Meditation on Emptiness: Second Revised Edition - Hardcover

by Jeffrey Hopkins (Author), Dalai Lama (Foreword by), Don Lopez (Foreword by)

A comprehensive and in-depth survey of the philosophical underpinnings of the Dalai Lama's Geluk tradition written by one of the founding figures of Tibetan Buddhist studies in the West.

In this classic work of Buddhist studies scholarship, Jeffrey Hopkins--one of the world's foremost scholar-practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism--offers a clear exposition of the Prasangika-Madhyamaka view of emptiness as presented in the Geluk tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. In bringing this remarkable and complex philosophy to life, he describes the meditational practices by which emptiness can be realized and shows throughout that, far from being merely abstract scholasticism, these classic teachings can be vivid and utterly practical.

Treating subjects ranging from the progressive path of meditation to the nature of emptiness and how it can be directly realized, this wide-ranging book guides the reader on an itinerary of intellectual and spiritual discovery, unpacking the distinctive Geluk synthesis of scholastic and meditative practices. The first study in any Western language to provide a comprehensive treatment of the doctrines and practices of a Tibetan Buddhist school, this book is indispensable for those wishing to delve deeply into Buddhist thought and its practical relevance.

Author Biography

Jeffrey Hopkins was Professor Emeritus of Tibetan Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia, where he taught Tibetan studies and Tibetan language for more than thirty years. He received a BA magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1963, trained for five years at the Lamaist Buddhist Monastery of America (now the Tibetan Buddhist Learning Center) in New Jersey, and received a PhD in Buddhist Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1973. From 1979 to 1989 he served as His Holiness the Dalai Lama's chief interpreter into English on lecture tours in the U.S., Canada, Southeast Asia, Great Britain, and Switzerland. He published more than fifty books, including Meditation on Emptiness, a seminal work of English language scholarship on Tibetan Madhyamaka thought, as well as translations of works by Tsongkhapa, Dolpopa, and His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. At the University of Virginia he founded programs in Buddhist Studies and Tibetan Studies and served as Director of the Center for South Asian Studies for twelve years. Jeffrey passed away on July 3, 2024.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and a beacon of inspiration for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. He has persistently reached out across religious and political lines and has engaged in dialogue with scientists in his mission to advance peace and understanding in the world. In doing so, he embodies his motto: "My religion is kindness."

Donald S. Lopez, Jr. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies in the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Michigan. He is the author and translator of numerous books, including Beautiful Adornment of Mount Meru, Opening the Eye of New Awareness, and In the Forest of Faded Wisdom: 104 Poems by Gendun Chopel (University of Chicago 2009).