A tribute to teachings of Buddhist masters

His Holiness the Dalai Lama was recently presented a set of books that talk of the teachings of great Indian Buddhist masters.

Buddha may not be around us anymore in body, but he continues to live on through several Buddhist masters, who impart his teachings and spread his message of love, peace and harmony. Based on the works of a few such great Indian Buddhist masters, is a beautifully produced set of books: Padmasambhava, The Great Indian Pandit written by Neten Chokling Rinpoche and Nagarjuna, the Second Buddha by Mohini Kent. These were presented to His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the Capital on December 11.

“Nagarjuna is someone for whom I have immense admiration. As soon as I wake up in the morning, I recite a verse he wrote in praise of the Buddha and his explanation of emptiness,” says His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

This is the inaugural volume of a series of six books that include four other masters — Atisha, Kumarajiva, Boddhidharma and Naropa, to be published by Wisdom Tree. The book Nagarjuna consists of rare artworks and revolves around the master’s timeless wisdom while capturing the various legends associated with his life. Padmasambhava, adorned with beautiful illustrations, talks of India’s timeless Buddhist heritage and of the great master whose teaching influenced Tibet to give up its imperialistic ways.

Talking about the Buddhist masters, Shobhit Arya, founder, Wisdom Tree, says, “This series of books reminds us that it wasn’t just Buddha, but the Second Buddha, Boddhidharma and several great Indian Buddhist masters that have passed on the message of loving kindness to the world. It is only befitting that another great master and one of the most loved and revered sons of India, HH the Dalai Lama has blessed these books.”