Nagarjuna is renowned for his penetrating analysis of reality. In the Precious Garland he offers intimate counsel on how to conduct one's life and how to construct social policies that reflect Buddhist ideals. The advice for personal happiness is concerned first with improving one's condition over the course of lifetimes and then with release from all types of suffering, culminating in Buddhahood. Nagarjuna describes the cause and effect sequences for the development of happiness within ordinary life as well as the practices of wisdom realizing emptiness and compassion that lead to enlightenment. He describes a Buddha's qualities and offers encouraging advice on the effectiveness of practices that reveal the vast attributes of Buddhahood.

In his advice on social and governmental policy, Nagarjuna emphasizes education, compassionate care for all living beings, not using the death penalty but reforming criminals, and charity for the homeless Calling for the appointment of government figures who are not seeking profit or fame, he advises that a selfish motivation will lead to misfortune.

The book includes a detailed analysis of attachment to sensual objects as a preparation for realization of the profound truth that, when realized, makes attachment impossible.

Buddhist Advice for Living & Liberation, Nagarjuna, Analyzed, Translated and Edited by Jeffrey Hopkins, Snow Lion Publications, 283 pages, $26.95

Nagarjuna (circa 2nd Centry C.E.), one of Buddhism's greatest philosophers, has held continuous attention of Buddhist scholars in Asia since his own day. Even today he comamnds the greatest attention in the Western world insfoar as philosophic Mahayana tradition is concerned. Though he did not establish a school of a system fo thought as such, he did attract such overwhelming interest and appeal on the part of the masses by way of his unique writings that a tradition of a sort soon arose during his lifetime and a large following in consquence of it. His ideas though subtle and profound, carried such deep understanding and implications of fundamental Buddhist truths that they will influence, one way or another, all or most the subsequent Mahayana developments in India, China, Tibet, Korea and Japan.

	Technical Note	6
	Preface	7
	Part One: Analysis	8
	1 Nagarjuna's Biography from Tibetan Sources: The Importance of Altruistic Persons in Cosmic Time	9
	2 Advice for Living	22
	3 Advice for Liberation	46
	4 Compassion and Wisdom in Public Policy	74
	5 The Vehicles	84
	Part Two: Precious Garland of Advice for a King	92
	Translator's Remarks	93
	1 High Status and Definite Goodness	94
	2 The Interwoven	109
	3 Collections for Enlightenment	121
	4 Royal Policy	134
	5 Bodhisattva Deeds	149
	Part 3: Tibetan Text	165
	Guide to the Topics: Tibetan	234
	Emendations to the Tibetan Text	257
	Bibliography.	263
	Guide to the Topics: English	269
	Endnotes	281