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Mipam on Buddha-Nature

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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)

Citation	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.

ContentsSources

• Preface ix

• Introduction xi
  • Presence and Absence xii
  • Historical Survey xvii
  • Monastic Education and the Nonsectarian Movement xx
  • Life and Works of Mipam xxiii
  • Summary of Contents xxviii
  • The End of the Beginning xxxii

• Chapter 1. Buddha-Nature and the Unity of the Two Truths 1
  • Introduction 1
  • Mipam’s Synthesis 4
  • Two Truths 6
  • Buddha-Nature as the Unity of Appearance and Emptiness 13
  • Buddha-Nature as the Definitive Meaning 20
  • Conclusion 26

• Chapter 2. Middle Way of Prāsaṅgika and Yogācāra 27
  • Introduction
  • Svātantrika-Prāsaṅgika
  • Dialectical Ascent
  • Foundations of Yogācāra
  • Prāsaṅgika versus Yogācāra
  • Conclusion

• Chapter 3. The Present Absence 55
  • Introduction
  • Other-Emptiness in the Jonang
  • Other-Emptiness and the Nyingma: Lochen Dharmaśrī
  • Another Emptiness? Emptiness of Self/Other
  • Phenomena and Suchness
  • De/limiting Emptiness
  • Emptiness as the Unity of Appearance and Emptiness
  • Conclusion

• Chapter 4. Buddha-Nature and the Ground of the Great Perfection 93
  • Introduction
  • Distinguishing the Views on Buddha-Nature
  • Buddha-Nature as Heritage, Buddha-Nature as the Ground
  • Appearance and Reality
  • Conclusion

• Chapter 5. The Indivisible Ground and Fruition 117
  • Introduction
  • Establishing Buddha-Nature: The Immanent Buddha
  • Establishing Appearances as Divine
  • Buddha-Nature and a Difference Between Sūtra and Mantra
  • Conclusion

• Conclusion 141
• Translations of Primary Texts
  • Appendix 1. Lion’s Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature
    • Stating Other Traditions
    • Presenting Our Authentic Tradition
      • The Meaning of the First Verse “Because the body of the perfect Buddha is radiant”
      • The Meaning of the Second Verse “Because thusness is indivisible”
      • The Meaning of the Third Verse “Because of possessing heritage”
    • Refuting the View that [the Basic Element] Is Truly Established and Not Empty
    • Refuting the View that [the Basic Element] Is a Void Emptiness
    • Refuting the Apprehension of [the Basic Element] as Impermanent and Conditioned
  • Appendix 2. Notes on the Essential Points of [Mipam’s] Exposition [of Buddha-Nature]

• Notes 191
• Bibliography 265
• Index 281

1. Mi pham rgya mtsho. bde gshegs snying po'i stong thun chen mo seng+ge'i nga ro. Bylakuppe: Ngagyur Nyingma Institute, 2002. . Also in the Dege edition of Mipham Rinpoche's collected works (gsung 'bum) printed by Lama Ngodrup and Sherab Drimey in Paro, Bhutan, 1984-1993, Volume pod 4 pa, pp 563-608.
2. Mi pham rgya mtsho. bde gshegs snying po'i stong thun chen mo seng+ge'i nga ro. In bka' ma shin tu rgyas pa (kaH thog), Vol. 49: 369 - 434. Chengdu: kaH thog mkhan po 'jam dbyangs, [1999].
3. Alternate Online version: RYwiki - Online Translation available from Gyurme Avertin: Mipham Rinpoche, Lion's Roar: Buddha Nature in a Nutshell

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

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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་

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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

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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་

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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

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