Book Reviews

Author(s): J W De Jong
Publisher: J W De Jong

Page 35

REVIEWS
261
yori mo yori furui koto ni naru de aro), cf. Indogaku bukkyōgaku kenkyū, vol. XIV, 2 (1966), p. 192. Ejima's article was mentioned and discussed in 'La Légende de śāntideva' (IIJ 16, 1975, p. 164). In the same article the identity between the Nepalese Sanskrit manuscript and the biography in Vibhūticandra's commentary was clearly demonstrated (pp. 168-172).
This excellent photomechanical reprint of the Derge Tanjur will be extremely useful. The Japanese reprint of the Peking edition of the Kanjur and Tanjur has been a great stimulus to Buddhist studies. However, it is often not possible to rely on only one edition of the Tibetan Tripitaka. Many scholars have praised the excellence of the Derge Kanjur and Tanjur. Only very few libraries possess a copy of the Tibetan Tanjur from Derge. This photomechanical reprint will make it much easier to consult this edition of the Tanjur which was prepared with great care in Derge from 1737 to 1744.2 The bibliographical notes greatly add to the value of this edition. It is to be hoped that it will be possible to publish the entire Tanjur, which comprises 213 volumes, and 1 volume for the index. From September 1977 one volume has been published each month. If this rate of publication is maintained, the entire Tanjur will be available by September 1994.
Australian National University
J. W. DE JONG
NOTES
'1 Cf. Josef Kolmaš, The Iconography of the Derge Kanjur and Tanjur (New Delhi, 1978), pp. 31-32 2 Cf. Hadano Hakuyū, 'Chibetto daizõkyo engi (2): Derge-han daizõkyo, Suzuki gakujutsu zaidan kenkyū nenpo 8 (1972), p. 25.
Tsong-ka-pa, Tantra in Tibet. The Great Exposition of Secret Mantra. Introduced by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Translated & edited by Jeffrey Hopkins (The Wisdom of Tibet Series, 3). London, George Allen & Unwin, 1978. 252 pp. £ 5.95 hbk; £ 2.95 ppr.
Tson-kha-pa's two major works are the Lam-rin chen-mo and the Snags-rim chen-no. The complete title of the second work is Rgyal-ba khyab-bdag rdo-rje 'chan chen-po' lam-gyi rimpa, Gsan-ba kun-gyi gnad rnam-par phye-ba 'Exposition of the essence of all secrets. The stages on the path of the Conqueror, the Lord, the great Vajradhara'. The Snags-rim chen-mo is Tsonkha-pa's most important work on Tantrism and this translation of the first chapter is therefore very welcome. Jeffrey Hopkins's translation of the Ratnāvalī was not free from mistakes (cf. IIJ 20, pp. 136-140). The Ratnāvali is not an original Tibetan text and it is impossible to translate a work like this without a good knowledge of Sanskrit and of Indian Buddhism. Hopkins's knowledge of Buddhism seems to be based entirely upon the study of Tibetan texts and the explanations given by Tibetan masters. In view of this fact it is not surprising to see that his translation of the first chapter of the Snags-rim chen-mo is by far superior to his rendering of the Tibetan version of the Ratnāvali. It is only in rare cases that his translation is completely wrong. The most striking instance is his translation of dal-ba by 'leisure', cf. p. 166: "He [a qualified spiritual guide) will teach the ways in which leisure is meaningful and difficult to find.” Dal-ba is used in Tibetan to render Skt. ksana 'birth under favorable circumstances', cf. Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary (New Haven, 1953), s.v. Hopkins made a similar mistake in translating mi-khom by 'without leisure' and 'non-leisure'