Mipham's Dialectics and the Debates on Emptiness

Book

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Descriptionངོ་སྤྲོད།

This is an introduction to the Buddhist philosophy of Emptiness which explores a number of themes in connection with the concept of Emptiness, a highly technical but very central notion in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. It examines the critique by the leading Nyingma school philosopher Mipham (1846-1912) formulated in his diverse writings. The book focuses on related issues such as what is negated by the doctrine of emptiness, the nature of ultimate reality, and the difference between 'extrinsic' and 'intrinsic' emptiness. Karma Phuntsho's book aptly undertakes a thematic and selective discussion of these debates and Mipham's qualms about the Gelukpa understanding of Emptiness in a mixture of narrative and analytic style. (Source: RoutlegeCurzon)

Citation

Phuntsho, Karma. Mipham's Dialectics and the Debates on Emptiness: To Be, Not to Be or Neither. RoutledgeCurzon Critical Studies in Buddhism. London: Routledge Curzon, 2005.

Publisher Link

https://www.routledge.com/Miphams-Dialectics-and-the-Debates-on-Emptiness-To-Be-Not-to-Be-or-Neither/Phuntsho/p/book/9780415599986

People Mentioned

Nāgārjuna

Tsongkhapa

Scholarship on

Bodhicaryāvatāra

An "Introduction to Bodhisattva Practice," the Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra is a poem about the path of a bodhisattva, in ten chapters, written by the Indian Buddhist Śāntideva (fl. c. 685–763). One of the masterpieces of world literature, it is a core text of Mahāyāna Buddhism and continues to be taught, studied, and commented upon in many languages and by many traditions around the world. The main subject of the text is bodhicitta, the altruistic aspiration for enlightenment, and the path and practices of the bodhisattva, the six perfections (pāramitās). The text forms the basis of many contemporary discussions of Buddhist ethics and philosophy.

Text

Nor bu ke ta ka

Nyingma master Mipham Gyatso's (1846-1912) famous word and meaning commentary (tshig don gyi 'grel pa) on the ninth chapter of the Bodhicaryāvatāra.

Text

Acknowledgementsxii
List of abbreviationsxiv

Introduction3

Emptiness and what there is3
Emptiness, to be and not to be6
Emptiness: a religious issue and the nature of the debates10
Mipham: a polymath and his works on Emptiness13
Sources and methodological considerations19

1 Emptiness: its soteriological, doctrinal, ontological and historical significance in Buddhism23

Emptiness qua Non-self: the heart of Buddhist soteriology24
Emptiness qua Prajñāpāramitā: the primary path28
Emptiness qua Pratītyasamutpāda: the central doctrine31
Emptiness qua nitārtha: the ultimate topic32
Emptiness qua the ultimate: the ontological truth33
Emptiness qua nirvāṇa: the religious goal34
Emptiness qua Mādhyamika philosophy: a historical milestone37

2 The big fuss about Emptiness: an outline of the history of debates on Emptiness40

Controversies in India before Nāgārjuna40
Nāgārjuna's critiques and subsequent controversies42
Controversies during Early Propagation in Tibet44
Early debates in the Later Propagation44
Debates after Tsongkhapa47
Mipham and the later debates51

3 What is negated by ultimate analysis? Debates on the delimitation of the Mādhyamika negandum55

The delimitation of the negandum56
BA, IX/140 and negandum60
Some Gelukpa criticisms of the Ngarabpa position66
What is 'hypostatically existent' and when does one negate?70
On insertion of the qualifiers75
Mipham's main criticisms79
On the tetralemma methodology91
The Gelukpa interpretation of 'neither existent nor non-existent' 95
The nuances of inferential arguments98
The verification of contexts101
An analysis of the cognitive negandum (lam gyi dgag bya)103
On BA, IX/26107
Resemblances and reciprocal comparisons109

4 The fully empty: Mipham's theory of the ultimate reality113

The ultimate and two truth theories114
The ultimate and the nature of negation120
On BA, IX/33-5132
The two ultimates136
The two ultimates and the two schools142
The ultimate and the coalescence148
The ultimate middle way and elimination of extremes153
On MK, Xlll/8159

5 Is Emptiness knowable and effable?162

On whether Emptiness is knowable (jñeya, shes bya)163
On BA, IX/2166
Rebuffing his refuters170
Verifying subjective thoughts175
Apprehension, grasping and the ultimate178
Conceptuality, non-conceptuality and Emptiness185
Mipham's theory of non-conceptuality189
On Hwashang and meditation on Emptiness193
Is Emptiness effable?198

Some concluding remarks208

Appendix I213
Appendix II215
Appendix III217
Appendix IV219
Notes226
Bibliography283
Name and place index297
Subject index300