The Treasury of Knowledge
Book Six, Part Three:
Frameworks of Buddhist Philosophy
The publication of this work has been made possible through the generous support of the Tsadra Foundation.
A Systematic Presentation of the Cause-Based Philosophical Vehicles
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye
KALU RINPOCHE TRANSLATION GROUP
under the direction of Venerable Bokar Rinpoche
This volume
translated, introduced, and annotated by
Elizabeth M. Callahan
CONTENTS
FOREWORD by Khenpo Tsiiltrim Gyamtso Rinpoche 7
INTRODUCTION 9
THE ROOT TEXT: FRAMEWORKS OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY: A Systematic Presentation of the Cause-Based Philosophical Vehicles 57 1. THREE YANAS AND FOUR TENET SYSTEMS 83
SECTION I: HINAYANA 85 2. THE SHRAVAKAYANA: AN OVERVIEW AND THE FOUR TRUTHS 87
3. THE SHRAVAKAYANA: ITS TENET SYSTEMS, ORDERS, AND RESULTS 123
4. THE PRATYEKABUDDHAYANA 151
SECTION II: MAHAYANA 159 5. THE MAHAYANA's DISTINCTIONS AND TRAINING 161
6. CHITTAMATRA 175
7. AN OVERVIEW OF MADHYAMAKA 195
8. RANGTONG-MADHYAMAKA 203
9. SVATANTRIKA 217
10. PRASANGIKA 223
11. SHENTONG-MADHYAMAKA 249
12. SECRET MANTRA-MADHYAMAKA 269
APPENDIX: OUTLINE OF THE TEXT 275
GLOSSARY 283
ENDNOTES 301
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF WORKS CITED BY THE AUTHOR 407
REFERENCE BIBLIOGRAPHY 423
INDEX 459
FOREWORD
If you thoroughly comprehend the philosophical vehicles presented in Jamgon Lodro Taye's Treasury of Knowledge, you will develop the firm resolve to emerge from samsara and will understand the absence of the self of persons. These are the teachings of the first turning of the dharma wheel.
You will understand emptiness, which is freedom from all conceptually elaborated extremes, and will know that, on a conventional level, all phenomena are simply dependently originated appearances. Having understood these things, you will understand the threefold enumeration of utter purity and the twelvefold enumeration of complete purity' with ease. These are the teachings of the middle turning of the dharma wheel.You will recognize that the abiding nature of mind, luminous sugatagarbha, is stainless in nature: stains are self-arising and self-liberated. This is the thought of the third turning of the dharma wheel.On the basis of this, you will know the way in which the five poisons are the five wisdoms, as is taught in the Vajrayana.It is precisely for these reasons that this section of the Treasury of Knowledge is of the utmost importance. May those of great intelligence master this.Spoken by Tsiilgyam, who is only called "Khenpo"(Khenpo Tsiiltrim Gyamtso Rinpoche)5 November 2005
INTRODUCTION
For Buddhists, the study of philosophy has a single goal: awakening. Study (or, as it is traditionally undertaken, listening) is the first of the three means to knowledge, the other two being reflection and meditation. All Buddhist practitioners engage in some form of study, though for many of those whose main interest is meditation, the formal study of philosophy, with its branch areas of epistemology and logic, seems quite unnecessary. Yet, as Khenpo Tsiiltrim Gyamtso Rinpoche's foreword explicates, the systematic study of the topics contained in this volume will lead us from the foundational Buddhist teachings on the four truths to the Madhyamaka of Secret Mantra, and thence to awakening.Khenpo Tsiiltrim teaches that there are four ways to approach the realization of mahamudra: through training progressively in the view, meditation, conduct, or the tantras. In the Karma Kagyu tradition, training in meditation starts with the four common preliminaries and four uncommon preliminaries,2 and is followed by shamatha (calm abiding) and vipashyana (superior insight) meditations according to either a Siitrayana or a Vajrayana approach. When training in conduct, the first step is to do no harm, either to oneself or to others; subsequent training in altruistic behavior may be followed by instruction in other styles of conduct appropriate to one's level of practice.3 To train according to the tantras is to practice the meditations of the four sets of tantra in sequence, starting with kriya (action) tantras, charya (conduct) tantras, yoga tantras, and finally anuttarayoga (highest yoga) tantras. Khenpo Tsiiltrim explains that while any of these three approaches will lead to the realization of mahamudra, training in the stages of the view, such as presented by Jamgon Kongtrul in this section of his Treasury of Knowledge, is the most profound way to proceed.4
JAMGON KONGTRUL L.ODRO TAPE AND THE RIME MOVEMENTJamgon Kongtrul Lodro Tayes (1813-1900) was a Tibetan polymath: an erudite and eclectic scholar, teacher, meditation practitioner, and even a skilled political mediator when needed. Along with other luminaries of his time, such as Dza Paltrul,6 Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo,7 Chokgyur Lingpa,8 and later Ju Mipham,9 Jamgon Kongtrul contributed to the revitalization and preservation of many lineages and traditions of Buddhist teachings in what is called the Rime (ris med), or nonsectarian, movement. His outstanding quality as a synthesizer and harmonizer, both on a secular and a religious level, is just one of the reasons for his leading role as a nonsectarian. There are many good accounts of Jamgon Kongtrul's life and times, such as Gene Smith's (2001) "'Jam mgon Kong sprul and the Nonsectarian Movement," The Autobiography of Jamgon Kongtul (Barron 2003), and Ringu Tulku's (2006) The Ri-me Philosophy of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great 10 Here we will look at those aspects of his thought that are most relevant to this book.The origins of the Rime movementThe nineteenth-century Rime movement was both a reaction to its times and a reflection of the views of its proponents. The religious climate in Tibet (which was intertwined with its politics) had become highly partisan, and the Rime movement was a push towards a middle ground where the various views and styles of the different traditions were appreciated for their individual contributions rather than being refuted, marginalized, or banned. Jamgon Kongtrul and others brought to light many valuable teachings in both their own and others' traditions, some of which had been dangerously close to being lost, and to reduce the Rime movement to the redressing of religious power or prestige would be to undervalue its fundamental ecumenical spirit. The Rime masters' contribution is not simply one of balance: it enables us to experience the rich wisdom and means found in a variety of approaches.It should be mentioned that a Rime approach does not mix traditions. Each tradition of Buddhism in Tibet has its own meditation texts and commentaries, and its own approach to training practitioners. Jamgon Kongtrul and his contemporaries were concerned with preserving and promulgat ing these traditions, each in its own right; by doing so, they ensured their availability for subsequent generations of practitioners and scholars.
Jamgon Kongtrul's influencesTwo aspects characteristic of the Rime movement are seen in Jamgon Kongtrul's presentation of Buddhist doctrine in general and its philosophy in particular. The first is a return to emphasizing Indian sources-to fundamentals (though not to fundamentalism)-and the other is the revival of the Shentong system and the establishment of its place in the study of Madhyamaka philosophy. As we shall see, he drew upon the works of Indian masters, from Nagarjuna, Asanga, and Vasubandhu to Chandrakirti and Shantarakshita. For his Shentong presentation, he relied primarily on the works of two more recent Shentong masters: the Sakya scholar Shakya Chokdenll and the Jonang master Taranatha.12Tibetans rely more on the Indian exegetical works than sutras: "original" sources often means the writings of Nagarjuna, Asanga, and Vasubandhu, rather than the words of the Buddha found in the sutras. One reason for this is that the great Indian masters systematized, and in that process clarified, the words and thought of the Buddha; and, of course, each generation usually finds recent works more accessible than the ancient texts, both conceptually and linguistically.Jamgon Kongtrul states that what became known in Tibet as Shentong (Extrinsic Emptiness or Empty-of-Other)13 was known in India as Yogachara-Madhyamaka. This stream of teachings began with the Buddha's third turning of the dharma whee114 and was later elucidated by Maitreya, Asanga, Vasubandhu, and Nagarjuna in his Collection of Praises.15 Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen16 of Jonang monastery in Tibet is generally considered to be the first to use the terms Shentong and Rangtong (Rang stong, Intrinsic Emptiness or Empty-of-Self) in an extensive way. Jamgon Kongtrul says that many Kagyu and Nyingma masters17 explain the key points of this system as the definitive meaning, specifically citing the third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje,18 and the great Nyingma master Longchen Rabjam.19 The Yogachara-Madhyamaka, or Shentong, view is also an intrinsic part of mahamudra teachings and of the Vajrayana. The great yogi Milarepa sang many songs that express this view, as well as songs that express its counterpart, Rangtong.20The Jonang school and Shentong teachings were banned in Central and Western Tibet during the mid-seventeenth century owing, it seems, largely to a change in political power. Its texts were sealed and their printing was forbidden, and Jonang monastery was converted to a Geluk monastery.21 Despite these restrictions, the Jonang Shentong teachings and practices continued even in Central Tibet, albeit in a reduced way, and in its fairly isolated affiliated monasteries in the eastern areas of Tibet (Amdo). During the eighteenth century, there was a revival and open reinstatement of the Shentong view within the Kagyu and Nyingma schools, which began with Kah-tok Rikdzin Tsewang Norbu,22 Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne,23 and Getse Pandita Gyurme Tsewang Chokdrup.24 Tsewang Norbu received the transmission of the Jonang teachings from Kunzang Wangpo,25 a student of one of Taranatha's disciples, Kunga Taye.26 Tsewang Norbu also strongly influenced the adoption of Shentong views by Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne of the Karma Kagyu school, who regarded his Shentong views to be in accordance with those of the seventh Karmapa, Chodrak Gyamtso,27 and Shakya Chokden.28 Another important contributor to the Shentong revitalization was Shalu Ri-buk Tulku, Losel Ten-ky6ng,29 who enabled the reprinting of Taranatha's banned works in 1874.30 In this section of his Treasury of Knowledge, Jamgon Kongtrul carries on their work, clarifying and reaffirming the place of this system within the traditionally accepted hierarchy of four philosophical schools.
Jamgon Kongtrul's literary worksJamgon Kongtrul's prodigious literary output (over ninety volumes) is contained in collections known as the Five Great Treasuries,31 which comprise meditation practices, empowerments, and commentaries, as well as his own compositions. His own writings are found in The Treasury of Extensive Teachings32 and The Treasury of Knowledge, also known as The Encompassment of All Knowledge (see below). His collections of texts are The Mantra Treasury of the Kagyu School, The Treasury of Precious Terma Teachings, and The Treasury of Instructions.33 The Treasury of Knowledge
The work translated in Frameworks of Buddhist Philosophy: A Systematic Presentation of the Cause-Based Philosophical Vehicles34 is one section of The Encompassment of All Knowledge and its auto-commentary, The Infinite Ocean of Knowledge.35 Together these texts are often called (and hereafter will be referred to as) The Treasury of Knowledge,36 the name given to them by Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo.
Although Jamgon Kongtrul began compiling the texts for The Mantra Treasury of the Kagyu School first, The Treasury of Knowledge is generally regarded as his first work. He undertook it at the request of Ngedon Tenpa Rabgye,37 who had asked him to compose a treatise on the three vows: the Hinayana vows of individual liberation (prdtimoksha, so sor than pa'i sdom pa), the Mahayana vows of a bodhisattva (byang chub sems dpa'i sdom pa), and the samayas, or commitments, of Secret Mantra (gsang ba sngags kyi dam tshig 'am sdom pa). Jamgon Kongtrul recounts the circumstances in his autobiography:38Prior to this, Lama Karma Ngedon had urged me to write a treatise on the three levels of ordination, saying that if I did so he would write a commentary. But my feeling was that there were already any number of treatises on this subject, and that if I were to write a treatise it should be more comprehensive in scope, something that would be of use to people who had not studied much. So in the periods between my meditation sessions I had been composing the source verses to my treatise The Encompassing of the Knowable [or The Encompassment of All Knowledge] a treatise dealing with the three higher trainings.39 Later, I offered this to my lord guru for his inspection, and on that occasion he gave me great encouragement, saying, "This is definitely due to the blessings of your spiritual masters and the power that comes from having the ddkinis open up your subtle channels. We will call this The Treasury of the Knowable [or Treasury of Knowledge] the first of the five great Treasuries you will produce. Now you must write your own commentary to it."Begun in 1863, the root text and its three-volume auto-commentary were probably completed by Jamgon Kongtrul in 1865. Certainly they were completed by mid-1867 when Jamgon Kongtrul recorded that he gave the oral transmission for the work to the Ngor master Ngawang Rinchen.ao Although it was originally intended to discuss only the three vows, this work came to be a comprehensive treatise on Buddhism, covering all areas of knowledge and interest to the Buddhist population of Tibet. It is the last great Tibetan encyclopedia. Additionally-and not insignificantly-it provides us with a clear picture of Jamgon Kongtrul's nonsectarian approach to Buddhist practices and study.
The Treasury of Knowledge: Style and Contents
As befitting a compendium of this nature, The Treasury of Knowledge draws on and from the writings of both Indian and Tibetan masters. An important aspect of Buddhist scholarship is to ground one's presentation in the works of previous masters, a tradition stretching back to the time of the Buddha Shakyamuni. Readers should bear in mind that The Treasury of Knowledge is as much a compilation as it is an original work, and this should be understood from the traditional Buddhist context, where reliance on scripture is not only laudable but to varying degrees mandatory; where passages may be borrowed in their entirety without attribution; and where original writing-that is, something wholly self-created-is considered a fault.Growing from the original section on the three vows, The Treasury of Knowledge is divided into ten sections (gnas)-called "books" in this translation series-each with four parts (skabs) of varying lengths. As we can see from the following overview, it begins with cosmology and history, moves on to survey vast and varied areas of knowledge, then discusses meditation practices, and concludes with sections on the path and the fruition of nirvana. Each book has a theme that it discusses in its four parts from various perspectives: sometimes in terms of the Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana approaches; at other times according to the different Tibetan traditions; in some cases, a section will be an in-depth look at one or more areas of the book's broad topic.Book One: Myriad Worlds: Buddhist Cosmology in Abhidharma, Kalacakra, and Dzog-chen (1995)Part 1: The Cosmology of the Universal Way [Mahayana]Part 2: Our Universe according to the Individual and Universal Ways [Hinayana and Mahayana]Part 3: Space and Time in the Tantra of the Wheel of Time [Kalachakra]Part 4: The Causes of Cyclic Life [and the Primordial Purity of the Universe]
Book Two: The Advent of the Buddha41Part 1: Our Teacher's Path to AwakeningPart 2: The Buddha's EnlightenmentPart 3: The Buddha's Twelve DeedsPart 4: Enlightenment's Bodies and RealmsBook Three: The Buddha's Doctrine-The Sacred TeachingsPart 1: What Are the Sacred Teachings?Part 2: Cycles of Scriptural TransmissionPart 3: Compilations of the Buddha's WordPart 4: The Origins of the Original Translations' Ancient Tradition [Nyingma]Book Four: Buddhism's Spread Throughout the WorldPart 1: Buddhism's Spread in IndiaPart 2: How Buddhist Monastic Discipline and Philosophy Came to TibetPart 3: Tibet's Eight Vehicles of Tantric Meditation PracticePart 4: The Origins of Buddhist CultureBook Five: Buddhist Ethics [The Training in Higher Ethical Conduct] (1998)Part 1: The Qualities of the Spiritual Teacher and StudentPart 2: The Vows of Personal LiberationPart 3: The Commitments of Awakening Mind [Bodhichitta]Part 4: The Vows and Pledges of Secret MantraBook Six: The Topics for StudyPart 1: A Presentation of the Common Fields of Knowledge and Worldly PathsPart 2: The General Topics of Knowledge in the Hinayana and MahayanaPart 3: Frameworks of Buddhist Philosophy: A Systematic Presentation of the Cause-Based Philosophical VehiclesPart 4: Systems of Buddhist Tantra: The Indestructible Way of Secret Mantra (2005)
Book Seven: The Training in Higher WisdomPart 1: Gaining Certainty about the Keys to UnderstandingPart 2: Gaining Certainty about the Provisional and Definitive Meanings in the Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma; the Two Truths; and Dependent ArisingPart 3: Gaining Certainty about the ViewPart 4: Gaining Certainty about the Four Thoughts that Turn the MindBook Eight: The Training in Higher Meditative Absorption [Samadhi]Part 1: Shamatha (Calm Abiding) and Vipashyana (Profound Insight)Part 2: The Stages of Meditation in the Cause-Based Approaches42Part 3: The Elements of Tantric Practice: A General Exposition of Secret Mantra Meditation Systems43Part 4: Esoteric Instructions: A Detailed Presentation of the Process of Meditation in Vajraydna44Book Nine: An Analysis of the Paths and Levels to Be Traversed45Part 1: The Paths and Levels in the Cause-Based Dialectical Approach4oPart 2: The Levels and Paths in the VajrayanaPart 3: The Process of EnhancementPart 4: The Paths and Levels in the Three YogasBook Ten: An Analysis of the Consummate Fruition StatePart 1: The Fruition in the Dialectical ApproachPart 2: The More Common Attainments in the VajrayanaPart 3: The Fruition in the VajrayanaPart 4: The Fruition State in the Nyingma SchoolBooks One through Four cover Buddhist views on the world and Buddhist history. What follows, beginning with Book Five's presentation of the three vows, is the content of Buddhist doctrine. Book Six-the topics for study-sits between the training in ethical conduct (Book Five) and the trainings in wisdom and samadhi (Books Seven and Eight respectively). This organization suggests that the material in Book Six is designed to provide practitioners and scholars with the understanding that they will reflect upon (aided by Book Seven) and cultivate in their meditation (as set out in Book Eight).Part One of Book Six is a presentation of what are called common fields of knowledge (thun mong rig pa'i gnas), which are areas of learning common to Buddhists and non-Buddhists. These subjects, which include a study of valid means of cognition (pramdna, tshad ma), cover the tools necessary for Buddhist philosophical studies. Part Two of Book Six, The General Topics of Knowledge in the Hinayana and Mahayana, begins with an overview of what distinguishes Buddhism from non-Buddhist systems and then surveys the ways Buddhist yanas (thegpa, vehicles) and philosophical tenet systems (siddhdnta, grub mtha') are categorized and enumerated. Jamgon Kongtrul concludes this opening with the most well-known framework: three yanas and four philosophical systems.47 This is the framework that Part Three of Book Six, our present work, presents in some detail.
BOOK SIX, PART THREE: Frameworks of Buddhist PhilosophyIn Part Three of Book Six, A Systematic Presentation of the Cause-Based Philosophical Vehicles, Jamgon Kongtrul presents an overview of the main aspects of the Hinayana and Mahayana systems (leaving out the Vajrayana segment of the Mahayana),48 and highlights the important points of their approaches. These are "cause-based yanas" (rgyu'i theg pa), in contrast to the "result-based yanas" ('bras bu'i thegpa), which is a common name for the Vajrayana. As Jamgon Kongtrul says,49 cause-based yanas employ "that by which we travel," a cryptic phrase meaning that these yanas use the causes of buddhahood as their path. Result-based paths use "where we are traveling to" as their means; that is, their method is the result itself: the wisdoms and pure appearances of buddhahood. (Result-based approaches are treated in Part Four of Book Six, Systems of Buddhist Tantra.) Speaking generally, from a Hinayana perspective, the causes are the renunciation of samsara, the cultivation of ethical conduct, and the realization of the absence of a self of persons (pudgalanairatmya, gang zag gi bdag med). The Mahayana adds to that list the cultivation of the six paramitas and the realization of the absence of a self-entity of phenomena (dhannanairatmya, chos kyi bdag med).These yanas are also called "philosophical" (lakshana, mtshan nyid). The term translated here as "philosophical" in other contexts is translated as "characteristics," "defining characteristics," or "dialectics." In Chapter Five of this book, Jamgon Kongtrul states that the Paramitayana part of the Mahayana "is called a philosophical [yana] because it portrays (mtshon par byed pa) the path and its attributes that directly connect us to the unified state of Vajradhara, the final fruition." Thus the term refers to these yanas' descriptions of the characteristics that make up the path. They do this by means of categorizations and definitions, analysis and reason, rather than faith and devotion. Here, the application of the term is broad since it covers the early Buddhist schools through Madhyamaka, including the Madhyamaka character of Secret Mantra.
As is the case throughout The Treasury of Knowledge, many topics simply mentioned in this volume are explained in detail elsewhere.50 In this book we find a general presentation of the Hinayana and Mahayana doctrines, paths, and results with an emphasis on the specifics of their philosophical tenet systems. In terms of Buddhist literature, we could say broadly that this section conforms to the genre of doxography or tenet systems (siddhdnta, grub mtha').51 In fact, this section often serves as such for the Karma Kagyu tradition these days, which makes it important not just as a general document or a reflection of Jamgon Kongtrul's Rime perspective, but as a textbook in a contemporary and vital tradition. Before we look at the structure and content of Jamgon Kongtrul's presentation, some background and context for this work may be helpful.Doxography: An overview of shifting structuresDoxography is the systematization of views, the classification of fluid lines of thought into discrete, hierarchical categories that suggest uniformity where it may not exist. It should be kept in mind from the outset that these pedagogical frameworks, into which centuries of works are placed, are the creation of Buddhist thinkers: each one is an artifact (and sometimes an artifice). They do not necessarily describe or reflect historical facts-none of the Indian teachers they categorize thought of themselves as belonging to any such "schools" (or even necessarily holding the views that are ascribed to them). They evolved into their present forms mainly because they were so enthusiastically embraced by Tibetan scholars.Nagarjuna52 (ca. second century CE) was the earliest Mahayana philosopher to provide a systematic exposition of emptiness. In his Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way,53 Nagarjuna demonstrates through reasoning that phenomena have no nature and specifically refutes assertions held by the major abhidharma schools of his time, such as the Vaibhashikas, or Sarvastivadins.54 In doing so, he is considered to have established the Middle Way, or Madhyamaka, system. Traditionally, three sets of texts are attributed to Nagarjuna: Collection of Reasonings,55 Collection of Praises, and Collection of Advice.- The works in his Collection of Reasonings and the texts of his student Aryadeva are considered models of Madhyamaka philosophy.57
During the fourth century, Asanga58 and his brother Vasubandhu59 wrote a large number of treatises, some of which comment on the Prajnaparamita sutras, while others amplify teachings found in the third turning of the dharma wheel, such as the three characteristics,- alaya consciousness, and buddha nature (tathdgatagarbha). Vasubandhu, having begun his scholastic career studying the Hinayana systems, wrote a major text on Vaibhashika abhidharma (Treasury of Abhidharma),61 while Asanga wrote the Mahayana equivalent, the Compendium of Abhidharma.62 As a whole, their works can be seen as supplementing Nagarjuna's Collection of Reasonings and providing a balance for any Buddhists who mistook his presentation of emptiness for a kind of nihilism. They also furnished Mahayana practitioners with detailed descriptions of the path and practices leading to awakening, both practical and vitally important topics (as attested by the fact that the basis for the Prajnaparamita studies in the Tibetan monastic colleges is one of the texts Asanga received from Maitreya, the Ornament of Clear Realization). Later, the works of Asanga and Vasubandhu were called Yogachara (and, in Tibet, either Chittamatra or Shentong).Dignaga (ca. fourth/fifth century) developed a Buddhist system of logic and epistemology, which was furthered by the works of Dharmakirti in the seventh century. Until the middle of the sixth century, there is no evidence that Mahayana followers perceived themselves as being divided into different schools or representing different points of view.63The first compendium of Buddhist and non-Buddhist Indian philosophical systems was written by the great sixth-century philosopher and debater Bha- vaviveka64 in his Heart of the Middle Wayb5 and the auto-commentary, Blaze of Reasoning.66 Bhavaviveka is remembered for other firsts: he was the first to cast Madhyamaka arguments in the logical forms developed by Dignaga; perhaps the first to have used the terms Madhyamaka and Yogachara to refer to systems of thought; the first to criticize the views of those he calls Yogacharas;67 and the first to "divide" the ultimate into what he called "nomi nal ultimate" and "non-nominal ultimate."68 Bhavaviveka also took exception to the way Buddhapalita (early sixth century) presented the reasonings found in Nagarjuna's Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way, which later earned Bhavaviveka the position as the founder of *Svatantrika-Madhyamaka.
Although one of the most famous Madhyamaka scholars for Tibetans and a brilliant scholar, Chandrakirti (sixth century) was probably not widely influential in India. He is most well known for his Entrance to the Middle Way,69 a commentary on the Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way, in which he refutes the ideas of non-Buddhists and Buddhists. In Lucid Words,7° Chandrakirti defends Buddhapalita's approach and criticizes Bhavaviveka's critique of the latter, for which Chandrakirti is credited with being the founder of the *Prasangika branch of Madhyamaka. The crux of the disagreement between Bhavaviveka and Chandrakirti is whether Madhyamikas should or can use the formal inferences, as developed by Dignaga and Dharmakirti, when arguing for Madhyamaka emptiness, Chandrakirti's position being that they should not.7'By the eighth century, the presentation of four tenet systems-Vaibha- shika, Sautrantika, Yogachara, and Madhyamaka-appears in works such as Aryadeva's short Compendium on the Heart of Primordial Wisdom72 and Shantarakshita's Compendium on Suchness73 and Ornament of the Middle Way.74 This systematization continues to be found in the writings of eleventhcentury Indian authors, such as Bodhibhadra,75 Jetari,76 Maitripa,77 Sahaja- vajra,78 and Mokshakaragupta,79 with some variation and individuality.Tibetans received their first teachings on Madhyamaka philosophy from Shantarakshita, who also set the tone for their approach to studying philosophical tenet systems. His Ornament of the Middle Way80 demonstrates the flaws of the lower Buddhist tenet systems (Vaibhashika through Yogachara), pointing out in each case their error of reification, but it concludes:81On the basis of the Mind Alone, We should know that outer things do not exist. On the basis of the method set forth here, We should know that mind is utterly devoid of se...
Sharmik