Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism

From Bodhicitta
LibraryBooksCompassion in Tibetan Buddhism
< Books
Books/Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism

Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism
Book


Please note that many items in our library are simply pages that represent a detailed library catalog entry and citation of someone else's work, presentation, or performance. Read our General Disclaimer for more information.
Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism-front.jpg

Description

This volume presents a translation and commentary on Tsongkhapa's Illumination of the Intent, an extensive explanation of Chandrakirti's Supplement to the Middle Way (Madhyamakāvatāra), focusing on the central role of compassion in Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy and practice. The work is divided into two main parts: Meditations of a Tantric Abbot by Kensur Lekden, covering topics including cyclic existence, altruism, love and compassion, wisdom, and the relationship between person, mind, and body; and "Way of Compassion," featuring Jeffrey Hopkins's introduction and Tsongkhapa's detailed commentary. The text explores the causes of Bodhisattvas, types of compassion, and the six perfections (giving, ethics, patience, effort, and concentration) while examining the philosophical foundations of the Madhyamaka school. This work illuminates how compassion functions as the essential foundation for the Bodhisattva path and distinguishes Mahāyāna from Hīnayāna approaches, offering both theoretical understanding and practical meditation guidance for cultivating compassion within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Citation
Hopkins, Jeffrey, trans. and ed. Compassion in Tibetan Buddhism. By Tsong ka pa and Kensur Lekden. Valois, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1980.
Texts Translated


Partial translation of

 
Dbu ma la 'jug pa'i rnam bshad dgongs pa rab gsal
This work is perhaps the most influential explanation of Candrakīrti's seventh-century classic Entering the Middle Way (Madhyamakāvatāra).

Written as a supplement to Nagarjuna’s Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way, Candrakīrti’s text integrates the central insight of Nagarjuna’s thought—the rejection of any metaphysical notion of intrinsic existence—with the well-known Mahayana framework of the ten levels of the bodhisattva, and it became the most studied presentation of Madhyamaka thought in Tibet.

Completed the year before the author’s death, Tsongkhapa’s exposition of Candrakīrti's text is recognized by the Tibetan tradition as the final standpoint of Tsongkhapa on many philosophical questions, particularly the clear distinctions it draws between the standpoints of the Madhyamaka and Cittamatra schools.

Written in exemplary Tibetan, Tsongkhapa’s work presents a wonderful marriage of rigorous Madhyamaka philosophical analysis with a detailed and subtle account of the progressively advancing mental states and spiritual maturity realized by sincere Madhyamaka practitioners. (Source: Thupten Jinpa, Illuminating the Intent, 2021)
Text

    • Preface13
    • Part One: MEDITATIONS OF A TANTRIC ABBOT by Kensur Lekden15
    • INTRODUCTION17
  • 1 ACTION23
  • 2 CYCLIC EXISTENCE31
  • 3 ALTRUISM36
  • 4 LOVE AND COMPASSION40
  • 5 ASSUMING THE BURDEN46
  • 6 WISDOM50
  • 7 NAGARJUNA57
  • 8 ARE A PERSON AND MIND AND BODY THE SAME OR DIFFERENT?63
  • 9 NOTHINGNESS IS NOT EMPTINESS70
  • 10 SUMMARY: THE SUPREME PRACTITIONER75
    • Part Two: WAY OF COMPASSION81
    • In Praise of Compassion: A Preface by Jeffrey Hopkins83
    • Illumination of the Thought, An Extensive Explanation of Chandrakirti's 'Supplement to the Middle Way' by Tsong-ka-pa93
    • INTRODUCTION95
    • Meaning of the Title96
    • Obeisance of the Translators99
  • 1 HOMAGE TO COMPASSION
    • Meaning of the Text101
    • Expression of Worship, a Means of Beginning to Compose the Text101
    • Praise of Great Compassion Without Differentiating Its Types101
    • Compassion as the Main Cause of a Bodhisattva102
    • The Way Hearers and Solitary Realizers are Born from Kings of Subduers
    • The Way Buddhas are Born from Bodhisattvas107
  • 2 CAUSES OF BODHISATTVAS
    • The Three Main Causes of Bodhisattvas110
    • Compassion as the Root of the Other Two Causes of a Bodhisattva113
  • 3 TYPES OF COMPASSION
    • Homage to Great Compassion Within Differentiating Its Types116
    • Homage to Compassion Observing Sentient Beings116
    • Homage to Compassion Observing Phenomena and the Unapprehendable119
  • 4 THE INEXPRESSIBLE TRAIL
    • Actual Body of the Text126
    • Causal Grounds126
    • Ways of Practising the Paths of This System in General126
    • Ways of Practising on the Level of Common Beings in Particular129
    • Presentation of the Grounds of Bodhisattva Superiors131
    • Presentation of the Ten Grounds in Common131
  • 5 VERY JOYFUL
    • Presentation of the Individual Grounds137
    • The Five Grounds, the Very Joyful and so forth137
    • First Ground, die Very Joyful137
    • Entity of the Ground being Qualified Described in Brief137
    • Features Qualifying the First Ground in Detail139
    • Features Beautifying One's Own Continuum140
    • Individual Features Beautifying One's Own Continuum on the First Ground140
    • Feature of Attaining a Meaningful Name on the First Ground140
    • Four Features of Birth in the Lineage and So Forth on the First Ground141
    • Three Features of Advancing to Higher Grounds and so forth142
    • Features Beautifying One's Own Continuum in Brief143
    • Features Outshining Others' Continuums143
    • On the First Ground Outshining Hearers and Solitary Realizers by way of Lineage143
    • On the Seventh Ground Outshining Hearers and Solitary Realizers by way of Intelligence145
  • 6 HINAYANISTS COGNIZE EMPTINESS
    • The Meaning Established by These Teachings150
    • The Teaching in the Sutra on the Ten Grounds that Hearers and Solitary Realizers Cognize the Non-Inherent Existence of Phenomena150
    • Clarification of the Thought of the Commentator, Chandrakirti150
    • This is Also the System of Shantideva's Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds154
  • 7 LIBERATION IS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT WISDOM OF EMPTINESS
    • Sources Proving Hearers' and Solitary Realizers' Cognition of the Non-Inherent Existence of Phenomena161
    • Sources in Mahayana Sutras161
    • Sources in Treatises and in Hinayana Sutras165
  • 8 DISTINCTION BETWEEN HINAYANA AND MAHAYANA
    • Dispelling Objections to the Teaching that Hearers and Solitary Realizers Cognize the Non-Inherent Existence of Phenomena172
    • Dispelling Objections Set Forth in Chandrakirti’s Commentary172
    • Dispelling Objections Not Set Forth in Chandrakirti’s Commentary176
  • 9 PERFECTION OF GIVING
    • Surpassing Feature on the First Ground182
    • The Giving of Abiders on the First Ground182
    • The Giving of Those with a Lower Basis183
    • Attaining the Happiness of Cyclic Existence Through Giving183
    • Attaining the Happiness of Nirvana Through Giving184
    • Bodhisattvas’ Giving185
    • Extraordinary Benefits of Bodhisattvas’ Giving185
    • Importance of Discourse on Giving for Both the Compassionate and the Non-Compassionate185
    • The Joy Attained by Bodhisattvas When Giving186
    • Whether or Not Suffering Occurs When a Bodhisattva Gives Away His Body186
    • Divisions of the Perfection of Giving188
    • Conclusion by way of Expressing the Features of the First Ground191
  • 10 PERFECTION OF ETHICS
    • Second Ground, the Stainless192
    • Thorough Purification of Ethics on the Second Ground192
    • Sublimity of Ethics on the Second Ground192
    • Thorough Purification of Features in Dependence on Ethics193
    • Superiority of Ethics on the Second Ground Over the First Ground194
    • Another Cause of the Thorough Purification of Ethics195
    • Praise of Ethics196
    • Enjoying the Fruits of Giving in a Happy Migration Depends on Ethics196
    • Enjoying the Fruits of Giving in Continuous Lives Depends on Ethics197
    • Liberation from Bad Migrations is Extremely Difficult for One Bereft of Ethics197
    • Reason for Discoursing on Ethics after Discoursing on Giving198
    • Praising Ethics as a Cause of Both High Status and Definite Goodness199
    • Example of Non-Mixture with What is Not Conducive to Ethics201
    • Divisions of the Perfection of Ethics202
    • Conclusion by way of Expressing the Features of the Second Ground202
  • 11 PERFECTION OF PATIENCE
    • Third Ground, the Luminous204
    • Description of the Third Ground - the Base of Qualities204
    • Qualifying Features of the Third Ground205
    • Surpassing Patience on the Third Ground205
    • Way of Observing Other Patience207
    • Unsuitability of Anger207
    • Unsuitability of Anger due to its Being Senseless and Very Faulty207
    • Contradiction of Not Wanting Suffering in the Future and Making Harmful Response207
    • Unsuitability of Anger due to its Destroying Virtue Accumulated over a Long Time208
    • Meaning of the Text on the Unsuitability of Anger due to its Destroying Virtue Accumulated over a Long Time208
    • Ancillary Meanings213
    • Stopping Anger by Reflecting on the Many Faults of Impatience216
    • Suitability of Observing Patience217
    • Reflecting on the Many Advantages of Patience217
    • Summary Exhortation to Observe Patience217
    • Divisions of the Perfection of Patience218
    • Other Pure Features Arising on the Third Ground218
    • Distinguishing Attribute of the First Three Perfections221
    • Conclusion by way of Expressing the Features of the Third Ground222
  • 12 PERFECTIONS OF EFFORT AND CONCENTRATION
    • Fourth Ground, the Radiant223
    • Surpassing Effort on the Fourth Ground223
    • Description of the Fourth Ground224
    • Features of Abandonment226
    • Fifth Ground, the Difficult to Overcome227
    • Description of the Fifth Ground227
    • Surpassing Concentration and Skill in the Truths227
    • Glossary231
    • Bibliography237
    • Notes249