Mahāmudrā and the Middle Way

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|BookEssay=David Higgins and Martina Draszczyk's Mahāmudrā And The Middle Way is a study of four Tibetan philosophers from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries who attempted to forge a middle way between contemporary doctrinal extremes regarding Mahāmudrā and buddha-nature theory. Three of the four authors were Kagyu: Karma Trinle Chokle Namgyel, the Eighth Karmapa, and the Fourth Drukchen Pema Karpo, and one was Sakya, Śākya Chokden, who was, late in life, a student of the Seventh Karmapa. The four authors did not agree with each other, all finding their own ways to steer, as Higgins and Draszczyk put it, "a middle course between the Scylla and Charybdis of eternalism and nihilism."  
+
|BookEssay=David Higgins and Martina Draszczyk's ''Mahāmudrā And The Middle Way'' is a study of four Tibetan philosophers from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries who attempted to forge a middle way between contemporary doctrinal extremes regarding Mahāmudrā and buddha-nature theory. Three of the four authors were Kagyu: Karma Trinle Chokle Namgyel, the Eighth Karmapa, and the Fourth Drukchen Pema Karpo, and one was Sakya, Śākya Chokden, who was, late in life, a student of the Seventh Karmapa. The four authors did not agree with each other, all finding their own ways to steer, as Higgins and Draszczyk put it, "a middle course between the Scylla and Charybdis of eternalism and nihilism."  
  
All four authors studied were "scholar-yogis,"—philosophers who were also keenly interested and accomplished in the meditative practices of their traditions. Higgins and Draszczyk position the four as responding to the doctrinal extremes of the Geluk and Jonang traditions, the first representing nihilism of Tsongkhapa's interpretation of Candrakīrti, and the second being Dolpopa's teaching on zhentong. All four wrote in an era in which Geluk Prasangika was becoming dominant, in a language that suggested an anti-tantric polemic; Geluk and Sakya authors were rejecting Saraha, an Indian saint whose writings form part of the Mahāmudrā canon. Certainly, the two hierarchs of Kagyu traditions could not afford to leave their central doctrines undefended. This perspective is true to the authors studied, but it should be noted that followers of the Geluk or Jonang would certainly not accept the label of extremism, and would—and did—view the authors' positions as intellectually naive.  
+
All four authors studied were "scholar-yogis,"—philosophers who were also keenly interested and accomplished in the meditative practices of their traditions. Higgins and Draszczyk position the four as responding to the doctrinal extremes of the Geluk and Jonang traditions, the first representing nihilism of Tsongkhapa's interpretation of Candrakīrti, and the second being Dolpopa's teaching on ''zhentong''. All four wrote in an era in which Geluk Prasangika was becoming dominant, in a language that suggested an anti-tantric polemic; Geluk and Sakya authors were rejecting Saraha, an Indian saint whose writings form part of the Mahāmudrā canon. Certainly, the two hierarchs of Kagyu traditions could not afford to leave their central doctrines undefended. This perspective is true to the authors studied, but it should be noted that followers of the Geluk or Jonang would certainly not accept the label of extremism, and would—and did—view the authors' positions as intellectually naive.  
  
Still, the four attempts at reconciliation between doctrinal poles are a needed corrective to the many studies in which the extremes are presented as contradictory; for all four authors, the philosophical binaries were complementary and integral to the practice of Buddhism. They each advocated for an intellectual inquiry of emptiness using the language of negation favored by Geluk and mainline Sakya teachers, paired with or followed by a meditative engagement with positive-language doctrines of buddha-nature and the natural luminosity of mind. The great debates of the era between Madhyamaka and Yogacāra, zhentong and rangtong, analytical or meditative approach, Sudden vs. Gradual Enlightenment, and so forth, were for these authors not issues of either/or but matters of synthesis and balance.
+
Still, the four attempts at reconciliation between doctrinal poles are a needed corrective to the many studies in which the extremes are presented as contradictory; for all four authors, the philosophical binaries were complementary and integral to the practice of Buddhism. They each advocated for an intellectual inquiry of emptiness using the language of negation favored by Geluk and mainline Sakya teachers, paired with or followed by a meditative engagement with positive-language doctrines of buddha-nature and the natural luminosity of mind. The great debates of the era between Madhyamaka and Yogacāra, ''zhentong'' and ''rangtong'', analytical or meditative approach, Sudden vs. Gradual Enlightenment, and so forth, were for these authors not issues of either/or but matters of synthesis and balance.
|BookToc=VOLUME ONE
+
|BookToc='''Volume One'''
*Acknowledgement 12
 
*Introduction 14
 
**Current State of Research 17
 
**Politico-Historical Background 22
 
**Doctrinal Background 25
 
**Navigating the Middle Ways 29
 
**The Nature of Liberating Knowledge 41
 
*Shākya mchog ldan 44
 
**Shākya mchog ldan and the Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā Tradition 45
 
**Life, Writings and Influences 51
 
**Madhyamaka and the Dialectic of Emptiness: Rang stong and Gzhan stong 57
 
***The Three Natures (trisvabhāva) 65
 
***The Two Truths (satyadvaya) 67
 
**Mahāmudrā and Buddha Nature 74
 
**Direct Perception and Nondual Wisdom 101
 
**The Great Seal in Shākya mchog ldan’s Mahāmudrā trilogy 109
 
***Mahāmudrā: What it is and What it is Not 109
 
***Madhyamaka, Mantrayāna and Mahāmudrā 116
 
***Mahāmudrā and What Remains (lhag ma : avasista) 121
 
***The Problem of Cessation 124
 
***Contested Methods of Realization 127
 
**Responses to Sa skya Pandita’s Criticism of Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā 131
 
***A Philosophical Defence and Justification of Mahāmudrā 131
 
***Defending Mahāmudrā Views 135
 
****The Self-sufficient White Remedy (dkar po gcig thub) 135
 
****Mental Nonengagement (amanasikāra) and the Fire of Wisdom 139
 
**Concluding Remarks 145
 
*Karma phrin las 148
 
**Overview 149
 
**Life, Writings and Influences 156
 
**Madhyamaka Approach 159
 
**Extant Writings 168
 
**Views of Reality 169
 
***The Compatibility of Rang stong and Gzhan stong 169
 
***The Two Types of Purity 181
 
***Buddha Nature Endowed with Qualities 184
 
***On the Unity of the Two Truths 200
 
***“Thoughts are Dharmakāya” 210
 
***Understanding Coemergence: the Inseparability of Samsāra and Nirvana 217
 
**Concluding Remarks 223
 
*Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje 226
 
**Overview 227
 
**The Differentiation and Identification Models 229
 
**Reconciling Affirmation and Negation 238
 
**Life, Writings and Influences 242
 
**Blending Mahāmudrā and Madhyamaka 250
 
**Emptiness and Hermeneutics of the Three Turnings 253
 
**Core Soteriological Ideas and the Role of Philosophical Distinctions 265
 
***Buddha Nature 269
 
***Nature of Reality 275
 
***Nature of Mind 277
 
***The Problem of the Remainder (lhag ma : avasista) 299
 
***On the Prospect of a Groundless Ground 314
 
***On Whether or Not a Buddha has Wisdom 320
 
***Mahāmudrā as Mental Nonengagement (amanasikāra) 325
 
**Concluding Remarks 341
 
*Padma dkar po 342
 
**Overview 343
 
**Life, Writings and Influences 347
 
**The Basic Framework: Mahāmudrā and the Unity of the Two Truths 350
 
**Emptiness and the Hermeneutics of the Three Turnings 352
 
**Hermeneutics of Mahāmudrā as Ground and Path 356
 
**The Two Faces of Mahāmudrā: the Modes of Abiding and Error 357
 
***Mahāmudrā as the Mode of Abiding (gnas lugs phyag chen) 359
 
***Mahāmudrā in the Mode of Error ( ’khrul lugs phyag chen) 363
 
***Yang dgon pa on the Two Modes of Mahāmudrā 369
 
***Padma dkar po’s Transposition of Yang dgon pa’s Distinction 376
 
***Interpretations of the Mahāmudrā Distinction 378
 
***Mahāmudrā and the Unity of the Two Truths 382
 
***Asymmetrical Unity and Rival Truth Theories (Jo nang and Dge lugs) 385
 
***The Ground of Truth 393
 
**Path Mahāmudrā and Liberating Knowledge 398
 
***Nonconceptual Knowing in the Shadow of the Bsam yas Debate 399
 
***Three Strands of Amanasikāra Interpretation in Indian Buddhism 403
 
***Padma dkar po’s Three Grammatical Interpretations of Amanasikāra 413
 
***Responding to Criticisms of Amanasikāra 422
 
**Concluding Remarks 426
 
*Final Reflections 429
 
  
VOLUME TWO
+
* {{i|Acknowledgement|12}}
 +
* {{i|Introduction|14}}
 +
** {{i|Current State of Research|17}}
 +
** {{i|Politico-Historical Background|22}}
 +
** {{i|Doctrinal Background|25}}
 +
** {{i|Navigating the Middle Ways|29}}
 +
** {{i|The Nature of Liberating Knowledge|41}}
  
*Shākya mchog ldan 10
+
* {{i|'''Shākya mchog ldan'''|44}}
*Introduction: the Mahāmudrā Trilogy 11
+
** {{i|Shākya mchog ldan and the Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā Tradition|45}}
**1a. English Translation of Gzhan blo’i dregs pa nyams byed 14
+
** {{i|Life, Writings and Influences|51}}
**1b. Critical Edition of Gzhan blo’i dregs pa nyam byed 26
+
** {{i|Madhyamaka and the Dialectic of Emptiness: Rang stong and<br>Gzhan stong|57}}
**2a. English Translation of Grub pa mchog gi dgongs pa rnam nges 34
+
*** {{i|The Three Natures (''trisvabhāva'')|65}}
**2b. Critical Edition of Grub pa mchog gi dgongs pa rnam nges 43
+
*** {{i|The Two Truths (''satyadvaya'')|67}}
**3a. English Translation of Zung 'jug gi gru chen 48
+
** {{i|Mahāmudrā and Buddha Nature|74}}
**3b. Critical Edition of Zung ’jug gi gru chen 71
+
** {{i|Direct Perception and Nondual Wisdom|101}}
*Karma phrin las pa 86
+
** {{i|The Great Seal in Shākya mchog ldan's Mahāmudrā trilogy|109}}
*Perspectives on Rang stong and Gzhan stong 87
+
*** {{i|Mahāmudrā: What it is and What it is Not|109}}
**1a. English Translation of Dri lan yid kyi mun sei 88
+
*** {{i|Madhyamaka, Mantrayāna and Mahāmudrā|116}}
**1b. Critical Edition of Dri lan yid kyi mun sei 91
+
*** {{i|Mahāmudrā and What Remains (''lhag ma'' : ''avaśiṣṭa'')|121}}
*A Mystical Song of the View Proclaiming the Mode of Being 94
+
*** {{i|The Problem of Cessation|124}}
**2a. English Translation of the Yin lugs sgrog pa Ita ba’i mgur 95
+
*** {{i|Contested Methods of Realization|127}}
**2b. Critical Edition of the Yin lugs sgrog pa Ita ba ’i mgur 98
+
** {{i|Responses to Sa skya Paṇḍita’s Criticism of Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā|131}}
*A Vajra Song 100
+
*** {{i|A Philosophical Defence and Justification of Mahāmudrā|131}}
**3a. English Translation of the Rdo rje mgur 100
+
*** {{i|Defending Mahāmudrā Views|135}}
**3b. Critical Edition of the Rdo rje mgur 102
+
**** {{i|The Self-sufficient White Remedy (''dkar po gcig thub'')|135}}
*Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje 104
+
**** {{i|Mental Nonengagement (''amanasikāra'') and the Fire of Wisdom|139}}
*Critique of ‘Gos Lo tsd ba’s Separation of Buddhahood and Buddha Nature 105
+
** {{i|Concluding Remarks|145}}
**1a. English Translation of Rgan po’i rlung sman (excerpt) 105
+
 
**1b. Critical Edition of Rgan po’i rlung sman (excerpt) 109
+
* {{i|'''Karma phrin las'''|148}}
*Some Criticisms of Shākya mchog ldan’s Buddha Nature Epistemology 111
+
** {{i|Overview|149}}
**2a. English Translation of Rgan po ’i rlung sman (excerpt) 112
+
** {{i|Life, Writings and Influences|156}}
**2b. Critical Edition of Rgan po’i rlung sman (excerpt) 115
+
** {{i|Madhyamaka Approach|159}}
*Two Minds in One Person? A Reply to the Queries of Bla ma khams pa 117
+
** {{i|Extant Writings|168}}
**3a. English Translation of Bla ma khams pa ’i dris lan mi gcig sems gnyis 118
+
** {{i|Views of Reality|169}}
**3b. Critical Edition of Bla ma khams pa’i dris lan mi gcig sems gnyis 120
+
*** {{i|The Compatibility of Rang stong and Gzhan stong|169}}
*A Trove Containing Myriad Treasures of Profound Mahāmudrā 122
+
*** {{i|The Two Types of Purity|181}}
**4a. English Translation of Zab mo phyag chen gyi mdzod sna tshogs ’dus pa’i gter 123
+
*** {{i|Buddha Nature Endowed with Qualities|184}}
**4b. Critical Edition of Zab mo phyag chen gyi mdzod sna tshogs ’dus pa’i gter 134
+
*** {{i|On the Unity of the Two Truths|200}}
*Mental Nonengagement as Unconditioned Mental Engagement 143
+
*** {{i|"Thoughts are ''Dharmakāya''"|210}}
**5a. English Translation of Sku gsum ngo sprod rnam bshad (excerpt) 144
+
*** {{i|Understanding Coemergence: the Inseparability of ''Saṃsāra'' and<br>''Nirvāṇa''|217}}
**5b. Critical Edition of Sku gsum ngo sprod rnam bshad (excerpt) 147
+
** {{i|Concluding Remarks|223}}
*Amanasikāra, Emptiness, and the Tradition of Heshang Moheyan 150
+
 
**6a. English Translation of Dgongs gcig ’grel pa VI (excerpt) 151
+
* {{i|'''Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje'''|226}}
**6b. Critical Edition of Dgongs gcig ’grel pa VI (excerpt) 153
+
** {{i|Overview|227}}
*Padma dkar po 156
+
** {{i|The Differentiation and Identification Models|229}}
*Distinguishing Gnas lugs phyag chen and ’Khrul lugs phyag chen 157
+
** {{i|Reconciling Affirmation and Negation|238}}
**1a. English Translation of Phyag chen rgyal ba’i gan mdzod (excerpt) 157
+
** {{i|Life, Writings and Influences|242}}
**1b. Critical Edition of Phyag chen rgyal ba’i gan mdzod (excerpt) 168
+
** {{i|Blending Mahāmudrā and Madhyamaka|250}}
*Three Grammatical Interpretations of Amanasikāra 175
+
** {{i|Emptiness and Hermeneutics of the Three Turnings|253}}
**2b. Critical Edition of Phyag chen rgyal ba’i gan mdzod (excerpt) 176
+
** {{i|Core Soteriological Ideas and the Role of Philosophical Distinctions|265}}
*Refuting Sa pan’s Equation of Mahāmudrā with Heshang’s Chan Meditation 179
+
*** {{i|Buddha Nature|269}}
**3a. English Translation of Klan ka gzhom pa’i gtam (excerpt) 180
+
*** {{i|Nature of Reality|275}}
**3b. Critical Edition of Klan ka gzhom pa ’i gtam (excerpt) 188
+
*** {{i|Nature of Mind|277}}
*Response to Nam mkha’ rgyal mtshan’s critique of Padma dkar po’s Amanasikāra 194
+
*** {{i|The Problem of the Remainder (''lhag ma'' : ''avaśiṣṭa'')|299}}
**4a. English Translation of Shar rtse zhal snga’i brgal lan (excerpt) 195
+
*** {{i|On the Prospect of a Groundless Ground|314}}
**4b. Critical Edition of Shar rtse zhal snga’i brgal lan (excerpt) 197
+
*** {{i|On Whether or Not a Buddha has Wisdom|320}}
*Amanasikāra in the Context of Nonreferential Meditation 199
+
*** {{i|Mahāmudrā as Mental Nonengagement (''amanasikāra'')|325}}
**5a. English Translation of Snying po don gyi man ngag (excerpt) 199
+
** {{i|Concluding Remarks|341}}
**5b. Critical Edition of Snying po don gyi man ngag (excerpt) 201
+
 
*Bibliography 202
+
* {{i|'''Padma dkar po'''|342}}
*Abbreviations of Canonical Collections, Journals, and Online Sources 202
+
** {{i|Overview|343}}
*Primary Sources: Indian Works 202
+
** {{i|Life, Writings and Influences|347}}
*Primary Sources: Tibetan Works 207
+
** {{i|The Basic Framework: ''Mahāmudrā'' and the Unity of the Two Truths|350}}
*Secondary Sources 218
+
** {{i|Emptiness and the Hermeneutics of the Three Turnings|352}}
*Index 232
+
** {{i|Hermeneutics of Mahāmudrā as Ground and Path|356}}
 +
** {{i|The Two Faces of Mahāmudrā: the Modes of Abiding and Error|357}}
 +
*** {{i|Mahāmudrā as the Mode of Abiding (''gnas lugs phyag chen'')|359}}
 +
*** {{i|Mahāmudrā in the Mode of Error ('' 'khrul lugs phyag chen'')|363}}
 +
*** {{i|Yang dgon pa on the Two Modes of Mahāmudrā|369}}
 +
*** {{i|Padma dkar po's Transposition of Yang dgon pa's Distinction|376}}
 +
*** {{i|Interpretations of the Mahāmudrā Distinction|378}}
 +
*** {{i|Mahāmudrā and the Unity of the Two Truths|382}}
 +
*** {{i|Asymmetrical Unity and Rival Truth Theories (Jo nang and Dge lugs)|385}}
 +
*** {{i|The Ground of Truth|393}}
 +
** {{i|Path Mahāmudrā and Liberating Knowledge|398}}
 +
*** {{i|Nonconceptual Knowing in the Shadow of the Bsam yas Debate|399}}
 +
*** {{i|Three Strands of ''Amanasikāra'' Interpretation in Indian Buddhism|403}}
 +
*** {{i|Padma dkar po's Three Grammatical Interpretations of ''Amanasikāra''|413}}
 +
*** {{i|Responding to Criticisms of ''Amanasikāra''|422}}
 +
** {{i|Concluding Remarks|426}}
 +
* {{i|'''Final Reflections'''|429}}
 +
 
 +
'''Volume Two'''
 +
 
 +
* {{i|'''Shākya mchog ldan'''|10}}
 +
* {{i|Introduction: the Mahāmudrā Trilogy|11}}
 +
** {{i|1a. English Translation of ''Gzhan blo'i dregs pa nyams byed''|14}}
 +
** {{i|1b. Critical Edition of ''Gzhan blo'i dregs pa nyam byed''|26}}
 +
** {{i|2a. English Translation of ''Grub pa mchog gi dgongs pa rnam nges''|34}}
 +
** {{i|2b. Critical Edition of ''Grub pa mchog gi dgongs pa rnam nges''|43}}
 +
** {{i|3a. English Translation of ''Zung 'jug gi gru chen''|48}}
 +
** {{i|3b. Critical Edition of ''Zung 'jug gi gru chen''|71}}
 +
 
 +
* {{i|'''Karma phrin las pa'''|86}}
 +
* {{i|Perspectives on Rang stong and Gzhan stong|87}}
 +
** {{i|1a. English Translation of ''Dri lan yid kyi mun sel''|88}}
 +
** {{i|1b. Critical Edition of ''Dri lan yid kyi mun sel''|91}}
 +
* {{i|''A Mystical Song of the View Proclaiming the Mode of Being''|94}}
 +
** {{i|2a. English Translation of the ''Yin lugs sgrog pa lta ba'i mgur''|95}}
 +
** {{i|2b. Critical Edition of the ''Yin lugs sgrog pa lta ba'i mgur''|98}}
 +
* {{i|A ''Vajra'' Song|100}}
 +
** {{i|3a. English Translation of the ''Rdo rje mgur''|100}}
 +
** {{i|3b. Critical Edition of the ''Rdo rje mgur''|102}}
 +
 
 +
* {{i|'''Karma pa Mi bskyod rdo rje'''|104}}
 +
* {{i|Critique of '''Gos Lo tsd ba' ''s Separation of Buddhahood and Buddha Nature|105}}
 +
** {{i|1a. English Translation of ''Rgan po'i rlung sman'' (excerpt)|105}}
 +
** {{i|1b. Critical Edition of ''Rgan po'i rlung sman'' (excerpt)|109}}
 +
* {{i|Some Criticisms of Shākya mchog ldan's Buddha Nature Epistemology|111}}
 +
** {{i|2a. English Translation of ''Rgan po'i rlung sman'' (excerpt)|112}}
 +
** {{i|2b. Critical Edition of ''Rgan po'i rlung sman'' (excerpt)|115}}
 +
* {{i|''Two Minds in One Person? A Reply to the Queries of Bla ma khams pa''|117}}
 +
** {{i|3a. English Translation of ''Bla ma khams pa'i dris lan mi gcig sems gnyis''|118}}
 +
** {{i|3b. Critical Edition of ''Bla ma khams pa'i dris lan mi gcig sems gnyis''|120}}
 +
* {{i|''A Trove Containing Myriad Treasures of Profound Mahāmudrā''|122}}
 +
** {{i|4a. English Translation of ''Zab mo phyag chen gyi mdzod sna tshogs 'dus<br>pa'i gter''|123}}
 +
** {{i|4b. Critical Edition of ''Zab mo phyag chen gyi mdzod sna tshogs 'dus pa'i<br>gter''|134}}
 +
* {{i|Mental Nonengagement as Unconditioned Mental Engagement|143}}
 +
** {{i|5a. English Translation of ''Sku gsum ngo sprod rnam bshad'' (excerpt)|144}}
 +
** {{i|5b. Critical Edition of ''Sku gsum ngo sprod rnam bshad'' (excerpt)|147}}
 +
* {{i|''Amanasikāra'', Emptiness, and the Tradition of Heshang Moheyan|150}}
 +
** {{i|6a. English Translation of ''Dgongs gcig 'grel pa'' VI (excerpt)|151}}
 +
** {{i|6b. Critical Edition of ''Dgongs gcig 'grel pa'' VI (excerpt)|153}}
 +
 
 +
* {{i|'''Padma dkar po'''|156}}
 +
* {{i|Distinguishing ''Gnas lugs phyag chen'' and '' 'Khrul lugs phyag chen''|157}}
 +
** {{i|1a. English Translation of ''Phyag chen rgyal ba'i gan mdzod'' (excerpt)|157}}
 +
** {{i|1b. Critical Edition of ''Phyag chen rgyal ba'i gan mdzod'' (excerpt)|168}}
 +
* {{i|Three Grammatical Interpretations of ''Amanasikāra''|175}}
 +
** {{i|2b. Critical Edition of ''Phyag chen rgyal ba'i gan mdzod'' (excerpt)|176}}
 +
* {{i|Refuting Sa paṇ's Equation of Mahāmudrā with Heshang's Chan Meditation|179}}
 +
** {{i|3a. English Translation of ''Klan ka gzhom pa'i gtam'' (excerpt)|180}}
 +
** {{i|3b. Critical Edition of ''Klan ka gzhom pa'i gtam'' (excerpt)|188}}
 +
* {{i|Response to Nam mkha' rgyal mtshan's critique of Padma dkar po's<br>''Amanasikāra''|194}}
 +
** {{i|4a. English Translation of ''Shar rtse zhal snga'i brgal lan'' (excerpt)|195}}
 +
** {{i|4b. Critical Edition of ''Shar rtse zhal snga'i brgal lan'' (excerpt)|197}}
 +
* {{i|''Amanasikāra'' in the Context of Nonreferential Meditation|199}}
 +
** {{i|5a. English Translation of ''Snying po don gyi man ngag'' (excerpt)|199}}
 +
** {{i|5b. Critical Edition of ''Snying po don gyi man ngag'' (excerpt)|201}}
 +
* {{i|Bibliography|202}}
 +
* {{i|Abbreviations of Canonical Collections, Journals, and Online Sources|202}}
 +
* {{i|Primary Sources: Indian Works|202}}
 +
* {{i|Primary Sources: Tibetan Works|207}}
 +
* {{i|Secondary Sources|218}}
 +
* {{i|Index|232}}
 
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Latest revision as of 19:09, 6 October 2020

Mahāmudrā and the Middle Way
Book
Book

This two-volume publication explores the complex philosophy of Mahāmudrā that developed in Tibetan Dwags po Bka’ brgyud traditions between the 15th and 16th centuries CE. It examines the attempts to articulate and defend Bka’ brgyud views and practices by four leading post-classical thinkers: (1) Shākya mchog ldan (1423‒1507), a celebrated yet controversial Sa skya scholar who developed a strong affiliation with the Karma Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā tradition in the last half of his life, (2) Karma phrin las Phyogs las rnam rgyal (1456‒1539), a renowned Karma Bka’ brgyud scholar-yogin and tutor to the Eighth Karma pa, (3) the Eighth Karma pa himself, Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507‒1554), who was among the most erudite and influential scholar-hierarchs of his generation, (4) and Padma dkar po (1527‒1592), Fourth ’Brug chen of the ’Brug pa Bka’ brgyud lineage who is generally acknowledged as its greatest scholar and systematizer. It is an important academic work published in the Vienna series WSTB and is divided into two volumes: the first offers a detailed philosophical analysis of the authors’ principal views and justifications of Mahāmudrā against the background of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist doctrines on mind, emptiness and buddha nature; the second comprises an annotated anthology of their seminal writings on Mahāmudrā accompanied by critical editions and introductions. These two volumes are the result of research that was generously funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) from 2012 to 2015 under the supervision of Prof. Klaus-Dieter Mathes. The project was entitled “‘Emptiness of Other’ (Gzhan stong) in the Tibetan ‘Great Seal’ (Mahāmudrā) Traditions of the 15th and 16th Centuries” (FWF Project number P23826-G15). (Source: WSTB Description)

Citation Higgins, David, and Martina Draszczyk. Mahāmudrā and the Middle Way: Post-Classical Kagyü Discourses on Mind, Emptiness and Buddha-Nature. Vol. II, Translations, Critical Texts, Bibliography and Index. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 90.2. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 2016.