The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom: With the Divisions of the Abhisamayalankara [Repost]

The author did well in translating the short ("Perfect Wisdom: The Short Prajnaparamita Texts"), mid-length ("The Perfection of Wisdom (in 8000 lines),"this long text. They address Emptiness (Dependent Arising) in which no thing (dharma) has inherent or own-being (self-existence). Scholars now believe the mid-size version was the first, followed by condensed versions (including the Diamond & Heart Sutras) & lengthier versions (integrated into this work). Versions range from c. 100 BCE to c. 900 CE. Historically, they sought to establish the new Mahayana vehicle as superior to the older Theravada or Hinayana (a pejorative term invented by the Mahayanists) path. Just as Theravada included much Hindu mythology-relegating it to a lower level (realms of the gods such as Brahma), Mahayana included the Hinayana by relegating it to a lower level of enlightenment; later, Tibetans relegated the Mahayana to a lower path than Vajrayana by emphasizing (faster) Tantra over Sutra. Despite Conze's valuable introduction, these texts are difficult reading due to their erudite concepts & philosophy, terminology, writing style, anachronisms, monotonous repetition (e.g. several renditions of the same conversation), subtlety, poor grammar, questionable choices of English word equivalents, & the basic unevenness of the text (developed over centuries)~the Zohar. They address the profundity of physical/conventional & metaphysical/ultimate reality & their relationship to a Bodhisattva pursuing the Perfection of Wisdom (PoW ) towards full enlightenment (Buddhahood). I particularly liked Chapter 15 describing types of concentrations, 63–Q&A, & 83–clearing up enigmas. "Numerical lists" at the end add clarity, but a precise glossary would have been extremely helpful. Profound highlights-the PoW is much greater than Buddha's relics etc.; p. 366: the giver/gift/recipient are the same = the conventional world is transitive (has an object) but the ultimate is intransitive (has no object); per psychology–p. 8: "Nirvana…is signless, procedureless, without complexes, the stopping of complexes, by means of cognition;" per Vajrayana–pp. 9-10: "The idea that the thought of the Absolute…is `transparent luminosity' (pra-bhãsvara)…`thought in its substance is luminous through & through, but has become defiled by adventitious taints;'" ~the Sepher Yetzirah–p. 21: "A mystical alphabet…in some Buddhist circles;" p. 144 note 4: "Emptiness is not a property…it is mere medicine, a means of escape from all fixed convictions. It is taught so that we may overcome attachment, & it would be a pity if we were to become attached to it;" p. 173: "[Bodhisattva] should not take refuge in Buddha, Dharma, & Samgha;" per Dzogchen–p. 211: "Those who learn the doctrine…should wish to be like a magical illusion , to be like a magical creation. In consequence they hear just nothing, study nothing, realize nothing;" intransitive motivation– p. 513: "For the sake of what, then, does [the Bodhisattva] course in perfect wisdom? The Lord: For the sake of nothing whatever;" p. 594: ~Shamatha–"Feeling does not come from anyplace & does not go anywhere;" ~Judaism–p. 669: "8 precepts on the Sabbath;" "mere rule & ritual" are included in the p. 667 "4 bonds (grantha) [also religious fanaticism]," "4 graspings (upãdãna)," & p. 669: "10 fetters (samyojana);" & mindfulness is only one of the p. 668: "7 limbs of enlightenment." While there is value in reading different (even repetitive) versions of something, the knowledge density of the mid-size version greatly exceeds this one. Thus, readers with limited time are advised to read that version before attempting this one.