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Mipham's Sword of Wisdom: The Nyingma Approach to Valid Cognition

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Mipham's Sword of Wisdom explores the Nyingma-lineage understanding of valid cognition in Vajrayana Buddhism. This translation, a clear and concise primer on higher realization through valid cognition in Buddhist philosophy, presents these ideas in English for the very first time and includes the sutra presentation of the two truths and the tantra teachings of the two truths as the purity and equality of all phenomena.

(Source: back cover)

Citation	Sherab, Khenchen Palden. Mipham's Sword of Wisdom: The Nyingma Approach to Valid Cognition. Translated by Ann Helm with Khenpo Gawang. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2018.

Table of Contents About the Book Texts Translated Quotes

• Translator's Introduction vii
• The Sword of Wisdom that Ascertains Reality by Jamgön Mipham1
• The Radiant Light of the Sun and Moon by Khenchen Palden Sherab17
• 1. Prelude: Preliminary Verses of Homage 19
• 2. The Validity of the Teachings and Teacher 25
• 3. The Two Truths 39
• 4. An Explanation of Causality through Interdependent Appearances 43
• 5. Overview ofthe Four Reasonings and the Reasonings of Causal Efficacy and Dependency 51
• 6. The Six Causes, Five Effects, and Four Conditions 63
• 7. The Reasoning of the Nature 75
• 8. Valid Cognition 81
• 9. Direct Perception 87
• 10. The Reasoning of a Valid Proof: Inference Based on Evidence 101
• 11. Correct Signs and False Signs 109
• 12. The Ways Inference Is Presented 113
• 13. Conventional and Ultimate Valid Cognition 119
• 14. The Four Reliances 141
• 15. The Definitive Meaning: The Eight Intentions 153
• 16. The Definitive Meaning in the Vajrayana 161
• 17. Rely on Wisdom to Reach the Eight Great Treasures 171
• 18. Conclusion 181
• Appendix A. Jamgon Mipham's Annotated Verses: The Sword of Wisdom That Ascertains Reality 191
• Appendix B. Outline ofJamgon Mipham's Verses 217
• Appendix C. Outline ofKhenchen Palden Sherab's Commentary 219
• Notes 229
• Glossary of Sanskrit and Tibetan Terms 259
• Bibliography 263
• Sources Cited in the Commentary 265
• Index 269
• About the Author 295

Mipham's Sword of Wisdom explores the Nyingma-lineage understanding of valid cognition in Vajrayana Buddhism. This translation, a clear and concise primer on higher realization through valid cognition in Buddhist philosophy, presents these ideas in English for the very first time and includes the sutra presentation of the two truths and the tantra teachings of the two truths as the purity and equality of all phenomena.

(Source: back cover)

Mi pham rgya mtsho. don rnam par nges pa shes rab ral gri. 17 ff. (pp.787-820). in vol. pa of the author's 27 vol. printed gsung 'bum from paro, bhutan. 1984-1993.

Inferential valid cognition comes down to valid direct perception, and valid direct perception comes down to the valid self-aware direct perception, which clearly experiences the mind itself as its object. Therefore all the classifications in the world of what is true and what is false would have no logical basis without self-awareness on the relative level.  

~ in Mipham's Sword of Wisdom, page(s) 100

We should understand that the refutation of self-awareness in the Madhyamaka treatises uses reasoning on the absolute level only to refute self-awareness's true existence. Madhyamaka philosophy does not refute self-awareness on the relative level.  

~ in Mipham's Sword of Wisdom, page(s) 100

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་

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

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

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