Mi pham rgya mtsho

Mipam Gyatso

མི་ཕམ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་

1846 - 1912

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.
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Philosophical positions of this person

Is buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?

Definitive

Do all beings have buddha-nature?

Qualified Yes

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

Third Turning

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.

He aligns his view with Nāgārjuna, but seems to assert rangtong in terms of the relative and zhentong in terms of the ultimate, as Duckworth quotes Mipam's Lion's Roar:

"First it is necessary to ascertain the lack of intrinsic nature of all phenomena in accordance with the scriptures of the protector Nāgārjuna; because if this is not known, one will not be able to ascertain the manner that relative [phenomena] are empty from their own side and the manner that the ultimate is empty of what is other. Therefore, one should first ascertain the freedom from constructs which is what is known reflexively." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 71.

However, Mipam is also quoted as stating:

"In the tradition of self-emptiness, since there is only the ultimately nonexistent, an ultimately existing phenomenon is impossible. In the tradition of other-emptiness, what is ultimately nonexistent is the relative, and what is ultimately existent is the ultimate itself. My tradition is clear in the Rapsel Rejoinder, the tradition propounding self-emptiness." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 74.

Mipam's position depends on the definitions used for these terms, as Duckworth points out:

"When we consider Mipam’s depiction of emptiness in light of the categories of “self-emptiness” and “other-emptiness,” we can see that according to Khenpo Lodrö Drakpa’s definitions of a proponent of self-emptiness (claiming a non-implicative negation as the consummate ultimate) and other-emptiness (claiming wisdom as not empty of its own essence), Mipam is a proponent of neither self-emptiness nor other-emptiness. However, according to Lochen’s definitions of self-emptiness and other-emptiness, we see how Mipam can be said to be a proponent of both self-emptiness and other-emptiness!" And, later on, "It is clear that Mipam defines himself as a proponent of self-emptiness—as one who propounds that there is nothing ultimately existent—in accord with his definition of the term. Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 74.

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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:

"Mipam states that the basic element (Buddha-nature) is empty of adventitious defilements, yet not empty of consummate qualities. These consummate qualities are inseparable from the suchness of phenomena that is luminous clarity and self-existing wisdom." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 18.

"Mipam’s two models of two truths support his interpretation of the compatibility of emptiness and Buddha-nature. The indivisibility of the two truths, empty appearance, is Buddha-nature; and the unity of appearance and emptiness is what is known in authentic experience." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 26.

"In his Trilogy of Innate Mind, Mipam also calls this suchness of mind “Buddhanature”: “Existing in the minds of all sentient beings in the manner of suchness on the occasion when obscurations dwell as suitable to be removed, it is called ‘Buddha-nature’ because when this suchness of mind is realized, one becomes a Buddha.” The suchness, or nature, of mind is Buddha-naure.

Self-existing wisdom is simply made manifest; it is not produced by a cause." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 100.

"Mipam also refers to Buddha-nature as the abiding reality of the “ground of the primeval beginning” (ye thog gi gzhi) in his Trilogy of Innate Mind: Buddha-nature is not a mere absence; it is emptiness and luminous clarity. It is the abiding reality of the ground of the primeval beginning of all phenomena, the abiding reality that is the indivisible truth of unity—emptiness endowed with all supreme aspects (rnam kun mchog ldan gyi stong nyid)." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 105.

"In his Lion’s Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature, Mipam describes the essence of the Buddha-nature as follows: “The essence of the Buddha-nature itself is free from all conceptual constructs such as existence and nonexistence, permanence and annihilation; it is the equality of the single sphere of indivisible truth.” Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 107.

In conclusion Duckworth sums up Mipam's view as such, "Since he depicts Buddha-nature with the qualities of the Buddha present at the time of a sentient being, his presentation shares an important feature with the Jonang tradition. His interpretation also shares a quality with the Geluk tradition, given that he equates Buddha-nature with emptiness. However, Mipam’s integration of Buddha-nature and emptiness most directly reflects Longchenpa’s description of the ground of the Great Perfection, the pinnacle of Buddhist vehicles in his Nyingma tradition, where Buddha-nature represents the unity of primordial purity and spontaneous presence." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 115.

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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
nil · teacher
nil · student