The Akṣayamatinirdeśasūtra and Mi pham's mKhas 'jug
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relate to each other in the classification of the Mahāyāna doctrine.
In composing his mKhas 'jug, Mi pham begins with the usual verses of veneration and intention and then divides his text into three major discussions:[3]
- 1 mkhas par bya ba'i gnas bcu (daśavidhaṃ kauśalyam: the ten kinds of expertise: 2a3-123b6),
- 2. chos kyi sdom bźi (dharmoddāna-catuṣṭaya: four synoptic statements concerning the doctrine: 123b6-140b5), and
- 3. so so yaṅ dag par rig pa bźi (catvāri pratisaṃvidaḥ: four detailed and accurate knowledges: 140b5-161b4).
He concludes the treatise with a short discussion on the import of the text.
In this paper, I wish to focus my attention on the eighty inexhaustible topics (mi zad pa brgyad cu) that substantiate Mi pham's discussion on what constitutes a Mahāyāna path. However, before becoming involved with that topic, I believe that the eighty inexhaustible topics should be put into their proper context, and therefore, I shall deal first with the ten kinds of expertise (mkhas par bya ba'i gnas bcu, daśavidhaṃ kauśalyam). (Kawamura, introductory remarks, 131-32)
