The great Indian Buddhist master Nagarjuna wrote his celebrated poem
Letter to a Friend as
a gift of advice to a South Indian king, and it has since become a
monument in the Indian shastra tradition. Despite its short length (only
123 verses), it covers the entire Mahayana path, combining a practical
approach to daily conduct with a theoretical exposition of the different
stages leading to enlightenment. It has thus been an ideal source for
many of Tibet’s greatest scholars seeking a scriptural authority to
enhance their own descriptions of the Buddhist path.
In addition
to a new English translation of the poem presented alongside the
original Tibetan, this book includes commentary and a structural outline
by the great twentieth-century scholar Kyabje Kangyur Rinpoche.
208 pages. Paperback.