Abhidharmakosabhasyam - Volume 1

Abhidharma Kosa Bhasyam. By Vasubandhu. Leo M. Pruden's landmark translation of Vasubandhu's encyclopedic treatment of the Abhidharma from the French of Louis de La Vallee Poussin is a stunningly meticulous work of scholarship. In the marvelous setting of a high-quality hardcover edition, it displays Professor Pruden's uncompromising dedication to bringing a complete, accurate and well-annotated rendering of the crown jewel of Abhidharma compilations into English.

The four volume (app. 1600 pp.) clothbound masterwork begins with a history of abhidharma literature and covers a vast array of subjects from a Buddhist viewpoint. Some of these subjects are Buddhist cosmology and the process of rebirth, karma and the Buddhist ethical theory, mental defilements, causes of suffering and the path to enlightenment, the supernatural powers of a Buddha, a taxonomy of meditative states and a refutation of the existence of soul.