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Tibetan Buddhist Philosophy (Buddhism)

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  1. Introduction
  2. Since the mid-1980s, the study of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy has greatly expanded. The volume of available publications now surpasses the scope even of most specialists in the field. Under these circumstances, the present bibliography aspires not to present the area comprehensively, but instead to offer a selection of materials that, in the judgment of this writer, will enable those beginning research to navigate effectively in this domain. Scholars of Tibetan thought are not wholly agreed as to what counts as “philosophy” within Tibetan traditions. There is no Tibetan term that is a straightforward equivalent to the Western expression, though such distinctions as that between rigs pa’i rjes ’brangs (followers of reason) and dad pa’i rjes ‘brangs (followers of faith) do mark out areas of thought and practice that significantly overlap with Western conceptions of philosophy as opposed to religion, mysticism, or faith. With this in mind, there are some who favor a narrow definition of philosophy in Tibet, stressing above all those traditions emphasizing education through debate and works concerning Buddhist logic and epistemology (Skt. pramāṇa, Tib. tshad ma), Madhyamaka (Tib. dbu ma), the analysis of philosophical systems (Skt. siddhānta, Tib. grub mtha’), and similar subjects. (For an introduction to the Tibetan educational system and the major departments of philosophical thought, refer to Dreyfus 2003, cited under General Overviews.) On the other hand, there are those who insist that important philosophical issues are often addressed, and trenchantly so, in works emanating from outside the debate schools, most notably within the contemplative traditions of the “Great Seal” (Mahāmudrā) and “Great Perfection” (Dzogchen, rdzogs chen). The late H. V. Guenther, several of whose works are cited in this entry, was the pioneering figure in this latter approach. Many of those who have enthusiastically contributed to the translation of Tibetan Buddhist philosophical texts in recent years have had no appreciable background in philosophy before encountering its Tibetan versions, often as a result of their studies under the direction of contemporary Tibetan religious teachers. One result has been a remarkable effort to translate the writings favored by these teachers, as well as the discourses of the teachers themselves. Although much that is of genuine philosophical interest is to be found in some of these works, the expression of ideas that we find in them is often naive with respect to Western philosophical usage. Accordingly, the selection of translations used here has been limited, emphasizing materials that are exceptionally informed by sufficient philosophical background so as to render philosophical concepts in a relatively limpid manner, together with a number of texts of such outstanding importance within the Tibetan tradition that they merit the effort required to read them even when the translations fail to be adequately perspicacious philosophically. It should be noted, too, that much of Tibetan philosophy is scholastic in the strict sense that it is based on and expresses itself in scholia, comments and glosses on the works of past masters (in Tibetan usually called mchan bu, “annotation,” or ’grel pa, “commentary”). The majority of the works studied in this way are Indian Buddhist treatises, above all the writings attributed to Nāgārjuna, Āryadeva, Candrakīrti and Śāntideva; Maitreya, Asaṅga and Vasubandhu; Dignāga and Dharmakīrti; and Bhāviveka, Śāntarakṣita, and Kamalaśīla. Though some Tibetan commentaries on the writings of these figures are noted here, their principal works, which form the backbone for all serious study of Tibetan Buddhist thought, are not. Details pertaining to these Indian Buddhist authors will be found elsewhere in Oxford Bibliographies Online. Similarly, the bibliographies devoted to specific topics in Buddhist doctrine and philosophy contain information of use to those pursuing the study of Tibetan Buddhist intellectual traditions in particular.
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  4. General Overviews
  5. The indispensible background for the study of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy is to be found in Indian Buddhist philosophy, as mentioned above. The works listed in this section will be most useful for those who have at least an elementary background in the Indian sources and are now taking up the contributions of Tibetan intellectual traditions in particular. Dreyfus 2003 may be recommended as introducing, in the engaging manner of a personal memoir, the practice of philosophical debate in the context of Tibetan monastic education. The literary counterpart of debate practice, textual exegesis, is the subject of Cabezón 1994, while a number of philosophical genres of writing—including doxography, polemics, and debate manuals—are surveyed in Cabezón and Jackson 1996. The history of Buddhist philosophy in Tibet is introduced in Kapstein 2009, which includes a brief anthology of relevant texts in translation. Further aspects of the history of Tibetan philosophical traditions are studied in Kapstein 2000 and Smith 2001. Schaeffer 2009 offers a pioneering study of the history of the book in Tibet, contributing to the general cultural background. Although the distinctions among the various orders and lineages of Tibetan Buddhism were not in the first instance philosophical, philosophical dispute has played a role in sectarian rivalry and self-definition. Kapstein 2005 surveys these traditions in brief, while Thuken Losang Chökyi Nyima 2009 offers a complete translation of the most thorough traditional account of the philosophical distinctions among them. As it will be necessary to use their Tibetan names throughout the remainder of this bibliography, a few words of explanation may be useful to readers new to this area: The Nyingmapa (Rnying ma pa) order claims to represent the forms of Buddhism first introduced into Tibet under the rulers of the old Tibetan empire of the 7th–9th centuries CE. In its present forms, however, it is largely the product of renewal and reform from the 11th century on, the period of the “later spread of the teaching” in Tibet. The Bön religion, though often thought of as the autochthonous, pre-Buddhist religion, is, in its institutional form, in fact a distinctive “indigenized” Buddhism that also developed beginning in about the 11th century. The “later spread of the teaching,” however, is associated primarily with several new schools that were based on renewed infusions of Indian Buddhist learning: the Kadampa (Bka’ gdams pa), which stressed the ethical education of Mahayana Buddhism, also played an important role in the development of the monastic college system; the Sakyapa (Sa skya pa), though distinguished initially by its particular expertise in Tantric Buddhism, became prominent philosophically from the early 13th century onward; and the Kagyüpa (Bka’ brgyud pa), also primarily Tantric in its early orientation, later produced a number of notable philosophical thinkers as well, particularly during the 14th–16th centuries. Two of the later orders that were philosophically productive were the Jonangpa (Jo nang pa), condemned by some as a sort of heresy, and the Gelukpa (Dge lugs pa), which emerged in the 15th century and which, under the Dalai Lamas, came to dominate Tibetan affairs, including monastic education and the production of philosophical writings, from the 17th century until the present. Aspects of the philosophical contributions of all of these orders are detailed in the works cited throughout the remainder of this entry.
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  7. Cabezón, José Ignacio. Buddhism and Language: A Study of Indo-Tibetan Scholasticism. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994.
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  11. Cabezón examines Buddhist scholasticism and the role of scripture within it, with particular attention to interpretation in theory and in practice.
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  16. Cabezón, José Ignacio, and Roger Jackson, eds. Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1996.
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  20. In addition to chapters explicitly devoted to philosophy, many types of Tibetan doctrinal writings that include elements of philosophical interest are surveyed here.
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  25. Dreyfus, Georges B. J. The Sound of Two Hands Clapping: The Education of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.
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  29. Dreyfus was the first Westerner to complete the training of a Tibetan geshé (dge bshes), one who has mastered the debate curriculum of the monastic colleges. This account of his experiences examines the educational system in general, with much attention to the role of philosophy within it.
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  34. Kapstein, Matthew T. The Tibetan Assimilation of Buddhism: Conversion, Contestation and Memory. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
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  38. A collection of essays on various facets of the history of Tibetan Buddhist thought and literature. Chapter 6, in particular, takes up the question of intellectual style as it is expressed in Tibetan scholasticism.
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  43. Kapstein, Matthew T. “Buddhism, Schools of: Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhism.” In Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 2. 2d ed. Edited by Lindsay Jones, 1221–1229. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005.
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  47. A convenient introduction to the major orders and schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
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  52. Kapstein, Matthew T. “Les pensées tibétaines.” In Philosophies d’ailleurs. Vol. 1, Les pensées indiennes, chinoises et tibétaines. Edited by Roger-Pol Droit, 323–484. Paris: Hermann, 2009.
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  56. A survey of the history of Buddhist thought in Tibet, followed by twenty-two brief text selections in French translation.
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  61. Schaeffer, Kurtis. The Culture of the Book in Tibet. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.
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  64.  
  65. A pioneering history of Tibetan book production, its scribes, editors, patrons, manuscripts, and block print editions. Strongly recommended as part of the cultural-historical background for the study of Tibetan philosophy.
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  70. Smith, E. Gene. Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau. Boston: Wisdom Publications: 2001.
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  73.  
  74. Smith has done more than any other individual to make Tibetan texts available to scholars. His prefaces to selected Tibetan works, reprinted here, are required reading for all students of Tibetan intellectual and literary history.
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  79. Thuken Losang Chökyi Nyima. The Crystal Mirror of Philosophical Systems: A Tibetan Study of Asian Religious Thought. Edited by Roger R. Jackson. Translated by Geshé Lhundub Sopa. Library of Tibetan Classics. Boston: Wisdom Publications: 2009.
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  82.  
  83. This work, completed at the beginning of the 19th century, is unique among texts on philosophical systems (grub mtha’) in that it focuses mainly on Tibetan rather than Indian schools of thought. It includes noteworthy chapters on the Bön religion and on Chinese philosophy. The peculiar features of the author’s perspective—he was a leading hierarch of the Gelukpa order and much involved in Sino-Tibetan affairs—are discussed in the editor’s introduction.
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  88. The Beginnings
  89. The first monastery and center of Buddhist education was founded at Samyé (Bsam yas) in central Tibet under the emperor Tri Songdetsan (Khri Srong lde’u btsan, b. 742–d. c. 797), who had converted to Buddhism in about 762. Samyé soon became the major site for the translation into Tibetan of Indian Buddhist works, including philosophical texts, as well as the site for a famous confrontation between Indian Buddhist philosophy and Chinese Chan, now usually referred to as the “Samyé Debate.” Though later Buddhist philosophy in Tibet was primarily grounded in the new infusion of Indian learning from the 11th century onward, developments at Samyé, and at other centers of Buddhism under the Tibetan empire, nevertheless had an appreciable legacy in later times and are of considerable interest for the history of late first millennium Buddhist thought. Ruegg 1981 and Steinkellner 1988 study early documents relating to the introduction of Indian Buddhist philosophy. Pachow 1979 edits and translates an especially interesting Chinese manuscript, responding to the doctrinal inquiries of a Tibetan ruler, probably Tri Songdetsen. The literature on the Samyé debate and related issues have now grown to very considerable proportions. Some of the essential contributions are Demiéville 1952, which is the classic study of the surviving Chinese dossier, and Wangdu and Diemberger 2000, which includes the earliest known Tibetan account. Ruegg 1989 offers a philosophically astute examination of the Indian doctrinal background and aspects of the later Tibetan legacy of the debate. Karmay 1988 includes an edition and translation of an important early doxographical work attributed to Padmasambhava, the Indian Tantric master considered by legend to have been instrumental in the conversion of Tibet to Buddhism.
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  91. Demiéville, Paul. Le concile de Lhasa: Une controverse sur le quiétisme entre bouddhistes de l’Inde et de la Chine au VIIIe siècle de l’ère chrétienne. Bibliothèque de l’Institut des Hautes Études Chinoises 7. Paris: Imprimerie Nationale de France, 1952.
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  94.  
  95. Though now dated in its treatment of many details (not least in placing the debate in Lhasa rather than at Samyé), this remains essential reading for all who are seriously interested in the confrontation between the Chan teaching of “sudden enlightenment” and Indian gradualism that unfolded in 8th-century Tibet. Includes a facsimile and translation of the Chinese account of the debate discovered at Dunhuang.
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  100. Karmay, Samten G. The Great Perfection: A Philosophical and Meditative Teaching of Tibetan Buddhism. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1988.
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  103.  
  104. A valuable study of the early history of the rdzogs chen (Great Perfection) teaching of the Bönpo and Nyingmapa. An edition and translation of the Garland of Views, a pre-11th-century work attributed to Padmasambhava that much influenced later philosophy among the Nyingmapa, is given in chapter 6.
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  109. Pachow, Walter. “The Twenty-two Dialogues on Mahāyāna Buddhism.” Chinese Culture 20.1 (1979): 35–64.
  110.  
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  112.  
  113. Edition and translation of a Dunhuang Chinese manuscript authored by the monk Tan Guang and responding to the doctrinal queries of an unnamed Tibetan ruler, whom Pachow identifies as Tri Songdetsen. Part two of the article is in vol. 20, no. 2: 35–110.
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  118. Ruegg, David Seyfort. “Autour du lTa ba’i khyad par de Ye śes sde (version de Touen-houang, Pelliot tibétain 814).” Journal Asiatique (1981): 208–229.
  119.  
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  121.  
  122. On a Dunhuang manuscript of a philosophical memorandum by the 9th-century translator Yeshé-dé.
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  126.  
  127. Ruegg, David Seyfort. Buddha-nature, Mind, and the Problem of Gradualism in a Comparative Perspective: On the Transmission and Reception of Buddhism in India and Tibet. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1989.
  128.  
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  130.  
  131. A wide-ranging series of lectures on the problem of sudden versus gradual enlightenment, its background in Indian Buddhist doctrine, and the controversies surrounding it that arose in Tibet.
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  136. Steinkellner, Ernst. Nachweis der Wiedergeburt: Prajñāsenas ’Jig rten pha rol sgrub pa. 2 vols. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1988.
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  139.  
  140. Edition and translation of an intriguing Dunhuang Tibetan manuscript, perhaps dating to the 9th century, and concerning the question of demonstrating by reason the proposition that we are subject to future rebirths.
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  145. Wangdu, Pasang, and Hildegard Diemberger. dBa’ bzhed: The Royal Narrative Concerning the Bringing of the Buddha’s Doctrine to Tibet. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2000.
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  148.  
  149. The earliest known version of a famous chronicle on the foundation of Samyé monastery and the surrounding events, including the debate between the Chan master Moheyan and the Indian philosopher Kamalaśīla.
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  154. Post-10th-Century Philosophical Developments
  155. Despite its beginnings under the Tibetan empire and the important role of imperial-period translations for the entire later history of Tibetan Buddhism, philosophical study was primarily cultivated in the monastic colleges founded from the late 11th century on. The most prominent of these new centers was Sangpu (Gsang phu), established in 1071 (or 1073 according to some sources) by Ngok Lekpei Sherab (Rngog Legs pa’i shes rab) and expanded as a philosophical college under his nephew, the translator Ngok Loden Sherab (Rngog Blo ldan shes rab, b. 1059–d. 1109). The translations and commentarial notes of the latter formed the basis for the philosophical curriculum, which strongly emphasized the logical-epistemological writings of Dharmakīrti, as well as the practice of debate based upon them. Under Ngok and his successors five major subject areas were defined, and these would remain the main departments of Tibetan monastic education down to the present: logic and epistemology (Skt. pramāṇa, Tib. tshad ma), “Perfection of Wisdom” (Skt. prajñāpāramitā, Tib. sher phyin, primarily taught through the Abhisamayālaṃkāraśāstra attributed to the bodhisattva Maitreya), Madhyamaka (Tib. dbu ma), Abhidharma (Tib. chos mngon pa), and Vinaya (Tib. ’dul ba). Works of philosophical interest were produced primarily in the first four areas, though debate questions raised in connection with the Vinaya may be, on occasion, of philosophical interest as well. This, however, remains for contemporary scholarship the most poorly explored area within traditional Tibetan Buddhist thought.
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  157. Pramāṇa (tshad ma) and the Tibetan “Debate Logic”
  158. Although works of Indian Buddhist logic and epistemology were first translated into Tibetan during the 8th and 9th centuries, this area of study, the foundation of all later Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, did not take firm hold until the late 11th century, when the Kadampa monastery of Sangpu emerged as a center of philosophical studies. One of the hallmarks of pramāṇa studies in Tibet was the focus on the actual practice of debate, a practice that later became a specialty of the Gelukpa order, though the monastic colleges of all orders, including those of the Bönpo, also maintained this practice to varying degrees. Onoda 1992 discusses the history of this tradition, while Kramer 2007 studies the life of the founder of the philosophical curriculum at Sangpu, Ngok Loden Sherab. van der Kuijp 1983 takes up the historical development of pramāṇa in Tibet, and Dreyfus 1997 examines the main areas of contestation within Tibetan pramāṇa in detail. Beckwith 1990 compares aspects of Western and Tibetan “scholastic method.” Sierksma 1964 is an eccentric article, bringing a psychoanalytic perspective to bear on Tibetan monastic debates. An interesting application of “ethnomethodological” approaches to Tibetan debate may be found in Liberman 2004. It may be noted that the recent discovery and publication of numerous Tibetan manuscript sources pertaining to the debate traditions of Sangpu monastery during the 11th through 13th centuries will permit specialists to refine considerably our understanding of the historical development of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy.
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  160. Beckwith, Christopher I. “The Medieval Scholastic Method in Tibet and the West.” In Reflections on Tibetan Culture: Essays in Memory of Turrell V. Wylie. Edited by Lawrence Epstein and Richard F. Sherburne, 307–313. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 1990.
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  163.  
  164. Concerning the threefold organization of theses in Tibetan philosophical works.
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  168.  
  169. Dreyfus, Georges. Recognizing Reality: Dharmakīrti’s Philosophy and Its Tibetan Interpretations. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997.
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  172.  
  173. A far-ranging, philosophically acute study of disputed questions in Tibetan pramāṇa, including basic ontology, philosophy of language, and perception.
  174.  
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  178. Kramer, Ralf. The Great Tibetan Translator: Life and Works of rNgog Blo ldan shes rab (1059–1109). Collectanea Himalayica 1. Munich: Indus Verlag, 2007.
  179.  
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  181.  
  182. Translation of the Tibetan biography of, and bibliographical survey of the works attributed to, the founding figure in Tibetan philosophical education. Includes an excellent bibliography.
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  186.  
  187. Liberman, Kenneth. Dialectical Practice in Tibetan Philosophical Culture: An Ethnomethodological Inquiry into Formal Reasoning. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2004.
  188.  
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  190.  
  191. A sociological study of Tibetan debate practice with many examples drawn from actual debates.
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  196. Onoda, Shunzo. Monastic Debate in Tibet: A Study on the History and Structures of Bsdus grwa Logic. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 27. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 1992.
  197.  
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  199.  
  200. On the emergence of the debate logic in the tradition of Sangpu.
  201.  
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  204.  
  205. Sierksma, Fokke. “Rtsod-Pa: The Monachal Disputations in Tibet.” Indo-Iranian Journal 8 (1964): 130–152.
  206.  
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  208.  
  209. Sierksma was a phenomenologist of religion with a strong psychoanalytic bent, whose work focused upon sex, aggression, and projection in the formation of religions. Though this resulted in a reading of Tibetan debate practice that few would endorse today, his remarks concerning the sublimation of aggression perhaps deserve a second hearing.
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  214. van der Kuijp, Leonard W. J. Contributions to the Development of Tibetan Buddhist Epistemology. Wiesbaden, Germany: Steiner, 1983.
  215.  
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  217.  
  218. Historical study of pramāṇa in Tibet, with translations of selections from the work of Serdok Paṇchen Shakya-chokden (Gser mdog Paṇ chen Shākya mchog ldan, b. 1428–d. 1504).
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  223. Doctrinal Interpretations
  224. Works focusing on single figures who have contributed to Tibetan Buddhist philosophy are detailed below, but a number of very useful studies examine specific topics of philosophical interest, surveying several authors. Dreyfus 1997, on epistemology, has been noted in Pramāṇa (tshad ma) and the Tibetan “Debate Logic”. Disputes regarding the possibility of “sudden awakening,” though frequently associated with Chan in Tibet (see The Beginnings of Buddhism Philosophy in Tibet), became particularly heated during the early second millennium, as is documented in Jackson 1994. Tibetan interpretations of the Perfection of Wisdom as seen through the lens of the Abhisamayālaṃkāraśāstra have not been very well studied to date; Makransky 1997 offers a study of some important aspects of this literature with reference to the treatment of the Buddha’s “bodies” (Skt. kāya, Tib. sku). Ruegg 1969 and Mathes 2008 may be recommended as the major studies of Tibetan treatments of Buddha-nature and related issues to date. Questions relating to the organization of knowledge in general are taken up in Ruegg 1995, and the classifications of philosophical systems in particular in Mimaki 1994. Important dimensions of the early history of Tibetan Madhyamaka thought are studied in Vose 2009, while Ruegg 2000 treats selected topics in Madhyamaka with a focus on the early period, but with attention to certain later thinkers as well. Dreyfus and McClintock 2003 provides a useful collection of studies on the bifurcation of Madhyamaka into the Svātantrika and Prāsaṅgika schools.
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  226. Dreyfus, Georges B. J., and Sara L. McClintock, eds. The Svātantrika-Prāsaṅgika Distinction: What Difference Does a Difference Make? Boston: Wisdom Publications: 2003.
  227.  
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  229.  
  230. The essays in this volume examine, in part 1, the background of the distinction between the Svātantrika and Prāsaṅgika schools of Madhyamaka in the Indian context, and, in the second part, its ramifications in Tibetan traditions.
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  234.  
  235. Jackson, David. Enlightenment by a Single Means: Tibetan Controversies on the “Self-sufficient White Remedy.” Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1994.
  236.  
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  238.  
  239. A superb monograph dealing with contestation concerning the possibility of enlightenment by a single self-sufficient means, an issue that played a major role in the formation of sectarian identities during the 11th–13th centuries.
  240.  
  241. Find this resource:
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  243.  
  244. Makransky, John J. Buddhahood Embodied: Sources of Controversy in India and Tibet. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997.
  245.  
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  247.  
  248. On the treatment of the triple embodiment (Skt. trikāya, Tib. sku gsum) of the Buddha and allied topics in the Abhisamayālaṃkāraśāstra and its commentaries by major interpreters of the Gelukpa and Sakyapa schools.
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  252.  
  253. Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Gö Lotsāwa’s Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga. Boston: Wisdom Publications: 2008.
  254.  
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  256.  
  257. The first part of the book examines the interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga in six major thinkers of the 13th–14th centuries. Part 2 offers an annotated translation of key passages from the extensive commentary by Gö Lotsāwa (’Gos-lo Gzhon-nu-dpal, b. 1392–d. 1481), so far best known in the West for his remarkable history, the Blue Annals. An excellent bibliography includes virtually everything published to date on questions relating to Buddha-nature in Tibet.
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  262. Mimaki, Katsumi. “Doxographie tibétaine et classifications indiennes.” In Bouddhisme et cultures locales: Quelques cas de réciproques adaptations. Edited by Fukui Fumimasa and Gérard Fussman, 115–136. Études thématiques 2. Paris: École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 1994.
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  265.  
  266. Useful survey of Indian classifications of philosophical systems and their treatment in a range of Tibetan works.
  267.  
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  271. Ruegg, David S. La Théorie du Tathāgatagarbha et du Gotra: Études sur la Sotériologie et la Gnoséologie du Bouddhisme. Publications de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient 70. Paris: École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 1969.
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  274.  
  275. A scholarly tour de force, treating diverse topics relating to Buddha-nature in India and Tibet, particularly the concepts of gotra and of the ekayāna (single vehicle) in the Yogācārabhūmi, Abhisamayālaṃkāraśāstra, Ratnagotravibhāga and their allied literature. Difficult but required reading for those engaged in academic research in this area.
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  280. Ruegg, David Seyfort. Ordre spirituel et ordre temporel dans la pensée bouddhique de l’Inde et du Tibet. Paris: de Boccard, 1995.
  281.  
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  283.  
  284. Provocative study of concepts of order in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, as expressed in relation to both intellectual systems and political authority.
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  287.  
  288.  
  289. Ruegg, David Seyfort. Three Studies in the History of Indian and Tibetan Madhyamaka Philosophy. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 50. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 2000.
  290.  
  291. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  292.  
  293. The three studies published here concern the early history of Tibetan Madhyamaka, the contested question of whether or not the Madhyamaka thinker proposes a thesis, and the relation between Madhyamaka and epistemology in the thought of Tsongkhapa.
  294.  
  295. Find this resource:
  296.  
  297.  
  298. Vose, Kevin. Resurrecting Candrakīrti: Disputes in the Tibetan Creation of Prāsaṅgika. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2009.
  299.  
  300. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  301.  
  302. A fine examination of the formation of Madhyamaka philosophy during the early second millennium. The bibliography offers an excellent point of reference on Tibetan Madhyamaka traditions.
  303.  
  304. Find this resource:
  305.  
  306.  
  307. Philosophical Dimensions of the Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen Traditions
  308. Beginning in the 1950s, Herbert V. Guenther pioneered the study of major works in the contemplative traditions of Mahāmudrā (phyag chen, the “Great Seal”) and Dzogchen (rdzogs chen, the “Great Perfection”). The range of material he considered, its importance within Tibetan traditions, and the intellectual depth of his exploration remain without peer. However, Guenther’s grounding in the existential and phenomenological traditions of Continental philosophy, together with his often eccentric translation choices based on this background, impart to his work a quality that Anglophone readers often find difficult, if not on occasion hopelessly obscure. Two of his influential early works were Guenther 1963 and Guenther 1993 (the original version of the latter appeared in 1968). Both brought existential philosophy to bear on the interpretation of works stemming from the Mahāmudrā traditions of the Kagyüpa. His approach to the Great Perfection system is perhaps most accessibly represented in Guenther 1989, and Guenther 1994 offers reflections on philosophical allegories from early Great Perfection works. (See Guenther’s work cited under Longchen Rabjampa for a translation of major writings by the preeminent Great Perfection thinker.) Other approaches to the study and interpretation of Mahāmudrā and Dzogchen are represented in Takpo Tashi Namgyal 1986 and in other works pertaining to these traditions, as noted throughout the present bibliography.
  309.  
  310. Guenther, Herbert V. The Life and Teaching of Nāropa. Oxford: Clarendon, 1963.
  311.  
  312. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  313.  
  314. Translation of a Kagyüpa hagiography of the celebrated Indian mahāsiddha Nāropa, accompanied by Guenther’s existential commentary.
  315.  
  316. Find this resource:
  317.  
  318.  
  319. Guenther, Herbert V. From Reductionism to Creativity: Rdzogs-chen and the New Sciences of Mind. Boston: Shambhala, 1989.
  320.  
  321. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  322.  
  323. Guenther’s most general work on the Great Perfection traditions, and the beginnings of an exploration of these in relation to the cognitive sciences.
  324.  
  325. Find this resource:
  326.  
  327.  
  328. Guenther, Herbert V. Ecstatic Spontaneity: Saraha’s Three Cycles of Dohas. Fremont, CA: Asian Humanities Press, 1993.
  329.  
  330. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  331.  
  332. An earlier version of this work appeared as The Royal Song of Saraha: A Study in the History of Buddhist Thought (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1968). Translations of the Tibetan versions of important Indian works on the Mahāmudrā, accompanied by 16th-century Kagyüpa commentaries and Guenther’s elaborations. The two versions are in fact quite distinct, though overlapping in the selection of texts considered.
  333.  
  334. Find this resource:
  335.  
  336.  
  337. Guenther, Herbert V. Wholeness Lost and Wholeness Regained: Forgotten Tales of Individuation from Ancient Tibet. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994.
  338.  
  339. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  340.  
  341. A selection, with contemporary interpretations, of allegories culled from Great Perfection works of the 14th century and earlier.
  342.  
  343. Find this resource:
  344.  
  345.  
  346. Takpo Tashi Namgyal. Mahāmudrā: The Quintessence of Mind and Meditation. Translated by Lobsang P. Lhalungpa. Boston: Shambhala, 1986.
  347.  
  348. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  349.  
  350. Translation of a very important 16th-century treatise on the doctrine and practice of the “Great Seal,” containing much of philosophical interest.
  351.  
  352. Find this resource:
  353.  
  354.  
  355. Philosophical Contributions of the Bön Religion
  356. Bön (Tib. bon) is often regarded as the indigenous Tibetan religious tradition adhering to a form of shamanism, but this characterization is misleading. According to the Bönpo themselves, their religion, like Buddhism, originated outside Tibet with the teaching of a Buddha, in this case thought to be a Central Asiatic figure called Shenrab Miwoché (Gshen rab Mi bo che), whose religion reached Tibet via the old west Tibetan kingdom of Zhangzhung. While some contemporary scholars believe that a memory of ancient cultural contacts with the Iranian world may be involved, it is also argued that the Bön religion originated in part as a nativist reaction to the introduction of Buddhism. Whatever the true historical background may be, however, it is clear that, from about the 10th century on, Bön has developed as a peculiar form of Tibetan Buddhism, with its own monastic institutions, scriptural canons, and philosophical traditions. The latter, though poorly studied to date, must be at least mentioned in any treatment of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy overall. Snellgrove 1967 marks the beginning of the modern study of Bönpo doctrine. Rossi 1999 and Klein and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche 2006 are concerned with philosophically significant aspects of the Bönpo Great Perfection tradition. The articles of Arguillère 2006, Kapstein 2010, and Kumagai 2010 introduce various facets of Bönpo scholasticism.
  357.  
  358. Arguillère, Stéphane. “mNyam med Shes rab rgyal mtshan et la scolastique bon au tournant du XIVe et du XVe siècles: Présentation de la Prodigieuse lampe des terres et des voies.” Acta Orientalia 67 (2006): 243–323.
  359.  
  360. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  361.  
  362. A Bönpo treatise on the stages and paths (sa lam) of spiritual practice, edited and translated with commentary by Myammé Sherab Gyeltsen (b. 1356–d. 1415), the founder of the leading monastic college of the Bön religion.
  363.  
  364. Find this resource:
  365.  
  366.  
  367. Kapstein, Matthew T. “The Commentaries of the Four Clever Men: A Doctrinal and Philosophical Corpus in the Bon po rDzogs chen Tradition.” East and West 60 (2010).
  368.  
  369. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  370.  
  371. Introduction to a group of 12th-century works treating the “nine vehicles” of Bön as well as selected debate topics.
  372.  
  373. Find this resource:
  374.  
  375.  
  376. Kumagai, Seiji. “Development of the Theory of the ‘Two Truths’ in the Bon Religion.” East and West 60 (2010).
  377.  
  378. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  379.  
  380. A survey of the treatment of the bden gnyis (two truths) in Bönpo scholastic sources.
  381.  
  382. Find this resource:
  383.  
  384.  
  385. Klein, Anne C., and Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Unbounded Wholeness: Dzogchen, Bon, and the Logic of the Nonconceptual. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
  386.  
  387. DOI: 10.1093/0195178491.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  388.  
  389. Study and translation of an exceptionally interesting group of Bönpo texts concerned with the logic of the Dzogchen (Great Perfection, or “Great Completion” in Klein and Wangyal’s translation).
  390.  
  391. Find this resource:
  392.  
  393.  
  394. Rossi, Donatella. The Philosophical View of the Great Perfection in the Tibetan Bon Tradition. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1999.
  395.  
  396. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  397.  
  398. Annotated translation of two early texts, with introduction.
  399.  
  400. Find this resource:
  401.  
  402.  
  403. Snellgrove, David L. The Nine Ways of Bon. London: Oxford University Press, 1967.
  404.  
  405. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  406.  
  407. A landmark work in the study of the Bön religion, providing copious extracts from an important 14th-century compendium of the “nine vehicles” of Bönpo teaching. Though not ostensibly philosophical, the work is of considerable interest for the history of Tibetan religious thought, and essential reading for those interested in any aspect of Bön.
  408.  
  409. Find this resource:
  410.  
  411.  
  412. Historical Figures
  413. Tibetan-language publications since about 1970 have made the writings of hundreds of Tibetan philosophical authors available to contemporary scholars. Of those who were clearly of importance within the history of the tradition, only a small number have been studied to date, and, in most cases, only aspects of their often voluminous works have so far received attention. The remarks that follow serve to introduce some of the thinkers whose contributions have begun to come into view.
  414.  
  415. Rongzom Chözang
  416. A remarkably original thinker, Rongzom Chözang (Rong zom Chos bzang, 11th century) was perhaps the first to attempt to elaborate a system of Buddhist philosophy based on the particular teaching tradition of the Nyingmapa. Although his rich oeuvre has not been well studied as yet, the two contributions cited here begin to clarify key aspects of his contribution. Köppl 2008 translates a short but highly interesting treatise on “appearance as divinity.” Almogi 2009 offers a major study of Rongzom’s Buddhology.
  417.  
  418. Almogi, Orna. Rong-zom-pa’s Discourses on Buddhology: A Study of Various Conceptions of Buddhahood in Indian Sources with Special Reference to the Controversy Surrounding the Existence of Gnosis (jñāna: ye shes) as Presented by the Eleventh-Century Tibetan Scholar Rong-zom Chos-kyi-bzang-po. Studia Philologica Buddhica Monograph Series 24. Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2009.
  419.  
  420. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  421.  
  422. On the concept of Buddhahood, with particular reference to Rongzompa’s treatment of the Buddha’s gnosis in his major works. Includes an extensive selection of primary texts and translations.
  423.  
  424. Find this resource:
  425.  
  426.  
  427. Köppl, Heidi I. Establishing Appearances as Divine. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2008.
  428.  
  429. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  430.  
  431. Accessible translation of a short treatise by Rongzom on the proof that the apparent world is in its nature divine.
  432.  
  433. Find this resource:
  434.  
  435.  
  436. Sakya Paṇḍita
  437. Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyeltsen (Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan, b. 1182–d. 1251) figures as a renowned culture hero whose contributions touched on such diverse fields of knowledge as logic, rhetoric, poetics, and music theory, together with varied aspects of Buddhist doctrine and practice. Running throughout his thought is a clear determination to reestablish the foundations of Tibetan learning in genuine Indian exemplars, and hence to resist Tibetan interpretations and innovations that stray too far from such sources. His importance to philosophy stems in large part from his work in the areas of logic and epistemology, but no less from his attention to the arts of language, which influenced forever after the way in which philosophy in Tibet was written. Points of philosophical interest emerge, too, in his polemical writings, engaging numerous controversies that were current in Tibet during his lifetime. Kapstein 2005 offers a brief introduction to Sakya Paṇḍita. Jackson 1987 and Gold 2007 study, respectively, debate and rhetoric as presented in one of his major treatises. Rhoton 2002 presents a complete translation of his famous but controversial work relating to the “three vows” of the Tibetan Buddhist system.
  438.  
  439. Gold, J. C. The Dharma’s Gatekeepers: Sakya Paṇḍita on Buddhist Scholarship in Tibet. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2007.
  440.  
  441. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  442.  
  443. Study and partial translation of the first two chapters of Sakya Paṇḍita’s Mkhas pa la ’jug pa (Gateway to learning), treating rhetoric and exegesis. The role of translation in Sakya Paṇḍita’s thinking is examined in depth.
  444.  
  445. Find this resource:
  446.  
  447.  
  448. Jackson, David. The Entrance Gate for the Wise (Section III): Sa-skya Paṇḍita on Indian and Tibetan Traditions of Pramāṇa and Philosophical Debate. 2 vols. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 17.1–2. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 1987.
  449.  
  450. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  451.  
  452. A thorough study and translation of the third chapter of the Gateway to Learning, dealing with logic and debate. The introduction offers an excellent survey of Sakya Paṇḍita’s works and their legacy overall.
  453.  
  454. Find this resource:
  455.  
  456.  
  457. Kapstein, Matthew T. “Sakya Paṇḍita (Sa skya Paṇḍita).” In Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 12. 2d ed. Edited by Lindsay Jones, 8050–8053. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005.
  458.  
  459. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  460.  
  461. A brief introduction to Sakya Paṇḍita’s life and contributions.
  462.  
  463. Find this resource:
  464.  
  465.  
  466. Rhoton, Jared. A Clear Differentiation of the Three Codes: Essential Distinctions Among the Individual Liberation, Great Vehicle, and Tantric Systems. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002.
  467.  
  468. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  469.  
  470. Edition and translation of Sakya Paṇḍita’s celebrated treatise on the three degrees of Buddhist vows—those of the “lesser vehicle,” of bodhisattvas, and of Tantric adepts—which in fact concerns not so much the vows themselves but rather the controversial topics related to them. The work therefore surveys many points of contestation in areas of philosophy, ritual, and interpretation. An essential text in the history of Buddhist thought in Tibet.
  471.  
  472. Find this resource:
  473.  
  474.  
  475. Chomden Reldri and Upa Losel
  476. During the 13th century, the Kadampa Monastery of Nartang (Snar thang) emerged as a major center of learning. In particular, Chomden Reldri (Bcom ldan ral gri, b. 1227–d. 1305), whose writings have only recently resurfaced, became the teacher of a number of brilliant scholars who excelled among the Tibetan thinkers of their generation and, with their teacher, greatly influenced Tibetan Buddhist philosophy during the 14th century. Van der Kuijp and Schaeffer 2009, though not primarily concerning philosophy, offers a valuable introduction to Chomden Reldri and his school. Mimaki (Upa Losel 1982) edits and translates selected chapters from the major philosophical work of Upa Losel (Dbus pa Blo gsal), one of Chomden Reldri’s leading successors.
  477.  
  478. Upa Losel. Blo gsal grub mtha’. Edited and translated by Katsumi Mimaki. Kyoto, Japan: Zinbun Kagaku Kenkyusyo, 1982.
  479.  
  480. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  481.  
  482. Facsimile edition of the entire text of Upa Losel’s famous treatise on the Buddhist philosophical systems, with Mimaki’s editions of the chapters on Vaibhāṣika, Yogācāra, and Madhyamaka, and French translation of the latter.
  483.  
  484. Find this resource:
  485.  
  486.  
  487. van der Kuijp, Leonard, and Kurtis Schaeffer. An Early Tibetan Survey of Buddhist Literature: The Bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi ’od of Bcom Idan ral gri. Harvard Oriental Series. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009.
  488.  
  489. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  490.  
  491. An edition and study of Chomden Reldri’s catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist canon. The introduction surveys Chomden Reldri’s career and provides an excellent overview of the history of Tibetan canonical collections.
  492.  
  493. Find this resource:
  494.  
  495.  
  496. Karmapa III Rangjung Dorjé
  497. The Third Karmapa hierarch, Rangjung Dorjé (Rang byung rdo rje, b. 1284–d. 1339), was perhaps the preeminent teacher of his age and, in his emphasis upon and treatment of doctrines relating to Buddha-nature, is sometimes regarded as a precursor of the controversial interpreter of this topic, Dölpopa Sherab Gyeltsen, who in fact is numbered among the Karmapa’s students. Brunnhölzl (Rangjung Dorjé 2007) translates his commentary on a work attributed to the Madhyamaka philosopher Nāgārjuna, while Rangjung Dorjé 2009 offers selections from his shorter writings, with Brunnhölzl’s commentary.
  498.  
  499. Rangjung Dorjé. In Praise of Dharmadhātu. Edited and translated by Karl Brunnhölzl. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2007.
  500.  
  501. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  502.  
  503. The Karmapa’s commentary on Nāgārjuna’s Dharmadhātustava, with thorough introduction.
  504.  
  505. Find this resource:
  506.  
  507.  
  508. Rangjung Dorjé. Luminous Heart: The Third Karmapa on Consciousness, Wisdom, and Buddha Nature. Edited and translated by Karl Brunnhölzl. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2009.
  509.  
  510. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  511.  
  512. The Karmapa’s short treatises on consciousness and wisdom, and on Buddha-nature, with the commentaries of Jamgön Kongtrül.
  513.  
  514. Find this resource:
  515.  
  516.  
  517. Butön Rinchen-drup
  518. Though best known for his contributions to Tantric commentary and his role in the cataloguing of the Tibetan Buddhist canon, Butön Rinchen-drup (Bu-ston Rin-chen-grub, b. 1290–d. 1364) deserves the attention of students of Tibetan philosophy both for his works on matters of doctrinal interpretation and for his broad impact on Tibetan ways of organizing and categorizing scriptural knowledge. Obermiller (Butön Rinchen-drup 1931–1932) translates the introductory portions of his famous catalogue, and his treatise on Buddha-nature is translated by Ruegg (Butön Rinchen-drup 1973). His biography, in Ruegg 1969 (cited under Doctrinal Interpretations, offers a window onto the world of a thinker in 14th-century Tibet.
  519.  
  520. Butön Rinchen-drup. History of Buddhism (Chos-ḥbyung) by Bu-ston. Translated by E. Obermiller. Suzuki Research Foundation Reprint Series 5. Heidelberg, Germany: Harrassowitz, 1931–1932.
  521.  
  522. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  523.  
  524. The works translated here were in fact Butön’s introduction to his catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist canon. Included are surveys of the major doctrinal categories, important as background for the study of Buddhist philosophy in Tibet overall. Part 1, The Jewelry of Scripture; Part 2, The History of Buddhism in India and Tibet.
  525.  
  526. Find this resource:
  527.  
  528.  
  529. Butön Rinchen-drup. Le Traité du Tathāgatagarbha de Bu ston rin chen grub. Translated by David Seyfort Ruegg. Publications de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient 88. Paris: École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 1973.
  530.  
  531. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  532.  
  533. Translation of the treatise on Tathāgatagarbha by Butön Rinchen-drup, whose interpretation was opposed to that of Dölpopa. Whereas the latter maintains that this was the definitive significance of the Buddha’s teaching, Butön adhered more closely to the Madhyamaka, and considered Buddha-nature to require interpretation in terms of emptiness.
  534.  
  535. Find this resource:
  536.  
  537.  
  538. Ruegg, David Seyfort. The Life of Bu ston Rin po che. Rome: Instituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1969.
  539.  
  540. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  541.  
  542. A good example of the vita of a Tibetan monastic scholar, detailing his studies and teachings that he confirmed.
  543.  
  544. Find this resource:
  545.  
  546.  
  547. Dölpopa Sherab Gyeltsen
  548. Perhaps the single most controversial thinker in the history of Tibetan Buddhist traditions, Dölpopa Sherab Gyeltsen (Dol po pa Shes rab rgyal mtshan, b. 1292–d. 1364) is famed for his innovation of the “extrinsic emptiness” (gzhan stong) approach to the interpretation of Mahayana thought, which became the hallmark of his order, the Jonangpa. His teaching, inspired in large measure by the doctrines of Buddha-nature and those of the Kālacakra Tantra, held in effect that, while relative reality was, in accord with the mainstream of Madhymaka teaching, intrinsically empty, the absolute was empty only insomuch as it was empty of all that pertains to the relative. This conception, contested almost from the outset, came to be considered in some circles virtually as a heresy. Stearns 1999 offers an excellent introduction to Dölpopa, and Hopkins (Dölpopa Sherab Gyeltsen 2006) a translation of one of his major works. Kapstein 1997 considers aspects of his interpretations of the Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra and their legacy in later Jonangpa thought.
  549.  
  550. Dölpopa Sherab Gyeltsen. Mountain Doctrine: Tibet’s Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha Matrix. Translated by Jeffrey Hopkins. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2006.
  551.  
  552. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  553.  
  554. Translation of Dölpopa’s major work, dealing copiously with the question of Buddha-nature.
  555.  
  556. Find this resource:
  557.  
  558.  
  559. Kapstein, Matthew T. “From Dol-po-pa to ‘Ba’-mda’ Dge-legs: Three Jo-nang-pa Masters on the Interpretation of Prajñāpāramitā.” In Proceedings of the Seventh Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies. Vol. 1, Tibetan Studies. Edited by Ernst Steinkellner, et al., 457–475. Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences, 1997.
  560.  
  561. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  562.  
  563. Reprinted in Kapstein’s Reason’s Traces: Identity and Interpretation in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Thought (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2001), chapter 12. On the development of Prajñāpāramitā interpretation in the Jonangpa tradition, beginning with Dölpopa.
  564.  
  565. Find this resource:
  566.  
  567.  
  568. Stearns, Cyrus. Buddha from Dolpo. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999.
  569.  
  570. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  571.  
  572. An excellent introduction to Dölpopa’s life and thought, with translations of selected works.
  573.  
  574. Find this resource:
  575.  
  576.  
  577. Longchen Rabjampa
  578. Longchen Rabjampa Drimé Özer (Klong chen Rab ’byams pa Dri med ’od zer, b. 1308–d. 1364) is generally regarded as the greatest doctrinal author within the Nyingmapa order, particularly in connection with that tradition’s treasured teaching of the Great Perfection, or Dzogchen. Owing to their breadth, depth, and eloquence, his writings in this area are often philosophically suggestive even where philosophical argument is not a primary concern. Among contemporary writers on Tibetan Buddhist thought, he has aroused the greatest attention from those within the Continental, rather than the Analytic, philosophical school. Arguillère 2007 provides the fullest overview of Longchen Rabjampa’s life and work; Guenther (Longchen Rabjampa 1975–1976) the translation of an important group of writings, the Trilogy of Rest, together with Guenther’s own philosophical commentaries; and Thondup (Longchen Rabjampa 1989) an attractive anthology of selections from Longchen Rabjampa’s major works.
  579.  
  580. Arguillère, Stéphane. Vaste sphère de profusion, Klong-chen rab-’byams (Tibet, 1308–1364), sa vie, son oeuvre, sa doctrine. Orientalia Lovaniensa Analecta 167. Leiden, The Netherlands: Peeters, 2007.
  581.  
  582. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  583.  
  584. The major synthesis of knowledge of Longchen Rabjampa to date, covering biographical and bibliographical information, and providing a philosophical examination of his thought.
  585.  
  586. Find this resource:
  587.  
  588.  
  589. Longchen Rabjampa. Kindly Bent to Ease Us. Translated and edited by Herbert V. Guenther. 3 vols. Emeryville, CA: Dharma Publications, 1975–1976.
  590.  
  591. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  592.  
  593. Translation of the verse texts of the Trilogy of Rest (ngal gso skor gsum), in which Longchen Rabjampa compendiously treats the entire path of Buddhist practice from the standpoint of the Mahayana scriptures and the tantric teachings of the Nyingmapa. The translations are introduced by Guenther’s substantial comments.
  594.  
  595. Find this resource:
  596.  
  597.  
  598. Longchen Rabjampa. Buddha Mind: An Anthology of Longchen Rabjam’s Writings on Dzogpa Chenpo. Translated by Tulku Thondup Rinpoche. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1989.
  599.  
  600. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  601.  
  602. An anthology of translations from Longchenpa’s major writings.
  603.  
  604. Find this resource:
  605.  
  606.  
  607. Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakpa
  608. Jé Rinpoché Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakpa (Rje Rin po che Tsong kha pa Blo bzang grags pa, b. 1357–d. 1419) contributed massively to aspects of Tibetan Buddhism as diverse as monastic discipline, education, ritual, and pilgrimage, as well as his important works on philosophy and doctrine. His penetrating examinations of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka led to innovative approaches to these schools of thought, which have remained controversial in some circles down to the present day. Thupten Jinpa 2002 may be recommended as a lucid introduction to the key features of his philosophical thought. Tsongkhapa 2001–2004 offers a complete translation of his great treatise on the Mahayana path, perhaps his most celebrated work. His major treatise on the problems of doctrinal interpretation is translated by Thurman in Tsongkhapa 1984, and abundant commentary on this text may be found in Hopkins 1999 and Hopkins 2002, focusing on the treatment of topics in Yogācāra thought. The particular doctrines of mind in this school are examined in Tsongkhapa’s treatise translated by Sparham (Tsongkhapa 1993). Tsongkhapa’s commentary on Nāgārjuna’s main text is translated by Ngawang Samten and Garfield (Tsongkhapa 2006), and a treatise on the distinguishing features of his approach to Prāsaṅgika-Mādhyamika philosophy in Ruegg 2002. Tauscher 1995 examines his treatment of the two truths in depth.
  609.  
  610. Hopkins, Jeffrey. Emptiness in the Mind-Only School of Buddhism. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999.
  611.  
  612. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  613.  
  614. Hopkins has undertaken to examine the full range of commentaries on Tsongkhapa’s Essence of Eloquence (Tsongkhapa 1984, translated by Thurman). The first volume of his researches on this concerns the manner in which emptiness, usually considered the characteristic Mādhyamika doctrine, was understood in Yogācāra thought.
  615.  
  616. Find this resource:
  617.  
  618.  
  619. Hopkins, Jeffrey. Reflections on Reality: The Three Natures and Non-Natures in the Mind-Only School. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
  620.  
  621. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  622.  
  623. The second volume of Hopkin’s studies of the commentaries on the Essence of Eloquence, treating the question of the three modes of being called the “three natures” (trisvabhāva).
  624.  
  625. Find this resource:
  626.  
  627.  
  628. Ruegg, David Seyfort. Two Prolegomena to Madhyamaka Philosophy. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 54. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 2002.
  629.  
  630. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  631.  
  632. Section 2 (pp. 137–279) presents a thoroughly annotated translation of the treatise on the Eight Difficult Points (of Prāsaṅgika-Mādhyamika), a work set down by Tsongkhapa’s disciple Gyeltsab-jé on the basis of his master’s lectures.
  633.  
  634. Find this resource:
  635.  
  636.  
  637. Tauscher, Helmut. Die Lehre von den Zwei Wirklichkeiten in Tsoṅ kha pas Madhyamaka-Werken. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismiskunde 36. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 1995.
  638.  
  639. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  640.  
  641. A comprehensive investigation of the two truths as presented in Tsongkhapa’s Mādhyamika writings.
  642.  
  643. Find this resource:
  644.  
  645.  
  646. Thupten Jinpa. Self, Reality and Reason in Tibetan Philosophy: Tsongkhapa’s Quest for the Middle Way. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002.
  647.  
  648. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  649.  
  650. A clear and concise presentation of the major philosophical orientations characterizing Tsongkhapa’s contribution to Tibetan thought.
  651.  
  652. Find this resource:
  653.  
  654.  
  655. Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakpa. Tsong Khapa’s Speech of Gold in the Essence of True Eloquence. Translated by R. A. Thurman. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1984.
  656.  
  657. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  658.  
  659. Translation, with detailed introduction, of Tsongkhapa’s celebrated and difficult treatise on the interpretation of the Mahayana, Drang nges legs bshad snying po (The essence of eloquence with respect to provisional and definitive meaning). Thurman’s approach here reflects the vogue of interest in the later Wittgenstein in analytic philosophical circles during the 1970s and 1980s.
  660.  
  661. Find this resource:
  662.  
  663.  
  664. Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakpa. Ocean of Eloquence: Tsong kha pa’s Commentary on the Yogācāra Doctrine of Mind. Translated and edited by Gareth Sparham. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993.
  665.  
  666. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  667.  
  668. Translation, with introduction and notes, of Tsongkhapa’s inquiry into the doctrines of the ālayavijñāna (ground consciousness) and kliṣṭamanas (afflicted mind).
  669.  
  670. Find this resource:
  671.  
  672.  
  673. Tsonghkapa Lozang Drakpa. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Translated by Joshua Cutler, et al. 3 vols. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2001–2004.
  674.  
  675. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  676.  
  677. In his most famous work, the Lam rim chen mo, Tsongkhapa surveys in detail all aspects of the Mahayana path. The philosophical dimensions of the Madhyamaka are discussed at length in the final volume.
  678.  
  679. Find this resource:
  680.  
  681.  
  682. Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakpa. Ocean of Reasoning: A Great Commentary on Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Translated by Ngawang Samten and Jay Garfield. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.
  683.  
  684. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  685.  
  686. A clear translation of one of Tsongkhapa’s most celebrated works on Mādhyamika philosophy, his commentary on Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.
  687.  
  688. Find this resource:
  689.  
  690.  
  691. Tsongkhapa’s Major Disciples
  692. Tsongkhapa’s followers included many brilliant scholars who became prominent teachers in their own right. Collectively they became known first as Gandenpa, after the Ganden monastery founded by their master in 1409, and gradually they came to constitute a distinctive new order, for which the name Gelukpa, the “virtuous order,” was adopted. Philosophical works by Gyeltsab-jé (Rgyal tshab rje, b. 1364–d. 1432), Tsongkhapa’s successor in the abbatial seat of Ganden, are studied in Blumenthal 2004 and Jackson 1993. (Ruegg 2002, cited under Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakpa, also concerns a work recorded by Gyeltsab-jé.) The major Mādhyamika treatise of another important disciple, Khedrup-jé (Mkhas grub rje, b. 1385–d. 1438), is translated by Cabezón in Khedrup-jé 1992.
  693.  
  694. Blumenthal, James. The Ornament of the Middle Way: A Study of the Madhyamaka Thought of Śāntarakṣita. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2004.
  695.  
  696. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  697.  
  698. A study, with translation, of the Madhyamakālaṃkāra, including also Gyeltsab-jé’s commentary (pp. 249–287).
  699.  
  700. Find this resource:
  701.  
  702.  
  703. Jackson, Roger R. Is Enlightenment Possible? Dharmakīrti and rGyal tshab rje on Knowledge, Rebirth, No-Self, and Liberation. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1993.
  704.  
  705. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  706.  
  707. Presents Gyeltsab-jé’s commentaries on the first chapter of Dharmakīrti’s Pramāṇavārttika.
  708.  
  709. Find this resource:
  710.  
  711.  
  712. Khedrup-jé. A Dose of Emptiness: An Annotated Translation of the sTong Thun Chen Mo of mKhas Grub dGe Legs Dpal Bzang. Translated by José Cabezón. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992.
  713.  
  714. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  715.  
  716. Complete translation of Khedrup-jé’s major work on Mādhyamika philosophy, examining in great detail the “difficult points” raised by Tsongkhapa’s approach to Prāsaṅgika thought.
  717.  
  718. Find this resource:
  719.  
  720.  
  721. Critics of Tsongkhapa
  722. Tsongkhapa’s novel formulations of Prāsaṅgika-Mādhyamika thought provoked heated reactions from thinkers associated with several schools, but above all the Sakyapa and Kagyüpa. Though there were diverse points of contention, many agreed that Tsongkhapa’s radical approach to conventional, or relative reality, amounted in effect to a form of nihilism. In this regard, his teaching was sometimes seen as the opposing pendant to Dölpopa’s theory of “extrinsic emptiness,” which was faulted for implying a commitment to an eternal, substantial reality, much like the Brahman of Hinduism. Three of the most notable of the critics were the Sakyapas Serdok Panchen (Gser mdog paṇ chen, b. 1428–d. 1507), and Gorampa Sonam Senggé (Go rams pa Bsod nams seng ge, b. 1429–d. 1489), and the Eighth Karmapa hierarch Mikyö Dorjé (b. 1507–d. 1554). Aspects of Serdok Panchen’s philosophical contributions are studied in Tillemans and Tomabechi 1995 and Komarovski 2006. Shakya Chokden 2000 provides translated examples of his short Mādhyamika writings. Gorampa’s main critical work on Madhyamaka thought, in which he seeks to identify a middle path between the approaches of Dölpopa and Tsongkhapa, is translated into English by Cabezón and Dargyay (Gorampa Sonam Senggé 2007) and into French by Arguillère (Gorampa Sonam Senggé 2008). Mikyö Dorjé’s major text on Prāsaṅgika-Madhyamaka, in which he is highly critical of Tsongkhapa, is translated by Goldfield, et al. (Mikyö Dorjé 2006).
  723.  
  724. Gorampa Sonam Senggé. Freedom from Extremes: Gorampa’s “Distinguishing the Views” and the Polemics of Emptiness. Edited and translated by José Ignacio Cabezón and Geshe Lobsand Dargyay. Boston: Wisdom Publications: 2007.
  725.  
  726. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  727.  
  728. Edited text and annotated English translation of Gorampa’s Lta ba’ shan ’byed, the Distinction of Views, a critical account of the philosophies of Dölpopa and Tsongkhapa, followed by the elaboration of his own position.
  729.  
  730. Find this resource:
  731.  
  732.  
  733. Gorampa Sonam Senggé. La Distinction des Vues, Rayon de Lune du Véhicule suprême. Translated by Stéphane Arguillère. Paris: Fayard, 2008.
  734.  
  735. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  736.  
  737. Annotated French translation of Gorampa’s Lta ba’ shan ’byed, the Distinction of Views, a critical account of the philosophies of Dölpopa and Tsongkhapa, followed by the elaboration of his own position.
  738.  
  739. Find this resource:
  740.  
  741.  
  742. Komarovski, Yaroslav. “Reburying the Treasure—Maintaining the Continuity: Two Texts by Śākya Mchog Ldan on the Buddha-essence.” Journal of Indian Philosophy 34 (2006): 521–570.
  743.  
  744. DOI: 10.1007/s10781-006-9004-2Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  745.  
  746. Shakya Chokden (b. 1428–d. 1504) was among the most original and controversial doctrinal authors in Tibetan history. His contributions to the Tathāgatagarbha debate are surveyed here.
  747.  
  748. Find this resource:
  749.  
  750.  
  751. Mikyö Dorjé. The Moon of Wisdom: Chapter Six of Chandrakīrti’s Entering the Middle Way with Commentary from the Eighth Karmapa. Translated by Ari Goldfield, Jules Levinson, Jim Scott, and Birgit Scott. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2006.
  752.  
  753. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  754.  
  755. Translation of Karmapa Mikyö Dorjé’s extensive commentary on the sixth chapter of Candrakīrti’s Madhyamakāvatāra. Considered the definitive exposition of Prāsaṅgika-Madhyamika within the Karma Kagyü order.
  756.  
  757. Find this resource:
  758.  
  759.  
  760. Shakya Chokden. Three Texts on Madhyamaka. Translated by Yaroslav Komarovski. New Delhi: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 2000.
  761.  
  762. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  763.  
  764. Clear translations of three short Madhyamaka treatises by Shakya Chokden, including his history of Madhyamaka.
  765.  
  766. Find this resource:
  767.  
  768.  
  769. Tillemans, Tom J. F., and Toru Tomabechi. “Le dBu ma’i byuṅ tshul de Śākya mchog ldan.” Asiatische Studien/Études Asiatiques 44.4 (1995): 891–918.
  770.  
  771. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  772.  
  773. A study of Shakya Chokden’s history of Mādhyamika thought in India and Tibet.
  774.  
  775. Find this resource:
  776.  
  777.  
  778. Later Gelukpa Scholasticism
  779. Since the 15th century Gelukpa scholasticism has been remarkably productive of philosophical commentaries, polemics addressed to the proponents of opposing schools, and debate among the Gelukpa themselves, whose major colleges often differed in regard to subtle matters of doctrine. After the 16th century, the creation of new Gelukpa monastic colleges in the northeastern province of Amdo, the promulgation of Gelukpa teaching among the Mongols and, in the 17th century, the consolidation of Tibetan political authority under the Dalai Lamas, further contributed to the flourishing of the Gelukpa order and its system of monastic education. This trend was further reinforced during the 18th century, when China’s Manchu rulers began to sponsor the Gelukpa, at some points virtually as a state religion. Several of the leading masters from 18th-century Amdo were particularly notable for their far-reaching interests in Buddhist philosophical traditions; three in particular produced remarkable synthetic treatises devoted to examining the range of Buddhist philosophical systems. Jamyang Zhepa (‘Jam-dbyangs bzhad-pa, b. 1648–d. 1721), the founder of Labrang monastery in Gansu, authored the Grub mtha’ chen mo (Great exposition of philosophical systems), a text notable for its sharp criticisms of the opponents of Tsongkhapa’s interpretations and now translated by Hopkins (Jamyang 2004). Changkya Rölpé Dorjé (Lcang-skya Rol-pa’i rdo-rje, b. 1717–d. 1786), the guru of China’s Qianlong emperor, composed the Grub mtha’ lhun po mdzes rgyan (Exposition of philosophical systems beatifying the axis mundi), which avoids intra-Tibetan disputes in favor of a “return to the Indian sources” approach to the study of Buddhist philosophy. Though no complete translation has yet become available, important selections may be found in Hopkins 1995, Klein 1987, and Lopez 1987. Changkya’s disciple Tuken Chöki Nyima (Thu’u bkwan Chos kyi nyi ma, b. 1737–d. 1802), by contrast, turned to the Tibetan systems of Buddhism themselves. His celebrated work has been translated by Thuken (see General Overviews).
  780.  
  781. Hopkins, Jeffrey. Emptiness Yoga: The Tibetan Middle Way. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1995.
  782.  
  783. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  784.  
  785. Study of the Prāsaṅgika school of Madhyamaka, with translation of the relevant section of Changkya’s Exposition of Philosophical Systems.
  786.  
  787. Find this resource:
  788.  
  789.  
  790. Jamyang Zhepa. Maps of the Profound: Jam-yang-shay-ba’s Great Exposition of Buddhist and Non-Buddhist Views on the Nature of Reality. Translated by Jeffrey Hopkins. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2004.
  791.  
  792. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  793.  
  794. Complete translation of the most polemical of the great 18th-century works devoted to the examination of Buddhist philosophy overall.
  795.  
  796. Find this resource:
  797.  
  798.  
  799. Klein, Anne C. Knowledge and Liberation: Tibetan Buddhist Epistemology in Support of Transformative Religious Experience. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1987.
  800.  
  801. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  802.  
  803. Study of the epistemology of the Sautrāntika school, with translation of the relevant section of Changkya’s Exposition of Philosophical Systems.
  804.  
  805. Find this resource:
  806.  
  807.  
  808. Lopez, Donald S., Jr. A Study of Svāntantrika. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1987.
  809.  
  810. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  811.  
  812. Study of the Svātantrika school of Madhyamaka, with translation of the relevant section of Changkya’s Exposition of Philosophical Systems.
  813.  
  814. Find this resource:
  815.  
  816.  
  817. Jamgön Kongtrül
  818. Beginning in the 18th century, the eastern region of Kham became the scene of important intellectual and artistic movements, culminating during the 19th century in the so-called “eclective” or “non-partisan” (ris med) movement that, reacting against the intense sectarianism that was then current in the Tibetan religious life, affirmed the value and fundamental harmony of the key teachings of all the major Tibetan Buddhist traditions. One of the most prominent leaders of this movement was Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Tayé (‘Jam mgon Kong sprul Blo gros mtha’ yas, b. 1813–d. 1899), a prolific figure whose oeuvre, including both his own writings and those he edited, amounted to well over one hundred large Tibetan volumes. Though he was more an encyclopedist than a philosopher, his major treatise, the Shes bya kun khyab mdzod (Treasury embracing all knowledge), includes a considerable amount of material of interest to students of Buddhist philosophy in Tibet. A complete translation of this sprawling work is being published by Snow Lion Publications. Among the several volumes that have already appeared, Jamgön Kongtrül 2003a, Jamgön Kongtrül 2003b, and Jamgön Kongtrül 2007, on cosmology, ethics, and the systems of Buddhist philosophy, respectively, are particularly pertinent to philosophical research. In addition, for his commentaries on writings of Karmapa III Rangjung Dorjé, among the most philosophically interesting of his works, see Karl Brunnhölzl’s work cited under Karmapa III Rangjung Dorjé.
  819.  
  820. Jamgön Kongtrül. The Treasury of Knowledge, Book One: Myriad Worlds. Translated by the International Translation Committee founded by Kalu Rinpoché. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2003a.
  821.  
  822. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  823.  
  824. The complete first book of The Treasury of Knowledge, on the several cosmological systems taught in varied Buddhist sources.
  825.  
  826. Find this resource:
  827.  
  828.  
  829. Jamgön Kongtrül. The Treasury of Knowledge, Book Five: Buddhist Ethics. Translated by the International Translation Committee founded by Kalu Rinpoché. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2003b.
  830.  
  831. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  832.  
  833. The complete fifth book, on ethical training, monastic discipline, and the systems of Buddhist vows.
  834.  
  835. Find this resource:
  836.  
  837.  
  838. Jamgön Kongtrül. The Treasury of Knowledge, Book 6, Part 3: Frameworks of Buddhist Philosophy. Translated by Elizabeth M. Callahan. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2007.
  839.  
  840. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  841.  
  842. The third section of book six, concerning the philosophical systems pertaining to the “vehicle of cause and definition” (rgyu mtshan nyid kyi theg pa), that is, the major philosophical schools of exoteric Buddhism.
  843.  
  844. Find this resource:
  845.  
  846.  
  847. Mipam Namgyel
  848. The Nyingmapa master Mipam (also spelled Mipham) Namgyel Gyatso (Mi pham rnam rgyal rgya mtsho, b. 1846–d. 1912) was perhaps the most original Tibetan philosophical thinker of the late 19th and early 20th centuries; his work quickly penetrated the Nyingmapa monastic colleges, and a number of his texts were adopted in Kagyüpa and Sakyapa colleges as well. In general, he sought to forge an approach to the Indian Buddhist philosophical legacy that was fully harmonized with the Great Perfection teachings of the Nyingmapa. The particular positions he elaborated in pursuing this end were sometimes regarded as controversial, particularly among Gelukpa thinkers, some of whom entered into prolonged debates with him. Though his overall project could be seen in major respects as continuing the trajectory of Longchen Rabjampa’s thinking, Mipam, like other figures associated with the “non-partisan” movement, drew freely on the earlier writers he admired, without regard to sectarian affiliation. The Sakyapa Gorampa (see Critics of Tsongkhapa) was thus among the important influences on his interpretations of Indian philosophical sources. Karma Phuntsho 2005 provides a broad survey of his contributions, emphasizing his work on Madhyamaka philosophy. Several of his major treatises and commentaries in this latter area are translated in Mipam Namgyel Gyatso 2004a, Mipam Namgyel Gyatso 2004b, Mipam Namgyel Gyatso 2005a, Mipam Namgyel Gyatso 2005b, and Petit 1999. His approach to the question of Buddha-nature is the topic of Duckworth 2008, while Kapstein 2009 introduces his work on the related issue of “extrinsic emptiness.” Another related topic is the reflexivity of consciousness, examined in Williams 1998. Mipam’s contribution to Buddhist interpretation theory is the subject of Kapstein 1988.
  849.  
  850. Duckworth, Douglas S. Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the Nyingma Tradition. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008.
  851.  
  852. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  853.  
  854. A thorough survey of Mipam’s contributions to the understanding of Buddha-nature. Includes, as an appendix, a translation of one of his major essays on the subject.
  855.  
  856. Find this resource:
  857.  
  858.  
  859. Kapstein, Matthew T. “Mi-pham’s Theory of Interpretation.” In Buddhist Hermeneutics. Edited by Donald Lopez, 149–174. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1988.
  860.  
  861. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  862.  
  863. A study of Mipam’s work on hermeneutics, with detailed summary of his major essay on this subject. Reprinted in Kapstein’s Reason’s Traces: Identity and Interpretation in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist Thought (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2001), chapter 13.
  864.  
  865. Find this resource:
  866.  
  867.  
  868. Kapstein, Matthew T. “Mipam Namgyel: The Lion’s Roar Affirming Extrinsic Emptiness.” In Buddhist Philosophy: Essential Readings. Edited by William Edelglass, 61–72. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.
  869.  
  870. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  871.  
  872. Introduction to Mipam’s treatment of “extrinsic emptiness,” with translation of the key philosophical passages of his treatise on this topic.
  873.  
  874. Find this resource:
  875.  
  876.  
  877. Karma Phuntsho. Mipham’s Dialectics and the Debates on Emptiness. London: Routledge, 2005.
  878.  
  879. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  880.  
  881. A fine overview of Mipam’s diverse contributions, with detailed treatment of his approach to Madhyamaka philosophy.
  882.  
  883. Find this resource:
  884.  
  885.  
  886. Mipam Namgyel Gyatso. L’Opalescent joyau: Nor bu ke ta ka. Translated by Stéphane Arguillère. Paris: Fayard, 2004a.
  887.  
  888. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  889.  
  890. Translation, with introduction and annotations, of Mipam’s famous and controversial commentary on the ninth chapter of Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra. An important statement of his approach to Madhyamaka thought.
  891.  
  892. Find this resource:
  893.  
  894.  
  895. Mipam Namgyel Gyatso. Speech of Delight: Mipham’s Commentary on Śantarakṣita’s Ornament of the Middle Way. Translated by Thomas Doctor. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2004b.
  896.  
  897. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  898.  
  899. Text and translation, with no annotation, of Mipam’s commentary on the Madhyamakālaṃkāra of Śāntarakṣita. One of Mipam’s major philosophical works.
  900.  
  901. Find this resource:
  902.  
  903.  
  904. Mipam Namgyel Gyatso. Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara with Commentary by Jamgön Mipham. Translated by the Padmakara Translation Committee. Boston: Shambhala, 2005a.
  905.  
  906. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  907.  
  908. Translation of Mipam’s commentary on Candrakīrti’s Madhyamakāvatāra. This is a useful introduction to Candrakīrti’s text, though it is one of Mipam’s several commentaries in which his concern is basic textual exposition and not the elaboration of his own views.
  909.  
  910. Find this resource:
  911.  
  912.  
  913. Mipam Namgyel Gyatso. The Adornment of the Middle Way: Shantarakshita’s Madhyamakalankara with Commentary by Jamgön Mipham. Translated by the Padmakara Translation Committee. Boston: Shambhala, 2005b.
  914.  
  915. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  916.  
  917. A second translation of Mipam’s commentary on the Madhyamakālaṃkāra of Śāntarakṣita (see Mipam Namgyel Gyatso 2004b), this time without the Tibetan text and lightly annotated.
  918.  
  919. Find this resource:
  920.  
  921.  
  922. Pettit, John. Mipham’s Beacon of Certainty. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1999.
  923.  
  924. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  925.  
  926. Introduction to Mipam’s life and work, with a fully annotated translation of an important Madhyamaka treatise, the Nges don sgron me (Beacon of certainty). Includes, too, a translation of Mipam’s main work on the problem of “extrinsic emptiness.”
  927.  
  928. Find this resource:
  929.  
  930.  
  931. Williams, Paul. The Reflexive Nature of Awareness: A Tibetan Madhyamaka Defence. Surrey, UK: Curzon, 1998.
  932.  
  933. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  934.  
  935. An investigation of the treatment of the reflexivity of consciousness (Skt. svasaṃvedana, Tib. rang rig) in Madhyamaka thought, with particular reference to Mipam’s writings on Bodhicaryāvatāra, chapter 9. May be recommended as an excellent example of a philosophical inquiry into an important topic in Tibetan Buddhist thought. Critically discussed in Matthew Kapstein’s “We Are All Gzhan stong pas,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics 7 (2000): 105–125.
  936.  
  937. Find this resource:
  938.  
  939.  
  940. 20th-Century Figures
  941. During the 20th century, traditional Tibetan philosophy continued to be practiced while, at the same time, some Tibetan thinkers began to engage non-Tibetan traditions of thought. Dudjom Rinpoche 2002 translates the major writings of an influential modern traditionalist who, despite extensive travels and engagements with disciples throughout the world, continued to produce texts on various topics in a purely traditional mode. Lopez (Gendün Chöpel 2006) introduces Gendün Chöpel (b. 1903–d. 1951), often considered the first modern Tibetan intellectual, and translates his major philosophical work. The best representative of contemporary dialogue between Tibetan Buddhist teachers and scholars in several fields in the West is no doubt His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama (b. 1935), under whose name dozens of volumes have been published, based mostly on transcriptions of his public talks. Tenzin Gyatso 1999 and Tenzin Gyatso 2005 are good introductions to his engagement with Western thought and address topics of philosophical interest. Among contemporary Tibetan thinkers whose work seeks to examine traditional sources from a contemporary standpoint, one may also note Thupten Jinpa (cited under Tsongkhapa Lozang Drakpa) and the Bhutanese scholar Karma Phuntsho (cited under Mipam Namgyel).
  942.  
  943. Dudjom Rinpoche, Jikdrel Yeshe Dorje. The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History, 2d ed. Translated by Gyurme Dorje and Matthew Kapstein. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2002.
  944.  
  945. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  946.  
  947. Translation of the late Dudjom Rinpoche’s (b. 1904–d. 1987) major writings; 1st ed., 1991. Though more compendiums of traditional sources than original works, their value lies precisely in their faithful reproduction of their sources. The philosophical sections are primarily to be found in book 1, part 3, which adheres closely to the “extrinsic emptiness” approach to Mahayana thought as formulated by the 18th-century Nyingmapa master Katok Getsé Paṇḍṇḍita (Kaḥ thog Dge rtse Paṇḍṇḍita).
  948.  
  949. Find this resource:
  950.  
  951.  
  952. Gendün Chöpel. The Madman’s Middle Way: Reflections on Reality of the Tibetan Monk Gendun Chopel. Translated by Donald S. Lopez Jr. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.
  953.  
  954. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  955.  
  956. Gendün Chöpel (Dge ’dun Chos ’phel, b. 1903–d. 1951) was perhaps the most radical and controversial of early 20th century Tibetan thinkers, now much admired by Tibetans. Though not primarily a philosopher—his main writings concern history and poetics—his lessons on Madhyamaka thought were recorded by a disciple and came to be the object of considerable disputation. Lopez translates the text, together with an introduction to the life and work of the author.
  957.  
  958. Find this resource:
  959.  
  960.  
  961. Tenzin Gyatso(Bstan-’zin-rgya-mtsho). Ethics for the New Millennium. New York: Riverhead, 1999.
  962.  
  963. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  964.  
  965. The author ranges over many of the particular topics of theoretical and practical interest in ethics, including the definition of the good, virtue, compassion, and suffering, as well as social issues such as peace and disarmament.
  966.  
  967. Find this resource:
  968.  
  969.  
  970. Tenzin Gyatso(Bstan-’zin-rgya-mtsho). The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality. New York: Morgan Road, 2005.
  971.  
  972. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  973.  
  974. Best summarized in the preface (p. 4): “This book is not an attempt to unite science and spirituality… but an effort to examine two important human disciplines for the purpose of developing a more holistic and integrated way of understanding the world around us.”
  975.  
  976. Find this resource:
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