Perfecting wisdom : how things appear and how they truly are : a commentary on the Wisdom Chapter of A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of life / the Dalai Lama ; translated, edited, and annotated by B. Alan Wallace.

"This book was previously published under the title Transcendent Wisdom."

Includes bibliographical references (pages [105]-128) and index.

Introduction: the place of wisdom in spiritual practice -- Introduction to the two truths that comprise reality -- Critique of the idealist view -- The necessity of the centrist path -- Personal identitylessness -- Phenomenal identitylessness -- Refutation of others' conceptions of true existence -- Proofs of the absence of true existence -- Encouragement to strive to realize emptiness.

"This extraordinarily clear exposition on the wisdom section of A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life is based on an oral teaching given in Switzerland by H.H. the Dalai Lama before an audience of thousands of Tibetans and Westerners in 1979. Shantideva's A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life is one of the most important texts in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhist practice. Its ninth chapter, the section on transcendent wisdom, is known among Buddhist scholars as a challenging exposition of Madhyamika philosophy and difficult to understand without a commentary. This invaluable volume with its precise elucidation of the core issues of Tibetan Buddhism stands as a key work in Buddhist literature"--