Known in Chinese as Hua-yen and in Japanese as Kegon-kyo, the Avatamsaka Sutra, or Flower Ornament Scripture, is held in the highest regard and studied by Buddhists of all traditions. Through its structure and symbolism, as well as through its concisely stated principles, it conveys a vast range of Buddhist teachings.

This one-volume edition contains Thomas Cleary's definitive translation of all thirty-nine books of the sutra, along with an introduction, a glossary, and Cleary's translation of Li Tongxuan's seventh-century guide to the final book, the Gandavyuha, "Entry into the Realm of Reality."

This is a devotional text of the Mahayana tradition. It is enormous, repetitive and only really appropriate for recitation by monks and nuns or people with PLENTY of time on their hands. The most interesting books are the 10 stages and the Gandhavyuha (the final book). A lot of the writing gives body and atmosphere as a profusion of synonyms. It is very beautiful if you can read it for the reading itself, as one would chant a mantra to dissolve the excessive levels of abstraction we create in our minds.

There is a great sense of accomplishment in finishing the work, perhaps even pride. A strange sort of nostalgia comes over me now as I consider the sacrifice I made in reading it. Originality, inventiveness, functionality - so important to our modern culture - is totally absent here. The introduction is more accessible and gives a good summary of the material.

The translation is fairly free, which is understandable considering its size, but I thought the names should have been kept in the original Sanskrit. I'm not sure that is possible though, and I know the early translations to Chinese were already converting names into meanings. ( )

This Sutra is hugeness itself. As a mathematically inclined person I am interested in the incalculable numbers the Sutra describes. In chapter 30 a list of these numbers continues in a poem that results in numbers that can only be expressed by a power tower of unspeakable height. ( )