The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows

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|BookEssay=Tsering Wangchuk's ''The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows'' is a clear and concise introduction to the history of the Uttaratantra and buddha-nature theory in pre-modern Tibet. It is an ideal introduction for anyone not yet familiar with the buddha-nature debate in Tibet. Wangchuk summarizes the writings and views of several of the most important Tibetan philosophers who weighed in on buddha-nature between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries from Ngok Lotsāwa through Sakya Paṇḍita to Dolpopa and Gyaltsap Je. 

The book is divided into three main sections: early Kadam thinkers who attempted to fold the Uttaratantra's positive-language teaching on buddha-nature into mainstream Madhyamaka doctrine of non-affirming negation. They did so by asserting that buddha-nature was, in fact, a synonym of emptiness, and was, therefore, a definitive teaching. The second stage was reactions during the thirteenth century. Sakya Paṇḍita, for example, rejected the conflation of buddha-nature and emptiness and declared the teaching to be provisional; early Kagyu thinkers revived the positive-language teachings and asserted that such statements were definitive, and Dolpopa taught "other-emptiness," the strongest expression of positive-language doctrine ever advocated in Tibet. Finally, in the fourteenth century, a number of mainly Geluk thinkers, such as Gyaltsap Je, reacted against Dolpopa and all synthesis of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka thought, relegating the Uttaratantra again to provisional status. 

The advantage of Wangchuk's historical frame is that all assertions are placed in the easy context of an opponent or supporter's writing, thus reminding the reader that buddha-nature theory in Tibet is an ongoing conversation, a debate between the two fundamental doctrinal poles of positive and negative descriptions of the ultimate.
|BookToc=*{{i|Acknowledgments|xi}}
*{{i|Introduction|1}}
**{{i|General Remarks|1}}
**{{i|Textual Historical Background|5}}

*{{i|Part I. Early Period: Kadam Thinkers Rescue the Treatise|13}}
**{{i|Chapter 1. Rise of the Uttaratantra in Tibet: Early Kadam Scholars<br>Revitalize the Newly Discovered Indian Exegesis|13}}
***{{i|Introduction|13}}
***{{i|Ngok and Chapa on the Pervasive Nature of the Buddha-Body|15}}
***{{i|Ngok and Chapa on Definitive or Provisional Nature in the<br>Uttaratantra |18}}
***{{i|Ngok and Chapa on the Uttaratantra as a Last Wheel Treatise |19}}
***{{i|Buddha-Element as a Conceived Object|20}}
***{{i|Ngok and Chapa Differ on Emphasis|21}}
***{{i|Conclusion|24}}
**{{i|2. Sowing Seeds for Future Debate: Dissenters and Adherents|25}}
***{{i|Introduction |25}}
***{{i|Sapen, the Dissenter |26}}
***{{i|Rikrel, the Third Karmapa, and Sangpu Lodrö Defend the<br>Uttaratantra |29}}
***{{i|Rinchen Yeshé’s Proto Other-Emptiness Presentation of the<br>Uttaratantra, and Butön’s Reply|34}}
***{{i|Conclusion|38}}
*{{i|Part II. The Pinnacle Period: the Other-Emptiness Interpretation Spreads |43}}
**{{i|3. Other-Emptiness Tradition: The Uttaratantra in Dölpopa’s Works|43}}
***{{i|Introduction|43}}
***{{i|Predominance of the Last Wheel Scriptures|44}}
***{{i|Is the Uttaratantra a Cittamātra Text or a Madhyamaka Text?|46}}
***{{i|Classification of Cittamātra|48}}
***{{i|Classification of Madhyamaka|51}}
***{{i|Conclusion|54}}
**{{i|4. The Uttaratantra in Fourteenth-Century Tibet|55}}
***{{i|Introduction |55}}
***{{i|Sazang Follows in His Master’s Footsteps|55}}
***{{i|Two Fourteenth-Century Kadam Masters’ Uttaratantra<br>Commentaries |59}}
***{{i|Longchenpa’s View on the Uttaratantra|63}}
***{{i|Conclusion|65}}
*{{i|Part III. The Argumentation Period: Self-Emptiness Proponents criticize<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Other-Emptiness Approach |69}}
**{{i|5. Challenges to the Purely Definitive Nature of the Uttaratantra: Zhalu<br>Thinkers Criticize Dölpopa |69}}
***{{i|Introduction|69}}
***{{i|Butön’s Ornament |70}}
***{{i|Dratsépa’s Commentary|72}}
***{{i|Conclusion|80}}
**{{i|6. Challenges to the Supremacy of the Uttaratantra: Rendawa and<br>Tsongkhapa on Tathāgata-essence Literature |83}}
***{{i|Introduction|83}}
***{{i|Rendawa on the Uttaratantra and the Tathāgata-Essence Literature|83}}
***{{i|Tsongkhapa on the Uttaratantra and the Tathāgata-Essence Literature|89}}
***{{i|Conclusion|95}}
**7. {{i|Gyeltsap’s Commentary on the Uttaratantra: A Critique of Dölpopa’s Interpretation of Tathāgata-essence Literature|97}}
***{{i|Introduction|97}}
***{{i|Middle Wheel and Last Wheel Teachings|101}}
***{{i|Definitive Meaning and Provisional Meaning|103}}
***{{i|Self-Emptiness and Other-Emptiness|104}}
***{{i|Conclusion|106}}
*{{i|Conclusion|109}}
*{{i|General Remarks|109}}
*{{i|Completing the Cycle|112}}
*{{i|Notes|119}}
*{{i|Bibliography|181}}
*{{i|Tibetan Language Works Cited|181}}
*{{i|English Language Works Cited|186}}
*{{i|Index|191}}
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