Recensions
Bhāvanākramaḥ of Ācārya Kamalaśīla
The 2020 edition of Bhāvanākramaḥ of Ācārya Kamalaśīla is the 3rd edition published by the Central University of Tibetan Studies (formerly Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies) in Sarnath, India.
The earlier 1984 edition by Namdol has been widely used by scholars - it served as the basis for digital editions used in projects like the Sanskrit Buddhist Input Project. This 3rd edition is particularly valuable because it presents: a critically edited Tibetan version; a Sanskrit restoration (since some Sanskrit texts survive primarily through Tibetan translations); and a Hindi translation. This edition has been supervised by Ram Shankar Tripathi.
Book
Elucidation of the Practice Doctrine of the Yogācāra-Madhyamaka School: A Study of the Bhāvanākrama
The research results presented here are based on the research project "The Ideological Structure of Indian Madhyamaka Philosophy - Focusing on the Gradual Path of Meditation" that I was fortunate enough to undertake from 2020 to 2022.
This research project aimed to elucidate the ideological structure of Indian Madhyamaka philosophy through Indian and Tibetan texts. The texts targeted for elucidation in this research are: Jñānagarbha's Satyadvayavibhaṅga (Distinguishing the Two Truths), Śāntarakṣita's Madhyamakālaṃkāra (Ornament of the Middle Way), Kamalaśīla's Madhyamakāloka (Illumination of the Middle Way), Bhāvanākrama (Stages of Meditation), and commentaries on Haribhadra's Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā.
Previously, I published A Study and Translation of the Madhyamakālaṃkāra (Daito Publishing, 1985), and within that, I prepared Tibetan texts of Śāntarakṣita's Madhyamakālaṃkāra and its autocommentary, and Kamalaśīla's Madhyamakālokavṛtti. Through this, it became possible for the first time to critically examine the philosophical issues contained in these works in their original form, and one step of the elucidation of the ideological structure of Indian Madhyamaka philosophy was achieved.
For this reason, in preparing the critical edition and Japanese translation of the Tibetan text this time, I have attempted to further advance the elucidation of the stages of thought in the Buddhist Yogācāra-Madhyamaka school, comparing it with Haribhadra's Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā and the Bhāvanākrama.
Regarding the fundamental stance of this book, in the Madhyamakālaṃkāra, which is considered to represent Śāntarakṣita's thought, while he extensively references other schools of thought and tries to synthesize them organizationally and systematically, his fundamental position is said to take the ideological standpoint of Nāgārjuna from the Middle Period. The correct understanding of Indian Madhyamaka philosophy and the issues concerning Indian Madhyamaka are not clear. However, Kamalaśīla's Bhāvanākrama is a highly practical work that puts such doctrinal theory into actual practice. And within its three sections, there is a discussion that distinguishes between "analytical meditation" and "stabilizing meditation" - problems of practice and theory. This places the practice [of meditation] at the center and attempts to unify Śāntarakṣita's ideological system as a whole. That is to say, through the composition of the Bhāvanākrama, it can be understood that the ideological system of "Indian Madhyamaka Philosophy" is clarified from the perspectives of theory and practice. (Ichigō, preface, i)Book
Meditation and the Concept of Insight in Kamalaśīla's Bhāvanākramas
This thesis is composed of two parts, one a translation, the other a commentary on the material that has been translated -- a set of three well known identically entitled works by the famous Indian Buddhist scholar, Kamalaśīla (c. 740-795 C.E.). The Bhāvanākramas are here translated from both Sanskrit and Tibetan sources. The commentary takes the form of an extended critical Prologue to the texts and is centred around an examination of the notions of meditation and insight as found therein. The first chapter of the commentary examines the various terms for meditation found in the texts and argues for a specific way of translating them that regards as normative only one of these, that is, bhāvana. The argument is made that if one is to take the basic Buddhist distinction between intellectual and experiential wisdom seriously, no other concept of meditation will prove satisfactory. The concept of bhāvanā is contrasted with that of dhyāna, and explained in light of other important terms, notably samādhi, śamatha and vipaśyanā. Two different conceptions of samādhi are identified as existing within the texts, one corresponding with dhyāna and one with bhāvanā. The latter is identified as predominant. This conception holds that meditation is not to be principally identified as non-conceptual in nature, but rather encompasses both non-conceptual states and conceptual processes. These latter, however, are not to be identified with
ordinary reasoning processes (cintāmayī prajñā) but rather with a form of experiential knowing (bhāvanāmayī prajñā, vipaśyanā) that is conceptual in nature. It is in accordance with this conception that the actual translation of the texts has been undertaken.
The second chapter of the commentary examines the concept of insight (vipaśyanā) in light of the earlier findings. Here the text is analyzed for its explanations of its insight, understood in terms of the important technical term bhūtapratyavekṣā. Here an argument is made for translating this term in a particular manner consistent with the conception of meditation outlined in Chapter 1. The term is explored in light of key passages containing descriptions of the cultivation of wisdom as well as in light of other important technical terms appearing in the texts, notably dharmapravicaya, smṛti and manasikāra. Chapter 2 closes with a discussion of Kamalaśīla's ideas of śrāvaka insight meditation (vipaśyanā) and how it differs from that of the Mahāyāna. Most notable in this regard is the suggestion that Kamalaśīla may have regarded śrāvaka insight practices (vipaśyanā) as instances of śamatha meditation. In the third chapter the suggestion is made that such considerations could lead to the development of an important area of future research into the differences among diverse Indian Buddhist traditions. The concluding section of Chapter 3 contains a summary of the concrete findings of this analysis.Dissertation
Minor Buddhist Texts Parts I and II
Asaṅga's commentary on the Vajracchedikā edited and translated—Analysis of the commentary on it by Vasubandhu—Mahāyānaviṃśikā of Nāgārjuna—Navaślokī of Kambalapāda—Catuḥstavasamāsārtha of Amṛtākara—Hetutattvopadeśa of Jitāri—Tarkasopāna of Vidyākaraśānti—With an Appendix containing the Gilgit Text of the Vajracchedikā, edited by N. P. Chakravarti. First Bhāvanākrama of Kamalaśīla, Sanskrit and Tibetan Texts with Introduction and English Summary.
Book
The Tibetan Text of the Second Bhavanakrama
Kiyotaka Goshima edited the Tibetan text of the second Bhāvanākrama in 1983. This is a significant scholarly contribution to the study of this important Buddhist meditation text. Goshima's edition fills a scholarly gap: While Giuseppe Tucci edited and translated the first and third Bhāvanākramas, and Étienne Lamotte translated the third, Goshima's work specifically provides the critical Tibetan text of the second part, which was previously less accessible to scholars.
Book
Full translations
Bhāvanākrama of Kamalaśila
Kamalaśīla is one of those distinguished acharyas who went to Tibet from India, stayed there and wrote scholarly treatises on Buddha dharma. The present work is the first-ever English rendering from original Sanskrit, suggested by the Dalai Lama. Amazon.com
Book
Bhāvanākramaḥ of Ācārya Kamalaśīla
The 2020 edition of Bhāvanākramaḥ of Ācārya Kamalaśīla is the 3rd edition published by the Central University of Tibetan Studies (formerly Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies) in Sarnath, India.
The earlier 1984 edition by Namdol has been widely used by scholars - it served as the basis for digital editions used in projects like the Sanskrit Buddhist Input Project. This 3rd edition is particularly valuable because it presents: a critically edited Tibetan version; a Sanskrit restoration (since some Sanskrit texts survive primarily through Tibetan translations); and a Hindi translation. This edition has been supervised by Ram Shankar Tripathi.
Book
Elucidation of the Practice Doctrine of the Yogācāra-Madhyamaka School: A Study of the Bhāvanākrama
The research results presented here are based on the research project "The Ideological Structure of Indian Madhyamaka Philosophy - Focusing on the Gradual Path of Meditation" that I was fortunate enough to undertake from 2020 to 2022.
This research project aimed to elucidate the ideological structure of Indian Madhyamaka philosophy through Indian and Tibetan texts. The texts targeted for elucidation in this research are: Jñānagarbha's Satyadvayavibhaṅga (Distinguishing the Two Truths), Śāntarakṣita's Madhyamakālaṃkāra (Ornament of the Middle Way), Kamalaśīla's Madhyamakāloka (Illumination of the Middle Way), Bhāvanākrama (Stages of Meditation), and commentaries on Haribhadra's Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā.
Previously, I published A Study and Translation of the Madhyamakālaṃkāra (Daito Publishing, 1985), and within that, I prepared Tibetan texts of Śāntarakṣita's Madhyamakālaṃkāra and its autocommentary, and Kamalaśīla's Madhyamakālokavṛtti. Through this, it became possible for the first time to critically examine the philosophical issues contained in these works in their original form, and one step of the elucidation of the ideological structure of Indian Madhyamaka philosophy was achieved.
For this reason, in preparing the critical edition and Japanese translation of the Tibetan text this time, I have attempted to further advance the elucidation of the stages of thought in the Buddhist Yogācāra-Madhyamaka school, comparing it with Haribhadra's Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā and the Bhāvanākrama.
Regarding the fundamental stance of this book, in the Madhyamakālaṃkāra, which is considered to represent Śāntarakṣita's thought, while he extensively references other schools of thought and tries to synthesize them organizationally and systematically, his fundamental position is said to take the ideological standpoint of Nāgārjuna from the Middle Period. The correct understanding of Indian Madhyamaka philosophy and the issues concerning Indian Madhyamaka are not clear. However, Kamalaśīla's Bhāvanākrama is a highly practical work that puts such doctrinal theory into actual practice. And within its three sections, there is a discussion that distinguishes between "analytical meditation" and "stabilizing meditation" - problems of practice and theory. This places the practice [of meditation] at the center and attempts to unify Śāntarakṣita's ideological system as a whole. That is to say, through the composition of the Bhāvanākrama, it can be understood that the ideological system of "Indian Madhyamaka Philosophy" is clarified from the perspectives of theory and practice. (Ichigō, preface, i)Book
Kamalaśīla's Stages of Meditation (Skt. Bhavanakrama) — The Middle Length Root Text and Outline
Kamalaśīla's Stages of Meditation (Skt. Bhāvanākrama) – The Middle Length Root Text & Outline. Kamalaśīla's exposition on the stages of meditation in accordance with the sūtrayāna system of the Mahāyāna.
Book
Meditation and the Concept of Insight in Kamalaśīla's Bhāvanākramas
This thesis is composed of two parts, one a translation, the other a commentary on the material that has been translated -- a set of three well known identically entitled works by the famous Indian Buddhist scholar, Kamalaśīla (c. 740-795 C.E.). The Bhāvanākramas are here translated from both Sanskrit and Tibetan sources. The commentary takes the form of an extended critical Prologue to the texts and is centred around an examination of the notions of meditation and insight as found therein. The first chapter of the commentary examines the various terms for meditation found in the texts and argues for a specific way of translating them that regards as normative only one of these, that is, bhāvana. The argument is made that if one is to take the basic Buddhist distinction between intellectual and experiential wisdom seriously, no other concept of meditation will prove satisfactory. The concept of bhāvanā is contrasted with that of dhyāna, and explained in light of other important terms, notably samādhi, śamatha and vipaśyanā. Two different conceptions of samādhi are identified as existing within the texts, one corresponding with dhyāna and one with bhāvanā. The latter is identified as predominant. This conception holds that meditation is not to be principally identified as non-conceptual in nature, but rather encompasses both non-conceptual states and conceptual processes. These latter, however, are not to be identified with
ordinary reasoning processes (cintāmayī prajñā) but rather with a form of experiential knowing (bhāvanāmayī prajñā, vipaśyanā) that is conceptual in nature. It is in accordance with this conception that the actual translation of the texts has been undertaken.
The second chapter of the commentary examines the concept of insight (vipaśyanā) in light of the earlier findings. Here the text is analyzed for its explanations of its insight, understood in terms of the important technical term bhūtapratyavekṣā. Here an argument is made for translating this term in a particular manner consistent with the conception of meditation outlined in Chapter 1. The term is explored in light of key passages containing descriptions of the cultivation of wisdom as well as in light of other important technical terms appearing in the texts, notably dharmapravicaya, smṛti and manasikāra. Chapter 2 closes with a discussion of Kamalaśīla's ideas of śrāvaka insight meditation (vipaśyanā) and how it differs from that of the Mahāyāna. Most notable in this regard is the suggestion that Kamalaśīla may have regarded śrāvaka insight practices (vipaśyanā) as instances of śamatha meditation. In the third chapter the suggestion is made that such considerations could lead to the development of an important area of future research into the differences among diverse Indian Buddhist traditions. The concluding section of Chapter 3 contains a summary of the concrete findings of this analysis.Dissertation
Stages of Meditation: The Buddhist Classic on Training the Mind
The Dalai Lama explains the principles of meditation in a practice-oriented format especially suited to Westerners. Based upon the middle section of the Bhavanakrama by Kamalashila—a translation of which is included—this is the most extensive commentary given by the Dalai Lama on this concise but important meditation handbook. It is a favorite text of the Dalai Lama, and he often takes the opportunity to give teachings on it to audiences throughout the world. In his words, “This text can be like a key that opens the door to all other major Buddhist scriptures.” Topics include the nature of mind, how to develop compassion and loving-kindness, calm abiding wisdom, and how to establish a union of calm abiding and special insight. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Book
The Intermediate Stages of Meditation
This book was created by the North American Tibetan Association (NATA) for the two day teaching by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and Gratitude Tenshug event, held on July 9 and 10, 2015 in New York City.
His Holiness's teachings were based on: The Middle Stages of Meditation by Kamalashila. This concise text teaches how to generate the two kinds of bodhichitta, conventional and ultimate, both of which are permeated by kindness and compassion and serve as the roots for all qualities of Buddhahood.
This event was held in observance of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama's 80th birthday. (Source: Book Introduction)Book
The Progress in Meditation (Jadusingh 2020)
The title, The Progress in Meditation: The Three Bhāvanākramas of Kamalaśīla refers to the Sanskrit tile Bhāvanākrama composed in Tibet between the years 792-794 CE on the occasion of the the so-called bSam Yas debate or the Council of Lhasa which featured the historic encounter between the Indian Buddhist scholar Kamalasila and the Chinese Chan monk Hva Shang Mahayana. The completed translation of the three Bhavanakramas of Kamalasila represents for me the grateful fulfillment of a task originally undertaken over 40 years ago when I first encountered Prof. Giuseppe Tucci's editions of the trilogy. In my peregrinations and vicissitudes over these years, I have actually lost three earlier translations but so committed have I been to getting a complete translation done that I began anew over three years ago with a determined effort to get the task done in a reasonable time-frame. Thanks to my experience with the earlier (lost) completed translations, my latest attempt was much obviated. I am pleased to present to interested readers these most celebrated treatises on Buddhist meditation according to the standpoint of the hybrid Yogacara-Svatantrika Madhyamaka school represented by Santaraksita and Kamalasila. My Introduction does not cover all important topics in the trilogy but focuses primarily on some topics of polemical significance such as gradual versus instantaneous enlightenment (kramika vs. yugapat bodhi) 'discriminating wisdom and skillful-means' (prajnopaya), the importance of the balanced practice of tranquility and insight (samatha-vipasyana-yuganaddha) and the proper role of mindfulness and attention (smrti-manasikara) in the practice of samadhi (samadhi-bhavana). The headings in square brackets are not part of the original texts (Sanskrit or Tibetan) but were deemed necessary to delineate the various topics. The Bhavanakrama-s of Kamalasila are of particularly foundational importance in the history of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and more generally to Buddhist soteriology in the matter of the sudden-gradualist controversy concerning enlightenment (bodhi), an issue which figures greatly in some Mahayana schools, both exoteric (Sutra-based) and esoteric (Tantra-based). From a modernist perspective, the trilogy may be characterized as partly religious and partly philosophical: it has the pervasive tone of Buddhist piety in its extolment of the bodhisattva-practice involving the Six (or Ten) Perfections (paramita) and Ten Stages (bhumi) as found in the Mahayana Discourses (Sutras) and Expository Treatises (Sastras), amply quoted in the trilogy, but its rigorous arguments and polemics are entirely consistent with the author's commentary (Panjika) to his teacher Santaraksita's Compendium of Philosophical Tenets (Tattvasamgraha). The logical arguments of the Bhavanakramas (BKs) are also entirely consistent with those found in his Madhyamakaloka. The Bhavanakrama-s can be classed with the Bodhisattvabhumi, Bodhicittopada-Sutrasastra and the Bodhicaryavatara. In an even wider comparison, it is comparable in part to the Buddhaghosa's Visuddhimagga in exposition of the theme of the integration of tranquility and insight (samatha-vipasyana-yuganaddha) and the Tian Ta'i patriarch Chi-I's monumental The Great Calming and Contemplation (Mo ho chih kuan), devoted entirely to the subject of samatha-vipasyana. Translated from the original Sanskrit with footnotes and appendices of the Sanskrit texts in Devanagari and Roman, this present translation is only the second complete translation from Sanskrit. The other pioneering translation by Paramananda Sharma (Aditya Prakashan, Delhi 1997, 2004)) from the Sanskrit is entirely welcome but the scholarship in this area requires the more complete treatment that I have given to this trilogy. (Source Accessed Feb 10, 2025)
Book
Commentaries
Similar title
Member of
Bhāvanākrama (Kamalaśīla)
The Bhāvanākrama trilogy, composed by the eighth-century Indian Buddhist scholar Kamalaśīla, is a systematic presentation of graduated meditation practice. These three interconnected texts articulate a comprehensive path integrating compassion cultivation, bodhicitta development, and the conjunction of meditative calm (śamatha) with analytical insight (vipaśyanā). Composed around 792–794 CE in Tibet, the texts address debates between gradualist Indian and subitist Chinese Chan approaches to awakening, establishing a causal framework where correct conceptual understanding precedes and produces nonconceptual direct realization. While no Sanskrit manuscript of the Second Bhāvanākrama survives, partial Sanskrit manuscripts of the First and Third exist, though both are damaged. The Tibetan translations have been preserved with remarkable fidelity across the Derge, Peking, Narthang, and Chone editions. The trilogy achieved canonical status across all major Tibetan Buddhist schools, shaping meditation curricula, philosophical debate, and contemplative practice for over twelve centuries.
(See also: "Bhāvanākrama." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 112-13. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
- Bhāvanākrama. (T. Sgom rim). In Sanskrit, "Stages of Meditation," the title of three separate but related works by the late eighth century Indian master Kamalaśīla (RKTST 4228, RKTST 4229, and RKTST 4230). During the reign of the Tibetan king Khri srong lde btsan at the end of the eighth century, there were two Buddhist factions at court, a Chinese faction led by the Northern Chan (Bei zong) monk Heshang Moheyan (Mahāyāna) and an Indian faction of the recently deceased Śāntarakṣita, who with the king and Padmasambhava had founded the first Tibetan monastery at Bsam yas (Samye). According to traditional accounts, Śāntarakṣita foretold of dangers and left instructions in his will that his student Kamalaśīla should be summoned from India. A conflict seems to have developed between the Indian and Chinese partisans (and their allies in the Tibetan court) over the question of the nature of enlightenment, with the Indians holding that enlightenment takes place as the culmination of a gradual process of purification, the result of perfecting morality (śīla), concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā). The Chinese spoke against this view, holding that enlightenment was the intrinsic nature of the mind rather than the goal of a protracted path, such that one need simply to recognize the presence of this innate nature of enlightenment by entering a state of awareness beyond distinctions; all other practices were superfluous. According to both Chinese and Tibetan records, a debate was held between Kamalaśīla and Moheyan at Bsam yas, circa 797, with the king himself serving as judge. According to Tibetan reports (contradicted by the Chinese accounts), Kamalaśīla was declared the winner and Moheyan and his party banished from Tibet, with the king proclaiming that thereafter the Madhyamaka school of Indian Buddhist philosophy (to which Śāntarakṣita and Kamalaśīla belonged) would have pride of place in Tibet. According to Tibetan accounts, after the conclusion of the debate, the king requested that Kamalaśīla compose works that presented his view, and in response, Kamalaśīla composed the three Bhāvanākrama. There is considerable overlap among the three works. All three are germane to the issues raised in the debate, although whether all three were composed in Tibet is not established with certainty; only the third, and briefest of the three, directly considers, and refutes, the view of "no mental activity" (amanasikāra, cf. wunian), which is associated with Moheyan. The three texts set forth the process for the potential bodhisattva to cultivate bodhicitta and then develop śamatha and vipaśyanā and progress through the bodhisattva stages (bhūmi) to buddhahood. The cultivation of vipaśyanā requires the use of both scripture (āgama) and reasoning (yukti) to understand emptiness (śūnyatā); in the first Bhāvanākrama, Kamalaśīla sets forth the three forms of wisdom (prajñā): the wisdom derived from leaming (śrutamayīprajñā), the wisdom derived from reflection (cintāmayīprajñā), and the wisdom derived from cultivation (bhāvanāmayīprajñā), explaining that the last of these gradually destroys the afflictive obstructions (kleśāvaraṇa) and the obstructions to omniscience (jñeyāvaraṇa). The second Bhāvanākrama considers many of these same topics, stressing that the achievement of the fruition of buddhahood requires the necessary causes, in the form of the collection of merit (puṇyasaṃbhāra) and the collection of wisdom (jñānasaṇbhāra). Both the first and second works espouse the doctrine of mind only (cittamātra); it is on the basis of these and other statements that Tibetan doxographers classified Kamalaśīla as a Yogācāra-Svātantrika-Madhyamaka. The third and briefest of the Bhāvanākrama is devoted especially to the topics of śamatha and vipaśyanā, how each is cultivated, and how they are ultimately unified. Kamalaśīla argues that analysis (vicāra) into the lack of self (ātman) in both persons (pudgala) and phenomena (dharma) is required to arrive at a nonconceptual state of awareness. The three texts are widely cited in later Tibetan Buddhist literature, especially on the process for developing śamatha and vipaśyanā.
- 1) བསྒོམ་པའི་རིམ་པ། 1
- 2) བསྒོམ་པའི་རིམ་པ། 2
- 3) བསྒོམ་པའི་རིམ་པ། 3
Text
Teachings
The Dalai Lama at MIT: Stages of Meditation, Part 1
On the occasion of the 10-Year Anniversary Celebration of Prajnopaya at MIT, His Holiness the Dalai Lama graciously agreed to bestow a teaching based on Acharya Kamalaśīla's Stages of Meditation at the request of The Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi.
About the Text:
Stages of Meditation (Sanskrit. Bhāvanākrama; Tibetan. Gomrim Barpa) offers lucid instructions on cultivating a meditative mind. In great detail, it instructs practitioners on acquiring familiarity and developing expertise in two forms of meditation that will lessen suffering and ultimately lead to enlightenment. These two are śamatha, or calm abiding, and vipaśyanā, or stainless insight. Kamalaśīla clearly outlines why both methods are essential to the practitioner's development and why both must be grounded in compassion.Teachings
Essential Practice: Lectures on Kamalashīla's Stages of Meditation in the Middle Way School
Essential Practice is an accessible and authoritative portrait of a bodhisattva's view, meditation, and conduct by one of the foremost masters of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism and the tutor of H.H. the Seventeenth Karmapa. Teaching on Kamalashila's treatises outlining the stages of meditation, Thrangu Rinpoche explains the need for compassion and the way to develop it, the necessity for a bodhisattva's vast and durable altruism, as well as the means to generate, stabilize, and fortify it and the elements key to the meditative practices of calm abiding and insight. An engaging element of Essential Practice is the lively interaction of Thrangu Rinpoche with students and members of the faculty of Naropa University as he unfolds the text for them.
With exceptional generosity, Thrangu Rinpoche took delight in fielding basic and knotty questions that were put to him by relative newcomers and relatively seasoned practitioner/scholars. This record of a masterful teacher's instructions will help students old and new to determine what is essential to the practice of Buddhism and thereby bring the Buddha's teachings into their own experience. Essential Practice presents an incomparable wisdom on the methodology and means of meditation, as well as the ways in which to bring oneself to the transcendence of selfless behavior. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Book
Stages of Meditation: The Buddhist Classic on Training the Mind
The Dalai Lama explains the principles of meditation in a practice-oriented format especially suited to Westerners. Based upon the middle section of the Bhavanakrama by Kamalashila—a translation of which is included—this is the most extensive commentary given by the Dalai Lama on this concise but important meditation handbook. It is a favorite text of the Dalai Lama, and he often takes the opportunity to give teachings on it to audiences throughout the world. In his words, “This text can be like a key that opens the door to all other major Buddhist scriptures.” Topics include the nature of mind, how to develop compassion and loving-kindness, calm abiding wisdom, and how to establish a union of calm abiding and special insight. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Book
Scholarship
Elucidation of the Practice Doctrine of the Yogācāra-Madhyamaka School: A Study of the Bhāvanākrama
The research results presented here are based on the research project "The Ideological Structure of Indian Madhyamaka Philosophy - Focusing on the Gradual Path of Meditation" that I was fortunate enough to undertake from 2020 to 2022.
This research project aimed to elucidate the ideological structure of Indian Madhyamaka philosophy through Indian and Tibetan texts. The texts targeted for elucidation in this research are: Jñānagarbha's Satyadvayavibhaṅga (Distinguishing the Two Truths), Śāntarakṣita's Madhyamakālaṃkāra (Ornament of the Middle Way), Kamalaśīla's Madhyamakāloka (Illumination of the Middle Way), Bhāvanākrama (Stages of Meditation), and commentaries on Haribhadra's Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā.
Previously, I published A Study and Translation of the Madhyamakālaṃkāra (Daito Publishing, 1985), and within that, I prepared Tibetan texts of Śāntarakṣita's Madhyamakālaṃkāra and its autocommentary, and Kamalaśīla's Madhyamakālokavṛtti. Through this, it became possible for the first time to critically examine the philosophical issues contained in these works in their original form, and one step of the elucidation of the ideological structure of Indian Madhyamaka philosophy was achieved.
For this reason, in preparing the critical edition and Japanese translation of the Tibetan text this time, I have attempted to further advance the elucidation of the stages of thought in the Buddhist Yogācāra-Madhyamaka school, comparing it with Haribhadra's Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā and the Bhāvanākrama.
Regarding the fundamental stance of this book, in the Madhyamakālaṃkāra, which is considered to represent Śāntarakṣita's thought, while he extensively references other schools of thought and tries to synthesize them organizationally and systematically, his fundamental position is said to take the ideological standpoint of Nāgārjuna from the Middle Period. The correct understanding of Indian Madhyamaka philosophy and the issues concerning Indian Madhyamaka are not clear. However, Kamalaśīla's Bhāvanākrama is a highly practical work that puts such doctrinal theory into actual practice. And within its three sections, there is a discussion that distinguishes between "analytical meditation" and "stabilizing meditation" - problems of practice and theory. This places the practice [of meditation] at the center and attempts to unify Śāntarakṣita's ideological system as a whole. That is to say, through the composition of the Bhāvanākrama, it can be understood that the ideological system of "Indian Madhyamaka Philosophy" is clarified from the perspectives of theory and practice. (Ichigō, preface, i)Book
Kamalaśīla and Bhāvanākrama: An Informative Study (Das 2024)
Kamalaśīla, a disciple of Śānarakṣita, was an eighth centurion Indian Buddhist master from Nālandā Mahāvihāra. He was the one who accompanied Śānaraknita to Tibet at the request of King Thrisong Deutsan. He went to Tibet in the eighth century and stayed there for three years. During his stay, the famous philosophical debate known as ‘Samye Debate’ between Kamalaśīla and Hashang Mahāyāna (Moheyan) was held. In the debate, Kamalaśīla negated the distorted view introduced and spread by Hashang. By refuting his wrong views he reformed and established the right views there. As a result, he became famous as a great reformer. Kamalaśīla composed seventeen texts which are preserved in Tengyur Collection. Among them, Bhāvanākrama (Stages of Meditation) is the masterpiece. The text is actually adorned with a set of three texts of meditation, better say compendium of three parts of meditation, written into Sanskrit residing in Samye, the first Buddhist Monastic Institution in Tibet. Later, it was translated to Tibetan by the Indian Paṇḍita Prajñāvarma and Tibetan translator Jñānasena. Though the text was composed in Sanskrit language, but it was not accessible in India for about 10-15 years. In 1939, Prof. G. Tucci had a visit to Tibet and discovered the manuscript of the first chapter of the text in its Sanskrit original from Pökhang Monastery and third chapter from Russia. After that he published them in Roman scripts. Later on, realizing the necessity, importance and preciousness, Late Ven. Gyaltsen Namdol, former restorer and researcher of Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarnath, transcribed the Roman manuscripts into Devanagari. After that he restored the rest part, did the Hindi translation of the entire text and got it published in 1985 from the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies. Apart from this Sanskrit restoration and Hindi translation several modern Tibetan and western translators have also translated it to English. The text particularly contains the subject matter of meditation, especially calm abiding (śamatha) and special insight (vipaśyanā). In addition, importance of compassion, pāramitā, four means of conversions etc., is also discussed in it.
Article
Meditation and the Concept of Insight in Kamalaśīla's Bhāvanākramas
This thesis is composed of two parts, one a translation, the other a commentary on the material that has been translated -- a set of three well known identically entitled works by the famous Indian Buddhist scholar, Kamalaśīla (c. 740-795 C.E.). The Bhāvanākramas are here translated from both Sanskrit and Tibetan sources. The commentary takes the form of an extended critical Prologue to the texts and is centred around an examination of the notions of meditation and insight as found therein. The first chapter of the commentary examines the various terms for meditation found in the texts and argues for a specific way of translating them that regards as normative only one of these, that is, bhāvana. The argument is made that if one is to take the basic Buddhist distinction between intellectual and experiential wisdom seriously, no other concept of meditation will prove satisfactory. The concept of bhāvanā is contrasted with that of dhyāna, and explained in light of other important terms, notably samādhi, śamatha and vipaśyanā. Two different conceptions of samādhi are identified as existing within the texts, one corresponding with dhyāna and one with bhāvanā. The latter is identified as predominant. This conception holds that meditation is not to be principally identified as non-conceptual in nature, but rather encompasses both non-conceptual states and conceptual processes. These latter, however, are not to be identified with
ordinary reasoning processes (cintāmayī prajñā) but rather with a form of experiential knowing (bhāvanāmayī prajñā, vipaśyanā) that is conceptual in nature. It is in accordance with this conception that the actual translation of the texts has been undertaken.
The second chapter of the commentary examines the concept of insight (vipaśyanā) in light of the earlier findings. Here the text is analyzed for its explanations of its insight, understood in terms of the important technical term bhūtapratyavekṣā. Here an argument is made for translating this term in a particular manner consistent with the conception of meditation outlined in Chapter 1. The term is explored in light of key passages containing descriptions of the cultivation of wisdom as well as in light of other important technical terms appearing in the texts, notably dharmapravicaya, smṛti and manasikāra. Chapter 2 closes with a discussion of Kamalaśīla's ideas of śrāvaka insight meditation (vipaśyanā) and how it differs from that of the Mahāyāna. Most notable in this regard is the suggestion that Kamalaśīla may have regarded śrāvaka insight practices (vipaśyanā) as instances of śamatha meditation. In the third chapter the suggestion is made that such considerations could lead to the development of an important area of future research into the differences among diverse Indian Buddhist traditions. The concluding section of Chapter 3 contains a summary of the concrete findings of this analysis.Dissertation
On the Two Kinds of Bodhicitta in the Bhāvanākrama
This article discusses the concept of bodhicitta (enlightenment mind) as presented in Kamalaśīla's Bhāvanākrama (Stages of Meditation) works. Here's a summary:
The article examines how Kamalaśīla presents two different conceptions of bodhicitta across his writings:
In the first volume of the Bhāvanākrama, bodhicitta is divided into:
Praṇidhicitta (aspiration mind): The initial vow to become a Buddha for all beings
Prasthānacitta (implementation mind): Aspiration accompanied by practice
In the middle volume of the Bhāvanākrama, bodhichitta is instead divided into:
Conventional bodhichitta: Similar to praṇidhicitta - the initial resolution to attain enlightenment
Ultimate bodhichitta: Not a stage of practice but a transcendent state attained through practice
The article also discusses Kamalaśīla's Yogabhāvanāvatāra text, which presents bodhichitta in the same way as the middle volume of Bhāvanākrama, focusing primarily on śamatha (calm-abiding) and vipaśyanā (insight meditation). The author analyzes textual connections between Kamalaśīla's works and Śāntideva's Śikṣāsamuccaya, noting that:
Kamalaśīla's first volume borrows extensively from the Śikṣāsamuccaya's discussion of bodhichitta
While the Śikṣāsamuccaya presents multiple causes for generating bodhichitta, Kamalaśīla critically selects and emphasizes compassion (karuṇā) as the primary cause
Article
Two Concepts of Meditation and Three Kinds of Wisdom in Kamalaśīla's Bhāvanākramas: A Problem of Translation
A close reading of the three Bhāvanākramaḥ texts, written by Kamalaśīla (740–795 CE), reveals that their author was aware of two competing concepts of meditation prevalent in Tibet at the time of their composition. The two concepts of meditation, associated with the Sanskrit words bhāvanā and dhyāna, can be related respectively to the Indian and Chinese sides of the well-known debates at bSam yas. The account of the Mahāyāna path outlined in these texts implies an acceptance of the precedence of bhāvanā over dhyāna. In this paper I argue that Kamalaśīla advocated bhāvanā – a conception of meditation which encompasses non-conceptual dhyāna, but which also includes a discernment of reality (bhūta-pratyavekṣā) that is conceptual in nature. Such conceptual discernment should not be understood simply as a process of ordinary rational understanding (cintāmayī prajñā) but rather as constituting a special kind of meditative wisdom (bhāvanāmayī prajñā). A failure to recognize the subtle differences between Kamalaśīla’s employment of the terms dhyāna and bhāvanā, along with his advocacy of the latter, could easily lead to mistranslation and, with this, a basic misunderstanding of his position. In particular, it could lead to a conception of insight (vipaśyanā) that is overly intellectual in nature. Given the historically important role that these texts played in the formation of Tibetan Buddhism, the implications of such a misconception could be far-reaching. This paper attempts to clarify the key meditation terminology found in the Bhāvanākramas as well as demonstrate the rationale for using ‘meditation’ as the default translation for bhāvanā. (Source: Buddhist Studies Review)
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Bhāvanākrama of Kamalaśīla (1 of 3)
[I]n the first Bhāvanākrama, Kamalaśīla sets forth the three forms of wisdom (prajñā): the wisdom derived from learning (śrutamayīprajñā), the wisdom derived from reflection (cintāmayīprajñā), and the wisdom derived from cultivation (bhāvanāmayīprajñā), explaining that the last of these gradually destroys the afflictive obstructions (kleśāvaraṇa) and the obstructions to omniscience (jñeyāvaraṇa). (Source: "Bhāvanākrama." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 113. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
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Bhāvanākrama of Kamalaśīla (3 of 3)
The third and briefest of the Bhāvanākrama is devoted especially to the topics of śamatha and vipaśyanā, how each is cultivated, and how they are ultimately unified. Kamalaśīla argues that analysis (vicāra) into the lack of self (ātman) in both persons (pudgala) and phenomena (dharma) is required to arrive at a nonconceptual state of awareness. The three texts are widely cited in later Tibetan Buddhist literature, especially on the process for developing śamatha and vipaśyanā. (Source: "Bhāvanākrama." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 112–13. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
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Related
Bhāvanākrama of Kamalaśīla (1 of 3)
[I]n the first Bhāvanākrama, Kamalaśīla sets forth the three forms of wisdom (prajñā): the wisdom derived from learning (śrutamayīprajñā), the wisdom derived from reflection (cintāmayīprajñā), and the wisdom derived from cultivation (bhāvanāmayīprajñā), explaining that the last of these gradually destroys the afflictive obstructions (kleśāvaraṇa) and the obstructions to omniscience (jñeyāvaraṇa). (Source: "Bhāvanākrama." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 113. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
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Bhāvanākrama of Kamalaśīla (3 of 3)
The third and briefest of the Bhāvanākrama is devoted especially to the topics of śamatha and vipaśyanā, how each is cultivated, and how they are ultimately unified. Kamalaśīla argues that analysis (vicāra) into the lack of self (ātman) in both persons (pudgala) and phenomena (dharma) is required to arrive at a nonconceptual state of awareness. The three texts are widely cited in later Tibetan Buddhist literature, especially on the process for developing śamatha and vipaśyanā. (Source: "Bhāvanākrama." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 112–13. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
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