Adorning Maitreya's Intent

In Adorning Maitreya's Intent, Christian Bernert presents the first translation and study of a brilliant work by Rongton Sheja Kunrig (1367--1449), one of the greatest scholastic masters of the Sakya tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. In this commentary Rongton explains Maitreya's crucial Yogācāra treatise of Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes (Madhyāntavibhāga). Bernert's introduction is concise yet very lucid, bringing into sharp focus the history and fundamental concepts of Yogācāra philosophy and briefly discussing Rongton's life and works. His fine translation of Rongton's unbiased interpretation of Maitreya's verses is careful, accurate, and accessible. This is an illuminating book. --Cyrus Stearns, author of King of the Empty Plain and The Buddha from Dolpo Christian Bernert's translation of the commentary on Maitreya's Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes (Madhyāntavibhāga) by the famous Sakya scholar Rongton Sheja Kunrig (1367-1449) has rendered a valuable service to students of Buddhist philosophy. Maitreya's text interprets the Prajnāpāramitā doctrine of emptiness in the light of the often neglected three-nature theory. On this Yogācāra interpretation, emptiness is restricted to the imagined nature, of which the dependent and perfect natures are empty. Because this view differed from the prevailing Madhyamaka interpretation, few Tibetan masters wrote commentaries on it. Rongton's commentary stands out for its detailed analysis of the variegated topics of Maitreya's treatise following the strict logical format of Buddhist syllogisms. By offering a lucid translation and interpretation of the commentary and shedding light on its historical and doctrinal contexts, Bernert's work makes a notable contribution to the field of Buddhist Studies. --Klaus-Dieter Mathes, University of Vienna