It’s ungraspable.. as are we …
and with this key,
with teachings and practice,
we may see…
the same applies to all…
that might seem to be
self-existing…independently…
Recently I received an email from 84000.co… who are actively translating the words of the Buddha…
Their translations, the work of the Padmakara translation group …are highly respected… and if you haven’t come across their online resource before… then there is a treat in store.
The email was to inform and to celebrate the completion of their translation of the Prajñāpāramitā teachings in 100,000 lines and also the recent translation of the Prajñāpāramitā teachings as recorded in 8,000 lines.
If you go onto their site you can listen to John Canti, the senior editor at 84000 ‘tracing the sweep of the Prajñāpāramitā literature—where it came from, why it exists in so many versions, and what it might offer anyone encountering it for the first time.’
Their Reading Room offers texts grouped into categories… and you’ll find the texts relating to the Perfection of Wisdom in the Kangyur section under the ‘Discourses’ branch of the great tree …
These vary in length …some expanded and some concise…
The long and short of these expressions is symbolically represented by ‘A’…(or the formation at the top of the home page)… the resounding of which, some of us are very familiar with!
Hearing how these recent translations had taken 10 years to complete…
I reflected on the care and time and trouble taken by all those involved through time in transcribing translating preserving and promulgating these teachings through millennia … the result being that others, such as we, might find them and come into a harmonious connection with the truth towards which they gesture…. benefitting us in this day and age.
The Buddha transmitted these profound teachings on ‘how it is’ in different ways…
When he spoke he used the language and idioms appropriate to those listening at that time…but the depth of these teachings is such that some of the brightest, including Asanga found aspects of them impenetrable…and he sought guidance from Maitreya…
So I also reflected on the great effort James Low made in studying the root texts and checking with C.R. Lama over many years…and doing his own study and practise over a lifetime …
becoming an expert translator and working to find the most apposite wording to connect with us and help us ‘get the point’….as his teacher asked… without muddying the clear water with any confusion.
There must be many thousands of lines in the books that he has written – some in the background of the photo in this ‘invitation’ – and many more in the recordings… inviting us to penetrate the truth the non-duality of form and emptiness as expressed in the Heart Sutra, the Vajraceddika and these other texts…and to actualise that wisdom, our potential for buddhahood… in our own lives for the benefit of all…
So I was inspired, with profound respect and appreciation for all the above… to recite this text…
~ There is a tradition of reading and reciting… trusting that this has an impact…thankfully even without studying all the 1000 accompanying notes! ~
Starting next Wednesday the full moon day of this month…continuing through Thursday, Friday and Saturday for about 8hrs a day…followed by the monthly quiet Sitting Sunday on 2nd August
And if I run out of speaking voice along the way… I can still shape the breath…and there’s a few weeks until I really need it back again… : )
The invitation for you, if you’d like …is to join in with this resounding in some way that fits your life, as part of this energetic expression…
From past experience … given the way we connect on-line, and with different rates of speaking…rest stops etc. I don’t think that this long recitation lends itself easily to an on-line group activity …
However … separately but together…maybe you’d like to do the same over those four days…
Reading though and gaining some familiarity with the text beforehand will greatly enrich the experience of reciting… and my little plan is below.
…or maybe you could read, write out, or recite the Heart Sutra and reflect (you can also find that here with James’ commentary)
…or engage with the Vajracchedika Prajnaparamita Sutra, an expanded version of that sutra… that James mentioned in our recently studied Macclesfield.talk 4 on Wisdom and Compassion…. [Macc. talk 13 will be the deep dive into this]
…or explore and recite some of the other shorter texts that are offered in that section on the 8400 website…
…or simply do the the practice
However we engage, we can do whatever we do… with and for the benefit of all …
Good Luck!
9-10(1hr) 10.30-11.30(2) 12-1(3) 2-3(4) 3.30-4.30(5) 5-6(6) 7-8(7) 8.30-9.30(8hrs) I reckon between 7.5 and 8.5.. all being well
Day 1 170 pages …up to Ch.3 Day 2 357 pages…up to Ch.10 Day 3 530 pages… up to Ch.20
Day4 708 pages…to End
The layout on the website is easy on the eye…whilst downloading the PDF helps with page numbers and thumbnails…
Lots of camomile tea with honey …and a teaspoon at bedtime…plus more than ‘a little something’ prepared in advance…will help the medicine go down…luxuriously : )
