Visions of Unity
From Buddha-Nature
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Tibetan philosophers frequently turned to doxography to advocate their own interpretation of Buddhist doctrine. Since no teaching of the Buddha could be discarded, all had to be organized in a soteriological hierarchy; that is, the teachings that best bring a practitioner to a realization of the ultimate are better than those teachings that were offered to soothe fears or inspire action. For Geluk thinkers who Śākya Chokden opposed, for example, the teachings of buddha-nature were not to be taken literally. In his effort to merge the positive- and negative-language teachings of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka, Śākya Chokden developed a unique doxography that redefined both. In dense but readable prose Komarovski explains how Śākya Chokden reclassified elements of each (the Satyākāravāda doctrine of the Yogācāra, and the Prasaṅgika branch of the Madhyamaka) as true Madhyamaka; each was capable of bringing people to a realization of the ultimate, the one with positive language and the other with negative. | Tibetan philosophers frequently turned to doxography to advocate their own interpretation of Buddhist doctrine. Since no teaching of the Buddha could be discarded, all had to be organized in a soteriological hierarchy; that is, the teachings that best bring a practitioner to a realization of the ultimate are better than those teachings that were offered to soothe fears or inspire action. For Geluk thinkers who Śākya Chokden opposed, for example, the teachings of buddha-nature were not to be taken literally. In his effort to merge the positive- and negative-language teachings of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka, Śākya Chokden developed a unique doxography that redefined both. In dense but readable prose Komarovski explains how Śākya Chokden reclassified elements of each (the Satyākāravāda doctrine of the Yogācāra, and the Prasaṅgika branch of the Madhyamaka) as true Madhyamaka; each was capable of bringing people to a realization of the ultimate, the one with positive language and the other with negative. | ||
| − | |BookToc=List of Tables ix | + | |BookToc=*{{i|List of Tables |ix }} |
| − | Acknowledgments xi | + | *{{i|Acknowledgments |xi }} |
| − | Introduction 1 | + | *{{i|Introduction |1 }} |
| − | 1.Introducing the Visions of Unity 6 | + | **{{i|1.Introducing the Visions of Unity |6 }} |
| − | 2.Introducing the Chapters 11 | + | **{{i|2.Introducing the Chapters |11 }} |
| − | Chapter One: Life and Works of the Golden Paṇḍita 17 | + | *{{i|Chapter One: Life and Works of the Golden Paṇḍita |17 }} |
| − | 1. Political and Religious Landscape of Fifteenth-Century Tibet 17 | + | **{{i|1. Political and Religious Landscape of Fifteenth-Century Tibet |17 }} |
| − | 2. Life of the Golden Paṇḍita 23 | + | **{{i|2. Life of the Golden Paṇḍita |23 }} |
| − | Early Years and Education 25 | + | ***{{i|Early Years and Education |25 }} |
| − | Becoming a Prolific Writer and Famous Scholar 31 | + | ***{{i|Becoming a Prolific Writer and Famous Scholar |31 }} |
| − | Settling in the Golden Monastery and Exploring New Horizons 35 | + | ***{{i|Settling in the Golden Monastery and Exploring New Horizons |35 }} |
| − | Becoming a Tantric Master and Crystallizing Novel Views 44 | + | ***{{i|Becoming a Tantric Master and Crystallizing Novel Views |44 }} |
| − | 3. Writings of Shakya Chokden 51 | + | **{{i|3. Writings of Shakya Chokden| 51 }} |
| − | Chronological List of Shakya Chokden's Works 51 | + | ***{{i|Chronological List of Shakya Chokden's Works| 51 }} |
| − | Topical Divisions of Shakya Chokden's Works Addressed in This Book 59 | + | ***{{i|Topical Divisions of Shakya Chokden's Works Addressed in This Book |59 }} |
| − | Chapter Two: The Intellectual Background of Shakya Chokden's Interpretation of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka 71 | + | *{{i|Chapter Two: The Intellectual Background of Shakya Chokden's Interpretation of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka |71 }} |
| − | 1. Two Tendencies in Yogācāra and Niḥsvabhāvavāda Writings 71 | + | **{{i|1. Two Tendencies in Yogācāra and Niḥsvabhāvavāda Writings |71 }} |
| − | 2. Basic Elements of Shakya Chokden's Approach to Mahāyāna Systems 84 | + | **{{i|2. Basic Elements of Shakya Chokden's Approach to Mahāyāna Systems |84 }} |
| − | 3. Pointed Disappointments: Shakya Chokden's Personal Reflections 91 | + | **{{i|3. Pointed Disappointments: Shakya Chokden's Personal Reflections |91 }} |
| − | 4. Broadening Empty Horizons: A Note on Changes in Shakya Chokden's Views 102 | + | **{{i|4. Broadening Empty Horizons: A Note on Changes in Shakya Chokden's Views |102 }} |
| − | Chapter Three: Readjusting Rungs of the Ladder: Revisiting Doxographical Hierarchies 109 | + | *{{i|Chapter Three: Readjusting Rungs of the Ladder: Revisiting Doxographical Hierarchies| 109 }} |
| − | 1. Key Features of Shakya Chokden's Approach to the Buddhist Tenets 109 | + | **{{i|1. Key Features of Shakya Chokden's Approach to the Buddhist Tenets |109 }} |
| − | 2. Demarcating the Middle: On the Valid Divisions of Madhyamaka and Great Madhyamaka 116 | + | **{{i|2. Demarcating the Middle: On the Valid Divisions of Madhyamaka and Great Madhyamaka |116 }} |
| − | 3. Self-Emptiness and Other-Emptiness 122 | + | **{{i|3. Self-Emptiness and Other-Emptiness |122 }} |
| − | Self-Emptiness 124 | + | ***{{i|Self-Emptiness |124 }} |
| − | Other-Emptiness 127 | + | ***{{i|Other-Emptiness |127 }} |
| − | 4. Bidding Farewell to the Prāsaṅgika/Svātantrika Division? 136 | + | **{{i|4. Bidding Farewell to the Prāsaṅgika/Svātantrika Division? |136 }} |
| − | 5. Are There Two Types of Yogācāra Madhyamaka? 141 | + | **{{i|5. Are There Two Types of Yogācāra Madhyamaka? |141 }} |
6. Are There Any Cittamātra Followers Around? 145 | 6. Are There Any Cittamātra Followers Around? 145 | ||
7. Expanding the Madhyamika Camp 150 | 7. Expanding the Madhyamika Camp 150 | ||
Revision as of 17:50, 19 July 2018
Visions of Unity
Book
Book
A detailed study of controversial Tibetan Buddhist thinker Śākya Chokden, a fifteenth-century Sakya philosopher who wrote extensively on Yogācāra and Madhyamaka in an attempt to synthesize the two, this book presents Yaroslav Komarovski's dissertation research. Komarovski skillfully places Śākya Chokden in a long history of Yogācāra-Madhyamaka syntheses, a tradition that Śākya Chokden accused Tsongkhapa of abandoning in his radical interpretation of Candrakīrti and rejection of all positive-language doctrine. Although his writings were recognized for their brilliance, his criticisms of Tsongkhapa and Sakya Paṇḍita, and his qualified acceptance of "other-emptiness" (gzhan stong), meant that he was almost entirely rejected by his peers. In dense but readable prose Komarovski explains how Śākya Chokden reclassified elements of each (the Satyākāravāda doctrine of the Yogācāra, and the Prasaṅgika branch of the Madhyamaka) as true Madhyamaka; each was capable of bringing people to a realization of the ultimate, one with positive language and the other with negative.
| Citation | Komarovski, Yaroslav. Visions of Unity: The Golden Paṇḍita Shakya Chokden's New Interpretation of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2011. |
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