The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows
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With its emphasis on the concept of buddha-nature, or the ultimate nature of mind, the Uttaratantra is a classical Buddhist treatise that lays out an early map of the Mahāyāna path to enlightenment. Tsering Wangchuk unravels the history of this important Indic text in Tibet by examining numerous Tibetan commentaries and other exegetical texts on the treatise that emerged between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. These commentaries explored such questions as: Is the buddha-nature teaching found in the Uttaratantra literally true, or does it have to be interpreted differently to understand its ultimate meaning? Does it explicate ultimate truth that is inherently enlightened or ultimate truth that is empty only of independent existence? Does the treatise teach ultimate nature of mind according to the Cittamātra or the Madhyamaka School of Mahāyāna? By focusing on the diverse interpretations that different textual communities employed to make sense of the Uttaratantra, Wangchuk provides a necessary historical context for the development of the text in Tibet. (Source: SUNY Press)
Citation | Wangchuk, Tsering. The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows: Tibetan Thinkers Debate the Centrality of the Buddha-Nature Treatise. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2017. |
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- Acknowledgmentsxi
- Introduction1
- General Remarks1
- Textual Historical Background5
- Part I. Early Period: Kadam Thinkers Rescue the Treatise13
- Chapter 1. Rise of the Uttaratantra in Tibet: Early Kadam Scholars
Revitalize the Newly Discovered Indian Exegesis13- Introduction13
- Ngok and Chapa on the Pervasive Nature of the Buddha-Body15
- Ngok and Chapa on Definitive or Provisional Nature in the
Uttaratantra 18 - Ngok and Chapa on the Uttaratantra as a Last Wheel Treatise 19
- Buddha-Element as a Conceived Object20
- Ngok and Chapa Differ on Emphasis21
- Conclusion24
- 2. Sowing Seeds for Future Debate: Dissenters and Adherents25
- Introduction 25
- Sapen, the Dissenter 26
- Rikrel, the Third Karmapa, and Sangpu Lodrö Defend the
Uttaratantra 29 - Rinchen Yeshé’s Proto Other-Emptiness Presentation of the
Uttaratantra, and Butön’s Reply34 - Conclusion38
- Chapter 1. Rise of the Uttaratantra in Tibet: Early Kadam Scholars
- Part II. The Pinnacle Period: the Other-Emptiness Interpretation Spreads 43
- 3. Other-Emptiness Tradition: The Uttaratantra in Dölpopa’s Works43
- Introduction43
- Predominance of the Last Wheel Scriptures44
- Is the Uttaratantra a Cittamātra Text or a Madhyamaka Text?46
- Classification of Cittamātra48
- Classification of Madhyamaka51
- Conclusion54
- 4. The Uttaratantra in Fourteenth-Century Tibet55
- Introduction 55
- Sazang Follows in His Master’s Footsteps55
- Two Fourteenth-Century Kadam Masters’ Uttaratantra
Commentaries 59 - Longchenpa’s View on the Uttaratantra63
- Conclusion65
- 3. Other-Emptiness Tradition: The Uttaratantra in Dölpopa’s Works43
- Part III. The Argumentation Period: Self-Emptiness Proponents criticize
Other-Emptiness Approach 69- 5. Challenges to the Purely Definitive Nature of the Uttaratantra: Zhalu
Thinkers Criticize Dölpopa 69- Introduction69
- Butön’s Ornament 70
- Dratsépa’s Commentary72
- Conclusion80
- 6. Challenges to the Supremacy of the Uttaratantra: Rendawa and
Tsongkhapa on Tathāgata-essence Literature 83- Introduction83
- Rendawa on the Uttaratantra and the Tathāgata-Essence Literature83
- Tsongkhapa on the Uttaratantra and the Tathāgata-Essence Literature89
- Conclusion95
- 7. Gyeltsap’s Commentary on the Uttaratantra: A Critique of Dölpopa’s Interpretation of Tathāgata-essence Literature97
- Introduction97
- Middle Wheel and Last Wheel Teachings101
- Definitive Meaning and Provisional Meaning103
- Self-Emptiness and Other-Emptiness104
- Conclusion106
- 5. Challenges to the Purely Definitive Nature of the Uttaratantra: Zhalu
- Conclusion109
- General Remarks109
- Completing the Cycle112
- Notes119
- Bibliography181
- Tibetan Language Works Cited181
- English Language Works Cited186
- Index191
Tsering Wangchuk's The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows is a clear and concise introduction to the history of the Uttaratantra and buddha-nature theory in pre-modern Tibet. It is an ideal introduction for anyone not yet familiar with the buddha-nature debate in Tibet. Wangchuk summarizes the writings and views of several of the most important Tibetan philosophers who weighed in on buddha-nature between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries from Ngok Lotsāwa through Sakya Paṇḍita to Dolpopa and Gyaltsap Je.
The book is divided into three main sections: early Kadam thinkers who attempted to fold the Uttaratantra's positive-language teaching on buddha-nature into mainstream Madhyamaka doctrine of non-affirming negation. They did so by asserting that buddha-nature was, in fact, a synonym of emptiness, and was, therefore, a definitive teaching. The second stage was reactions during the thirteenth century. Sakya Paṇḍita, for example, rejected the conflation of buddha-nature and emptiness and declared the teaching to be provisional; early Kagyu thinkers revived the positive-language teachings and asserted that such statements were definitive, and Dolpopa taught "other-emptiness," the strongest expression of positive-language doctrine ever advocated in Tibet. Finally, in the fourteenth century, a number of mainly Geluk thinkers, such as Gyaltsap Je, reacted against Dolpopa and all synthesis of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka thought, relegating the Uttaratantra again to provisional status.
The advantage of Wangchuk's historical frame is that all assertions are placed in the easy context of an opponent or supporter's writing, thus reminding the reader that buddha-nature theory in Tibet is an ongoing conversation, a debate between the two fundamental doctrinal poles of positive and negative descriptions of the ultimate.- Rngog blo ldan shes rab. theg chen rgyud bla'i don bsdus pa (Condensed Meaning of the Uttaratantra). Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1993.
- phywa pa chos kyi seng+ge. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi tshig dang don gyi cha rgya cher bsnyad pa phra ba'i don gsal ba (Illumination of the Meaning of the Uttaratantra). Collected Works of Kadam Masters, vol. 7. Chengdu: si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2006.
- blo gros mtshungs med. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi nges don gsal bar byed pa'i rin po che'i sgron me (The Precious Lamp That Illuminates Definitive Meaning). Arunachal Pradesh: Tibetan Nyingma Monastery, 1974.
- sgra tshad pa rin chen rnam rgyal. de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po mdzes rgyan gyi rgyan mkhas pa'i yid 'phrong (Ornament to the Ornament). Collected Works of Bu-Ston, part 28 (SA). Lhasa: Zhol par khang, 2000.
- Red mda' ba gzhon nu blo gros. dbu ma la 'jug pa'i rnam bshad de kho na nyid gsal ba'i sgron ma (The Lamp That Illuminates Suchness). dpal ldan sa skya pa'i gsung rab, vol. 13. Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
- tsong kha pa. legs bshad gser phreng (Golden Rosary of Excellent Exposition). Taipei: The Corporate Body of the Buddha Educational Foundation, 2000. See
- Rgyal tshab rje dar ma rin chen. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i ti ka (Uttaratantra Commentary). Collected Works of Gyeltsep, vol. 3. Kubum Monastery: sku 'bum byas pa gling par khang, n.d.
Does it explicate other-emptiness (གཞན་སྟོང་) or self-emptiness (རང་སྟོང་)? Generally speaking, the former refers to the idea that ultimate truth is empty of defilements that are naturally other than ultimate truth, whereas self-emptiness implies that everything including ultimate truth is empty of its own inherent nature.
~ in The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, page(s) 4
All sentient beings have the buddha-essence because 1) the buddha-body radiates [to all sentient beings], 2) the suchness [of a buddha and sentient beings] is indivisible, and 3) the buddha-nature exists [in all sentient beings]
~ in The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, page(s) 15-16
Even though defilements exist, they are adventitious [to the buddha-element, because the buddha-element] is naturally pure. [Enlightened] qualities such as the buddha's powers, and so forth naturally exist [in the buddha-element] from a time without beginning. Therefore, there is no new elimination of previously existing defilements, and there is no new achievement of previously non-existent [enlightened] qualities.
~ Gsang phu ba blo gros mtshungs med in The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, page(s) 32
Because freedom from adventitious defilements is the very nature of the tathagata-element since the primordial time, there are no afflictive emotions that need to be eliminated [from the element]. Because the perfect dharma-reality that is indivisible form the enlightened qualities is the very nature of the tathagata-element, there are no virtuous qualities that need to be newly-acquired
~ Rta nag rin chen ye shes in The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, page(s) p. 35
Uttaratantra
History of buddha-nature in Tibet
Debates / Debate
The doctrine of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism
Analytic Tradition
Meditative Tradition
Kadam
Sakya
Geluk
Jonang
Rngog blo ldan shes rab
Phywa pa chos kyi seng+ge
Sa skya paN+Di ta
Bcom ldan rig pa'i ral gri
Karmapa, 3rd
Gsang phu ba blo gros mtshungs med
Rta nag rin chen ye shes
Bu ston rin chen grub
tridharmacakrapravartana
Madhyamaka
Yogācāra
Sa bzang ma ti paN chen blo gros rgyal mtshan
Klong chen pa
Dol po pa
Sgra tshad pa rin chen rnam rgyal
Red mda' ba gzhon nu blo gros
Tsong kha pa
Rgyal tshab rje dar ma rin chen
Rangtong
Zhentong
Provisional or definitive
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
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
Cittamātra - Though it is sometimes used synonymously with Yogācāra, it is in fact one of the more prominent philosophical theories associated with this school. It asserts that the objects in the external world with which we interact are actually mentally created representations appearing as those objects. The character of these perceptions is predetermined by our own karmic conditioning that is stored in the ālayavijñāna. Skt. चित्तमात्र Tib. སེམས་ཙམ་
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
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་
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་
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
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་
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་