This paper cxplores the doctrinal position of Dge rtse Mahāpandita ’Gyur med tshe dbang mchog grub
[1] (1761-1829) namely, the Great
Madhyamaka of other-
emptiness (
gzhan stong dbu ma chen po). Dge rtse Mahāpandita was the first of the Dge rtse reincamation lineage, and served as an abbot of the Kah thog monastery of the Rnying ma school of Tibetan Buddhism in Khams, in eastem Tibet.
[2] Apart from the fact that Dge rtse Mahāpandita edited the Sde dge ecfition of the
Rnying ma rgyud ’bum,
[3] little is known of him or his own works.
[4] This paper will examine Dge rtse Mahāpandita’s doxography, considering the way in which he attempts to demonstrate that the Great
Madhyamaka of other-
emptiness is ultimate within the Buddhist doctrinal history originating from India. According to Dge rtse Mahāpandita, the Great
Madhyamaka of other-
emptiness is said to have been the intent of the Last Tuming of the Wheel of the Dharma which is of definitivc meaning, teaches the Buddha-nature (
tathāgatagarbha), and, as pointed out by Duckworth, "accords with the Great Perfection"
[5] (
rdzogs chen). Dge rtse Mahāpandita’s
gzhang stong view is explicitly taught in the following doxographical texts: the
Bde gshegs snying po'i rgyan, the
Grub mtha'i rnam gzhag nges don dgongs gsal, the
Rton pa bzhi Idan gyi gtam, the first chapter of the
Rnying ma rgyud 'bum dkar chag Iha'i mga bo che,
[6] and the
Sangs rgyas gnyis pa'i dgongs pa'i rgyan,
[7] which is Dge rtse Mahāpaṇdita's commentary on the
Gsang sngags lam gyi rim pa sal ba'i sgron me, a
gter ma of Nyang ral Nyi ma 'od zer (1124/1136-1192/1204).
This paper will also suggest that Dge rtse Mahāpaṇdita should be recognized as a forerunner of the
ris med movement in Khams, as supported by the following facts: his view on the Great
Madhyamaka of other-
emptiness embraces the major practice lineages (
sgrub brgyud)—Jo nang pa, Bka' brgyud pa, Sa skya pa, early Dge lugs pa, Rnying ma pa, and Zhi byed—within a single overriding intent of the Buddha’s teachings;
[8] Dge rtse Mahāpandita as the teacher of Zhe chen dbon sprul ’Gyur med mthu stobs 1am rgyal, also known as Zhe chen Mahāpandita (b. 1787), who was a
gzhan stong pa,
[9] and who in tum was the teacher of the three masters Kong sprul (1813-99), Mkhyen brtse'i dbang po (1820–2), and Dpal sprul (1808-87).
[10] Dge rtse Mahāpaṇdita’s
Legs bshad gser gyi thur ma, which is his response to the
Lta ba'i gsung mgur by Lcang skya Rol pa'i rdo rje (1717-86),
[11] would hint at the seeds of the
ris med movement which grew up among the three schools, the Sa skya, Bka' brgyud, and Rnying ma.
[12] With this paper, then, I hope to add to our understanding of the practice lineages of Indo-Tibetan
Madhyamaka.
