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With its emphasis on the concept of buddha-nature, or the ultimate nature of mind, the Uttaratantra is a classical Buddhist treatise that lays out an early map of the Mahāyāna path to enlightenment. Tsering Wangchuk unravels the history of this important Indic text in Tibet by examining numerous Tibetan commentaries and other exegetical texts on the treatise that emerged between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. These commentaries explored such questions as: Is the buddha-nature teaching found in the Uttaratantra literally true, or does it have to be interpreted differently to understand its ultimate meaning? Does it explicate ultimate truth that is inherently enlightened or ultimate truth that is empty only of independent existence? Does the treatise teach ultimate nature of mind according to the Cittamātra or the Madhyamaka School of Mahāyāna? By focusing on the diverse interpretations that different textual communities employed to make sense of the Uttaratantra, Wangchuk provides a necessary historical context for the development of the text in Tibet.
Acknowledgments
Introduction

General Remarks
Textual Historical Background

Part I. Early Period: Kadam Thinkers Rescue the Treatise

1. Rise of the Uttaratantra in Tibet: Early Kadam Scholars Revitalize the Newly Discovered Indian Exegesis

Introduction
Ngok and Chapa on the Pervasive Nature of the Buddha-Body
Ngok and Chapa on Definitive or Provisional Nature in the Uttaratantra
Ngok and Chapa on the Uttaratantra as a Last Wheel Treatise
Buddha-Element as a Conceived Object
Ngok and Chapa Differ on Emphasis
Conclusion

2. Sowing Seeds for Future Debate: Dissenters and Adherents

Introduction
Sapen, the Dissenter
Rikrel, the Third Karmapa, and Sangpu Lodrö Defend the Uttaratantra
Rinchen Yeshé’s Proto Other-Emptiness Presentation of the Uttaratantra, and Butön’s Reply
Conclusion

Part II. The Pinnacle Period: the Other-Emptiness Interpretation Spreads

3. Other-Emptiness Tradition: The Uttaratantra in Dölpopa’s Works

Introduction
Predominance of the Last Wheel Scriptures
Is the Uttaratantra a Cittamātra Text or a Madhyamaka Text?
Classification of Cittamātra
Classification of Madhyamaka
Conclusion

4. The Uttaratantra in Fourteenth-Century Tibet

Introduction
Sazang Follows in His Master’s Footsteps
Two Fourteenth-Century Kadam Masters’ Uttaratantra Commentaries
Longchenpa’s View on the Uttaratantra
Conclusion

Part III. The Argumentation Period: Self-Emptiness Proponents criticize Other-Emptiness Approach

5. Challenges to the Purely Definitive Nature of the Uttaratantra: Zhalu Thinkers Criticize Dölpopa

Introduction
Butön’s Ornament
Dratsépa’s Commentary
Conclusion

6. Challenges to the Supremacy of the Uttaratantra: Rendawa and Tsongkhapa on Tathāgata-essence Literature

Introduction
Rendawa on the Uttaratantra and the Tathāgata-Essence Literature
Tsongkhapa on the Uttaratantra and the Tathāgata-Essence Literature
Conclusion

7. Gyeltsap’s Commentary on the Uttaratantra: A Critique of Dölpopa’s Interpretation of Tathāgata-essence Literature

Introduction
Middle Wheel and Last Wheel Teachings
Definitive Meaning and Provisional Meaning
Self-Emptiness and Other-Emptiness
Conclusion

Conclusion
General Remarks
Completing the Cycle

Notes

Bibliography
Tibetan Language Works Cited
English Language Works Cited

Index

Sujets

Philosophie

Philosophie de la religion

History of religions

Tibetan Buddhism

Buddhism

Informations

Publié par	State University of New York Press
Date de parution	21 février 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781438464671
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	11 Mo

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The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows
The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows
Tibetan Thinkers Debate the Centrality of the Buddha-Nature Treatise
TSERING WANGCHUK
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2017 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production, Eileen Nizer
Marketing, Anne M. Valentine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Wangchuk, Tsering, author
Title: The Uttaratantra in the land of snows: Tibetan thinkers debate the centrality of the buddha-nature treatise / Tsering Wangchuk: author.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, [2017] Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: ISBN 9781438464657 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438464671 (e-book)
Further information is available at the Library of Congress.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my loving family and in memory of Awu, Amnyé, and Gen Lozang Gyatso
Contents
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
I NTRODUCTION
General Remarks
Textual Historical Background
P ART I.
E ARLY P ERIOD : K ADAM T HINKERS R ESCUE THE T REATISE
C HAPTER 1
Rise of the Uttaratantra in Tibet: Early Kadam Scholars Revitalize the Newly Discovered Indian Exegesis
Introduction
Ngok and Chapa on the Pervasive Nature of the Buddha-Body
Ngok and Chapa on Definitive or Provisional Nature in the Uttaratantra
Ngok and Chapa on the Uttaratantra as a Last-Wheel Treatise
Buddha-Element as a Conceived Object
Ngok and Chapa Differ on Emphasis
Conclusion
C HAPTER 2
Sowing Seeds for Future Debate: Dissenters and Adherents
Introduction
Sapen, the Dissenter
Rikrel, the Third Karmapa, and Sangpu Lodrö Defend the Uttaratantra
Rinchen Yeshé’s Proto Other-Emptiness Presentation of the Uttaratantra , and Butön’s Reply
Conclusion
P ART II.
T HE P INNACLE P ERIOD : T HE O THER -E MPTINESS I NTERPRETATION S PREADS
C HAPTER 3
Other-Emptiness Tradition: The Uttaratantra in Dölpopa’s Works
Introduction
Predominance of the Last-Wheel Scriptures
Is the Uttaratantra a Cittamātra Text or a Madhyamaka Text?
Classification of Cittamātra
Classification of Madhyamaka
Conclusion
C HAPTER 4
The Uttaratantra in Fourteenth-Century Tibet
Introduction
Sazang Follows in His Master’s Footsteps
Two Fourteenth-Century Kadam Masters’ Uttaratantra Commentaries
Longchenpa’s View on the Uttaratantra
Conclusion
P ART III.
T HE A RGUMENTATION P ERIOD : S ELF -E MPTINESS P ROPONENTS C RITICIZE O THER -E MPTINESS A PPROACH
C HAPTER 5
Challenges to the Purely Definitive Nature of the Uttaratantra : Zhalu Thinkers Criticize Dölpopa
Introduction
Butön’s Ornament
Dratsépa’s Commentary
Conclusion
C HAPTER 6
Challenges to the Supremacy of the Uttaratantra : Rendawa and Tsongkhapa on Tathāgata-Essence Literature
Introduction
Rendawa on the Uttaratantra and the Tathāgata-Essence Literature
Tsongkhapa on the Uttaratantra and the Tathāgata-Essence Literature
Conclusion
C HAPTER 7
Gyeltsap’s Commentary on the Uttaratantra : A Critique of Dölpopa’s Interpretation of Tathāgata-Essence Literature
Introduction
Middle-Wheel and Last-Wheel Teachings
Definitive Meaning and Provisional Meaning
Self-Emptiness and Other-Emptiness
Conclusion
C ONCLUSION
General Remarks
Completing the Cycle
N OTES
B IBLIOGRAPHY
Tibetan Language Works Cited
English Language Works Cited
I NDEX
Acknowledgments
This book is a product of a long series of conversations with my teachers and colleagues. While words fall short of capturing my immense gratitude for my teachers and colleagues, it is to them that I express my deepest appreciation for any merit that this book might have. To the late Gen Lozang Gyatso, Gen Damchö Gyeltsen, and Gen Gyatso, who taught me Buddhism by example through their ethical standards, contemplative composure, and the knowledge of a Buddhist path and doctrine, I owe my sincerest gratitude. My sincere thanks also go to Gen Kalsang Damdul for his unstaggering support to my project. I also want to thank my classmates at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in India for teaching me how to put every Buddhist topic that we studied to a critical inquiry.
I also want to express my gratitude to Professors Ven. Dakpa Sengey, Khenpo Sonam Gyatso, Geshe Yeshe Thabkhey, and Ven. Wangchuk Dorjee Negi at the Central University of Tibetan Studies in Sarnath for their generous time in answering questions regarding many difficult topics found in several Tibetan commentaries on the Uttaratantra . My gratitude also goes to Khenpo Choenang of Jonang Monastery in Shimla with whom I had multiple interviews about the buddha-nature concept. Much appreciation goes to the American Institute of Indian Studies for the grant that supported the early stage of my research in India.
In America, I had the privilege to study Buddhism in an academic setting with Professors Jeffrey Hopkins, David Germano, Karen Lang, and Paul Groner of the University of Virginia. I thank all of them for teaching me the tools for studying Buddhist texts. In particular, I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to Professors Hopkins and Germano, who not only mentored me during my years as a doctoral student at UVA, but who have continued to offer me guidance and support since I completed my doctoral program. Their scholarship continues to serve as a model for my own work.
The section on Rinchen Yeshé’s view of the Uttaratantra from chapter 2 has been published as “Can We Speak of Kadam Gzhan Stong?: Tracing the Sources for Other-Emptiness in Early Fourteenth-Century Tibet” in Journal of Buddhist Philosophy 2 (2016): 9–22, with the permission from the State University of New York Press. An earlier version of chapter 3 has been published as “Dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan on the Mahāyāna doxography—Rethinking the Distinction between Cittamātra and Madhyamaka in Fourteenth-century Tibet” in Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 34.1–2 (2012): 321–48, with permission from the International Association of Buddhist Studies. Finally, a previous version of chapter 5 has appeared as “In Defense of His Guru: Dratsepa’s Rebuttal to the Challenges Articulated by the Proponents of the Other-Emptiness Doctrine” in Journal of Indian Philosophy 39.2 (2011): 147–65, with kind permission from Springer Science+Business Media.
Dr. Gareth Sparham and Professor Klaus-Dieter Mathes read the entire manuscript and offered me invaluable comments and suggestions that gave a new shape to my book. I offer my sincerest gratitude to them for their time and guidance. I am also indebted to SUNY’s external reviewers for offering me constructive feedback on the book. My sincerest gratitude also goes to Christopher Ahn, Jessica Kirschner, Eileen Nizer, and Anne Valentine at SUNY for their guidance and editing help. Finally, I want to thank my colleagues at the University of San Francisco for their kind support.
Introduction
General Remarks
Toward the end of a three-year course on Candrakīrti’s (ca. 570–640) Madhyamakāvatāra at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala, which primarily offers a monastic curriculum based on commentaries and works drawn from the Geluk ( dge lugs ) School of Tibetan Buddhism, my whole class humbly requested that our instructor 1 teach us the Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra , commonly known as the Uttaratantra in the Tibetan tradition, 2 a seminal Indian treatise on the concept of buddha-nature ( sangs rgyas kyi rigs ; buddhagotra ) or tathāgata-essence ( de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po ; tathāgatagarbha ). 3 His response, to our disappointment, was that since he had not received the expository transmission ( bshad rgyun ) of the Uttaratantra from any of his masters, he could not teach it to us. This rather traditional reply from our elderly guru was quite difficult even for the then young student-monks, who grew up in India and Nepal in the later part of the twentieth-century, to fully comprehend. His response had nothing to do with his lack of knowledge, insofar as many contemporary Tibetan scholars, including the teacher, fervently believe that the Uttaratantra is easier to intellectually understand than Madhyamaka classics, such as the Madhyamakāvatāra and Nāgārjuna’s (ca. 200) Madhyamakakārikā . Ironically, our teacher had also constantly reminded us that the meaning of the emptiness of inherent existence taught in the Madhyamakāvatāra , a treatise that Geluk scholar-monks hold dear to their hearts, and the meaning of tathāgata-essence explicated in the Uttaratantra was the same. He said this even though it is well known that the Geluk School prefers the Madhyamakāvatāra ’s exposition of ultimate truth over the Uttaratantra ’s exposition.
Several years later, in 2001, far from India, I had begun my graduate program at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. One of the first seminars I took was on the Madhyamaka system, taught by Professor Jeffrey Hopkins and a visiting Tibetan scholar, 4 an extremely learned young monk from the Amdo region of cultural Tibet. The latter was affiliated with the Jonang ( jo nang ) School of Tibetan Buddhism, which holds a view of emptiness drastically different from that of the Geluk’s perspective, articulated by the abovementioned teacher in Dharamsala, India. The main text that we used in this class was Dölpopa’s ( dol po pa shes rab rgyal mtshan , 1292–1361) Mountain Doctrine ( ri chos nges don rgya mtsho ), a sem