Karmapa, 8th

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མི་བསྐྱོད་རྡོ་རྗེ་
Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje(1507 - 1554) 
噶玛·弥觉多杰
The Treasury of LivesDamngak Rinpoché DzöBuddhist Digital Resource CenterHimalayan Art Resources

The eighth member of the incarnation lineage of the Karmapas, Mikyö Dorje, was a prolific scholar and an acclaimed artist, often credited with the development of the Karma Gadri style of painting. Though he only lived into his mid-40's his contributions to the Karma Kagyu and Tibetan tradition, in general, were immense. His collected works are said to have originally filled thirty volumes and he is widely held to be one of the most significant of the Karmapa incarnations.

6 Library Items

Book
Mahāmudrā and the Middle Way
This two-volume publication explores the complex philosophy of Mahāmudrā that developed in Tibetan Dwags po Bka’ brgyud traditions between the 15th and 16th centuries CE. It examines the attempts to articulate and defend Bka’ brgyud views and practices by four leading post-classical thinkers: (1) Shākya mchog ldan (1423‒1507), a celebrated yet controversial Sa skya scholar who developed a strong affiliation with the Karma Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā tradition in the last half of his life, (2) Karma phrin las Phyogs las rnam rgyal (1456‒1539), a renowned Karma Bka’ brgyud scholar-yogin and tutor to the Eighth Karma pa, (3) the Eighth Karma pa himself, Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507‒1554), who was among the most erudite and influential scholar-hierarchs of his generation, (4) and Padma dkar po (1527‒1592), Fourth ’Brug chen of the ’Brug pa Bka’ brgyud lineage who is generally acknowledged as its greatest scholar and systematizer. It is an important academic work published in the Vienna series WSTB and is divided into two volumes: the first offers a detailed philosophical analysis of the authors’ principal views and justifications of Mahāmudrā against the background of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist doctrines on mind, emptiness and buddha nature; the second comprises an annotated anthology of their seminal writings on Mahāmudrā accompanied by critical editions and introductions. These two volumes are the result of research that was generously funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) from 2012 to 2015 under the supervision of Prof. Klaus-Dieter Mathes. The project was entitled “‘Emptiness of Other’ (Gzhan stong) in the Tibetan ‘Great Seal’ (Mahāmudrā) Traditions of the 15th and 16th Centuries” (FWF Project number P23826-G15). (Source: WSTB Description)
Higgins, David, and Martina Draszczyk. Mahāmudrā and the Middle Way: Post-Classical Kagyü Discourses on Mind, Emptiness and Buddha-Nature. Vol. II, Translations, Critical Texts, Bibliography and Index. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 90.2. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 2016.
Book
When the Clouds Part
"Buddha nature" (tathāgatagarbha) is the innate potential in all living beings to become a fully awakened buddha. This book discusses a wide range of topics connected with the notion of buddha nature as presented in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and includes an overview of the sūtra sources of the tathāgatagarbha teachings and the different ways of explaining the meaning of this term. It includes new translations of the Maitreya treatise Mahāyānottaratantra (Ratnagotravibhāga), the primary Indian text on the subject, its Indian commentaries, and two (hitherto untranslated) commentaries from the Tibetan Kagyü tradition. Most important, the translator’s introduction investigates in detail the meditative tradition of using the Mahāyānottaratantra as a basis for Mahāmudrā instructions and the Shentong approach. This is supplemented by translations of a number of short Tibetan meditation manuals from the Kadampa, Kagyü, and Jonang schools that use the Mahāyānottaratantra as a work to contemplate and realize one’s own buddha nature. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Tsadra Foundation Series. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2014.
Text
Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje: The Lamp That Excellently Elucidates the System of the Proponents of the Other-Emptiness Madhyamaka
In terms of its contents, the Lamp represents a digest of the Uttaratantra, discussing its seven vajra points.
Text
Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje: Karmapa's Great Commentary on the the Sacred Teaching of the Single Intention
The 8th Karmapa's commentary on the famous treatise, the Sacred Teaching on the Single Intention (Dam chos dgongs pa gcig pa) by Drikungpa master Jikten Gönpo. The Single Intention is a compendium of critical philosophical, soteriological, and moral positions taught by Jikten Gönpo and written down by his disciple and nephew Sherab Jungne. The text contains 150 critical vajra words (རྡོ་རྗེའི་གསུང་) in seven groups (ཚོམས་), along with another 47 appended points (ལྷན་ཐབས་). The root text composed by Sherab Jungne has seen several commentaries, including one by the first Drikung Chungtsang Chökyi Drakpa. This extensive commentary by the 8th Karmapa Mikyö Dorje is perhaps the only long commentary by Karma Kagyu master on the Single Intention.
Text
Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje: General Outline of the Tenets of the Single Intention that Reveal Errors Concerning the Inner Meaning of the Profound Great Discourses that Distinguish Dharma from that which is not Dharma
The Eight Karmapa's general outline of the tenets of the Sacred Teaching on the Single Intention (Dam chos dgongs pa gcig pa).
Text
Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje: Chariot of the Siddhas of the Dakpo Lineage: The Oral Instructions of Glorious Dusum Khyenpa, an Extensive Commentary on the Madhyamakāvatāra
The Eighth Karmapa's commentary on Candrakīrti's Madhyamakāvatāra (Entry into the Middle Way), presented as the oral instructions of the First Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa. This extensive commentary covers the transmission of the teachings of Middle Way to Tibet, polemical discussions on the difference between Middle Way in sūtra and mantra traditions and the proper commentary on the root verses. The author also comments on Candrakīrti's interpretation of buddha-nature teachings as provisional.


On the topic of this person

Article
Buddha in the Storehouse: Mi bskyod rdo rje on the Relationship between Tathāgatagarbha and Ālayavijñāna
Higgins, David. "Buddha in the Storehouse: Mi bskyod rdo rje on the Relationship between Tathāgatagarbha and Ālayavijñāna." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 42 (2019): 169–230.
Higgins, David. "Buddha in the Storehouse: Mi bskyod rdo rje on the Relationship between Tathāgatagarbha and Ālayavijñāna." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 42 (2019): 169–230.
Video
David Higgins at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
David Higgins explores the Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje’s (1507–1554) prolific writings on tathāgatagarbha, which contain several extended discussions on the topic of how buddha-nature relates to different conceptions of selfhood.
Higgins, David. "Buddha-Nature and Selfhood." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHzI1PxptpI.
Video
David Higgins: The Eighth Karmapa and the Primacy of Tantric Buddha-Nature Views
Higgins, David. "The Eighth Karmapa and the Primacy of Tantric Buddha-Nature Views." Old Topic, New Insights: Buddha-Nature at the Crossroads between Doctrine and Practice. The 16th IATS Conference, Prague, July 3–9, 2022. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 20:38. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErPW8n0J9qM.
Higgins, David. "The Eighth Karmapa and the Primacy of Tantric Buddha-Nature Views." Old Topic, New Insights: Buddha-Nature at the Crossroads between Doctrine and Practice. The 16th IATS Conference, Prague, July 3–9, 2022. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department. Video, 20:38. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErPW8n0J9qM.
Video
Karl Brunnhölzl: On the Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje's View of Buddha-Nature
Brunnhölzl, Karl. "On the Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje's View of Buddha-Nature." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, February 26, 2022. Video, 8:06. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hI5lAoX4Os.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. "On the Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje's View of Buddha-Nature." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, February 26, 2022. Video, 8:06. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hI5lAoX4Os.
Book
Mind Seeing Mind
Roger Jackson's Mind Seeing Mind is the first attempt to provide both a scholarly study of the history, texts, and doctrines of Geluk mahāmudrā and translations of some of its seminal texts. It begins with a survey of the Indian sources of the teaching and goes on the discuss the place of mahāmudrā in non-Geluk Tibetan Buddhist schools, especially the Kagyü. The book then turns to a detailed survey of the history and major textual sources of Geluk mahāmudrā, from Tsongkhapa, through the First Panchen, down to the present. The final section of the study addresses critical questions, including the relation between Geluk and Kagyü mahāmudrā, the ways Gelukpa authors have interpreted the mahāsiddha Saraha, and the broader religious-studies implications raised by Tibetan debates about mahāmudrā. The translation portion of Mind Seeing Mind includes eleven texts on mahāmudrā history, ritual, and practice. Foremost among these is the First Panchen Lama's autocommentary on his root verses of Geluk Mahāmudrā, the foundation of the tradition. Also included is his ritual masterpiece Offering to the Guru, which is a staple of Geluk practice, and a selection of his songs of spiritual experience. Mind Seeing Mind adds considerably to our understanding of Geluk spirituality and shows how mahāmudrā came to be woven throughout the fabric of the tradition.
Jackson, Roger R. Mind Seeing Mind: Mahāmudrā and the Geluk Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2019.
Video
On Chapter 1 Verse 28 of the Uttaratantra by Karl Brunnhölzl
Karl Brunnhölzl, author of When the Clouds Part, discusses chapter 1 verse 28 of the Uttaratantrashastra, the famous verse in this text which talks about the three reasons all sentient beings have buddha-nature.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “On Chapter 1 Verse 28 of the Uttaratantra.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 5:50. https://youtu.be/6ZTHfbtX5Z8.
Article
Tathāgatagarbha from the Perspective of Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje as Presented in His Lamp that Eloquently Highlights the Tradition of the Gzhan stong Madhyamaka Proponents
ln his Lamp, Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje equates tathāgatagarbha with the dharmadhātu which is realized through self-aware, self-luminous wisdom. He maintains that there is no dependency on extraneous factors; buddha nature, so to speak, is self-sufficient, bringing about its perfect awakening by means of personally experienced wisdom. Tathāgatagarbha is spontaneously endowed with qualities and activities and is permanent in the specific sense that it remains unchanging throughout the three phases and thus its beneficial activities never come to an end. Therefore, the absolute, tathāgatagarbha, being effective, i.e. of benefit, for itself and for others, is empty of afflictions, but not empty of qualities. lt is from this point of view that the text—despite the fact that the term gzhan stong is nowhere to be found—can well be understood as a way of highlighting the intent of the proponents of gzhan stong Madhyamaka. Mi bskyod rdo rje, following the lead of Maitreya-Asaṅga with their cataphatic appraisal of the absolute, equates tathāgatagarbha with the dharmakāya, with the expanse of nirvāṇa, and with perfect awakening replete with qualities. To him this is the essential meaning of Madhyamaka, and it is for this reason that he frequently refers to Asaṅga as the Great Madhyamika. It is against this background that Mi bskyod rdo rje criticizes those Madhyamaka representatives who do not comprehend the meaning of the third dharma cycle and who therefore view tathāgatagarbha and its associated buddha qualities and activities exclusively from the perspective of a non-affirming negation. (Draszczyk, conclusion, 157)
Draszczyk, Martina. "Tathāgatagarbha from the Perspective of Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje as Presented in His Lamp that Eloquently Highlights the Tradition of the Gzhan stong Madhyamaka Proponents." Hōrin 18 (2015): 141–60.
Article
The Eighth Karmapa Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507-1554) on the Relation between Buddha Nature and Its Adventitious Stains
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter, "The Eighth Karmapa Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507–1554) on the Relation between Buddha Nature and Its Adventitious Stains." Critical Review for Buddhist Studies 22 (2017): 63–104.
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter, "The Eighth Karmapa Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507–1554) on the Relation between Buddha Nature and Its Adventitious Stains." Critical Review for Buddhist Studies 22 (2017): 63–104.
Book
The Eighth Karmapa's Life and His Interpretation of the Great Seal (2017)
This book investigates Mikyö Dorje’s biographies and carries out case studies of some of his mahāmudrā (Great Seal) teachings, Buddhist instructions for the acquisition of meditative insight. After surveying a variety of textual sources for the study of the Karmapa’s life and works, this book shows how he developed into one of the most productive scholars of his tradition, who, located within the shifting religious and political hegemonies of his time, managed to acquire a status of singular importance to his school. Rheingans then goes on to analyse Mikyö Dorje’s mahāmudrā teachings by examining selected texts that contain such instructions in historical and doctrinal context. This study contends that the Kagyüpa mahāmudrā constitutes less a static system than an independent key instruction to be adapted by the guru to different students’ requirements and are thus chiefly characterised by didactic pragmatism. (Source: Projekt Verlag)
Rheingans, Jim. The Eighth Karmapa's Life and His Interpretation of the Great Seal: A Religious Life and Instructional Texts in Historical and Doctrinal Contexts. Hamburg Buddhist Studies 7. Bochum, Germany: Projekt Verlag, 2017. https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/4-publikationen/hamburg-buddhist-studies/hamburgup-hbs07-rheingans.pdf.
Interview
What Is My Mind without Me? Buddha-Nature in the Karma Kagyu School by Karl Brunnhölzl
In this interview Karl Brunnhölzl and Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho discuss the buddha-nature teachings in the Karma Kagyu school, touching on Karl's first encounter with the buddha-nature teachings, the inspiration for his book When the Clouds Part, the Ratnagotravibhāga as a bridge between sūtra and tantra, how buddha-nature teachings were transmitted in the Kagyu lineage, the Third and Eight Karmapa's views on buddha-nature, and much more.
      Karl Brunnhölzl is one of the most prolific translators of Tibetan texts into English and has worked on all of the Five Treatises of Maitreya. He was originally trained as a physician and then studied at Kamalashila Institute, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso's Marpa Institute, and Hamburg University. Since 1989, Karl has served as a translator, interpreter, and Buddhist teacher mainly in Europe, India, and Nepal. Since 1999, he has acted as one of the main translators and teachers at Nitartha Institute (director: Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche) in the USA, Canada, and Germany. He has translated and written about buddha-nature extensively and he is the author of several books on Buddhism, such as The Center of the Sunlit Sky, Luminous Melodies, Milarepa's Kungfu, and The Heart Attack Sutra. He has also completed several ground-breaking translations in the Tsadra Foundation series, including a three-volume work on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra. He has also completed the work Prajñāpāramitā, Indian "gzhan stong pas", and the Beginning of Tibetan gzhan stong in the Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde series. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sutra and Tantra, formed the basis for the Buddha-Nature website project. In 2019 his translation of the Mahāyānasaṃgraha with Indian and Tibetan commentaries was published and won the Khyentse Foundation Prize For Outstanding Buddhist Translation.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. "What Is My Mind without Me? Buddha-Nature in the Karma Kagyu School." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, February 26, 2022. Video, 1:16:52. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh--a5jxNq4.
Video
Which Tibetans Wrote about Buddha-Nature? by Karl Brunnhölzl
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “Which Tibetans Wrote about Buddha-Nature?” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 6:58. https://youtu.be/wWzrtDltUwE.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. “Which Tibetans Wrote about Buddha-Nature?” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, December 3, 2018. Video, 6:58. https://youtu.be/wWzrtDltUwE.

Other names

  • ཀརྨ་པ་བརྒྱད་པ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་གྲགས་པ་དཔལ་བཟང་པོ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • karma pa brgyad pa · other names (Wylie)
  • chos kyi grags pa dpal bzang po · other names (Wylie)
  • Karmapa, 8th · other names

Affiliations & relations

  • Karma Kagyu · religious affiliation
  • Karmapa, 7th · emanation of
  • Karmapa, 9th · incarnation
  • Tai Situpa, 2nd · teacher
  • Sangye Nyenpa, 1st · teacher
  • Tai Situpa, 3rd · teacher
  • byams chen chos rje sna tshogs rang grol · teacher
  • karma phrin las pa · teacher
  • Pawo Rinpoche, 2nd · student
  • Shamarpa, 5th · student
  • Tai Situpa, 4th · student
  • Official Karmapa Office Page on the 8th Karmapa · websites

Kagyu - The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa. Tib. བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་

Mahāmudrā - Mahāmudrā refers to an advanced meditation tradition in Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna forms of Into-Tibetan Buddhism that is focused on the realization of the empty and luminous nature of the mind. It also refers to the resultant state of buddhahood attained through such meditation practice. In Tibet, this tradition is particularly associated with the Kagyu school, although all other schools also profess this tradition. The term also appears as part of the four seals, alongside dharmamūdra, samayamudrā, and karmamudrā. Skt. महामुद्रा Tib. ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ།

Madhyamaka - Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Skt. मध्यमक Tib. དབུ་མ་ Ch. 中觀見

gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib. གཞན་སྟོང་

Kagyu - The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa. Tib. བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་

Madhyamaka - Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Skt. मध्यमक Tib. དབུ་མ་ Ch. 中觀見

rang stong - The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena. Tib. རང་སྟོང་

gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib. གཞན་སྟོང་

trisvabhāva - According to the Yogācāra school, all phenomena can be divided into three natures or characteristics: the imaginary nature (parikalpitasvabhāva), the dependent nature (paratantrasvabhāva), and the perfect or absolute nature (pariniṣpannasvabhāva). Skt. त्रिस्वभाव Tib. རང་བཞིན་གསུམ་

dharmakāya - "Truth body" or "true being" — One of the three bodies of a buddha. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, it often refers to a kind of fundamental principle or the true nature of reality itself. Skt. धर्मकाय Tib. ཆོས་སྐུ་ Ch. 法身

tridharmacakrapravartana - Three successive stages of the Buddhist teachings. Though they are traditionally attributed to the historical Buddha, modern scholarship tends to view them as developmental stages that occurred over the course of an extended period of time, with interludes of several centuries, in which we see major doctrinal shifts often based on seemingly newly emergent scriptural sources. Skt. त्रिधर्मचक्रप्रवर्तन Tib. ཆོས་འཁོར་རིམ་པ་གསུམ་

śūnyatā - The state of being empty of an innate nature due to a lack of independently existing characteristics. Skt. शून्यता Tib. སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་ Ch. 空,空門

tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏

sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt. सूत्र Tib. མདོ། Ch. 佛经

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

Tsen Tradition - Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana. Tib. བཙན་ལུགས་

gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib. གཞན་སྟོང་

Jonang - The Jonang tradition was established by Dölpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, a thirteenth-century Sakya monk famous for his Zhentong teachings. The Jonang teachings and monasteries were suppressed in Tibet in the seventeenth century but survived in Amdo. Tib. ཇོ་ནང་

Uttaratantra - The Ultimate Continuum, or Gyü Lama, is often used as a short title in the Tibetan tradition for the key source text of buddha-nature teachings called the Ratnagotravibhāga of Maitreya/Asaṅga, also known as the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra. Skt. उत्तरतन्त्र Tib. རྒྱུད་བླ་མ་ Ch. 寶性論

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

Tsen Tradition - Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana. Tib. བཙན་ལུགས་

tantra - Tantra, when juxtaposed with Sūtra, generally refers to the scriptures and texts which discuss esoteric topics. While the term is used to refer to texts on other topics, it is mostly used to refer to the genre of scriptures and texts on themes and topics associated with Vajrayāna Buddhism. Skt. तन्त्र Tib. རྒྱུད། Ch. 密宗

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

Ngok Tradition - Ngok Lotsāwa Loden Sherab's "analytic tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana. Tib. རྔོག་ལུགས་

Tsen Tradition - Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana. Tib. བཙན་ལུགས་

vajrapada - Literally, vajra-footing, or base. In the context of the Ratnagotravibhāga, this is the name given to the seven subjects that are addressed in the treatise. These seven are the buddha, dharma, saṅgha, the element (dhātu), enlightenment (bodhi), enlightened qualities (guṇa), and enlightened activities (karman). Skt. वज्रपद Tib. རྡོ་རྗེའི་གནས་

gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib. གཞན་སྟོང་

śrāvaka - The disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain individual liberation or nirvāṇa. The final goal of the Hearers is to become an arhat, a state in which one has totally eliminated the inner problems of attachment, hatred and ignorance, the main causes for rebirth in this cycle of existence. There are four stages of a śrāvaka path including eight phases. Skt. श्रावक Tib. ཉན་ཐོས། Ch. 聲聞

The Eighth Karmapa's commentary on Candrakīrti's Madhyamakāvatāra (Entry into the Middle Way), presented as the oral instructions of the First Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa.

neyārtha - Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true. Skt. नेयार्थ Tib. དྲང་དོན་

The Eighth Karmapa's commentary on Candrakīrti's Madhyamakāvatāra (Entry into the Middle Way), presented as the oral instructions of the First Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa.

The Eighth Karmapa's commentary on Candrakīrti's Madhyamakāvatāra (Entry into the Middle Way), presented as the oral instructions of the First Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa.

ālayavijñāna - A neutral base consciousness that is posited as the storehouse for the seeds of past karmic actions in which they remain in a latent state until the circumstances arise for them to ripen as karmic consequences. Skt. आलयविज्ञान Tib. ཀུན་གཞིའི་རྣམ་ཤེས་ Ch. 藏識,阿賴耶識

tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏

ālayavijñāna - A neutral base consciousness that is posited as the storehouse for the seeds of past karmic actions in which they remain in a latent state until the circumstances arise for them to ripen as karmic consequences. Skt. आलयविज्ञान Tib. ཀུན་གཞིའི་རྣམ་ཤེས་ Ch. 藏識,阿賴耶識

Yogācāra - Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana). Skt. योगाचार Tib. རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྤྱོད་པ་ Ch. 瑜伽行派

guṇapāramitā - In the Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra it is explained that the dharmakāya of a buddha possesses the four perfect qualities of purity, bliss, permanence, and self. Skt. गुणपारमिता Tib. ཡོན་ཏན་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་ Ch. 功德波羅蜜

ātman - Though it can simply be used as the expression "I" or "me", in Indian thought the notion of self refers to a permanent, unchanging entity, such as that which passes from life to life in the case of people, or the innate essence (svabhāva) of phenomena. Skt. आत्मन् Tib. བདག་ Ch. 我,灵魂

sarvākāravaropetāśūnyatā - As opposed to a mere voidness, this phrase refers to an emptiness that is endowed with enlightened qualities and attributes. Tib. རྣམ་ཀུན་མཆོག་ལྡན་གྱི་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་

anātman - The nonexistence of the self as a permanent, unchanging entity. Skt. अनात्मन् Tib. བདག་མེད་པ་ Ch. 无我

rgyu'i rgyud - The mind's natural mode that abides as suchness, which remains unchanged from the state of an ordinary being up until enlightenment. Tib. རྒྱུའི་རྒྱུད་

IATS - International Association for Tibetan Studies

Geluk - The Geluk tradition traces its origin to Tsongkhapa, who propagated a modified version of the Kadampa lojong and lamrim teachings. It is the dominant tradition of Tibet, having established its control of the government under the figure of the Dalai Lama. Tib. དགེ་ལུགས་

Mahāmudrā - Mahāmudrā refers to an advanced meditation tradition in Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna forms of Into-Tibetan Buddhism that is focused on the realization of the empty and luminous nature of the mind. It also refers to the resultant state of buddhahood attained through such meditation practice. In Tibet, this tradition is particularly associated with the Kagyu school, although all other schools also profess this tradition. The term also appears as part of the four seals, alongside dharmamūdra, samayamudrā, and karmamudrā. Skt. महामुद्रा Tib. ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ།

Geluk - The Geluk tradition traces its origin to Tsongkhapa, who propagated a modified version of the Kadampa lojong and lamrim teachings. It is the dominant tradition of Tibet, having established its control of the government under the figure of the Dalai Lama. Tib. དགེ་ལུགས་

Kadam - The Kadam tradition, which traces its origin to the teachings of Atiśa, was the first of the so-called New Schools of Tibetan Buddhism, traditions which arose during or after the Second Propagation of Buddhism (phyi dar) in the tenth century. Tib. བཀའ་གདམས་

Sakya - The Sakya tradition developed in the eleventh century in the Khön family of Tsang, which maintained an imperial-era lineage of Vajrakīla and which adopted a new teaching from India known as Lamdre. Tib. ས་སྐྱ་

Nyingma - The Nyingma, which is often described as the oldest tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, traces its origin to Padmasambhava, who is said to have visited Tibet in the eighth century. Tib. རྙིང་མ་

Great Madhyamaka - The term Great Madhyamaka is utilized in different contexts depending on the tradition. In the Jonang tradition, it generally refers to the Zhentong Madhyamaka philosophy as it was developed and systematized by Dölpopa. In this context, the Great Madhyamaka refers to the presentation of ultimate truth, while Madhyamaka describes the emptiness of the relative level of truth. In the Nyingma tradition, Great Madhyamaka refers to the subtle, inner Madhyamaka that unifies the philosophical positions of Nāgārjuna and Asaṅga. This is presented in opposition to the coarse, outer Madhyamaka that is the dialectic approach of Prāsaṅgika and Svātantrika. In the Kagyu tradition, the term is used in a similar vein in that Madhyamaka is used to refer to philosophical inquiry, while Great Madhyamaka is used to refer to the view arrived at through yogic accomplishment. However, in all of these traditions, Great Madhyamaka is heavily associated with buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha) and the definitive status of these teachings. Skt. महामध्यमक Tib. དབུ་མ་ཆེན་པོ་

dharmadhātu - The fundamental expanse from which all phenomena emerge. Skt. धर्मधातु Tib. ཆོས་དབྱིངས་ Ch. 法界

svasaṃvedana - An important term for the Yogācāra that refers to a consciousness of consciousness itself, or how one knows that they know something. It was a hotly debated topic that was disputed by followers of the Madhyamaka. In Tibet it would later become a common Dzogchen term, though with the entirely different meaning of one's own innate awareness (rig pa), a crucial concept in the Dzogchen teachings. Skt. स्वसंवेदन Tib. རང་རིག་ Ch. 自證分

kleśa - Often referred to as poisons, these are a class of disturbing or disruptive emotional states that when aroused negatively affect or taint the mind. Skt. क्लेश Tib. ཉོན་མོངས་ Ch. 煩惱

prasajyapratiṣedha - A negation that merely denies the existence of something without implicitly suggesting an alternative. Skt. प्रसज्यप्रतिषेध Tib. མེད་དགག་

āvaraṇa - Literally, that which obscures or conceals. Often listed as a set of two obscurations (sgrib gnyis): the afflictive emotional obscurations (Skt. kleśāvaraṇa, Tib. nyon mongs pa'i sgrib pa) and the cognitive obscurations (Skt. jñeyāvaraṇa, Tib. shes bya'i sgrib pa). By removing the first, one becomes free of suffering, and by removing the second, one becomes omniscient. Skt. आवरण Tib. སྒྲིབ་པ་

āgantukamala - Mental stains that are not inherent to the nature of the mind but are temporarily present as the residue of past actions or habitual tendencies. It is sometimes iterated as adventitious defilements (Skt. āgantukakleśa, Tib. glo bur gyi nyon mongs), which references the fickle and temporary nature of disturbing emotions that lack an ultimately established basis for existence. Skt. आगन्तुकमल Tib. གློ་བུར་གྱི་དྲི་མ་

tantra - Tantra, when juxtaposed with Sūtra, generally refers to the scriptures and texts which discuss esoteric topics. While the term is used to refer to texts on other topics, it is mostly used to refer to the genre of scriptures and texts on themes and topics associated with Vajrayāna Buddhism. Skt. तन्त्र Tib. རྒྱུད། Ch. 密宗

Dzogchen - Dzogchen is an advanced system of meditation techniques to reveal the innate state of perfection primarily, but not exclusively, espoused by the Nyingma Buddhist tradition and the Tibetan Bön tradition. Skt. महासन्धि Tib. རྫོགས་ཆེན།

Prajñāpāramitā - A class of Mahāyāna sūtras which represents some of the earliest known literature of this genre of Buddhism. There are around forty texts associated with this category, though the most widespread is the exceedingly brief Prajñāpāramitāhṛdayasūtra, popularly known as the Heart Sūtra. This class of literature is typically associated with the second turning of the dharma wheel and especially with the teachings on emptiness (śūnyatā). As such, these texts were the primary scriptural source for the philosophy of the Madhyamaka school. Skt. प्रज्ञापारमिता Tib. ཤེར་ཕྱིན་,ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་ Ch. 般若波羅蜜多

prabhāsvaratā - In a general sense, that which clears away darkness, though it often appears in Buddhist literature in reference to the mind or its nature. It is a particularly salient feature of Tantric literature, especially in regard to the advanced meditation techniques of the completion-stage yogas. Skt. प्रभास्वर Tib. འོད་གསལ་ Ch. 光明

gotra - Disposition, lineage, or class; an individual's gotra determines the type of enlightenment one is destined to attain. Skt. गोत्र Tib. རིགས་ Ch. 鍾姓,種性

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