]> 2026-10-10T09:51:00-04:00 Recent Essays/Post-48 0 en 8th Karmapa The Eighth Karmapa, [[People/Karmapa,_8th|Mikyö Dorje]], is undoubtedly one of the most prolific authors of the Karma Kagyu tradition, having written some twenty-six volumes of works including extensive commentaries on four of the five great sūtra treatises. He wrote commentaries on vinaya, abhidharma, prajñapāramitā and madhyamaka, while the Seventh Karmapa, [[People/Karmapa,_7th|Chödrak Gyatso]], wrote an extensive commentary on pramāṇa. In his commentary on [[People/Candrakīrti|Candrakīrti]]'s [[Texts/Madhyamakāvatāra|''Madhyamakāvatāra'']], [[People/Karmapa,_8th|Mikyö Dorje]] presents a detailed account of the Middle Way and buddha-nature, including a brief account of the transmission of Middle Way teachings. He considers the founding father [[People/Nāgārjuna|Nāgārjuna]] and other luminaries such as Āryadeva, Āryaśūra, and Śāntideva as masters of the primary Middle Way treatises (གཞུང་ཕྱི་མོའི་དབུ་མ་), accepted by all later followers of this school, before the school split into two groups based on the interpretation of the logical and hermeneutic approach through Buddhapālita and [[People/Candrakīrti|Candrakīrti]] on one side and [[People/Bhāvaviveka|Bhāvaviveka]] and his followers on the other. [[People/Karmapa,_8th|Mikyö Dorje]] comments that in spite of the differences, both camps present the ultimate understanding of the Middle Way ''qua'' ultimate truth. Elaborating further on the transmission of the Middle Way teachings, he writes that there are transmissions of the actual wisdom of the Middle Way and the transmission of the scholarly study and letter of the Mādhyamika tradition. For the first one, there are three lines of transmission to Tibet. The first one is the lineage of the profound teachings through the Kagyu hierarchs, and this includes two sublineages. One was received via [[People/Nāropa|Naropa]], [[People/Mar_pa_chos_kyi_blo_gros|Marpa]], and [[People/mi_la_ras_pa|Milarepa]], while the other was received through [[People/Maitrīpa|Maitrīpa]], particularly in the context of his ''amanasikāra'', or nonmentation practice. Despite some criticism from scholars such as [[People/Gro_lung_pa_blo_gros_%27byung_gnas|Drolungpa]] and [[People/Sa_skya_paN%2BDi_ta|Sakya Paṇḍita]], which according to [[People/Karmapa,_8th|Mikyö Dorje]] are unjustified, this line has come down to [[People/Sgam_po_pa|Gampopa]], who championed it and spread it vigorously using the term ''Mahāmudrā''. The second line of transmission was received in Tibet through [[People/Atiśa|Atiśa]] and was passed down through Kadam masters to [[People/Sgam_po_pa|Gampopa]], who was a Kadampa before he became a disciple of [[People/mi_la_ras_pa|Milarepa]]. This transmission through [[People/Atiśa|Atiśa]], [[People/Karmapa,_8th|Mikyö Dorje]] states, is the same in content or purport as the transmission received via [[People/Maitrīpa|Maitrīpa]] in the name of Mahāmudrā, but this line adopts a more analytical and apophatic approach to highlight the negational aspect of ultimate reality, while [[People/Maitrīpa|Maitrīpa]]'s approach takes one beyond both apophatic and cataphatic framing to an utter groundlessness. [[People/Sgam_po_pa|Gampopa]] is said to have mastered the practice according to the Kadampa approach, but when he met [[People/mi_la_ras_pa|Milarepa]] and shared his experience, his realization was considered by [[People/mi_la_ras_pa|Milarepa]] to be incomplete and only capable of overcoming partial problems of grasping and not all forms of grasping to extremes. As such a contemplative practice risks leading to a rebirth in some celestial world, [[People/Sgam_po_pa|Gampopa]] is said to have remarked that he risked being born as a celestial being if he did not meet [[People/mi_la_ras_pa|Milarepa]]. The third transmission comes through [[People/Pa_tshab_lo_tsA_ba_nyi_ma_grags_pa|Patsab Lotsāwa Nyima Drakpa]], who translated [[People/Candrakīrti|Candrakīrti]]'s [[Texts/Madhyamakāvatāra|''Madhyamākavatāra'']] and is known to have introduced the Prāsangika Mādhyamika thought in Tibet. Except for subtle differences in the analytical and contemplative procedure, this line of thought, [[People/Karmapa,_8th|Mikyö Dorje]] comments, is similar to the transmission via [[People/Atiśa|Atiśa]], even in the use of words. [[People/Karmapa,_8th|Mikyö Dorje]] also explains that the differences between the three transmissions also depend on the emphasis and effort of the individuals, and it is also possible that adherents of these different transmissions adopt the approaches and techniques from the other transmission lines. The transmission of the study and interpretation of letters of the [[Texts/Madhyamakāvatāra|''Mādhyamakāvatāra'']] in Tibet only begins with [[People/Pa_tshab_lo_tsA_ba_nyi_ma_grags_pa|Patsab Lotsāwa]], from whom it was passed down to [[People/Karmapa,_8th|Mikyö Dorje]] himself through some twenty-four masters in the lineage. [[People/Karmapa,_8th|Mikyö Dorje]], then, engages in a long polemical discussion on the difference between the Middle Way transmitted through the sūtra schools and the secret tantric tradition. September 2021, Week 4 File:Karmapa 8th.jpg 2021-10-14T15:45:29Z 2459502.1565857 Mikyö Dorje on the Transmission of Middle Way Teachings 2021-10-14T16:10:25Z 2459502.1739005 2022-04-29T16:06:33Z 2459699.1712153 false Recent Essays/Post-48 Topic of the week/Post-48 0 en Topic of the week/Post-48 REDI 102 en REDI