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The Tree of Enlightenment 
An Introduction to the Major Traditions of Buddhism 
by Peter Della Santina 
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Contents 

 About the Author 
 Author's Note 

Part One

 The Fundamentals of Buddhism 

01. Chapter One Buddhism A Modern Perspective 
02. Chapter Two The Pre-Buddhist Background 
03. Chapter Three The Life of the Buddha 
04. Chapter Four The Four Noble Truths 
05. Chapter Five Morality 
06. Chapter Six Mental Development 
07. Chapter Seven Wisdom 
08. Chapter Eight Karma 
09. Chapter Nine Rebirth 
10. Chapter Ten Interdependent Origination 
11. Chapter Eleven The Three Universal Characteristics 
12. Chapter Twelve The Five Aggregates 
13. Chapter Thirteen The Fundamentals in Practice 

Part Two 

The Mahayana 

14. Chapter Fourteen The Origins of the Mahayana Tradition 
15. Chapter Fifteen The Lotus Sutra 
16. Chapter Sixteen The Heart Sutra 
17. Chapter Seventeen The Lankavatara Sutra 
18. Chapter Eighteen The Philosophy of the Middle Way 
19. Chapter Nineteen The Philosophy of Mind only 
20. Chapter Twenty The Development of Mahayana Philosophy 
21. Chapter Twenty-One Mahayana Buddhism in Practice 

Part Three 

The Vajrayana 

22. Chapter Twenty-Two The Origins of the Vajrayana Tradition 
23. Chapter Twenty-Three Philosophical and Religious Foundations 
24. Chapter Twenty-Four Methodology 
25. Chapter Twenty-Five Myth and Symbolism 
26. Chapter Twenty-Six Psychology, Physiology and Cosmology 
27. Chapter Twenty-Seven The Preliminary Practices 
28. Chapter Twenty-Eight The Vajrayana Initiation 
29. Chapter Twenty-Nine Vajrayana Buddhism in Practice 

Part Four

The Abidharma 


30. Chapter Thirty An Introduction to the Abhidharma 
31. Chapter Thirty-One Philosophy and Phychology in the Abhidharma 
32. Chapter Thirty-Two Methodology 
33. Chapter Thirty-Three Analysis of Conciousness 
34. Chapter Thirty-Four The Form and Formless Spheres 
35. Chapter Thirty-Five Supramundane Consciousness 
36. Chapter Thirty-Six Analysis of the Mental States 
37. Chapter Thirty-Seven Analysis of the Thought Process 
38. Chapter Thirty-Eight Analysis of Matter 
39. Chapter Thirty-Nine Analysis of Conditionality 
40. Chapter Forty The Thirty-Seven Factors of Enlightenment 
41. Chapter Forty-One Abhidharma in Daily Life 

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About the Author (^)

Peter Della Santina was born in the USA. He has spent many years studying and teaching in South and East Asia. He received his BA. in religion from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, USA in 1972 and a MA in philosophy from the University of Delhi, India two years later. He did his Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies also from the University of Delhi, India in 1979.

He worked for three years for the Institute for Advanced Studies of world Religions, Fort Lee, New Jersey as a research scholar translating 8th century Buddhist philosophical texts from the Tibetan. He taught at several Universities and Buddhist centers in Europe and Asia including, the University of Pisa in Italy, the National

University of Singapore and Tibet House in Delhi, India. He was the Coordinator of the Buddhist Studies project at the Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore, a department of the Ministry of Education from 1983 to 1985.

More recently, he was a senior fellow at the Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Simla, India and taught Philosophy at the Fo Kuang Shan Academy of Chinese Buddhism , Kaoh-shiung, Taiwan.

For twenty-five years Peter Della Santina has been a student of H.H. Sakya Trizin, leader of the Sakya Order of Tibetan Buddhism and of eminent abets of the Sakya Tradition. He has practiced Buddhist meditation and has completed a number of retreats.

He has published several books and articles in academic journals including Nagarjuna's Letter to King Gautamiputra, Delhi 1978 and 1982 and Madhyamaka Schools In India, Delhi 1986 and the Madhyamaka and Modern Western Philosophy, Philosophy East and West, Hawaii, 1986.

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Author's Note (^)

From 1983 to 1985 when I was in Singapore engaged in the Buddhist studies project at the Curriculum Development Institute, I was invited by the Srilankaramaya Buddhist Temple and a number of Buddhist friends to deliver four series of lectures covering some of the major traditions of Buddhism. The lectures were popular, and thanks to the efforts of Mr. Yeo Eng Chen and others, they were recorded, transcribed and printed for limited free distribution to students of the Dharma. In the years since, the lectures which originally appeared in the form of four separate booklets have remained popular and have even been reprinted from time to time . Consequently, it seemed to me to be desirable to collect the four series of lectures in one volume, and after appropriate revision to publish them for the general use of the public.

In keeping with the original objectives of the lectures, this book is - as far as possible - non-technical. It is intended for ordinary readers not having any special expertise in Buddhist studies or in Buddhist canonical languages. Original language terms have therefore been kept to a minimum and foot notes have been avoided. Names of texts cited are sometimes left untranslated, but this is because the English renderings of some titles are awkward and hardly make their subject matter more clear. In brief I hope that this book will serve as the beginning of its readers' Buddhist education and not the end of it. The book can supply a general introduction to the major traditions of Buddhism, but it does not pretend to be complete or definitive. Neither can I honestly affirm that it is altogether free from errors, and therefore I apologize in advance for any that may remain in spite of my best efforts.

A number of original language terms and personal names which have by now entered the English language such as 'Dharma', 'karma', 'Nirvana' and 'Shakyamuni' have been used throughout the book in their Sanskrit forms. As for the rest, Pali original language terms, text titles and personal names have been retained in parts I and IV which are largely based on Pali sources, while Sanskrit original language technical terms, text titles and personal names have been used in parts II and III which are largely based on Sanskrit and Tibetan sources. Occasionally, this general rule has been ignored when the names of texts and persons referred to in a given context actually occur in another one of the canonical languages. In as much as Pali and Sanskrit are in most cases quite similar, I trust the average reader will have no difficulty in coping with this arrangement.

I owe a great debt to a very large number of people for the realization of this book. First and foremost, I would like to thank H.H. Sakya Trizin without whom my interest in Buddhism might well have remained superficial and merely intellectual. Next I would like to thank Yeo Eng Chen and many other members of the Singapore Buddhist community without whose help and encouragement the lectures would never have been delivered and the original transcripts on which this book is based, never made. Then, I would also like to thank a great many friends and students in Asia, Europe and America who encouraged me to think the lectures might be useful for an even wider readership.

Finally, I want to thank all those who have been involved in the actual preparation of the

present book. They include, the members of the Chico Dharma study group, specially, Jo and Jim Murphy, Victoria Scott for her help with the manuscript, L. Jamspal for his help with the original language terms, my wife Krishna Ghosh for the many hours she spent checking the manuscript, and my son Siddhartha Della Santina for the cover design and formatting of the manuscript.

In conclusion, I would like to add that by offering this book to the public, the Chico Dharma Study Group hopes to initiate a program whereby Buddhist Studies materials may be made available free of commercial considerations to students of Buddhism through a variety of media. For the time being, the present book will be available not only in hard copy, but also over the internet. In the future, the Chico Dharma Study Group plans to produce and make available important materials in the fields of Buddhist philosophy, practice and folk lore, including materials for children and young adults. We welcome the help of anyone who would like to contribute in any way to the educational activities of the group and we invite you to contact us with your suggestions.

7 July, 1997 Chico, California, USA.

 Peter Della Santina          

Chico Dharma Study Group         

26 Kirk Way, Chico, CA. 95928_ U.S.A.

E-mail: dsantina@ecst.csuchico.edu          

WWW: http://www.ecst.csuchico.edu/~dsantina/

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