The Sublime Continuum and Its Explanatory Commentary

Book

The original Sublime Continuum Explanatory Commentary was written by Noble Asaṅga to explain the verses by the bodhisattva Maitreyanātha around the 4th CE century in North India. Here it is introduced and presented in an original translation from Sanskrit and Tibetan, with the translation of an extensive Tibetan Supercommentary by Gyaltsap Darma Rinchen (1364–1432 CE), whose work is considered to follow the view of his teacher, Tsong Khapa (1357–1419 CE).

Contemporary scholars have widely mis-understood the Buddhist Centrist teaching of emptiness, or selflessness, as either a form of nihilism or a radical skepticism. Yet Buddhist philosophers from Nāgārjuna on have shown that the negation of intrinsic reality affirms the supreme value of relative realities if accurately understood. Gyaltsap Darma Rinchen, in his Supercommentary, elucidates a highly positive theory of the “buddha-nature,” showing how the wisdom of emptiness empowers the compassionate life of the enlightened, as it is touched by its oneness with the truth body of all buddhas. With his clear study of Gyaltsap’s insight and his original English translation, Bo Jiang, Ph.D. completes his historic project of studying and presenting these works from Sanskrit and Tibetan both in Chinese and, now, English translations, in linked publications.

Marty Bo Jiang is a research fellow at the American Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Columbia University Center for Buddhist Studies. (Source: AIBS)

Citation	Jiang, Bo, trans. The Sublime Continuum and Its Explanatory Commentary. By Maitreyanātha and Noble Asaṅga. With The Sublime Continuum Supercommentary by Gyaltsap Darma Rinchen. Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences. New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies, Columbia University Center for Buddhist Studies, and Tibet House US, 2017.

Contents Editor's/Series Editor's Preface ix Author's Preface and Acknowledgements xv Abbreviations, Sigla, and Typographical Conventions xvi Part One: Introduction 1. Introduction to The Sublime Continuum and Its Commentary 3 2. Introduction to Gyaltsap's Supercommentary 17 Part Two: Translations Maitreyanatha's Sublime Continuum and Noble Asanga's Commentary I: Tathagata Essence 53 II: Enlightenment 145 III: Excellences 159 IV: Enlightened Activities 166 V: Benefit 184 Gyaltsap's Supercommentary Introduction 193 I: Tathagata Essence 205 II: Enlightenment 479 III: Excellences 511 IV: Enlightened Activities 524 V: Benefit 555 Appendix Tibetan Names (Phonetic-Transliterated Equivalents) 570 Selected Bibliographies Canonical Sources 572 Modern Sources 579 vii For Tsadra Internal Use Only viii • The Sublime Continuum, Its Commentary, and Its Supercommentary Indexes Index of Canonical Texts Cited 581 Index of Canonical Authors Cited 584 General Index 586

Contents7
Acknowledgements8
Technical Note: My Use of the Asterisk10
I A Study and Annotated Translation of the Tathagatagarbhasātra11
- A General Study and Text-historical Considerations12
  - 1 Textual History and Structure of the TGS16

Maitreya/Asaṅga. Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā (theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos dang de'i rnam par bshad pa). (D 4025) sems tsam, phi 74b1-129a7. Translators: T. Sajjana, Blo ldan shes rab. Columbia AIBS ACIP
Rgyal tshab rje dar ma rin chen. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i TIk+ka. In Collected Works of Rgyal-tsab dar-ma rin-chen, vol. 3 (GA). bka shis lhun po, n.d.
1. See Dharamsala: sherig parkhang, 1997.