Nirvana Sutra Book Discussion - TBD DATE (Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra)

Dear Dharma Drink Friends,

PLACE HOLDER - TBD DATE

We're planning to embark on another Dharma book reading, the Nirvana Sutra (The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra). NO DATE SET YET, but want to put this on your radar.

This sutra elaborates on Buddha-nature and serves as a doctrinal confirmation for the many Mahayana lineages. We plan on reading the first half of the sutra, from chapter 1-26. My understanding is that the first half covers the foundation and systematic exposition. The second half, chapters 27-32, consists of elaborations through bodhisattva dialogues. We'll make a decision later if or when to read the 2nd half.

Read Chapters
- Ch 1 - Intro
- Ch 2 - On Cunda
- Ch 3 - On Grief

Discussion Preparation:
Please prepare 5 or more points of interests or questions per chapter.

Per BDK America: "One of the most influential Buddhist texts in East Asia, the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, or Nirvana Sutra, takes the occasion of Śākyamuni Buddha’s last sermon to present a thoroughly Mahāyāna message in which buddhas are mythically eternal yet a constant presence in our temporal world..."

Per Amazon's Dr Tony Page and Kosho Yamamoto book description: "This sutra is the study of what can be called "Nirvana Sutra Buddhism" or "Tathagatagarbha Buddhism". It is a very positive, balanced, faith-promoting and spiritually affirmative manifestation of Buddhism, which recognizes the hidden reality of the unconditioned, egoless Buddha-Self in all beings..."

The translation we plan to use is translated by Kosho Yamamoto:
https://www.shabkar.org/download/pdf/Mahaparinirvana_Sutra_Yamamoto_Page_2007.pdf

There appears to be Amazon versions, likely different additions:

• Amazon: The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra
• Amazon: Nirvana Sutra: A Translation of Dharmakshema's Northern version

ALSO NOTE: that we are here to read, exchange and help each other. We’re not here to expound. If you need deeper learnings, please go visit a Buddhist teaching center.

Eddie