This multi-faceted volume includes a collection of aphorisms, a selection of teachings on Buddhism and the arts, and two collections of late writings.

Aphorisms-- or philosophical short sayings--appear everywhere, from Confucius to Twitter, the Buddha to the Bible, Heraclitus to Nietzsche. Yet despite this ubiquity, the aphorism is the least studied literary form. What are its origins? How did it develop? How do religious or philosophical movements arise from the enigmatic sayings of charismatic leaders? And why do some of our most celebrated modern philosophers use aphoristic fragments to convey their deepest ideas? In A Theory of the Aphorism, Andrew Hui crisscrosses histories and cultures to answer these questions and more. With clarity and precision, Hui demonstrates how aphorisms-- ranging from China, Greece, and biblical antiquity to the European Renaissance and nineteenth century--encompass sweeping and urgent programs of thought. Constructed as literary fragments, aphorisms open new lines of inquiry and horizons of interpretation. In this way, aphorisms have functioned as ancestors, allies, or antagonists to grand systems of philosophy. Encompassing literature, philology, and philosophy, the history of the book and the history of reading, A Theory of the Aphorism invites us to reflect anew on what it means to think deeply about this pithiest of literary forms.

How much knowledge of the Dharma do we need? Sangharakshita’s answer might surprise some: ‘a lot less than we think’, but we need to use the knowledge we do have well. This is the teaching of the four main works in this volume. Based on seminars conducted in 1976 and 1978, each offers a lesson in how to think critically about Mahāyāna Buddhist teachings, and how to apply them to day-to-day life. They are The Way to Wisdom, on the five spiritual faculties; Living Ethically and Living Wisely, on Nāgārjuna’s Precious Garland, and Know Your Mind, which explores a Tibetan Abhidharma text.

In books, articles, interviews, and talks dating from 1965 to 2009, Sangharakshita outlines his vision of a new Buddhist movement. More recent teachings include four previously unpublished talks given between 2007 and 2009 at Buddhafield, Berlin’s Buddhistisches Tor, and other venues.

This volume contains Sangharakshita’s translations of several Pāli suttas, including the Dhammapada, the ‘best known and best loved of all Buddhist scriptures’. It also contains commentaries on the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta, the Buddha’s seminal teaching on mindfulness; the Karaṇīya Mettā Sutta, the equally essential teaching on loving kindness; the Maṅgala Sutta; and the Tiratana Vandanā. The volume concludes with The Threefold Refuge, in which Sangharakshita explores perspectives on Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels not found elsewhere in his writings.

This illuminating collection of previously unpublished talks traces the development of Sangharakshita’s presentation of the Dharma in the West from 1965 to 2011. Drawing on a wide range of sources, from the Pāli canon and The Tibetan Book of the Dead to Beowulf and William Wordsworth, there are many intriguing perspectives.

The Essential Sangharakshita was first published by Wisdom Publications in 2009. It is an anthology, arranged according to the pattern of a mandala, drawn from Sangharakshita’s writings. It expresses the author’s deep knowledge and love of the Buddhist tradition and of Western culture. Communicated clearly and warmly, there is something here to give any reader an entrance to the world of the Dharma.