (Nitartha Institute Series)
Karl Brunnholzl | 2004-11-02 00:00:00 | Snow Lion Publications | 1000 | Nonfiction
Madhyamaka is a potent and universally accessible means of calming our suffering and awakening to our innate wisdom. The Center of the Sunlit Sky artfully rescues this brilliant teaching from its unwarranted reputation for intellectual opacity and reinstates it as a supremely practical toolkit for everyday living.
Reviews
For anyone interested in Madhyamaka philosophy, Brunnhölzl does an amazingly thorough job presenting it in great detail. He does not present it as an outsider describing Buddhist philosophy in a dry and academic fashion, but rather as a practitioner who has significant meditative experience. In addition to explaining the Madhyamaka point of view, Brunnhölzl gives much practical advice of how to apply it in our daily lives. The idea that all phenomena are empty of inherent nature is a core feature of Buddhism, and yet it is a concept totally foreign to our everyday way of thinking. This book has the effect of immersing the reader in an environment where the idea of emptiness becomes more and more apparent, until, finally, it is actually plain obvious common sense. The book also takes care to distinguish how the Kagyu lineage in particular views Madhyamaka philosophy, as opposed to the later Gelug tradition pioneered by Tsongkhapa.



I often read this book in preparation for analytical meditation. It really primes the pump, putting my mind in a state where the meditation comes very naturally.
Reviews
The first volume of the Nitartha Institute Series, and a studity text for Naropa University's Buddhist Studies program, The Center Of The Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka In The Kagyu Tradition presents the tradition of Madhyamaka Buddhism as more than a purely intellectual exercise, showing how it directly addresses daily life experience. Chapters discuss understanding of two realities, Madhyamaka meditation, the distinctions beteween Autonomists and Consequentialists, and much more. Overall, The Center Of The Sunlit Sky is a determined effort to publish a thorough understanding of the Kagyu view of Mad-hyamaka for Western readers. Though undoubtedly meant for those already familiar with Buddhism's basic tenets, The Center Of The Sunlit Sky presents complex philosophical and spiritual precepts in as clear and direct terms as possible for Western minds. A "must-have" for anyone seeking to better understand the Madhyamaka Buddhism as has been practiced in Tibet for centuries.



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