Herbert Guenther

Professor Herbert V. Guenther (1917-2006)

Short description

Main teachers

• Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyaltsen

Students

• Jim Valby
  

Published Works

Books

• Das Seelenproblem im älteren Buddhismus, 1949.
• Yuganaddha - the Tantric View of Life, 1952
• Concept of Mind in Buddhist Tantrism, 1956
• Philosophy and psychology in the Abhidharma, 1957
• Levels of Understanding in Buddhism, 1958
• The Philosophical Background of Buddhist Tantrism, 1959-60
• sGam-po-pa - The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, 1959 - translation of the dvags po thar rgyan.
• The Life and Teaching of Naropa, 1963
• Tibetan Buddhism without mystification: The Buddhist way from original Tibetan sources, 1966
• The Royal Song of Sahara: a Study in The History of Buddhist Thought, 1969
• Buddhist Philosophy in Theory & Practice, 1972
• Tantra als Lebensanschauung, 1974
• Kindly Bent to Ease Us, vols. 1-3, 1975-6 - translation of Longchenpa's ngal gso skor gsum
• Treasures on the Tibetan Middle Way: A Newly Revised Edition of Tibetan Buddhism Without Mystification, 1976
• On Spiritual Discipline, (Dreadnaugt Press) 1975
• Mind in Buddhist Psychology: A Translation of Ye-shes rgyal-mtshan's "The Neclace of Clear Understanding", 1975 (with Leslie S. Kawamura)
• The Dawn of Tantra 1975 (with Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche)
• Tibetan Buddhism in Western Perspective, 1977
• Looking Deeper: A Swan’s Questions and Answers, 1983
• Matrix of Mystery: Scientific and Humanistic Aspects of Dzogs-chen Thought, 1985
• Creative Vision, 1988
• Visionary Journey: The Story of Wildwood Delights: The Story of The Mount Potala Delights, 1989
• From Reductionism to Creativity: RDzogs-chen and the New Sciences of Mind, 1989
• Meditation Differently: Phenomenological-psychological Aspects of Tibetan Buddhist (Mahamudra and sNying-thig) Practices from Original Tibetan Sources, 1992
• Some Aspects of rDzogs-chen Thought in Tibetan Buddhism: Reason and Revelation, 1992
• Wholeness Lost and Wholeness Regained: Forgotten Tales of Individuation from Ancient Tibet, 1994
• Ecstatic Spontaneity: Saraha's Three Cycles of Doha, 1994
• Klong-chen rab-'byams-pa Dri-med 'Od-zer - The Full-fledged Kyung-chen Bird, 1996
• The Teachings of Padmasambhava (Brill's Indological Library, Vol 12),1996

Other Translations

• "Excerpts from the Gandavyuha Sutra, II." Stepping Stones, vol.1, no.8, 1951.
• "The Natural Freedom of Mind" in Crystal Mirror IV (Dharma Press, 1975)
• "Now That I Come to Die" in Crystal Mirror V (Dharma Press, 1977)

Articles

(some of these may be short translations - if you know for sure move them up to "Other Translations"

• Das Sidat-Samgarava - eine Grammatik des klassischen Sinhalesisch." Z.D.M.G., 1942.
• "Über das ka -Suffix im Sinhalesischen und die einheimische Genuslehre." Z.D.M.G., 1943.
• "Die Buddhistische Kosmogonie." Z.D.G.M., 1946.
• "Die Sinhalesische Sandeåa-Dichtung der 14 und 15, Jahrhunderte." W.Z.K.M., 1946
• "Der Mahanagakula-Sandeåa." W.Z.K.M., 1946
• "Einige Überlieferungsgeschichtliche Bemerkungen zum Dutthagamani- Epos."W.Z.K.M., 1946.
• "Ceylon im 15, Jahrhundert." W.Z.K.M., 1946.
• "Die verwandtschafsverhaltnisse der Sinhalesischen Konige im 15 und 16, Jahrhundert." W.Z.K.M., 1947.
• "Das Geistesleben der Naturvolker und indische Welt-anschaung." Archiv Fur Volkerkunde, 1947.
• "Noun Inflexion in Old Sinhalese." Journal of the Royal Society, 1949.
• "The Conditional Mood in Sinhalese." Journal of Oriental Studies, 1949.
• "Der Begriff des Leeren im Altindoarischen." K.Z., 1950.
• "Gabe und Geber." K.Z., 1951
• "The Bodhisattva's Realm of Knowledge." Stepping Stones, vol.1, no.7, 1951.
• "In Praise of Bodhicitta." Stepping Stones, vol. 1, no. 8, 1951.
• "Friends in the Good Life." Stepping Stones, vol. 1, no. 9-10, 1951.
• "The Diamond of Omniscience." Stepping Stones, vol. 2, no. 2, 1952.
• "The Jewel of Buddhahood." Stepping Stones, vol. 2, No. 4, 1952.
• "The Origin and Spirit of Vajrayana." Stepping Stones, vol. 2, no. 7-8, 1952.
• "Our Position in Life." Stepping Stones, vol. 2, no. 7-8, 1952.
• "Ahankara and Selfishness." Stepping Stones, vol. 2, no. 6-8, 1952.
• "The Psychology of the Three Kayas." Uttara Bharati, vol. 2, no. 1, 1955.
• "Refuge." Mahabodhi, vol. 63, 1955.
• "Mantrayana aur Sahajayana." 2500 Years of Buddhism. Delhi:Government of India, 1956.
• "Mantrayana aur Sahajayana." Bauddh-dharm ke 2500 varsh. Delhi:Government of India, 1956.
• "How to Listen to Dharma." Mahabodhi, vol. 64, 1956.
• "The Concept of Mind in Buddhist Tantrism." Journal of Oriental Studies, vol. 3, 1959-60.
• "Equanimity." Mahabodhi, vol. 66, 1958.
• "The Philosophical Background of Buddhist Tantrism." Journal of Oriental Studies, vol, 4, 1959-60.
• "Levels of Understanding in Buddhism." Journal of Oriental Studies, vol. 78, no. 1, 1960.
• "Three Essentials." Middle Way, 1961.
• "A New Tibeto-Mongol Pantheon", Ragu Vira and Lokesh Chandra. Delhi, 1961.
• "Religion and Everyday Life." Middle Way, 1962.
• "Indian Buddhist Thought in Western Perspective - Infinite Transcendence versus Finiteness." History of Religions, 3, 1963.
• "Some Aspects of Tibetan Religious Thought." History of Religions, vol. 3, 1963.
• "Saraha's Song of Human Action." Middle Way, 1965.
• "Art and Thought in the Eastern World." Art Journal, Saskatchewan Society for Education Through Art, 1965.
• "Mentalism and Beyond in Buddhist Philosophy." Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 86, 1966.
• "Le Maitre Spirituel en Tibet." Hermes, 1966-67.
• "An Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism." The Tibet Society Newsletter, vol. 1, no. 7, 1967.
• "The Concept of Freedom in Cross-Cultural Perspective." Saskatchewan History Teacher's Newsletter, vol. 5, no. 1, 1968.
• "Tantra and Revelation." History of Religions, vol. 7, no. 4, 1968.
• "The Spiritual Guide as Mystical Experience." The R.M. Bucke Memorial Society Newsletter-Review, vol. 3, no. 1, 1968.
• "Guilt and Purification in Buddhist Tantrism." Proceedings of the XIth International Congress for the History of Religions, vol. 2, Leiden, 1968.
• "Tantra: Meaningful Existence." Maitreya, vol. 1, 1969, Shambala
• "Mind, Space and Aesthetic Awareness" Anjali Peradanya, 1970.
• "Absolute Perfection" in Crystal Mirror I (Dharma Press, 1971)
• "Fact and Fiction in the Experience of Being" in Crystal Mirror II (Dharma Press, 1972)
• "On 'Spiritual Discipline'" in Maitreya vol. 3, 1972, Shambala
• "The Path and the Goal." The American Theosophist, vol. 60, no. 5, 1972.
• "Fact and Fiction in the Experience of Being." Crystal Mirror, vol. 2, Emeryville: Dharma Publishing, 1972.
• "Buddhist Metaphysics and Existential Meditation" Sciences Religieuses Studies in Religion, vol, 1, no. 4, 1972.
• "Samvriti and Paramartha in Yogacara According to Tibetan Sources." Two Truths in Buddhism and Vedanta, Ed. M. Sprung, Dordrecht: D. Reidel Publishing, 1973.
• "Forward." Calm and Clear, Lama Mipham, Emeryville: Dharma Publishing, 1973.
• "The Male-Female Polarity in Oriental and Western Thought." Maitreya, 4, 1973.
• "Buddhist Mysticism." Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1974.
• "Buddhist Sacred Literature." Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1974.
• "Forward" An Introduction to Tantric Buddhism, S.B. Dasgupta, Berkeley:Shamhala, 1974.
• "The Development of Tibetan Art." Sacred Art of Tibet, Emeryville:Dharma Publishing, 1974.
• "Early Forms of Tibetan Buddhism." Crystal Mirror vol. 3, Emeryville:Dharma Publishing, 1974.
• "The Teacher and the Student." Maitreya, 5, 1974.
• "Mind is the Root." Crystal Mirror 3, Emeryville:Dharma Publishing, 1974.
• "The Male-Female Polarity in Oriental and Western Thought" in Maitreya vol. 4, 1973, Shambhala
• "Early Forms of Tibetan Buddhism" in Crystal Mirror III (Dharma Press, 1974)
• "The Teacher and the Student" in Maitreya vol. 5, 1974, Shambhala
• "A Look Into the Sky Like Mirror." Crystal Mirror 3, Emeryville:Dharma Publishing, 1974.
• "Mahamudra - The Method of Self - Actualization." The Tibet Journal 1, 1975.
• "Three Paths with a Single Goal." Gesar vol. 2, no. 4, Emeryville:Dharma Publishing, 1975.
• "Tantra and Contemporary Man." Loka, Garden City, N.Y.:Anchor Press Doubleday, 1975.
• "Towards an Experience of Being Through Psychological Purification." A Study of Klesa, ed. Genjun H. Sasaki, Tokyo:Shimizukobundo Ltd., 1975.
• "A Journey Through Life: Five Stages on the Budhist Path." Gesar vol. 3, no. 2, Emeryville:Dharma Publishing, 1975.
• "Conversations with Herbert Guenther." Gesar vol. 3, no. 1, Emeryville:Dharma Publishing, Fall 1975.
• "Tantra and Contemporary Man" in Loka (Anchor/Doubleday 1975)
• "The Activation of Inner Potential." Gesar vol. 3, no. 4, Emeryville:Dharma Publishing, Summer 1976.
• "The Road to Growth:The Budhist Way." Gesar vol. 3, no. 3, Emeryville:Dharma Publishing, 1976.
• "The Prepatory Stage." Garuda IV, The Foundations of Mindfulness, Boulder:Shambala Publications, 1976.
• "Towards Spiritual Order" in Maitreya vol. 6, 1977, Shambhala
• "The Fine Art of Translating, Interview with Dr. H.V. Guenther." Gesar vol. 4, no. 4, Emeryville:Dharma Publishing, 1978.
• "Absolute Perfection." Crystal Mirror - Journal of Tibetan Nyingma Meditation Center, Berkeley, CA , Emeryville:Dharma Publishing,
• "The Experience of Being: The Trikaya Idea in its Tibetan Interpretation." In Developments in Budhist Thought, ed. Roy C. Amore, SR Supplements 9, Waterloo:Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion, 1979.
• "Bodhisattva - The Ethical Phase in Evolution." In The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Budhism, ed. Leslie S. Kawamura, SR Supplements 10, Waterloo:Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion, 1981.
• "The Old and the New Vision." In The Evolutionary Vision, ed. Erich Jantsch, American Association for the Advancement of Science Selected Symposium no. 61, 1981.
• "Tasks Ahead." Presidential Address Given on the Occasion of the Third Conference of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Winnipeg, Canada, August 1980.
• "Meditation Trends in Early Tibet." In Early Ch'an in China and Tibet, ed. Whalen Lai and Lewis R. Lancaster, Berkeley Buddhist Studies Series 5, 1983.
• "Buddhist rDzogs-chen Thought and Western 'Daseinsanalyse'." In Buddhist and Western Psychology, ed. Nathan Katz, Boulder: Prajna Press, 1983.
• "Buddhism in Tibet" in Joseph M. Kitigawa and Mark D. Cummings (eds.) Buddhism and Asian History (Macmillan, 1987)
• "Vajrayana Buddhism and Modern Man." in One Vehicle, Journal of the National University of Singapore Buddhist Society, 1984.
• "The Existential Import of Dynamic Structures in rDzogs-chen Buddhism." In Acta Indologica, vol. VI, 1984.
• "Being's Vitalizing Core Intensity." Journal of Naritasan Institute for Buddhist Studies, no. 10, Narita, Japan, 1986.
• "Der geistige Mentor als unmittelbares Erlebnis." In Lotusblätter: Zeitschrift für Buddhismus, München, 1991.
• "Prozessdenken und buddhistische Psychologie." In Bodhibaum: Buddhistische Zeitschrift für Gesellschaft und Kultur, Wien 1993.
• "The Intensity-Immensity Singularity - A New Approach to Tantra." In Dhih - Journal of Rare
• "Basic Features of Buddhist Psychology" in John Pickering (ed.), The Authority of Experience: Essays on Buddhism and Psychology (Curzon 1997)
• "The Complexity of the Initial Condition." In The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, vol. 16, no. 2, December 1997..
• "Sound, Color, and Self-Organization." In The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, vol. 17,no. 1, 1998
• "Mandala and/or dkyil-'khor" In The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, vol. 18, no. 1, 1999
• " 'Yoga' A Tibetan Perspective" In Yoga & World - International Newsletter for Yoga Teachers and Students, no. 11 (October-December 1999) Lower Lake, C.A, In The Cosmic Light - The University of Science & Philosophy Quarterly Magazine, Spring 2000. Vol. 2 , no. 2
• "Light - An Emergent Phenomenon." In The Cosmic Light - The University of Science & Philosophy Quarterly Magazine, Autumn 1999, Vol. 1, no. 4
• "The Male-Female Complementarity." In The Cosmic Light - The University of Science & Philosophy Quarterly Magazine, Summer 2000, Vol. 2, no. 3
• "Three, Two, Five." In Journal of Integral Studies in Consciousness, Culture, Science, Spring 2000, vol. 1
• "The Homology of Emotionality and Rationality, Part I", Canadian Journal of Buddhist Studies (Number One, 2005), Nalanda College of Buddhist Studies, Toronto

Reviews

• The Experience of Buddhism: Sources and Interpretations by John S. Strong - The Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol.116 No.1, 1996

(List other reviews by H V Guenther here)

External Links

• Obituary -by Prof. Suwanda H. J. Sugunasiri
• Glossary of terms used in Herbert Guenther's translations

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