Gyaltsap Je Darma Rinchen was one of the chief disciples of Tsongkhapa. He was a prolific writer, composing on Madhyamaka and tantric topics, most famously a commentary on the Bodhicaryāvatāra. He served as the second abbot of Ganden Monastery, following the death of Tsongkhapa in 1419, and occupied the position, known as the Ganden Tripa, until the year before his own death. ... read more at
Philosophical positions of this person
Is buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
Definitive
Do all beings have buddha-nature?
Qualified Yes
"Gyeltsap thus shows that ultimately both buddhas and sentient beings share the same suchness of mind which is the ultimate nature of mind that is free from natural defilements. Because of this he argues that all sentient beings have tathāgata-essence, and it is through this that he establishes the connection between tathāgata-essence and the concept of one-vehicle, the notion that ultimately there is only the final goal of buddhahood." Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 99.
However, this is a tricky issue and elsewhere Wangchuk states, "For Gyeltsap, there is no contradiction in saying that the Uttaratantra comments on both last-wheel sutras and the middle-wheel sutras." Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 102.
"Gyeltsap says, "It is not to be asserted that Ācārya Asaṅga is described as a proponent of Vijñāptimātratā; otherwise it would completely contradict his detailed explanation of the one final vehicle and the presentation of subtle emptiness in his Uttaratantra commentary." Gyeltsap argues that the emptiness explained in the Uttaratantra and its commentary by Asaṅga is subtle emptiness, and it does not differ from the emptiness that is delineated in the Prajñāpāramitāsūtras." Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 100.
Are there one or three vehicles on the path to buddhahood?
1
"Gyeltsap thus shows that ultimately both buddhas and sentient beings share the same suchness of mind which is the ultimate nature of mind that is free from natural defilements. Because of this he argues that all sentient beings have tathāgata-essence, and it is through this that he establishes the connection between tathāgata-essence and the concept of one-vehicle, the notion that ultimately there is only the final goal of buddhahood." Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 99.
Do the author's writings belong to the analytic or meditative tradition of Uttaratantra exegesis?
What is Buddha-nature?
Tathāgatagarbha as the Emptiness That is a Non-implicative Negation (without enlightened qualities)
"In brief, Gyeltsap argues that buddha-nature, or tathāgata-essence, does not refer to a fully enlightened entity covered by adventitious defilements. Rather it is the same as the emptiness of inherent existence that is explicated in texts such as the Prajñāpāramitāsūtras and Madhyamakāvatāra." Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 106.
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
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་
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
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་
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་
tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏
Geluk - The Geluk tradition traces its origin to Tsongkhapa, who propagated a modified version of the Kadampa lojong and lamrim teachings. It is the dominant tradition of Tibet, having established its control of the government under the figure of the Dalai Lama. Tib. དགེ་ལུགས་
