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State University of New York Press - Yaroslav Komarovski

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251 pages

English

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This landmark book discusses the thought of Tibetan Buddhist thinker Shakya Chokden (1428–1507) on the two major systems of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Influential and controversial in his own day, Shakya Chokden's thought fell out of favor over time and his writings were eventually repressed, becoming available again only in the 1970s. Yet, his startling interpretations of the core areas of Buddhist thought remain valuable and well worth consideration today. Yaroslav Komarovski has used the twenty-four volumes of Shakya Chokden's collected work to provide a systematic presentation of a central aspect of his thought: a reconciliation of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka. Providing a detailed analysis of the two systems' mutual refutations of each other, Shakya Chokden argues for their fundamental compatibility and shared vision.

In analyzing Shakya Chokden's ideas, Komarovski explores some of the most important issues of both traditional and modern Buddhist scholarship, including contested approaches to the nature of reality, the relationship between philosophy and contemplative practice, inter- and intrasectarian Buddhist polemics, and the nature of consciousness and mental processes.
List of Tables

Acknowledgments

Introduction
Introducing the Visions of Unity
Introducting the Chapters

1. Life and Works of the Golden Paṇḍita

Political and Religious Landscape of Fifteenth-Century Tibet

Life of the Golden Paṇḍita
Early Years and Education
Becoming a Prolific Writer and Famous Scholar
Settling in the Golden Monastery and Exploring New Horizons
Becoming a Tantric Master and Crystallizing Novel Views

Writings of a Shakya Chokden
Chronological List of Shakya Chokden's Works
Topical Divisions of Shakya Chokden's Works Addressed in This Book

2. The Intellectual Background of Shakya Chokden's Interpretation of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka

Two Tendencies in Yogācāra and Niḥsvabhāvavāda Writings

Basic Elements of Shakya Chokden's Approach to Mahāyāna Systems

Pointed Disappointments: Shakya Chokden's Personal Reflections

Broadening Empty Horizons: A Note on Changes in Shakya Chokden's Views

3. Readjusting Rungs of the Ladder: Revisiting Doxographical Hierarchies

Key Features of Shakya Chokden's Approach to the Buddhist Tenets

Demarcating the Middle: On the Valid Divisions of Madhyamaka and Great Madhyamaka

Self-Emptiness and Other-Emptiness
Self-Emptiness
Other-Emptiness

Bidding Farewell to the Prāsagika/Svātantrika Division?

Are There Two Types of Yogācāra Madhyamaka?

Are There Any Cittamātra Followers Around?

Expanding they Mādhyamika Camp

4. Through Broken Boundaries to New Enclosures: Reconciling Yogācāra and Madhyamaka

Differences between Alīkākāravāda and Satyākāravāda

The Heart of the Matter: Probing the Alīkākāravāda/Niḥsvabhāvavāda Distinction

A New Look at the Old Origins: Distinctions of Madhyamaka Stemming from Interpretations of the Second and Third Dharmacakras
Looking at the Second and Third Dharmacakras through the Eyes of the Madhyamaka Founders
Position of Alīkākāravāda
Position of Niḥsvabhāvavāda
Positions of Later Mādhyamikas

Steering the Middle Way between the Two Conflicting Middle Ways: The Art of Not Taking Sides

5. Explorations in Empty Luminosity: Shakya Chokden's Position on Primordial Mind

Facing the Reality of Primordial Mind
Primordial Mind and the Question of Existence
The Question of Withstanding Analysis
Does True Existence Have to Be Neglected in Order to Abandon Grasping at It?

Primordial Mind as an Impermanent Phenomenon

(Un)linking the Self-Cognizing Primordial Mind and Dualistic Consciousness

Does Self-Cognition Cognize Itself?

Primordial Mind as the Bridge between Yogācāra and Tantra
Primordial Mind as the Focus of all Mahāyāna Paths
Different but Concordant Approaches to Primordial Mind in Alīkākāravāda and Tantra
A Powerful Ally: Using the Tantric View of Reality for Support

Conclusion: The Grand Unity—Shakya Chokden's Middle Way

Glossary of Buddhist Terms: English-Tibetan with Sanskrit Parallels
Spellings of Tibetan Names and Terms
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

History of religions

Tibetan Buddhism

Buddhism

Informations

Publié par	State University of New York Press
Date de parution	01 décembre 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781438439112
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

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Visions of Unity
The Golden Paṇḍita Shakya Chokden's New Interpretation of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka
Yaroslav Komarovski

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2011 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 by Diane Ganeles
Marketing by Anne M. Valentine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Komarovski, Yaroslav.
Visions of unity : the golden pandita Shakya Chokden's new interpretation of yogacara and madhyamaka / Yaroslav Komarovski.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-3909-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Sakya-mchog-ldan, Gser-mdog Pan-chen, 1428–1507. 2. Yogacara (Buddhism) 3. Madhyamaka (Buddhism) I. Title.
BQ7471.K66 2011
294.3'92—dc22 2011005362
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Tables
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3

Acknowledgments
I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who directly or indirectly helped bring this book project to completion. First and foremost, I acknowledge my indebtedness to Shakya Chokden himself. Although this remarkable thinker lived five centuries ago, his life and ideas have been the focus of my research for more than twelve years, providing continuing inspiration for my own life and thinking.
I am also highly indebted to all those who provided me with the intellectual background and skills indispensable for this project: the late Khenchen ( mkhan chen ) Künga Wangchuk ( kun dga' dbang phyug ) and my other teachers at Dzongsar Institute for Advanced Studies of Buddhist Philosophy and Research in Bir, India, with whom I spent several years studying teachings of the Sakya tradition; Khenpo ( mkhan po ) Tsewang Sönam ( tshe dbang bsod nams ) at Pelyül Chökhor Ling ( dpal yul chos 'khor gling ) in Bir, under whose guidance I explored teachings of the Nyingma tradition as well as various interpretations of Madhyamaka and Yogācāra; the late Lopzang Gyamtso ( blo bzang rgya mtsho ) and other teachers at the Institute of Buddhist Dialectics in Dharamsala, India, who for six years taught me Buddhist philosophy, logic, epistemology, and other subjects of traditional Tibetan scholarship; and the late Khetsün Zangpo Rinpoché ( mkhas btsun bzang po rin po che ), the late Kirti Tsenzhap Rinpoché ( kirti mtshan zhabs rin po che ), the late Khenchen Tupten Özer ( thub bstan 'od zer ), and other teachers with whom I studied Buddhist tantric systems. It is only due to the training under these and other outstanding scholars that my studies of Buddhism eventually resulted in a modest understanding and deep appreciation of the richness, complexity, and interconnectedness of the multiple elements comprising the Buddhist universe, inspiring my lasting interest in the thought of Shakya Chokden, thought which embodies those qualities.
I am extremely grateful to my instructors at the University of Virginia, and especially Professors Jeffrey Hopkins and David Germano—my graduate advisors during the coursework and dissertation research on the writings of Shakya Chokden—who provided me with the intellectual stimulation, challenges, and advice that proved indispensable for transforming my long-term interest in the writings of Shakya Chokden into a work of academic research.
I also strongly benefited from discussing Shakya Chokden's ideas and other topics pertinent to this manuscript with Anne Burchardi, Dr. Alberto Todeschini, Khenpo Ngakwang Dorjé ( ngag dbang rdo rje ), Dr. Cyrus Stearns, Professor Kevin Vose, Professor José Cabezón, and other fellow scholars and friends whose skills and knowledge greatly helped me strengthen the manuscript.
I am also very thankful to Professor Beata Grant and my colleagues at the Washington University in St. Louis where I continued my research as a Mellon postdoctoral fellow, as well as my current colleagues at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, who provided me with support and advice during the final stages of my work on this book.
Last, but not least, I want to thank all those who helped me with proofreading and polishing the manuscript at its different stages, especially Scott Leigh who carefully read its final version and offered many helpful suggestions on how to improve its style and readability.
If there are any benefits and virtues in this study, I want to dedicate them to my teachers, to a deeper understanding of the treasure trove of Buddhist thought, and to an increasing awareness and lasting preservation of the Tibetan culture.
Introduction
During the long history of growth, transformation, and spread of Buddhist traditions across various cultures of Asia, their followers developed a wide variety of worldviews, contemplative techniques, and ritual practices. Of special interest are the diversity of Buddhist ideas about reality and the methods of incorporating those ideas in contemplative practice. For centuries Buddhists have been exploring and contesting such fundamental issues as the nature of reality, the means of accessing it, the connection between its intellectual understanding and direct realization, the ways of its articulation, and the relationship between its realization and other elements of Buddhist thought and practice.
As Buddhism grew and diversified, Buddhists articulated multiple theories of reality and the contemplative techniques intended to achieve its realization. Those theories saturate the voluminous philosophical and contemplative literature that originated in South Asia and was later translated into Chinese, Tibetan, and other languages. They also play a crucial role in numerous systems and traditions that have continuously been evolving in Buddhist cultures until the present day. In contrast to early followers of the Buddha, subsequent generations of Buddhist thinkers faced the additional problem of organizing the theories of reality inherited from their predecessors, selectively matching them with the views of specific traditions, lineages, and schools with which they increasingly came to identify themselves. As a result, in the growing and expanding Buddhist world, the questions of accessing, realizing, and articulating reality were rarely limited to the philosophical, contemplative, or soteriological dimensions of Buddhism. In the Tibetan cultural area—as well as elsewhere—they came to be intricately linked with such issues as sectarian identity, faithfulness to one's lineage, and the struggle for power in religious and political spheres.
The process of organizing, interpreting, transforming, and refining the Mahāyāna systems of thought and practice inherited by Tibetans from their Indian predecessors played a crucial role in the formation of the distinctively Tibetan form of Buddhism. This process started during the last centuries of the first millennium, and gained momentum during the first half of the second. By the fifteenth century, Tibetan thinkers were almost universally addressing the questions of the nature of reality and its realization in terms of Yogācāra ( rnal 'byor spyod pa, Yogic Practice), Madhyamaka ( dbu ma, Middle), and several tantric systems of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The general tendency was to valorize Madhyamaka, showing its superiority over Yogācāra while retaining epistemological ideas developed by Yogācāra thinkers and matching the Madhyamaka view of reality with that of Buddhist tantras that came to be unquestionably treated as the highest teachings of the Buddha. By the fifteenth century, many Tibetan traditions had produced distinctive interpretive approaches to reality that came to be accepted as standard. Challenging those positions, or articulating views that appeared to run contrary to them, was tantamount to challenging the very traditions that produced those positions and consequently enmeshing oneself in inter- and intrasectarian controversies. Nevertheless, one would also hear powerful alternative voices whose messages were clearly received by contemporaries, and whose echoes are still resounding today.
This book brings back to light one such voice—that of the seminal Tibetan thinker Serdok Penchen Shakya Chokden 1 ( gser mdog paṇ chen shākya mchog ldan , 1428–1507), a thinker who occupies a special place in the intellectual history of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Working during one of the most formative but least explored periods in Tibetan history, he was deeply involved in the inter- and intrasectarian polemics of his time, and articulated a startlingly new reconsideration of the core areas of Buddhist thought and practice, in particular Yogācāra and Madhyamaka.
While this study focuses on Shakya Chokden's unique interpretation of the nature and relationship of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka, it goes beyond that. Shakya Chokden's thought provides an invaluable base to challenge and expand our understanding of such seminal topics as epistemology, contemplative practice, the relationship between intellectual study and meditative experience, and other key questions that occupy contemporary scholarship on Buddhism and religion in general. The interpretive strategies he offers are particularly valuable when applied to rival positions on reality and its contemplation held by Buddhist thinkers. 2 Exploring his ideas in the context of these and related topics, this study seeks to enrich our understanding of the religious life of fifteenth-century Tibet,