In a recent episode of Peach Tree World News, Geshe Michael Roach shared exciting news with viewers: after seven years of dedicated work, he and Nick Lashaw have completed the translation of The Sixty Verses by the legendary Buddhist philosopher Arya Nagarjuna.
Geshe Michael recorded this message from his home, where he is currently taking care of his wife Veronica, who recently underwent a total knee replacement surgery. Despite his caretaker duties, he remains deeply involved in his translation work — a tradition he follows every year, dedicating a month to focus intensely on completing major translation projects for the Mixed Nuts organization and the Diamond Cutter Classics series.
This time, the focus was on one of Nagarjuna’s most challenging texts. The Sixty Verses, though not as widely known as Nagarjuna’s Root Text on Wisdom or his letters to kings, is an extraordinary work that delves deeply into the logic of emptiness — a core concept in Buddhist philosophy. Geshe Michael emphasized that the reason this book isn’t as famous is precisely because of its difficulty. Nagarjuna’s teachings on emptiness were often misunderstood, with many thinking they implied that nothing matters or exists, which is far from the true meaning.
The translation project was further enriched by the discovery of rare notes from Gyaltsab Je, a top student of Tsongkapa, who took personal notes during teachings on this very text. Thanks to John Brady’s ALL project team, these notes were recovered and included in the translation, adding immense value and authenticity to the work.
The newly completed manuscript is titled Nothing Is the Way It Seems: The Sixty Verses of Nagarjuna. It features Nagarjuna’s original text, a commentary by Gyaltsab Je, and extensive modern notes. Geshe Michael revealed that the manuscript is about 500 pages long and that, in two years, it will serve as the basis for a new DCI (Diamond Cutter Institute) course, helping people apply these ancient insights to achieve business and personal success.
One striking insight Geshe Michael shared from his research was how only one particular verse from The Sixty Verses consistently survived in Buddhist literature across 2,000 years. This verse emphasizes that personal negativity — like anger or impatience — does not simply stop by itself. Instead, one must eliminate the root cause: misunderstanding the true nature of reality. In Geshe Michael’s words, “You cannot stop the anger directly — you have to wear out the cause by understanding that everything comes from seeds in your mind.”
This powerful teaching, surviving across millennia, remains as relevant today as it was during Nagarjuna’s time. Geshe Michael concluded his talk by expressing gratitude to the Peach Tree World News team and encouraging everyone to reflect on this profound message.
