**A landmark publication that offers Western readers a unique
combination of what Buddhists worldwide consider the holiest of holy
texts, The Diamond Sutra and The Heart Sutra.
**
The Diamond Sutra, or the Perfection of Wisdom, which cuts like a
thunderbolt, is one of the cornerstone texts of Mahayana Buddhism and
provides a summary of the core concepts of the Buddha. The Heart
Sutra, perhaps the most important of all Buddhist texts, sets out to
formulate the very heart, or essence of perfect wisdom and is studied
with special reverence in Zen monasteries and the Tibetan Buddhist
lamaseries.
Edward Conze, who was until his death in 1979 a powerful force for
introducing Buddhism and its sacred texts to the West, has provided
these translated key texts with an extensive commentary for the easiest
possible appreciation phrase by phrase. For this new edition, Judith
Simmer-Brown, a well-known American scholar of Buddhism, has contributed
a lively, context-setting introduction.
In the annals of spirituality, certain books stand out both for their
historical importance and for their continued relevance. The Vintage
Spiritual Classics series offers the greatest of these works in
authoritative new editions, with specially commissioned essays by noted
contemporary commentators. Filled with eloquence and fresh insight,
encouragement and solace, Vintage Spiritual Classics are incomparable
resources for all readers who seek a more substantive understanding of
mankind's relation to the divine.
