Mi pham rgya mtsho

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PeopleMi pham rgya mtsho


མི་ཕམ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
Mipam Gyatso(1846 - 1912) 
Rinchen Terdzö ChenmoBuddhist Digital Resource Center

Ju Mipam Gyamtso was a prolific author who brought formal philosophical study, including debate, to the Nyingma tradition. Based in Kham during a period of great inter-sectarian exchange, he trained with the Kagyu lama Jamgön Kongtrul and the Sakya lama Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, among others, even as he preserved a strong Nyingma identity. Among his most celebrated works are the Beacon of Certainty and a commentary on the Ninth Chapter of the Bodhicaryāvatāra. In addition to his considerable literary output he spent decades of his life in retreat.

... read more at The Treasury of Lives

19 Library Items

Book
A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle
A monumental work and Indian Buddhist classic, the Ornament of the Mahāyāna Sūtras (Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra) is a precious resource for students wishing to study in-depth the philosophy and path of Mahāyāna Buddhism. This full translation and commentary outlines the importance of Mahāyāna, the centrality of bodhicitta or the mind of awakening, the path of becoming a bodhisattva, and how one can save beings from suffering through skillful means.

This definitive composition of Mahāyāna teachings was imparted in the fourth century by Maitreya to the famous adept Asanga, one of the most prolific writers of Buddhist treatises in history. Asanga’s work, which is among the famous Five Treatises of Maitreya, has been studied, commented upon, and taught by Buddhists throughout Asia ever since it was composed.

In the early twentieth century, one of Tibet’s greatest scholars and saints, Jamgön Mipham, wrote A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle, which is a detailed explanation of every verse. This commentary has since been used as the primary blueprint for Tibetan Buddhists to illuminate the depth and brilliance of Maitreya’s pith teachings. The Padmakara Translation Group has provided yet another accessible and eloquent translation, ensuring that English-speaking students of Mahāyāna will be able to study this foundational Buddhist text for generations to come. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Gethin, Stephen (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle: An Explanation of the Ornament of the Mahāyāna Sūtras; Maitreya's Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra with a Commentary by Jamgön Mipham. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2018.
Book
A Gathering of Brilliant Moons
A collection of essays and translations featuring advice and instructions of prominent 18-19th century Tibetan masters.
Gayley, Holly, and Joshua Schapiro, eds. A Gathering of Brilliant Moons: Practice Advice from the Rimé Masters of Tibet. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2017.
Book
Bde gshegs snying po rigs kyi chos skor
This collection includes a history of buddha-nature theory in Tibet by Thupten Jinpa and seven texts influential in the development of buddha-nature teachings in Tibet. The texts included represent many lineages and historical periods. Along with the root text the following texts appear: 1) Butön's commentary to the Uttaratantrashastra (བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་གསལ་བར་བྱེད་པ་མཛེས་བྱེད་ཀྱི་རྒྱན། pp 3-63). 2) The Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje's commentary (བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་བསྟན་པ། pp 65-69). 3) The Fifteenth Karmapa Khakyap Dorje's commentary (དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་བསྟན་པའི་བསྟན་བཅོས་ཀྱི་མཆན་འགྲེལ། pp 71-88). 4) Rongton's commentary (ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས་ལེགས་པར་བཤད་པ། pp 89-206). 5) Shakya Chokden's commentary (ཆོས་དབྱིངས་བསྟོད་པའི་འགྲེལ་པ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས་རྣམ་པར་ངེས་པ། pp 207-238). 6) Jetsun Chokyi Gyaltsen's text on the disposition (gotra, rigs) (རིགས་ཀྱི་སྤྱི་དོན། pp 239-287) 7) Mipham Gyatso's Lion's Roar (བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོའི་སྟོང་ཐུན་ཆེན་མོ་སེངྒེའི་ང་རོ། pp 289-316).
Jinpa, Thupten, ed. Treatises on the Buddha Nature. Tibetan Classics Series 17. New Delhi: Institute of Tibetan Classics, 2007.glang ri ba thub bstan sbyin pa. bde gshegs snying po rigs kyi chos skor. bod kyi gtsug lag gces btus 17. bod kyi gtsug lag zhib dpyod khang, 2007. གླང་རི་བ་ཐུབ་བསྟན་སྦྱིན་པ། བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་རིགས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་སྐོར། བོད་ཀྱི་གཙུག་ལག་གཅེས་བཏུས། ༡༧ བོད་ཀྱི་གཙུག་ལག་ཞིབ་དཔྱོད་ཁང་།, 2007.
Book
Distinguishing Phenomena from Their Intrinsic Nature
The Buddhist masterpiece Distinguishing Phenomena from Their Intrinsic Nature, often referred to by its Sanskrit title, Dharmadharmatāvibhaṅga, is part of a collection known as the Five Maitreya Teachings, a set of philosophical works that have become classics of the Indian Buddhist tradition. Maitreya, the Buddha’s regent, is held to have entrusted these profound and vast instructions to the master Asaṅga in the heavenly realm of Tuṣita. Outlining the difference between appearance and reality, this work shows that the path to awakening involves leaving behind the inaccurate and limiting beliefs we have about ourselves and the world around us and opening ourselves to the limitless potential of our true nature. By divesting the mind of confusion, the treatise explains, we see things as they actually are. This insight allows for the natural unfolding of compassion and wisdom. This volume includes commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham, whose discussions illuminate the subtleties of the root text and provide valuable insight into the nature of reality and the process of awakening. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. Distinguishing Phenomena from Their Intrinsic Nature: Maitreya's Dharmadharmatāvibhaṅga with Commentaries by Khenpo Shenga (mkhan po gzhan dga') and Ju Mipham ('ju mi pham). Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2013.
Book
Gateway to Knowledge Vol. III
The Gateway to Knowledge is a condensation of the Tripitaka and its accompanying commentaries.

Consolidating the intent of Buddha Shakyamuni’s teachings into a unified body of text books, it is the philosophical backbone of the living tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This rich source book embodies the basics of Prajnaparamita and Madhyamika as well as the Abhidharma from both the Mahayana and Hinayana perspective. Every volume in this series includes the Tibetan text and the English translation on facing pages.

The student of The Gateway to Knowledge can begin to comprehend the meaning of the major works on Buddhist philosophy and of the traditional sciences. When you want to extract their meaning you need an “expert system,” a key. The Gateway to Knowledge is like that key, a magical key – it opens up the treasury of precious gemstones in the expansive collection of Buddhist scriptures. (Source: Rangjung Yeshe Publications)
Kunsang, Erik Pema, trans. Gateway to Knowledge: The Treatise Entitled The Gate for Entering the Way of a Pandita. Vol. 3. By Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche ('jam mgon mi pham rin po che). Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2002. http://promienie.net/images/dharma/books/mipham_gateway-to-knowledge-vol-3.pdf.
Book
Jamgön Mipam: His Life and Teachings
Jamgön Mipam (1846-1912) is one of the most extraordinary figures in the history of Tibet. Monk, mystic, and brilliant philosopher, he shaped the trajectory of Tibetan Buddhism's Nyingma school. This introduction provides a most concise entrée to this great luminary's life and work. The first section gives a general context for understanding Mipam's life. Part Two gives an overview of Mipam's interpretation of Buddhism, examining his major themes, and devoting particular attention to his articulation of the Buddhist conception of emptiness. Part Three presents a representative sampling of Mipam's writings. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Duckworth, Douglas S. Jamgön Mipham: His Life and Teachings. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2011.
Audio
Khenpo Namdrol 2008 Teachings on Buddha Nature
Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche teaches the Rigpa Shedra on Mipham Rinpoche's work on buddha-nature (Skt. sugatagarbha): Lion's Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature.
Khenpo Namdrol. "Oral Teachings on Mi pham rgya mtsho's Bde gshegs snying po'i stong thun chen mo seng+ge'i nga ro." 15 pts. Audio recorded during Shedra East 2008–2009 in Pharping, Nepal. http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Khenpo_Namdrol_2008_Teachings_on_Buddha_Nature
Book
Lion of Speech
A traditional biography on the life of Mipham Rinpoche—one of the greatest 19th-century masters—from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche—one of the greatest 20th–century masters.

Lion of Speech: The Life of Mipham Rinpoche offers a translation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s biography of Mipham Rinpoche, left behind in Tibet when Khyentse Rinpoche went into exile in 1959 and lost for eighty years before its discovery by an extraordinary stroke of good fortune. The biography is written as a traditional namthar, an account of the “life and liberation” of a man who is widely considered to be among the greatest scholars and accomplished masters in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. One of the striking features of Khyentse Rinpoche’s account is that it downplays the “miraculous” aspects of Mipham’s life and activities—perhaps as a means of bringing into sharper focus the effect that Mipham had on his contemporaries as a spiritual master, scholar, and teacher.

The second half of the book offers selected translations of Mipham Rinpoche’s works that provide readers with a taste of his enormous and extremely varied output. The translations are from his works on Madhyamaka, buddha-nature, tantra, and the Great Perfection. Some are new translations and some are striking passages from works that have already been published, including passages from Guide to the Wheel of Analytical Meditation, The Adornment of the Middle Way, The Wisdom Chapter, The Lion’s Roar, and White Lotus. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Fletcher, Wulstan, and Helena Blankleder (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. Lion of Speech: The Life of Mipham Rinpoche. By Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2020.
Book
Maitreya's Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being
Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being was composed by Maitreya during the golden age of Indian Buddhism. Mipham's commentary supports Maitreya's text in a detailed analysis of how ordinary, confused consciousness can be transformed into wisdom. Easy-to-follow instructions guide the reader through the profound meditation that gradually brings about this transformation. This important and comprehensive work belongs on the bookshelf of any serious Buddhist practitioner—and indeed of anyone interested in realizing their full potential as a human being. Ju Mipham Rinpoche (1846–1912) was a great master of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and one of the leading figures in the Rime nonsectarian movement in Tibet. This text, along with Ju Mipham Rinpoche's commentary, is taught extensively throughout the world by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, who considers this text to be of pivotal importance. Jim Scott, a longtime student of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, translated this work at his request and under his guidance. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Scott, Jim, trans. Maitreya's Distinguishing Phenomena and Pure Being. With commentary by Mipham. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2004.
Book
Middle Beyond Extremes
Middle Beyond Extremes contains a translation of the Buddhist masterpiece Distinguishing the Middle from Extremes. This famed text, often referred to by its Sanskrit title, Madhyāntavibhāga, is part of a collection known as the Five Maitreya Teachings. Maitreya, the Buddha’s regent, is held to have entrusted these profound and vast instructions to the master Asaṅga in the heavenly realm of Tuṣita.

In pithy verses, Distinguishing the Middle from Extremes employs the principle of the three natures to explain the way things seem to be as well as the way they actually are. Unraveling the subtle processes that condition our thinking and experience, Maitreya’s teaching reveals a powerful path of compassionate vision and spiritual transformation.

Distinguishing the Middle from Extremes is presented here alongside commentaries by two outstanding masters of Tibet’s nonsectarian Rimé movement, Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. Middle Beyond Extremes: Maitreya's Madhyāntavibhāga with Commentaries by Khenpo Shenga (gzhan phan chos kyi snang ba) and Ju Mipham ('ju mi pham rgya mtsho). Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2006.
Book
Mipam on Buddha-Nature
A comprehensive overview of Tibetan Buddhist thinker Mipam’s work on emptiness and Buddha-nature.



Mipam ( 'ju mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846–1912) is one of the most prolific thinkers in the history of Tibet and is a key figure in the Nyingma tradition of Buddhism. His works continue to be widely studied in the Tibetan cultural region and beyond. This book provides an in-depth account of Mipam’s view, drawing on a wide range of his works and offering several new translations. Douglas S. Duckworth shows how a dialectic of presence and absence permeates Mipam’s writings on the Middle Way and Buddha-nature.

Arguably the most important doctrine in Buddhism, Buddha-nature is, for Mipam, equivalent to the true meaning of emptiness; it is the ground of all and the common ground shared by sentient beings and Buddhas. This ground is the foundation of the path and inseparable from the goal of Buddhahood. Duckworth probes deeply into Mipam’s writings on Buddha-nature to illuminate its central place in a dynamic Buddhist philosophy. (Source: SUNY Press)
Duckworth, Douglas S. Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the Nyingma Tradition. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008. http://promienie.net/images/dharma/books/mipham_buddha-nature.pdf.
Book
Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sūtras
The Buddhist masterpiece Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sūtras, often referred to by its Sanskrit title, Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra, is part of a collection known as the Five Maitreya Teachings, a set of philosophical works that have become classics of the Indian Buddhist tradition. Maitreya, the Buddha’s regent, is held to have entrusted these profound and vast instructions to the master Asaṅga in the heavenly realm of Tuṣita.

The Ornament provides a comprehensive description of the bodhisattva’s view, meditation, and enlightened activities. Bodhisattvas are beings who, out of vast love for all sentient beings, have dedicated themselves to the task of becoming fully awakened buddhas, capable of helping all beings in innumerable and vast ways to become enlightened themselves. To fully awaken requires practicing great generosity, patience, energy, discipline, concentration, and wisdom, and Maitreya’s text explains what these enlightened qualities are and how to develop them.

This volume includes commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham, whose discussions illuminate the subtleties of the root text and provide valuable insight into how to practice the way of the bodhisattva. Drawing on the Indian masters Vasubandhu and, in particular, Sthiramati, Mipham explains the Ornament with eloquence and brilliant clarity. This commentary is among his most treasured works. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sūtras: Maitreya’s Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra with Commentaries by Khenpo Shenga (mkhan po gzhan dga') and Ju Mipham ('ju mi pham). Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2014.
Book
The Lion's Roar That Proclaims Zhantong
This book is a translation of Ju Mipham Namgyal's important text, The Lion's Roar That Proclaims Zhantong, which discusses issues of emptiness and the two truths in relation to the zhantong system of thought.
Duff, Tony, trans. The Lion's Roar That Proclaims Zhantong. By Ju Mipham Namgyal ('ju mi pham rnam rgyal). Kathmandu: Padma Karpo Translation Committee, 2010.
Book
The Lion's Roar of the Ultimate Non-Dual Buddha Nature
The teaching of the Buddha hinges around the one point that sentient beings, meaning beings having a mind, have within them the potential to become a buddha. If they did not possess that potential, it would not be possible for them to become buddhas and the rest of the Buddhist teaching would be an interesting but useless philosophy. Therefore, the topic of buddha nature is especially important.

The Buddha taught buddha nature in three steps, each more profound than the previous one. The last step is regarded by most Tibetan Buddhist schools as the most profound teaching of the sutras, the very essence of what the Buddha was trying to communicate to his followers. It is the same teaching as found in Mahamudra and Dzogchen, so is important for all Buddhists to understand, but especially for those who are studying the Mahamudra and Dzogchen teachings.

The very learned Nyingma teacher Ju Mipham Namgyal gave a teaching that clearly showed this ultimate non-dual buddha nature. It was recorded and published by his students in a text called The Lion's Roar that is A Great Thousand Doses of Sugatagarbha which forms the basis of this book. The text needs clarification, so a very extensive explanation has been provided by the author of the book, the well known Western Buddhist teacher and translator, Tony Duff. As with all of our books, and an extensive introduction, glossary, and so on are provided to assist the reader.
Duff, Tony, trans. The Lion's Roar of the Ultimate Non-Dual Buddha Nature: A Text by Ju Mipham Namgyal and Explanation by Tony Duff. Kathmandu: Padma Karpo Translation Committee, 2015.
Book
The Lion’s Roar Proclaiming Emptiness of Other
An unpublished translation of Mipham's work on Zhentong.
Waldo, Ives, trans. The Lion’s Roar Proclaiming Emptiness of Other. By Mipham Gyatso (mi pham rgya mtsho). Unpublished translation. N.p: n.p., n.d.
Text
Mipam Gyatso: Lion's Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature
Mipam lays out his view of buddha-nature in a short text called Lion's Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature, which draws on another of the five treatises of Maitreya, the Sublime Continuum. Here he presents three main arguments showing why all beings have buddha-nature. He also distinguishes his view of buddha-nature, which he portrays as the unconditioned unity of emptiness and appearance, from other traditions' views. Namely, he contrasts his view with traditions that maintain buddhanature as truly real and not empty (Jonang), traditions that hold buddhanature to be simply the mind's absence of true existence (Geluk), and traditions that maintain that the cognitive quality of buddha-nature—the element that is in unity with emptiness—is impermanent (a Sakya view).
Text
Mipam Gyatso: Words of Mipam: Interlinear Commentary on the Uttaratantra
Mipam's annotated commentary to the Uttaratantra, a commentarial style in which the root verses of the treatise are embedded in the text and are then explained word by word. This text overlaps significantly with his related work on this subject Lion’s Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature.
Text
Mipam Gyatso: Lion's Roar: Affirming Other Emptiness
Mipam's other "lion's roar"—his Lion's Roar: Affirming Other Emptiness—shows the way he establishes an other-emptiness view that affirms the existence of the ultimate truth as not empty of its own essence.
Text
Mipam Gyatso: Distinguishing Wisdom from Appearances: A Commentary on Distinguishing Phenomena and their Nature
Mipam's commentary on the Dharmadharmatāvibhāga, one of the Five Dharma Treatises of Maitreya (byams chos sde lnga) said to have been presented to Asaṅga by the bodhisattva Maitreya in the Tuṣita heaven.


On the topic of this person

Interview
A Dilettante's Ramblings on the Uttaratantra, Asaṅga, Mipham, and Buddha-Nature by John Canti
John Canti, longtime practitioner and translator, founder of Padmakara Translation Group, and Editorial Director at the 84000 Project, speaks with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho about a wide range of topics related to buddha-nature teachings.

John Canti studied medicine and anthropology at Cambridge University (UK) and qualified as a doctor in 1975. While still a medical student he met and began to study with some of the great Tibetan Buddhist masters of the older generation, especially Kangyur Rinpoche, Dudjom Rinpoche, and Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. After some years of medical work in northeastern Nepal in the late 1970s he went to the Dordogne, France, to complete two three-year retreats at Chanteloube, and has remained primarily based there ever since.

John is a founding member of the Padmakara Translation Group, was a Tsadra Foundation Fellow from 2001-2014, and was awarded the 2016 Khyentse Foundation Fellowship. In 2009, when 84000 first started, he was appointed Editorial Chair of 84000, and in 2020 has become Editorial Co-Director.
Canti, John. "A Dilettante's Ramblings on the Uttaratantra, Asaṅga, Mipham, and Buddha-Nature." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 25, 2022. Video, 1:33:09. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEwPclJGvF8.
Book
A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle
A monumental work and Indian Buddhist classic, the Ornament of the Mahāyāna Sūtras (Mahāyānasūtrālamkāra) is a precious resource for students wishing to study in-depth the philosophy and path of Mahāyāna Buddhism. This full translation and commentary outlines the importance of Mahāyāna, the centrality of bodhicitta or the mind of awakening, the path of becoming a bodhisattva, and how one can save beings from suffering through skillful means.

This definitive composition of Mahāyāna teachings was imparted in the fourth century by Maitreya to the famous adept Asanga, one of the most prolific writers of Buddhist treatises in history. Asanga’s work, which is among the famous Five Treatises of Maitreya, has been studied, commented upon, and taught by Buddhists throughout Asia ever since it was composed.

In the early twentieth century, one of Tibet’s greatest scholars and saints, Jamgön Mipham, wrote A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle, which is a detailed explanation of every verse. This commentary has since been used as the primary blueprint for Tibetan Buddhists to illuminate the depth and brilliance of Maitreya’s pith teachings. The Padmakara Translation Group has provided yet another accessible and eloquent translation, ensuring that English-speaking students of Mahāyāna will be able to study this foundational Buddhist text for generations to come. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Gethin, Stephen (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. A Feast of the Nectar of the Supreme Vehicle: An Explanation of the Ornament of the Mahāyāna Sūtras; Maitreya's Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra with a Commentary by Jamgön Mipham. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2018.
Audio
Basics of Buddha-Nature: Mipham's Roaring Lions Public
Dr. Pettit speaks about the basics of Buddha-Nature (bde gshegs snying po’i rigs = sugatagarbhagotra) according to Mipham Rinpoche, with additional reference to some Pāli Suttas, Nāgārjuna’s Praise of Dharmadhatu, and the Uttaratantra. He bases his remarks on Mipham’s text, The Lion’s Roar: Exposition on Buddha Nature (bde gshegs snying po stong thun chen mo seng ge nga ro). John Whitney Pettit holds graduate degrees from Harvard University and Columbia University in the study of World Religions and Buddhist Studies. He has been the student of the previous Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and also heard or translated teachings from prominent masters representing the Nyingma tradition and the other schools of Tibetan Buddhism. He is the translator and author of Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty (1999) and of a forthcoming anthology volume on the subject of Buddha-nature. Since 1998 he has lived in or near New York’s Hudson Valley, working on occasional translations, carving mani stones and communing with the genius loci. He spoke with students at RYI on the 27th of March, 2019. (Adapted from Source Aug 13, 2020)
Pettit, John W. "Basics of Buddha-Nature: Mipham's Roaring Lions Public." Recorded March 27, 2019 at Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Nepal. Audio, 1:14:20. https://soundcloud.com/rangjung-yeshe-institute/basics-of-buddha-nature-miphams-roaring-lions-public.
Interview
Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture: Deliberations on the Buddha-Nature Theory in the Nyingma Tradition by Dorji Wangchuk: Conversations on Buddha-Nature
The Nyingma tradition is an eclectic and complex Tibetan tradition with a rich history of teachings that relate to the idea of Buddha-Nature in different ways. In this video Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho and his compatriot Professor Dorji Wangchuk discuss interpretations of Buddha-Nature theory in the Nyingma tradition, of which they are both trained specialists.
Wangchuk, Dorji. "Buddha by Nature or Buddha by Nurture: Deliberations on the Buddha-Nature Theory in the Nyingma Tradition." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, July 31, 2021. Video, 1:21:34. https://youtu.be/xC06_wvq_cI.
PhD Diss
Duckworth, D.: Buddha-Nature and a Dialectic of Presence and Absence in the Works of Mi-pham
A key dissertation on Mipam's interpretation of buddha-nature.
Duckworth, Douglas S. "Buddha-Nature and a Dialectic of Presence and Absence in the Works of Mi-Pham (mi pham rgya mtsho)." PhD Diss, University of Virginia, 2005.
Video
Dorji Wangchuk: On the Impact of Rongzompa, Longchenpa, and Mipam on the Nyingma Tradition
Wangchuk, Dorji. "On the Impact of Rongzompa, Longchenpa, and Mipam on the Nyingma Tradition." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, July 31, 2021. Video, 8:44. https://youtu.be/pEES25DoqyM.
Wangchuk, Dorji. "On the Impact of Rongzompa, Longchenpa, and Mipam on the Nyingma Tradition." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, July 31, 2021. Video, 8:44. https://youtu.be/pEES25DoqyM.
Video
Douglas Duckworth at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
Douglas Duckworth presents how buddha-nature is interpreted by Mipam Gyatso (1846–1912). He shows that while Mipam accepts that the qualities of the buddha are primordially present, unconditioned, and not newly produced, they are also empty of inherent existence.
Duckworth, Douglas. "Sentient Beings Within: Buddha-Nature and the Great Perfection." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 42:46. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slBWdnUfS8w.
Book
Gateway to Knowledge Vol. III
The Gateway to Knowledge is a condensation of the Tripitaka and its accompanying commentaries.

Consolidating the intent of Buddha Shakyamuni’s teachings into a unified body of text books, it is the philosophical backbone of the living tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. This rich source book embodies the basics of Prajnaparamita and Madhyamika as well as the Abhidharma from both the Mahayana and Hinayana perspective. Every volume in this series includes the Tibetan text and the English translation on facing pages.

The student of The Gateway to Knowledge can begin to comprehend the meaning of the major works on Buddhist philosophy and of the traditional sciences. When you want to extract their meaning you need an “expert system,” a key. The Gateway to Knowledge is like that key, a magical key – it opens up the treasury of precious gemstones in the expansive collection of Buddhist scriptures. (Source: Rangjung Yeshe Publications)
Kunsang, Erik Pema, trans. Gateway to Knowledge: The Treatise Entitled The Gate for Entering the Way of a Pandita. Vol. 3. By Jamgön Mipham Rinpoche ('jam mgon mi pham rin po che). Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2002. http://promienie.net/images/dharma/books/mipham_gateway-to-knowledge-vol-3.pdf.
Book
Jamgön Mipam: His Life and Teachings
Jamgön Mipam (1846-1912) is one of the most extraordinary figures in the history of Tibet. Monk, mystic, and brilliant philosopher, he shaped the trajectory of Tibetan Buddhism's Nyingma school. This introduction provides a most concise entrée to this great luminary's life and work. The first section gives a general context for understanding Mipam's life. Part Two gives an overview of Mipam's interpretation of Buddhism, examining his major themes, and devoting particular attention to his articulation of the Buddhist conception of emptiness. Part Three presents a representative sampling of Mipam's writings. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Duckworth, Douglas S. Jamgön Mipham: His Life and Teachings. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2011.
Video
John Canti: How Does Mipham View the 2nd and 3rd Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma?
Canti, John. "How Does Mipham View the 2nd and 3rd Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma?" Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 25, 2022. Video, 1:40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKtdyH0JJdI.
Canti, John. "How Does Mipham View the 2nd and 3rd Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma?" Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 25, 2022. Video, 1:40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKtdyH0JJdI.
Video
John Canti: On What Inspired Him to Work on the Uttaratantra & Mipham's Commentary
Canti, John. "On What Inspired Him to Work on the Uttaratantra & Mipham's Commentary." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 25, 2022. Video, 4:19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl7x8gHmgiI.
Canti, John. "On What Inspired Him to Work on the Uttaratantra & Mipham's Commentary." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, June 25, 2022. Video, 4:19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl7x8gHmgiI.
Audio
Khenpo Namdrol 2008 Teachings on Buddha Nature
Khenchen Namdrol Rinpoche teaches the Rigpa Shedra on Mipham Rinpoche's work on buddha-nature (Skt. sugatagarbha): Lion's Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature.
Khenpo Namdrol. "Oral Teachings on Mi pham rgya mtsho's Bde gshegs snying po'i stong thun chen mo seng+ge'i nga ro." 15 pts. Audio recorded during Shedra East 2008–2009 in Pharping, Nepal. http://www.rigpawiki.org/index.php?title=Khenpo_Namdrol_2008_Teachings_on_Buddha_Nature
Video
Khenpo Tenzin Norgay: On the Position of Mipam vis-à-vis the Rang stong and Gzhan stong Debate
Norgay, Khenpo Tenzin. "On the Position of Mipam vis-à-vis the Rang stong and Gzhan stong Debate." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, April 30, 2022. Video, 4:13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rni74KUZDzc.
Norgay, Khenpo Tenzin. "On the Position of Mipam vis-à-vis the Rang stong and Gzhan stong Debate." Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, April 30, 2022. Video, 4:13. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rni74KUZDzc.
Video
Khenpo Tenzin Norgay: What Inspired Figures Like Khenpo Shenga and Mipam to Embrace a Sūtra Perspective?
Norgay, Khenpo Tenzin. "What Inspired Figures Like Khenpo Shenga and Mipam to Embrace a Sūtra Perspective?" Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, April 30, 2022. Video, 6:50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngiFR0svasM.
Norgay, Khenpo Tenzin. "What Inspired Figures Like Khenpo Shenga and Mipam to Embrace a Sūtra Perspective?" Conversations on Buddha-Nature with Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho. Produced by the Tsadra Foundation Research Department, April 30, 2022. Video, 6:50. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngiFR0svasM.
Book
Lion of Speech
A traditional biography on the life of Mipham Rinpoche—one of the greatest 19th-century masters—from Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche—one of the greatest 20th–century masters.

Lion of Speech: The Life of Mipham Rinpoche offers a translation of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s biography of Mipham Rinpoche, left behind in Tibet when Khyentse Rinpoche went into exile in 1959 and lost for eighty years before its discovery by an extraordinary stroke of good fortune. The biography is written as a traditional namthar, an account of the “life and liberation” of a man who is widely considered to be among the greatest scholars and accomplished masters in the history of Tibetan Buddhism. One of the striking features of Khyentse Rinpoche’s account is that it downplays the “miraculous” aspects of Mipham’s life and activities—perhaps as a means of bringing into sharper focus the effect that Mipham had on his contemporaries as a spiritual master, scholar, and teacher.

The second half of the book offers selected translations of Mipham Rinpoche’s works that provide readers with a taste of his enormous and extremely varied output. The translations are from his works on Madhyamaka, buddha-nature, tantra, and the Great Perfection. Some are new translations and some are striking passages from works that have already been published, including passages from Guide to the Wheel of Analytical Meditation, The Adornment of the Middle Way, The Wisdom Chapter, The Lion’s Roar, and White Lotus. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Fletcher, Wulstan, and Helena Blankleder (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. Lion of Speech: The Life of Mipham Rinpoche. By Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Publications, 2020.
Book
Mipam on Buddha-Nature
A comprehensive overview of Tibetan Buddhist thinker Mipam’s work on emptiness and Buddha-nature.



Mipam ( 'ju mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846–1912) is one of the most prolific thinkers in the history of Tibet and is a key figure in the Nyingma tradition of Buddhism. His works continue to be widely studied in the Tibetan cultural region and beyond. This book provides an in-depth account of Mipam’s view, drawing on a wide range of his works and offering several new translations. Douglas S. Duckworth shows how a dialectic of presence and absence permeates Mipam’s writings on the Middle Way and Buddha-nature.

Arguably the most important doctrine in Buddhism, Buddha-nature is, for Mipam, equivalent to the true meaning of emptiness; it is the ground of all and the common ground shared by sentient beings and Buddhas. This ground is the foundation of the path and inseparable from the goal of Buddhahood. Duckworth probes deeply into Mipam’s writings on Buddha-nature to illuminate its central place in a dynamic Buddhist philosophy. (Source: SUNY Press)
Duckworth, Douglas S. Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the Nyingma Tradition. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008. http://promienie.net/images/dharma/books/mipham_buddha-nature.pdf.
Review
Mipam on Buddha-Nature-Review by Burchardi
No abstract given. Here are the first relevant paragraphs:


The different philosophies of the Buddhist tradition are chiefly concerned with the understanding of mind, consciousness, and mental states. In Buddhist literature, the relative nature of mental phenomena are described in a rather detailed manner, but more interestingly certain sections contain significant hints pointing to the so-called true nature of the mind and, in particular, how to access it. One of the terms referring to this true nature of mind is Buddha-nature, describing a quality of potential awakening inherent to the mind of everyone.
      In Mipam on Buddha-Nature, Douglas S. Duckworth seeks to illustrate the Tibetan contexts in which this so-called Buddha-nature is variously described, conceptualized, and experienced. In doing so, he draws on approximately twenty-eight different Tibetan texts written by Mi pham ( 'jam mgon mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846–1912) that he quotes; translating and paraphrasing the quotes in order to discuss their purport in relation to a significant number of interpretations of the issue by earlier Tibetan Buddhist authors, all of which are based on the explanations found in the earlier Indian Buddhist literature. However, the main text selected and translated in full is Mi pham’s Bde gshegs snying po’i stong thun chen mo seng ge’i nga ro. Duckworth also cites later masters commenting on Mi pham’s writings, notably Bötrul (Bod sprul mdo sngags bstan pa’i nyi ma, 1898–1959).

      His work primarily contributes insight into textual discussions taking place over centuries within the Indo-Tibetan Buddhist tradition and, secondarily, attempts to position the issues discussed within a comparative philosophical dialogue. However, the aim of the book—in the words of its author—is “to provide a holistically-oriented account of Mipham’s view of Buddha-nature” (xvii). Duckworth’s book represents a valuable presentation that seeks to define and summarize the philosophical and ideological views of this significant and influential Tibetan Buddhist master. (Burchardi, Review of Mipam on Buddha-Nature, 734)
Burchardi, Anne. Review of Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the Nyingma Tradition, by Douglas S. Duckworth. Journal of the American Academy of Religion 77, no. 3 (September 2009): 734–36.
Article
Non-representational Language in Mipam's Re-presentation of Other-emptiness
Buddhist traditions understand emptiness in various ways, and two streams of interpretation, “self-emptiness” (rang stong) and “other-emptiness” (gzhan stong), have emerged in Tibet that help bring into focus the extent to which interpretations diverge.1 In contrast to self-emptiness, other-emptiness does not refer to a phenomenon’s lack of its own essence;it refers to the ultimate reality’s lack of all that it is not. Rather than claiming the universality of self-emptiness (emptiness as lack of own essence), proponents of other-emptiness assert another way to understand emptiness with regard to the ultimate (emptiness as ultimate ground). These two interpretations of emptiness—as ground and as groundless abyss—reveal a rift at the foundation of Buddhist metaphysics.

      This essay probes the discourses of other-emptiness in the Jonang (jo nang) and Nyingma (rnying ma) traditions. After briefly introducing other-emptiness in the Jonang tradition, the locus classicus for other-emptiness in Tibet, I will contrast the way Mipam (‘ju mi pham rgya mtsho) (1846–1912) positions the discourse of other-emptiness in his interpretative system. I will then demonstrate how Mipam’s portrayal of other-emptiness highlights the way he uses a perspectival means to incorporate a diversity of seemingly contradictory claims that he uses to support his view of ultimate reality as indeterminate. I will argue that an implication of his view is a

non-representational account of language about the ultimate. (Duckworth, introduction, 920)
Duckworth, Douglas S. "Non-representational Language in Mipam's Re-presentation of Other-emptiness." Philosophy East and West 64, no. 4 (2014): 920–32. https://sites.temple.edu/duckworth/files/2013/07/NonRepresentational_duckworth.pdf.
Video
On His First Encounter with Buddha-Nature Teachings by Ringu Tulku
Ringu Tulku describes how the first time he engaged with buddha-nature teachings was via the Lion’s Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature (Bde gshegs snying po'i stong thun chen mo seng+ge'i nga ro) by Mipam Gyatso. He explains how this approach was unusual and was determined by the availability of texts.
Ringu Tulku. “On His First Encounter with Buddha-Nature Teachings.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, October 10, 2019. Video, 2:08. https://youtu.be/mVOxtut0Bi4.
Video
On Learning about the Uttaratantrashastra in the Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Shedra by Tokpa Tulku
Tokpa Tulku discusses his experiences learning about the Uttaratantrashastra, or Gyü Lama, in the Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling shedra. This is a topic, he explains, that comes later on in the eighth year of studies, after the the study of the sūtras. He describes how the text acts as a bridge between sūtra and tantra, as there is a certain transition that one goes through when moving from one to the other. The text aids in this transition.
Tokpa Tulku. “On Learning about the Uttaratantrashastra in the Ka-Nying Shedrub Ling Shedra.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, April 22, 2019. Video, 4:13. https://youtu.be/Jj3gRgZ3dl0.
Video
On Mipham and the Nyingma Approach to Buddha-Nature by Wulstan Fletcher
Wulstan Fletcher discusses Mipham's view of buddha-nature. He describes how he was influenced by Longchenpa's view of the inseparability of the second and third turnings of the wheel of the Dharma. He goes on to discuss Mipham's approach to the two truths (conventional and ultimate), in particular the way in which ultimate reality is described as the union of the two truths. Buddha-nature, he explains, is that which transcends the duality of permanence and impermanence. It is a permanence that transcends this binary. However, for Mipham, and more generally for the Nyingma, buddha-nature is not to be understood as a "real" substantive thing. Nor is it to be understood as a nonaffirming negation, as a mere emptiness.
Fletcher, Wulstan. “On Mipham and the Nyingma Approach to Buddha-Nature.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, November 9, 2019. Video, 19:04. https://youtu.be/ZUquZdCSXA8.
Video
On Various Texts That Teach about Buddha-Nature by Ringu Tulku
Ringu Tulku discusses the various texts that teach about buddha-nature beyond the Uttaratantraśāstra. He points to Nāgārjuna's praises, sūtras that are considered to be part of the third turning of the wheel of Dharma, Gampopa's Jewel Ornament of Liberation, Tāranātha's Jonang teachings, and works by Śākya Chokden, Longchenpa, and Mipam Rinpoche.
Ringu Tulku. “On Various Texts That Teach about Buddha-Nature” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, October 10, 2019. Video, 5:24. https://youtu.be/jjrS-TWoHJ8.
Video
On the Concepts of Presence and Absence as a Means for Understanding Buddha-Nature by Douglas Duckworth
Douglas Duckworth discusses the concepts of presence and absence as a means for understanding buddha-nature and touches on his work on Mipam Gyatso.
Duckworth, Douglas. "On the Concepts of Presence and Absence as a Means for Understanding Buddha-Nature." Interview by Alex Gardner. AAR Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, Nov. 20, 2018. Video, 7:40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f_Yf9U1SF8&t=3s.
Video
On the Three Reasons That All Beings Have Buddha-Nature by Tokpa Tulku
Tokpa Tulku discusses the three reasons all beings have buddha-nature, which come from chapter 1 verse 28 of the Uttaratantraśāstra, or Gyü Lama. As for the first reason, he points to the fact that the Buddha was once a deluded sentient being. Therefore, if the Buddha, through developing wisdom, attained enlightenment, this proves that sentient beings have buddha-nature, that they can also achieve the same. The second verse, he explains, points to the notion that the Buddha's mind and the mind of a sentient being are the same; while they are different in terms of their obscurations and level of delusion, from the ultimate point of view they are of the same nature. As for the third reason, he points to the fact that all sentient beings want to be happy and free of suffering, a quality which proves that all beings have buddha-nature.
Tokpa Tulku. “On the Three Reasons That All Beings Have Buddha-Nature.” Interview by Marcus Perman. Tsadra Foundation Research Department, April 22, 2019. Video, 6:29. https://youtu.be/yx60OVqkuxc.
Book
Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sūtras
The Buddhist masterpiece Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sūtras, often referred to by its Sanskrit title, Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra, is part of a collection known as the Five Maitreya Teachings, a set of philosophical works that have become classics of the Indian Buddhist tradition. Maitreya, the Buddha’s regent, is held to have entrusted these profound and vast instructions to the master Asaṅga in the heavenly realm of Tuṣita.

The Ornament provides a comprehensive description of the bodhisattva’s view, meditation, and enlightened activities. Bodhisattvas are beings who, out of vast love for all sentient beings, have dedicated themselves to the task of becoming fully awakened buddhas, capable of helping all beings in innumerable and vast ways to become enlightened themselves. To fully awaken requires practicing great generosity, patience, energy, discipline, concentration, and wisdom, and Maitreya’s text explains what these enlightened qualities are and how to develop them.

This volume includes commentaries by Khenpo Shenga and Ju Mipham, whose discussions illuminate the subtleties of the root text and provide valuable insight into how to practice the way of the bodhisattva. Drawing on the Indian masters Vasubandhu and, in particular, Sthiramati, Mipham explains the Ornament with eloquence and brilliant clarity. This commentary is among his most treasured works. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Ornament of the Great Vehicle Sūtras: Maitreya’s Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra with Commentaries by Khenpo Shenga (mkhan po gzhan dga') and Ju Mipham ('ju mi pham). Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2014.
Book
Rong-zom-pa's Discourses on Buddhology
The present study looks into the investigation of buddhology1—that is, conceptions of Buddhahood found in various traditional Buddhist systems and scriptures—by the eleventh-century rNying-ma author and translator Rong-zom Choskyi-bzang-po (henceforth Rong-zom-pa). The bulk of attention will be devoted to his work titled Sangs rgyas kyi sa chen mo (henceforth Sangs sa chen mo) (An Extended [Exposition on] the Stage of a Buddha). This treatise—the only known Tibetan (and, as far as I am aware, indeed pan-Indian) work of its kind on buddhology—discusses its subject at length, focusing on the controversy about whether gnosis exists—on the conventional level—at the stage of a buddha.2 My attention was first drawn to this controversy when I was working on my Master's thesis, titled "The Life and Works of Rong-zom Paṇḍita," for which I critically edited and translated Mi-pham-rgya mtsho's (1846–1912) Rang zorn gsung 'bum dkar chag me tog phreng ba (Garland of Flowers: A Catalogue to Rong-zom's Collected Works), and prepared a detailed catalogue of Rongzom-pa's three-volume collected works.3 In his catalogue, Mi-pham devotes an entire passage to this issue, with the aim of refuting what he believed to be the wrongly held view that Rong-zom-pa denied the existence of gnosis at the stage of a buddha. Any denial of the existence of gnosis had obviously been difficult to digest by most Tibetan scholars, and the prevailing position in Tibet was and still is that a buddha does possess gnosis. Mi-pham attempts to interpret Rong-zom-pa's statements in which he unquestionably maintains that gnosis does not exist at the stage of a buddha as only referring to gnosis that had been generated on the path but not to gnosis as such, for Rong-zom-pa, Mi-pham argues, is an expounder of rDzogs-chen, a system in which what is called 'self-occurring gnosis' (rang byung gi ye shes: svayaṃbhūjñāna) features prominently. Nonetheless, from my examination of Rong-zom-pa's discussions of the whole issue, it has become evident that he did indeed deny the existence of any cognitive element whatsoever at the stage of a buddha, the sole constituent of Buddhahood being for him the purified dharmadhātu. Although he alludes to self-occurring gnosis on numerous occasions in his works, there is a salient difference between his and Mi-pham's understanding of the term: for Mi-pham self-occurring gnosis is something cognitive, whereas for Rong-zom-pa, who equates it with the dharmadhātu, it is not. Rong-zom-pa, however, does not deny that a buddha's gnosis, as mere appearance, manifests to those who have not yet attained release and thus have not yet eliminated all their delusions. A buddha, on the other hand, whose delusions have been completely exhausted, does not possess such gnosis. This position of Rong-zom-pa's does not seem to be an exceptional case. It can be shown in fact that numerous, if not the majority, of Indian Madhyamaka scholars of the eleventh century took a position similar to that of Rong-zom-pa. Furthermore, several works of early bKa'-gdams scholars that have come to light recently show that Rong-zom-pa was not the only Tibetan of his time to hold such a view. It thus appears that while the latter was indeed current among Tibetan scholars of the eleventh century, for a variety of reasons it was soon superseded by the less radical position which allows for the existence of some kind of cognitive element. (Almogi, preface, 13–14)

Notes

1. Following Paul Harrison, I employ the term 'buddhology' (written in lower case) to refer to theories on and conceptions of the nature of a "buddha" (i.e., Buddhahood), while reserving 'Buddhology' (capitalized) for an alternative designation for Buddhist Studies. See Harrison 1995, p. 24, n. 4.
2. In the present study I differentiate between a buddha (i.e., written in lower case and italicized), a title referring to any unspecified awakened person, and Buddha (i.e., written in roman and capitalized), a title referring to Śākyamuni Buddha or any other particular awakened person. (The same convention has been employed in the case of other titles: for example, bodhisattva versus Bodhisattva.) This differentiation is particularly important for the discussion of buddhology, or conceptions of Buddhahood, since some such conceptions (particularly the earlier ones) are clearly only associated with the person of the historical Buddha, while others, which commonly represent later developments in which a plurality of buddhas is affirmed, concern all awakened persons. To be sure, often there is no clear-cut borderline. In such cases I have employed both forms as alternatives.

3. A considerably revised and enlarged version of the thesis is currently under preparation for publication in the near future.
Almogi, Orna. Rong-zom-pa's Discourses on Buddhology: A Study of Various Conceptions of Buddhahood in Indian Sources with Special Reference to the Controversy Surrounding the Existence of Gnosis (jñāna: ye shes) as Presented by the Eleventh-Century Tibetan Scholar Rong-zom Chos-kyi-bzang-po. Studia Philologica Buddhica Monograph Series 24. Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2009.
Book
The Lion's Roar That Proclaims Zhantong
This book is a translation of Ju Mipham Namgyal's important text, The Lion's Roar That Proclaims Zhantong, which discusses issues of emptiness and the two truths in relation to the zhantong system of thought.
Duff, Tony, trans. The Lion's Roar That Proclaims Zhantong. By Ju Mipham Namgyal ('ju mi pham rnam rgyal). Kathmandu: Padma Karpo Translation Committee, 2010.
Book
The Lion's Roar of the Ultimate Non-Dual Buddha Nature
The teaching of the Buddha hinges around the one point that sentient beings, meaning beings having a mind, have within them the potential to become a buddha. If they did not possess that potential, it would not be possible for them to become buddhas and the rest of the Buddhist teaching would be an interesting but useless philosophy. Therefore, the topic of buddha nature is especially important.

The Buddha taught buddha nature in three steps, each more profound than the previous one. The last step is regarded by most Tibetan Buddhist schools as the most profound teaching of the sutras, the very essence of what the Buddha was trying to communicate to his followers. It is the same teaching as found in Mahamudra and Dzogchen, so is important for all Buddhists to understand, but especially for those who are studying the Mahamudra and Dzogchen teachings.

The very learned Nyingma teacher Ju Mipham Namgyal gave a teaching that clearly showed this ultimate non-dual buddha nature. It was recorded and published by his students in a text called The Lion's Roar that is A Great Thousand Doses of Sugatagarbha which forms the basis of this book. The text needs clarification, so a very extensive explanation has been provided by the author of the book, the well known Western Buddhist teacher and translator, Tony Duff. As with all of our books, and an extensive introduction, glossary, and so on are provided to assist the reader.
Duff, Tony, trans. The Lion's Roar of the Ultimate Non-Dual Buddha Nature: A Text by Ju Mipham Namgyal and Explanation by Tony Duff. Kathmandu: Padma Karpo Translation Committee, 2015.
Book
The Lion’s Roar Proclaiming Emptiness of Other
An unpublished translation of Mipham's work on Zhentong.
Waldo, Ives, trans. The Lion’s Roar Proclaiming Emptiness of Other. By Mipham Gyatso (mi pham rgya mtsho). Unpublished translation. N.p: n.p., n.d.
Book
The Other Emptiness: Rethinking the Zhentong Buddhist Discourse in Tibet
This book brings together perspectives of leading international Tibetan studies scholars on the subject of zhentong or “other-emptiness.” Defined as the emptiness of everything other than the continuous luminous awareness that is one’s own enlightened nature, this distinctive philosophical and contemplative presentation of emptiness is quite different from rangtong—emptiness that lacks independent existence, which has had a strong influence on the dissemination of Buddhist philosophy in the West. Important topics are addressed, including the history, literature, and philosophy of emptiness that have contributed to zhentong thinking in Tibet from the thirteenth century until today. The contributors examine a wide range of views on zhentong from each of the major orders of Tibetan Buddhism, highlighting the key Tibetan thinkers in the zhentong philosophical tradition. Also discussed are the early formulations of buddhanature, interpretations of cosmic time, polemical debates about emptiness in Tibet, the zhentong view of contemplation, and creative innovations of thought in Tibetan Buddhism. Highly accessible and informative, this book can be used as a scholarly resource as well as a textbook for teaching graduate and undergraduate courses on Buddhist philosophy. (Source: SUNY Press)
Sheehy, Michael R., and Klaus-Dieter Mathes, eds. The Other Emptiness: Rethinking the Zhentong Buddhist Discourse in Tibet. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2019.
Book
The Reflexive Nature of Awareness (2000)
According to the Tibetan Tsong Kha pa one of the eight difficult points in understanding Madhyamaka philosophy is the way in which Prāsaṅgika Madhyamaka does not accept even conventionally that reflexivity is an essential part of awareness — that in being aware there is also an awareness of being aware (rang rig). One of the most sysyematic and detailed refutations of Tsong kha pa's approach to this issue can be found in the commentary to the ninth chapter of the Bodhicaryaāvatāra by the rNyingma lama Mi pham (1846–1912), together with Mi pham's own replies to his subsequent critics. In the course of this Mi pham reveals a vision of what is going on in the Madhyamaka which is rather different from the more familiar Tibetan approach of Tsong kha pa.
      Paul Williams places this controversy in its Indian and Tibetan context. He traces in detail Mi pham's position in his commentary on the Bodhicaryaāvatāra, the attack of one of his opponents, and his response, as well as indicating ways in which this controversy over the nature of awareness may be important within the context of Mi pham's rNyingma heritage of rDzogs chen thought and practice.
      This book is the first book length study of its subject, and also includes a reprint of a previous paper by Williams on the reflexive nature of awareness, as well as the relevant Tibetan texts from Mi pham. The book will be of interest to all students of Indian and Tibetan Madhyamaka, as well as associated areas of Buddhist thought such as Yogācāra and the philosophy of Dharmakīrti. It will also be of value to those concerned with the intelectual foundations of rDzogs chen. (Source: Back cover of Routledge 2013 edition)
Williams, Paul. The Reflexive Nature of Awareness: A Tibetan Madhyamaka Defence. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2000. First published 1998 by Curzon Press (Richmond, UK).
PhD Diss
Pettit, J.: Theory, Practice, and Ultimate Reality in the Thought of Mipham Rinpoche
Abstract

This thesis explores the thought of one of Tibet's preeminent scholars, 'Jam mgon 'Ju Mi pham rnam rgyal (1846-1912), focusing on one of his most important texts, the Precious Lamp of Certainty. The critical philosophical traditions of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist scholasticism inculcate a developmental or gradualist interpretation of the path towards enlightenment based on philosophical study and critical reasoning. The Precious Lamp of Certainty uses critical philosophical methods to establish the viability of the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen), a philosophical and meditative oriented towards subitism or sudden enlightenment.
Pettit, John W. "Theory, Practice, and Ultimate Reality in the Thought of Mipham Rinpoche." PhD diss., Columbia University, 1998.
Article
Was Mi-pham a Dialectical Monist? On a Recent Study of Mi-pham's Interpretation of the Buddha-Nature Theory
Douglas S. Duckworth’s Mipam on Buddha-Nature characterises Mi-pham’s (1846–1912) philosophy (or philosophical approach) as "dialectical monism." We should instead characterise it with a neo-Sanskritism, namely, "Yuganaddhavāada" (zung 'jug tu smra ba),lest we get bogged down by the usage of the term "dialectical monism." While Duckworth is absolutely right in identifying Mi-pham as a proponent of "dialectical monism," there is still a need to define and refine our understanding of Mi-pham's position, offer plausible explanations for it, and present various argumentative strategies employed for it by Mi-pham, all based on critically assessed textual sources that engage the idea of "unity" (zung 'jug: yuganaddha).
Wangchuk, Dorji. "Was Mi-pham a Dialectical Monist? On a Recent Study of Mi-pham's Interpretation of the Buddha-Nature Theory." Indo-Iranian Journal 55 (2012): 15–38.
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.
Interview
Wulstan Fletcher Interview on Buddha-Nature
Wulstan Fletcher discusses buddha-nature and it's related concepts in an interview with Marcus Perman of Tsadra Foundation.
Text
Bötrul Dongak Tenpai Nyima: Notes on the Essential Points of Mipam’s Exposition of Buddha-Nature
Notes on Mipam's Lion’s Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature, by an influential 20th century Nyingma scholar that took great pains to uphold and further the legacy of Mipam's scholastic contributions.

Philosophical positions of this person

Is buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
Definitive 
Do all beings have buddha-nature?
  Qualified Yes

For sentient beings, buddha-nature is present, but not yet manifest.
"The primordial endowment of the qualities of Buddha in sentient beings is a central part of Mipam’s presentation of Buddha-nature. This is an important aspect of his interpretation that he shares in common with the Jonang tradition." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 97.

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To which "turning of the wheel" do the buddha-nature teachings belong?
  Third Turning

Buddha-nature is a third wheel teaching, but he holds both third and second to be of definitive meaning and integrates the two as noncontradictory in his presentation of buddha-nature as the unity of emptiness (in the seceond wheel) and appearance (of kayas and wisdoms in the third wheel). Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, pp. 4-5.

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Is buddha-nature equated with emptiness or alayavijnana?
Madhyamaka 
Do buddha-nature teachings belong to the zhentong or rangtong view of emptiness?
  Rangtong

Though his view is nuanced and he at times wrote from both perspectives. Following are some examples of these variations.

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Are there one or three vehicles on the path to buddhahood?
 
Do the author's writings belong to the analytic or meditative tradition of Uttaratantra exegesis?
 
What is Buddha-nature?
  Tathāgatagarbha as the Unity of Emptiness and Luminosity

Though Mipam clearly presents several different perspectives on this issue:

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Does the author advocate the Svatantrika or Prasangika view of emptiness?
 

Other names

  • མི་ཕམ་འཇམ་དབྱངས་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • འཇམ་དཔལ་དགྱེས་པའི་རྡོ་རྗེ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • འཇུ་མི་ཕམ་ · other names (Tibetan)
  • mi pham 'jam dbyangs rnam rgyal rgya mtsho · other names (Wylie)
  • 'jam dpal dgyes pa'i rdo rje · other names (Wylie)
  • 'ju mi pham · other names (Wylie)
  • mipham · other names

Affiliations & relations

  • Nyingma · religious affiliation
  • 'jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po · teacher
  • 'jam mgon kong sprul · teacher
  • Dpal sprul rin po che · teacher
  • Lung rtogs bstan pa'i nyi ma · teacher
  • Dzogchen Drubwang, 4th · teacher
  • A 'dzoms 'brug pa 'gro 'dul dpa' bo rdo rje · student
  • Las rab gling pa · student
  • Dodrupchen, 3rd · student
  • Zhechen Gyaltsab, 4th · student
  • Lung rtogs bstan pa'i nyi ma · student
  • Pad+ma dbang mchog rgyal po · student
  • Kun bzang dpal ldan · student
  • Khyentse, Dilgo · student

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་

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་

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་

Mahāyāna - Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion. Skt. महायान Tib. ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ། Ch. 大乘

bodhicitta - The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution. Skt. बोधिचित्त Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས། Ch. 菩提心

Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt. बोधिसत्त्व Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch. 菩薩

byams chos sde lnga - This refers to a series of five texts that, according to the Tibetan tradition, Asaṅga received directly from Maitreya in the pure realm of Tuṣita. Tib. བྱམས་ཆོས་སྡེ་ལྔ་

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

sugatagarbha - Literally, the "essence" or "heart of the Bliss Gone One(s)," a synonym for tathāgatagarbha that is likewise often rendered into English by the term buddha-nature. Though it is often back translated into Sanskrit as sugatagarbha, this term is not found in Sanskrit sources. Skt. सुगतगर्भ Tib. བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་

Rong ston shes bya kun rig. Erudite Commentary on the Treatise of the Sublime Continuum of the Mahayana

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

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

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

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་

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

abhidharma - Abhidharma generally refers to the corpus of Buddhist texts which deals with the typological, phenomenological, metaphysical, and epistemological presentation of Buddhist concepts and teachings. The abhidharma teachings present a meta-knowledge of Buddhist sūtras through analytical and systemic schemas and are said to focus on developing wisdom among the three principles of training. The Abhidharma is presented alongside Sūtra and Vinaya as one of the three baskets of the teachings of the Buddha. Skt. अभिधर्म Tib. ཆོས་མངོན་པ། Ch. 阿毗达磨

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

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།

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

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་

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

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

sugatagarbha - Literally, the "essence" or "heart of the Bliss Gone One(s)," a synonym for tathāgatagarbha that is likewise often rendered into English by the term buddha-nature. Though it is often back translated into Sanskrit as sugatagarbha, this term is not found in Sanskrit sources. Skt. सुगतगर्भ Tib. བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་

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།

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

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་

gzhi - The foundational basis of both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. It is often used as a synonym for tathāgatagarbha and dharmadhātu. Tib. གཞི་

guṇa - The qualities or attributes of an enlightened being. Skt. गुण Tib. ཡོན་ཏན་ Ch. 功德

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་

sugatagarbha - Literally, the "essence" or "heart of the Bliss Gone One(s)," a synonym for tathāgatagarbha that is likewise often rendered into English by the term buddha-nature. Though it is often back translated into Sanskrit as sugatagarbha, this term is not found in Sanskrit sources. Skt. सुगतगर्भ Tib. བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་

dhātu - A fundamental component or essential constituent. Skt. धातु Tib. ཁམས་ Ch. 界

bīja - A seed, commonly used figuratively in the sense of something which has the potential to develop or grow, and likewise as the basic cause for this development or growth. Skt. बीज Tib. ས་བོན་ Ch. 無漏種

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

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་

byams chos sde lnga - This refers to a series of five texts that, according to the Tibetan tradition, Asaṅga received directly from Maitreya in the pure realm of Tuṣita. Tib. བྱམས་ཆོས་སྡེ་ལྔ་

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་

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

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.

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་

paramārthasatya - "Ultimate truth" or "absolute truth"; the reality of things as they truly are. Skt. परमार्थसत्य Tib. དོན་དམ་བདེན་པ་ Ch. 第一義諦

byams chos sde lnga - This refers to a series of five texts that, according to the Tibetan tradition, Asaṅga received directly from Maitreya in the pure realm of Tuṣita. Tib. བྱམས་ཆོས་སྡེ་ལྔ་

sugatagarbha - Literally, the "essence" or "heart of the Bliss Gone One(s)," a synonym for tathāgatagarbha that is likewise often rendered into English by the term buddha-nature. Though it is often back translated into Sanskrit as sugatagarbha, this term is not found in Sanskrit sources. Skt. सुगतगर्भ Tib. བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་

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

An important sūtra source for the Ratnagotravibhāga, particularly for its discussion of the nine examples that illustrate how all sentient beings possess buddha-nature.

guṇa - The qualities or attributes of an enlightened being. Skt. गुण Tib. ཡོན་ཏན་ Ch. 功德

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

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་

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་

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་

sems nyid - Commonly found in Dzogchen and Mahāmudrā literature, this term denotes the true, natural state of mind as it is. Often used in these traditions as a synonym for buddha-nature. Skt. चित्तत्व Tib. སེམས་ཉིད་

paramārthasatya - "Ultimate truth" or "absolute truth"; the reality of things as they truly are. Skt. परमार्थसत्य Tib. དོན་དམ་བདེན་པ་ Ch. 第一義諦

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་

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

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

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

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་

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

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་

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

Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt. बोधिसत्त्व Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch. 菩薩

prajñā - One of the key terms for wisdom or knowledge, most often having the sense of insight, transcendent knowledge, or perhaps gnosis. In some contexts it can also refer to cognition or intellectual understanding. Skt. प्रज्ञा Tib. ཤེས་རབ་ Ch. 般若

trikāya - The three enlightened forms of a buddha one attains when one becomes fully enlightened. They include the truth body (dharmakāya), enjoyment body (saṃbhogakāya), and the emanation body (nirmāṇakāya). The three bodies comprise the many qualities and powers associated with buddhahood and thus are the result sought through Mahāyāna Buddhist practice. Skt. त्रिकाय Tib. སྐུ་གསུམ། Ch. 三身

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་

bodhigarbha - An alternative term for tathāgatagarbha found in early Nyingma sources. Though it is back-translated as bodhigarbha, this term does not seem to be found in Sanskrit sources. However, in other contexts, the Tibetan byang chub snying po is often used to translate the Sanskrit term bodhimaṇḍa, which is often translated as the "seat of enlightenment." Skt. बोधिगर्भ Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སྙིང་པོ་

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

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

nirmāṇakāya - An fully enlightened Buddha is said to have the power to manifest in many forms in order to help the sentient beings. The emanation body of a buddha, as the third of the three bodies of a buddha, refers to the many forms in which a buddha can manifest and which are accessible to ordinary sentient beings. Buddhist scholars present four types of emanation bodies: emanation as supreme being, emanation as rebirth, emanation as artisan and emanation in diverse forms. Skt. निर्माणकाय Tib. སྤྲུལ་སྐུ། Ch. 化身

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

nītārtha - Refers to a teaching that is literally true. Skt. नीतार्थ Tib. ངེས་དོན་

triyāna - Commonly seen in a Mahāyāna context, the three vehicles are the Śrāvakayāna, Pratyekabuddhayāna, and Bodhisattvayāna, which reference the three different types of Buddhist practitioners. However, these three vehicles can also reference the three types of Buddhist teachings of the Hīnayāna, Mahāyāna (or Pāramitāyāna), and the Vajrayāna. Skt. त्रियान Tib. ཐེག་པ་གསུམ་ Ch. 三乗

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་

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