Saraha's Spontaneous Songs

“For the first time the most important work of spiritual poetry from late Buddhist India is now available together with its only existing Sanskrit commentary as well as the defining commentary for the reception of Saraha’s poetry in Tibet. Together these three major works illuminate a rich and dynamic period of Buddhist thought and practice. A magnificent achievement.”–Kurtis Schaeffer, author of Dreaming the Great Brahmin

Klaus-Dieter Mathes is a professor of Buddhist studies at the University of Hong Kong and was previously the head of the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna. His current research deals with exclusivism, inclusivism, and tolerance in Mahayana Buddhism. He obtained a Ph.D. from Marburg University and completed his habilitation at Hamburg University. His major publications include a study of the Yogacara text Dharmadharmatavibhaga (published in 1996 in the Indica et Tibetica series), A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Gö Lotsawa’s Mahamudra Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhaga, and Maitripa: India’s Yogi of Nondual Bliss.

Péter-Dániel Szántó started his studies at ELTE Budapest (Tibetology, Indology). He read for a DPhil in Oxford, where he also held two junior research fellowships (Merton College, All Souls College). He also worked as a postdoc in Hamburg and Leiden and was visiting professor at Leiden and Vienna. He is currently associate professor at ELTE Budapest, where he is also head of the Department of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies. His main research areas include esoteric Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, Sanskrit belles-lettres, and medieval South Asian history.