Maitripa's Writings On The ViewThe main Indian source of the Tibetan Views of Other Emptiness and Mahamudra, book by Tony Duff
| Title | Maitripa's Writings On The View |
| Sub-title | The Main Indian Source of the Tibetan Views of Other Emptiness and Mahamudra |
| Author | Translations and extensive commentary to each text by Tony Duff |
| Details | 102 pages, line drawings, 5.5" X 8.5", US$20, available on paper and in PDF e-book format |
| ISBN | paper book 978-9937-903-17-2, e-book 978-9937-572-46-0 |
| Texts | Tibetan texts in Tibetan script included |
Maitripa was a great Indian Buddhist master who was a contemporary of Naropa. He was regarded as one of the most knowledgeable people of his time on the Buddhist view. For that reason, Naropa told Marpa the Translator that he should not get the view from him but should go to Maitripa and get it from him. Thus Maitripa became the source of the view for the Kagyu lineage. Maitripa is also famous for having re-discovered the Uttaratantrashastra of Maitreya which had been lost till that time. Having recovered the text from an old stupa, Maitreya appeared to him and transmitted the profound meaning associated with that text. In that way, Maitripa became a central figure in the transmission of what is called "the profound meditation system of Maitreya". In many ways, he was the source of the Other Emptiness (gzhan stong) style teaching of Maitreya and Asanga that came into Tibet. For all these reasons, he is regarded as an important figure within Tibetan Buddhist history and is particularly important to the Kagyu and Nyingma.
A number of Maitripa's writings were included in a compilation of important Indian Buddhist texts which is simply called "The Main Texts of India". It is a very old compilation, dating from the early days of the second wave of dharma that came into Tibet. Maitripa's writings are mostly very short and pithy and have the quality of oral teaching. These writings always deal with the view and are very important to followers of the Other Emptiness teaching because they definitely show that view.
This book is a compilation of several of these writings. They were selected from the whole set of Maitripa's writings because they very clearly show his presentation of the Other Emptiness view in both sutra and tantra contexts. There are texts on Madhyamaka, Co-emergence, Chakrasamvara practice, and so on. The book has the texts in translation with a full set of notes and commentary by the author to make the meaning of the very terse writing clear. Kagyu practitioners who are interested in the view will find the book very useful and Chakrasamvara practitioners in general will appreciate the Chakrasamvara text. The book can be previewed by downloading a free version of the book that does not have the notes and commentary from our free texts page.
We strongly recommend reading Point of Passage Wisdom, A Great Vehicle Sutra and Mipham's Lion's Roar that Proclaims Zhantong as supports for this book.
The following writings of Maitripa are included in the book:
 | Great Bliss Clarified |
| Sixty Verses on Co-Emergence |
| Utterly Clear Teaching of Unification |
| Definitive Teaching on Dreams |
| Clear Teaching on Utter Non-Dwelling |
| Full Teaching of Suchness |
| Six Verses on Madhyamaka |
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