The Perfection of Wisdom in First Bloom

"In this work we have a rare perspective on the early history of Mahayana Buddhism and the Perfection of Wisdom (Prajnaparamita). With his characteristic clarity and precision, Bhikkhu Analayo critically analyzes early Perfection of Wisdom literature by comparing two of the earliest versions of the Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita, or the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines, one in Chinese and the other in Gandhari, one of the oldest-if not the oldest-surviving Mahayana manuscripts discovered to date, along with its parallels and similar texts in Pali, Tibetan, and Sanskrit. With an astonishing command of the languages of the ancient Buddhist world, scholar-monk Bhikkhu Anåalayo sifts through the layers of history and unveils new perspectives on the ideas and figures in early Perfection of Wisdom and Mahåayåana literature, from the emerging bodhisattva ideal and its relationship with Jåataka tales to the status of women as seen in Perfection of Wisdom texts. In doing so, Bhikkhu Anåalayo reveals fresh insights into how Mahåayåana traditions developed, the motivations of their authors and supporters, and just how porous the distinctions between Mahåayåana and non-Mahåayåana were from the beginning. This is a rare opportunity to peer through a window at the very beginnings of Mahåayåana thought-before the traditions had coalesced into their familiar, modern form"--