'gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal
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On the topic of this person
What makes gZhon nu dpal's DhDhV-commentary so interesting is his mahāmudrā interpretation of a central topic in the DhDhV, i.e., the abandonment of all "mentally created characteristic signs" (nimittas). The latter practice plays a crucial role in the cultivation of non-conceptual wisdom, which is taken as the cause or the foundation of āśrayaparivŗtti in the DhDhV. Based on Sahajavajra's (11th century) Tattvadaśakaţīkā gZhon nu dpal explains that the nimittas are abandoned by directly realizing their natural luminosity which amounts to a direct or non-conceptual experience of their true nature. To be sure, while the usual Mahāyāna approach involves an initial analysis of the nimittas, namely, an analytic meditation which eventually turns into non-conceptual abiding in the same way as a fire kindled from rubbing pieces of wood bums the pieces of wood themselves (gZhon nu dpal explains this on the basis of Kamalaśīla's commentary on the Nirvikalpapraveśadhāraņī), mahāmudrā pith-instructions enable a meditation of direct perceptions right from the beginning. In view of the fact that such direct perceptions of emptiness (or dharmatā in this context here) usually start from the first Bodhisattva-level onwards, gZhon nu dpal also tries to show that the four yogas of mahāmudrā are in accordance with the four prayogas of the DhDhV. It should be noted that such a mahāmudrā interpretation must have already existed in India, as can be seen from Jñānakīrti's (10th/11th-century) Tattvāvatāra, in which a not-specifically-Tantric form of mahāmudrā practice is related with the traditional fourfold Mahāyāna meditation by equating "Mahāyāna" in Lańkāvatārasūtra X.257d with mahāmudrā. The pādas X.257cd "A yogin who is established in a state without appearances sees Mahāyāna" thus mean that one finally sees or realizes mahāmudrā.
To sum up, the DhDhV plays an important role for gZhon nu dpal in that it provides a canonical basis for his mahāmudrā tradition, and by showing that the dharmatā portion of the DhDhV is a commentary on the second chapter of the RGV, gZhon nu dpal skillfully links his mahāmudrā interpretation to the standard Indian work on Buddha-nature, and thus to a concept which considerably facilitated the bridging of the Sūtras with the Tantras. (Source Accessed April 1, 2020)
Philosophical positions of this person
Though his own view is based on Mahāmudrā, for which he asserts RGV is an important basis.
"That Zhönu Pal comments on the Ratnagotravibhāga from within the tradition of meditation is also clear from his colophon: The Dharma master Drigungpa [Jigten Sumgön] rejoiced in Jé Gampopas statement that the basic text of these mahāmudrā instructions of ours is the [Ratnagotravibhāga] Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra composed by the illustrious Maitreya; and since it is evident that the notes to [his] Uttaratantra explanations, the points he makes when presenting the three dharmacakras, and also the explanations deriving from Sajjana’s heart disciple Tsen Kawoché, are [all] in accordance with mahāmudrā proper, I have relied on them and have made [this] clear to others as best as I could. (DRSM, 574.9-12)" Mathes, K., A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, p. 368.
- "The tathāgata heart’s own essence is not a nonimplicative negation but is the element of basic awareness." Brunnhölzl, K., When the Clouds Part, p. 69.
- "The determination of the ultimate as buddha nature or natural luminosity in the third dharmacakra is taken to be the direct mahāmudrā approach to the nature of mind. This approach is not really different from the emptiness of the second dharmacakra. While the analytical methods of the second dharmacakra deflate all concepts, coarse and subtle, about things, the third one purifies phenomenal appearances that hinder the proper perception of buddha nature." Mathes, K., A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, p. 373.
- "In the third dharmacakra, the scope of such a nonaffirming negation is restricted to the adventitious stains, whose lack of an own-being has been established by inferential valid cognitions. The ultimate that is beyond the intellect is taken to be the emptiness that is buddha nature, or the element of awareness." Mathes, K., A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, p. 374.
Other names
- ཡིད་བཟང་རྩེ་བ་ · other names (Tibetan)
- མགོས་ལོ་ཙཱ་བ་གཞོན་ནུ་དཔལ་ · other names (Tibetan)
- yid bzang rtse ba · other names (Wylie)
- mgos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal · other names (Wylie)
- 'gos lo tsā ba gzhon nu dpal · other names (Wylie)
Affiliations & relations
- Karma Kagyu · religious affiliation
- Shamarpa, 3rd · teacher
- Karmapa, 5th · teacher
- Tsong kha pa · teacher
- Rong ston shes bya kun rig · teacher
- Shamarpa, 4th · student
- Karmapa, 7th · student