Author Description

"In each of the sections of the Diamond Sutra some type of view is being worked on: what you are involved with and how you are approaching things. You can see that one of the main wrong views working behind all other views is the subtlety of an ego-view: that there is someone, some ego-identity getting an enlightenment, and also, by the way, that the Buddha is an identity. That is not to say that the Buddha isn't, but the Buddha neither is nor is not. You have to reconcile both realms of truth: relativity - which is just a measurement- with absolute truth, total view, samma-ditthi. The sutra has you working towards that." Suchness, the Diamond State of Realization is Namgyal Rinpoche's commentary on The Diamond Sutra, one of the most famous sutras from the tradition of Mahayana Buddhism (Great Vehicle). Throughout the talks Rinpoche develops the ideas contained in the sutra and gives practical exercises for confronting views and for developing loving kindness. Suchness also contains the entire text of the translation of The Diamond Sutra used by Rinpoche, with permission obtained from the publisher. There are two appendices which give more detailed instructions for the various meditations suggested and enumeration of various concepts referred to in the book. Appendix I contains the Bodhisattva vow, Paramitas, Seven Factors of Enlightenment, Foundations of Mindfulness and more. Appendix II contains instructions, adapted from the Vissudhi-Magga and other traditional sources, for the practice of the Brahma Viharas (loving kindness, compassion, joy and divine equanimity) which Rinpoche emphasizes repeatedly in the book.