Introduction

In The Buddhist Voyage Beyond Death: Living Nirvana, Ven. Master Hsin Tao, a distinguished Mahayana and Vajrayana monk from Taiwan (founder of the Museum of World Religions; honored guest of the Parliament of World Religions and the World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders) offers the cure for the innate human dread of death. The Master’s teachings aim to alleviate readers’ dread of death, to illuminate the sources of their daily distress, and to empower their emotional lives as well as personal happiness. The Buddhist Voyage Beyond Death provides an answer to those grappling with their life difficulties amid negative emotions of fear, anxiety, anger, and insecurity.

Ven. Master Hsin Tao’s The Buddhist Voyage Beyond Death is exceptional in its philosophical richness and comprehensiveness and its unique style. Integrating the wisdom of a living Buddhist Master--his cosmological vision, the philosophy of both Mahayana and Vajrayana, and deep meditative practice— The Buddhist Voyage Beyond Death offers readers not only a rewarding understanding of the Buddhist cosmos, but also distinctive insights into the esoteric concepts of karma, memory matrix, the dying process, and transmigration. The approach is both poetic and philosophical, simple yet profound.

心道法師為台灣靈鷲山開山大和尚，2001年創立世界宗教博物館，並曾應邀於世界宗教會議與世界和平高峰會議中演講。在英文版《觀生死即涅槃》（The Buddhist Voyage beyond Death: Living Nirvana）一書中，心道法師點出人性中最深層的問題：對死亡的恐懼、我執、貪欲、迷惑，與痛苦。這些問題跨越文化與種族，使人心糾結，猶如墮入火山熔岩深淵般煎熬。心道法師為此人性苦海提供解藥，帶領人心從飽受煎熬的情感世界走向幸福的綠洲，法師直指人心的法教，為千萬於不安、恐懼、怨恨中浮沈的心靈，提供了一個充滿洞見的答案。

英文版《觀生死即涅槃》亦可直譯為《佛教跨越生死之旅》，是從心道法師在全球近千場演講中，摘錄與死亡議題相關的珍貴法教與對生命現象的精闢見解重新編排而成。全書分十四章節，章章皆可為案頭珍藏，供讀者時時翻閱、細細思索。書中內容包括了一個修行人的智慧、佛教的宇宙觀、大乘與金剛乘的要旨、深度禪修的世界、心的波動等等。心道師父娓娓道出他對業力、心靈記憶體、死亡瞬間、死後的徘徊、輪迴等現象獨到的解釋與揭秘。

心道法師是西藏密宗寧瑪巴派認證的轉世菩薩，他於此書中詳細闡述釋迦牟尼佛的原始教義，以及其發展為大乘與金剛乘的脈絡。心道法師在說法時巧妙結合現代電腦科技和科學概念，以相關詞彙與思維方式進行解說，比如：生命網路、記憶體……等；一方面緊扣當代精神與物理學思想，一方面依然保持佛教禪師的詼諧機智，以現代人覺得親切的方式闡述時間、空間、死亡、意識等觀念、以及能量與物質現象之間的關係，深奧卻不見艱澀，十分引人入勝。英文版翻譯文字流暢優美，亦可作為最佳英文讀物。