Mahāmudrā and the Middle Way

Book

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)

Citation	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.

Volume One

Acknowledgement12
Introduction14
- Current State of Research17
- Politico-Historical Background22
- Doctrinal Background25
- Navigating the Middle Ways29
- The Nature of Liberating Knowledge41

Shākya mchog ldan44
- Shākya mchog ldan and the Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā Tradition45
- Life, Writings and Influences51
- Madhyamaka and the Dialectic of Emptiness: Rang stong and
  Gzhan stong57
  - The Three Natures (trisvabhāva)65
  - The Two Truths (satyadvaya)67
- Mahāmudrā and Buddha Nature74
- Direct Perception and Nondual Wisdom101
- The Great Seal in Shākya mchog ldan's Mahāmudrā trilogy109
  - Mahāmudrā: What it is and What it is Not109
  - Madhyamaka, Mantrayāna and Mahāmudrā116
  - Mahāmudrā and What Remains (lhag ma : avaśiṣṭa)121
  - The Problem of Cessation124
  - Contested Methods of Realization127
- Responses to Sa skya Paṇḍita’s Criticism of Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā131
  - A Philosophical Defence and Justification of Mahāmudrā131
  - Defending Mahāmudrā Views135
    - The Self-sufficient White Remedy (dkar po gcig thub)135
    - Mental Nonengagement (amanasikāra) and the Fire of Wisdom139
- Concluding Remarks145

Karma phrin las148
- Overview149
- Life, Writings and Influences156
- Madhyamaka Approach159
- Extant Writings168
- Views of Reality169
  - The Compatibility of Rang stong and Gzhan stong169
  - The Two Types of Purity181
  - Buddha Nature Endowed with Qualities184
  - On the Unity of the Two Truths200
  - "Thoughts are Dharmakāya"210
  - Understanding Coemergence: the Inseparability of Saṃsāra and
    Nirvāṇa217
- Concluding Remarks223

Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje226
- Overview227
- The Differentiation and Identification Models229
- Reconciling Affirmation and Negation238
- Life, Writings and Influences242
- Blending Mahāmudrā and Madhyamaka250
- Emptiness and Hermeneutics of the Three Turnings253
- Core Soteriological Ideas and the Role of Philosophical Distinctions265
  - Buddha Nature269
  - Nature of Reality275
  - Nature of Mind277
  - The Problem of the Remainder (lhag ma : avaśiṣṭa)299
  - On the Prospect of a Groundless Ground314
  - On Whether or Not a Buddha has Wisdom320
  - Mahāmudrā as Mental Nonengagement (amanasikāra)325
- Concluding Remarks341

Padma dkar po342
- Overview343
- Life, Writings and Influences347
- The Basic Framework: Mahāmudrā and the Unity of the Two Truths350
- Emptiness and the Hermeneutics of the Three Turnings352
- Hermeneutics of Mahāmudrā as Ground and Path356
- The Two Faces of Mahāmudrā: the Modes of Abiding and Error357
  - Mahāmudrā as the Mode of Abiding (gnas lugs phyag chen)359
  - Mahāmudrā in the Mode of Error ( 'khrul lugs phyag chen)363
  - Yang dgon pa on the Two Modes of Mahāmudrā369
  - Padma dkar po's Transposition of Yang dgon pa's Distinction376
  - Interpretations of the Mahāmudrā Distinction378
  - Mahāmudrā and the Unity of the Two Truths382
  - Asymmetrical Unity and Rival Truth Theories (Jo nang and Dge lugs)385
  - The Ground of Truth393
- Path Mahāmudrā and Liberating Knowledge398
  - Nonconceptual Knowing in the Shadow of the Bsam yas Debate399
  - Three Strands of Amanasikāra Interpretation in Indian Buddhism403
  - Padma dkar po's Three Grammatical Interpretations of Amanasikāra413
  - Responding to Criticisms of Amanasikāra422
- Concluding Remarks426
Final Reflections429

Volume Two

Shākya mchog ldan10
Introduction: the Mahāmudrā Trilogy11
- 1a. English Translation of Gzhan blo'i dregs pa nyams byed14
- 1b. Critical Edition of Gzhan blo'i dregs pa nyam byed26
- 2a. English Translation of Grub pa mchog gi dgongs pa rnam nges34
- 2b. Critical Edition of Grub pa mchog gi dgongs pa rnam nges43
- 3a. English Translation of Zung 'jug gi gru chen48
- 3b. Critical Edition of Zung 'jug gi gru chen71

Karma phrin las pa86
Perspectives on Rang stong and Gzhan stong87
- 1a. English Translation of Dri lan yid kyi mun sel88
- 1b. Critical Edition of Dri lan yid kyi mun sel91
A Mystical Song of the View Proclaiming the Mode of Being94
- 2a. English Translation of the Yin lugs sgrog pa lta ba'i mgur95
- 2b. Critical Edition of the Yin lugs sgrog pa lta ba'i mgur98
A Vajra Song100
- 3a. English Translation of the Rdo rje mgur100
- 3b. Critical Edition of the Rdo rje mgur102

Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje104
Critique of 'Gos Lo tsd ba' s Separation of Buddhahood and Buddha Nature105
- 1a. English Translation of Rgan po'i rlung sman (excerpt)105
- 1b. Critical Edition of Rgan po'i rlung sman (excerpt)109
Some Criticisms of Shākya mchog ldan's Buddha Nature Epistemology111
- 2a. English Translation of Rgan po'i rlung sman (excerpt)112
- 2b. Critical Edition of Rgan po'i rlung sman (excerpt)115
Two Minds in One Person? A Reply to the Queries of Bla ma khams pa117
- 3a. English Translation of Bla ma khams pa'i dris lan mi gcig sems gnyis118
- 3b. Critical Edition of Bla ma khams pa'i dris lan mi gcig sems gnyis120
A Trove Containing Myriad Treasures of Profound Mahāmudrā122
- 4a. English Translation of Zab mo phyag chen gyi mdzod sna tshogs 'dus
  pa'i gter123
- 4b. Critical Edition of Zab mo phyag chen gyi mdzod sna tshogs 'dus pa'i
  gter134
Mental Nonengagement as Unconditioned Mental Engagement143
- 5a. English Translation of Sku gsum ngo sprod rnam bshad (excerpt)144
- 5b. Critical Edition of Sku gsum ngo sprod rnam bshad (excerpt)147
Amanasikāra, Emptiness, and the Tradition of Heshang Moheyan150
- 6a. English Translation of Dgongs gcig 'grel pa VI (excerpt)151
- 6b. Critical Edition of Dgongs gcig 'grel pa VI (excerpt)153

Padma dkar po156
Distinguishing Gnas lugs phyag chen and 'Khrul lugs phyag chen157
- 1a. English Translation of Phyag chen rgyal ba'i gan mdzod (excerpt)157
- 1b. Critical Edition of Phyag chen rgyal ba'i gan mdzod (excerpt)168
Three Grammatical Interpretations of Amanasikāra175
- 2b. Critical Edition of Phyag chen rgyal ba'i gan mdzod (excerpt)176
Refuting Sa paṇ's Equation of Mahāmudrā with Heshang's Chan Meditation179
- 3a. English Translation of Klan ka gzhom pa'i gtam (excerpt)180
- 3b. Critical Edition of Klan ka gzhom pa'i gtam (excerpt)188
Response to Nam mkha' rgyal mtshan's critique of Padma dkar po's
Amanasikāra194
- 4a. English Translation of Shar rtse zhal snga'i brgal lan (excerpt)195
- 4b. Critical Edition of Shar rtse zhal snga'i brgal lan (excerpt)197
Amanasikāra in the Context of Nonreferential Meditation199
- 5a. English Translation of Snying po don gyi man ngag (excerpt)199
- 5b. Critical Edition of Snying po don gyi man ngag (excerpt)201
Bibliography202
Abbreviations of Canonical Collections, Journals, and Online Sources202
Primary Sources: Indian Works202
Primary Sources: Tibetan Works207
Secondary Sources218
Index232

David Higgins and Martina Draszczyk's Mahāmudrā And The Middle Way is a study of four Tibetan philosophers from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries who attempted to forge a middle way between contemporary doctrinal extremes regarding Mahāmudrā and buddha-nature theory. Three of the four authors were Kagyu: Karma Trinle Chokle Namgyel, the Eighth Karmapa, and the Fourth Drukchen Pema Karpo, and one was Sakya, Śākya Chokden, who was, late in life, a student of the Seventh Karmapa. The four authors did not agree with each other, all finding their own ways to steer, as Higgins and Draszczyk put it, "a middle course between the Scylla and Charybdis of eternalism and nihilism."

All four authors studied were "scholar-yogis,"—philosophers who were also keenly interested and accomplished in the meditative practices of their traditions. Higgins and Draszczyk position the four as responding to the doctrinal extremes of the Geluk and Jonang traditions, the first representing nihilism of Tsongkhapa's interpretation of Candrakīrti, and the second being Dolpopa's teaching on zhentong. All four wrote in an era in which Geluk Prasangika was becoming dominant, in a language that suggested an anti-tantric polemic; Geluk and Sakya authors were rejecting Saraha, an Indian saint whose writings form part of the Mahāmudrā canon. Certainly, the two hierarchs of Kagyu traditions could not afford to leave their central doctrines undefended. This perspective is true to the authors studied, but it should be noted that followers of the Geluk or Jonang would certainly not accept the label of extremism, and would—and did—view the authors' positions as intellectually naive.

Still, the four attempts at reconciliation between doctrinal poles are a needed corrective to the many studies in which the extremes are presented as contradictory; for all four authors, the philosophical binaries were complementary and integral to the practice of Buddhism. They each advocated for an intellectual inquiry of emptiness using the language of negation favored by Geluk and mainline Sakya teachers, paired with or followed by a meditative engagement with positive-language doctrines of buddha-nature and the natural luminosity of mind. The great debates of the era between Madhyamaka and Yogacāra, zhentong and rangtong, analytical or meditative approach, Sudden vs. Gradual Enlightenment, and so forth, were for these authors not issues of either/or but matters of synthesis and balance.

PaN chen shAkya mchog ldan. phyag rgya chen po gsal bar byed pa'i bstan bcos tshangs pa'i 'khor lo. In gsung 'bum shAkya mchog ldan, Vol. 17: 359-412. Kathmandu: sachen international, 2006.
karma phrin las pa. dri lan yid kyi mun sel zhes bya ba lcags mo'i dris lan. In chos kyi rje karma phrin las pa'i gsung 'bum las rdo rje'i mgur gyi phreng ba dang thun mong ba'i dris lan gyi phreng ba. New Delhi: ngawang topgay, 1975: 88-92.
____________. yin lug sgrog pa lta ba'i mgur. In chos kyi rje karma phrin las pa'i gsung 'bum las rdo rje'i mgur gyi phreng ba dang thun mong ba'i dris lan gyi phreng ba. New Delhi: ngawang topgay, 1975: 8-10.
____________. rdo rje mgur. In chos kyi rje karma phrin las pa'i gsung 'bum las rdo rje'i mgur gyi phreng ba dang thun mong ba'i dris lan gyi phreng ba. New Delhi: ngawang topgay, 1975: 43-44.
mi bskyod rdo rje. bdud rtsi'i dri mchog. In gsung 'bum mi bskyod rdo rje, Vol. 15: 975-1024. Lhasa: s.n., 2004.
____________. bla ma khams pa'i dris lan mi gcig sems gnyis. In gsung 'bum mi bskyod rdo rje, Vol. 3: 219-223. Lhasa: s.n., 2004.
____________. zab mo phyag chen gyi mdzod sna tshogs 'dus pa'i gter. In gsung 'bum mi bskyod rdo rje, Vol. 15: 1025-1038. Lhasa: s.n., 2004.
____________. sku gsum ngo sprod rnam bshad. In gsung 'bum mi bskyod rdo rje, Vol. 21: 208-210. Lhasa: s.n., 2004.
____________. dgongs gcig 'grel pa. In gsung 'bum mi bskyod rdo rje, Vol. 6: 98-102. Lhasa: s.n., 2004.
pad+ma dkar po. phyag chen rgyal ba'i gan mdzod. In gsung 'bum pad+ma dkar po, Vol. 21: 38-42, 173-192. Darjeeling: kargyud sungrab nyamso khang, 1973-1974.
____________. klan ka gzhom pa'i gtam. In gsung 'bum pad+ma dkar po, Vol. 21: 553-561. Darjeeling: kargyud sungrab nyamso khang, 1973-1974.
____________. shar rtse zhal snga'i brgal lan. In gsung 'bum pad+ma dkar po, Vol. 21: 585-587. Darjeeling: kargyud sungrab nyamso khang, 1973-1974.
____________. snying po don gyi man ngag. In gsung 'bum pad+ma dkar po, Vol. 21: 414-415. Darjeeling: kargyud sungrab nyamso khang, 1973-1974.

In that regard Sgam po pa says, “the hallmark of my Mahāmudrā is self-awareness and its scriptural source is the Uttaratantra treatise."
~ ShAkya mchog ldan in Mahamudra and the Middle Way - Vol. 2, page(s) 17

To illustrate with an example, [the Buddha]—after explaining in the middle dharmacakra that all phenomena are simply empty of own-nature—taught in the third dharmacakra that the unchanging perfect nature which is empty of that [self-emptiness] is the definitive meaning. Likewise, one doesn’t find any core of a banana plant when one searches for it, yet in the middle of the unfolded leaves [bananas] nonetheless ripen as sweet fruits.
~ ShAkya mchog ldan in Mahamudra and the Middle Way - Vol. 2, page(s) 21

As for the meaning of mahāmudrā, Shākya mchog ldan explains that all sentient beings are 'marked' by this Great Seal in the sense that they are universally endowed with nondual wisdom and therefore have within them the "possibility to one day be separated from samsāric states". He describes mahāmudrā as that which is beyond the domain of what can be expressed in thought and languages. It is the wisdom one arrives at when the searching mind has not found anything with which to identify.
~ in Mahamudra and the Middle Way - Vol. 2, page(s) 12