The Center of the Sunlit Sky

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The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyü Tradition
Book
Śāntideva's Life and Cultural World


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People
The Second Pawo Tsuklak Trengwa
source author · author
Karl Brunnhölzl
author · translator
Snow Lion Publications
publisher
Topics
Terms
Texts
DRL topics
  • Philosophy
  • Sutra
Center of the Sunlit Sky-front.jpg

Description

Madhyamaka is a potent and universally accessible means of calming out suffering and awakening to our innate wisdom. The Center of the Sunlit Sky artfully rescues this brilliant teaching from its unwarranted reputation for intellectual opacity and reinstates it as a supremely practical toolkit for everyday living. The aim of this book is to take Mahyamaka out of the purely intellectual corner into which it–unjustly–gets boxed. It is an attempt to show how Madhyamaka actually addresses and works with all of our experiences in life.

The book follows the original Indian sources as well as the standard commentaries on Madhyamaka in the Kagyü School of Tibetan Buddhism. At the same time, these materials are adapted for a contemporary audience, combining the familiar sharpness of Madhyamaka reasonings (launching a massive assault on our cherished belief systems) with exploring the practical relevance of the Madhyamaka way of mind training.

Part One of the book, "The General Presentation of Madhyamaka in the Kagyü Tradition," provides an overview of the transmission of Madhyamaka from India to Tibet and its relation to Vajrayāna and Mahāmudrā, followed by a general presentation of Madhyamaka in terms of ground, path, and fruition. Further chapters are devoted to the Autonomist-Consequentialist distinction, the controversial issue of "Shentong-Madhyamaka," the distinction between expedient and definitive meaning, and a penetrating presentation of the major differences between the Eight Karmapa's and Tsongkhapa's interpretations of Madhyamaka.

Part Two consists of a brief introduction to the Bodhicaryāvatāra and a translation of the Second Pawo Rinpoche's commentary on its ninth chapter (on knowledge).

(Source: book jacket)

Bilingual Layout
Citation
Brunnhölzl, Karl. The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyü Tradition. Including a translation of Pawo Rinpoche's commentary on the knowledge section of Śāntideva's The Entrance to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life (Bodhicaryāvatāra). Nitartha Institute Series. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2004.
Publisher Link
https://www.shambhala.com/the-center-of-the-sunlit-sky-2352.html

People Mentioned

Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje
Tsongkhapa
Table of contents
  • Acknowledgments11
  • Foreword13
  • Preface17
  • Introduction25
  • Part One: The General Presentation of Madhyamaka in the Kagyü Tradition45
  • 1 The Transmission of Madhyamaka from India to Tibet and Its Relation to Vajrayāna and Mahāmudrā47
  • 2 The Middle from Beginning to End69
    • Madhyamaka Ground72
      • What Is Reality?72
      • No Ground for the Two Realities77
      • The Detailed Explanation of the Two Realities80
        • The Meaning of the Terms80
        • Painting the Sky: A Description of Their Defining Characteristics82
        • Are the Two Realities One or Different?88
        • Seeming Divisions of the Seeming94
        • Dividing Space: Divisions of the Ultimate99
        • A Critical Analysis of Some Other Tibetan Views on the Two Realities in Centrism101
        • The Definite Number of Two Realities and the Purpose of Understanding Them105
      • The Emptiness of Emptiness110
        • Freedom Is the Nature of Not Having a Nature110
        • Elaborations on Simplicity114
          • The Twenty Emptinesses117
          • The Sixteen Emptinesses122
      • The Two Types of Identitylessness126
        • Lost Identity126
        • Phenomenal Identitylessness135
        • Personal Identitylessness137
        • Are the Two Identitylessnesses One or Different?141
        • The Purpose of Teaching Two Identitylessnesses141
      • From Knowledge to Wisdom142
    • Madhyamaka Path153
      • How Can Madhyamaka Be a Personal Practice?157
      • Reasoning and Debate in Centrism172
        • Three Stages of Analysis by Nāgārjuna and Āryadeva172
        • Is Reasoning Reasonable?174
        • Reasons and Negations177
        • What Is the Object of Negation in Centrist Reasonings?193
        • The Status of Valid Cognition in Centrism199
        • Do Centrists Have a Thesis or Position?218
        • Illusory Lions Killing Illusory Elephants: Empty Reasonings for Liberation231
          • Some Essential Points of Centrist Reasoning231
          • Disillusionment with Phenomenal Identity235
            • The Five Great Madhyamaka Reasonings235
            • Other Reasonings262
          • Unmasking Personal Identity264
        • The Result of Centrist Reasoned Analysis271
      • Madhyamaka Meditation273
        • Why Is Analytical Meditation Necessary?273
        • Calm Abiding and Superior Insight276
        • Analytical Meditation and Resting Meditation279
        • Working with the Mind in Meditation and Daily Life285
        • How to Practice a Session of Analytical Meditation290
        • The Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness295
        • Mental Nonengagement in Meditation310
      • Madhyamaka Conduct321
    • Madhyamaka Fruition323
  • 3 The Distinction between Autonomists and Consequentialists333
    • Classifications of Centrism in India and Tibet333
    • Refutation of Mistaken Assumptions about Autonomists and Consequentialists341
    • The Actual Distinction between Autonomists and Consequentialists360
    • How the Distinction between Autonomists and Consequentialists by Later Tibetans Is a Novelty373
    • The Origin of the Controversy between Autonomists and Consequentialists392
    • Do Hearers and Solitary Realizers Realize Emptiness?421
    • Conclusion438
  • 4 Is There Such a Thing as Shentong-Madhyamaka?445
    • The Yogācāra System in General457
    • The System of the Lineage of Vast Activity460
    • The Treatment of Yogācāra and the Rangtong-Shentong Controversy in Tibet500
    • The Single Final Intention of the Two Philosophical Systems of the Great Vehicle515
  • 5 The Distinction between Expedient and Definitive Meaning527
  • 6 An Outline of Some Major Differences between Mikyö Dorje's and Tsongkhapa's Interpretations of Centrism553


  • Part Two: The Bodhicaryāvatāra and Pawo Tsugla Trengwa599
  • 7 Some Remarks on the Bodhicaryāvatāra and Pawo Rinpoche's Commentary601
  • 8 The Ninth Chapter of Pawo Rinpoche's Commentary on The Entrance to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life 617
  • Appendix I: A Short Biography of the Second Pawo Rinpoche Tsugla Trengwa791
  • Appendix II: Non-Buddhist Indian Schools794
  • Appendix III: Tibetan Text of the Ninth Chapter of the Bodhicaryāvatāra800
  • Glossary: English–Sanskrit–Tibetan816
  • Glossary: Tibetan–Sanskrit–English823
  • Bibliography831
  • Endnotes853
  • Index963
Interconnections
Works related to this item
2 Partial translations
Au Coeur du Ciel-front.jpg
Brunnhölzl, Karl. Au cœur du ciel. Vol. 1, Le système de la voie médiane dans la tradition kagyu, translated by Christian Charrier. Plazac, France: Padmakara, 2012.
Books2012About this item
Voie d'accès au réel par le raisonnement analytique et l'expérience directe de la vacuité, le Madhyamaka permet à tout un chacun d'évincer la souffrance et de réveiller la sagesse innée qui dort en lui. Au cœur du ciel rend justice à ce splendide enseignement du Bouddha en montrant que la philosophie de la Voie médiane, souvent jugée impénétrable et trop intellectuelle, loin de nous enfermer dans des raisonnements arides, nous propose des outils à la fois pratiques et puissants pour nous aider à gérer nos difficultés quotidiennes. Karl Brunnhölzl, le traducteur, médecin et tibétologue, offre au chercheur comme au pratiquant un véritable manuel d'étude et de pratique de cette philosophie morale, entièrement fondée sur l'infrangible unité de la connaissance directe de la vacuité et des pratiques de la compassion. (Source: Padmakara)
Au Coeur du Ciel Volume 2-front.jpg
Brunnhölzl, Karl. Au cœur du ciel. Vol. 2, Controverses dans les systèmes de la voie médiane, translated by Christian Charrier. Plazac, France: Padmakara, 2014.
Books2014About this item
Ce deuxième volume nous plonge au cœur des grands débats qui ont entraîné des divergences doctrinales au sein de ce système philosophique. Qu’est-ce qui distingue vraiment les Prāsangikas des Svātantrikas ? Réfutent-ils un objet différent ? Qu’est-ce que le courant shentong au Tibet ? Le troisième cycle des enseignements du Bouddha est-il de sens provisoire ou définitif ? Y a-t-il trois véhicules ou un seul ? Quelles sont les différences majeures entre Jé Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) et Mikyeu Dorjé (1507-1554) ? Pour répondre à ces questions, l’auteur traduit et explique les subtilités de la pensée du VIIIe Karmapa tout en nous donnant un formidable aperçu de l’exégèse qui anime l’école kagyupa, dont on a parfois minimisé les qualités d’érudition et de formation à l’étude des grands traités de logique et de philosophie. (Source: Padmakara)
2 Partial translation of
Shantideva high res brighter cropped.jpg
Śāntideva (ཞི་བ་ལྷ་). Bodhicaryāvatāra [बोधिचर्यावतार]. byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa [བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པ།]. [The Way of the Bodhisattva]. Tengyur, RKTST 3216 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=3216&typ=2.
Classical WorksAbout this item
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.
Pawo 2.jpg
Pawo Rinpoche, 2nd (དཔའ་བོ་གཙུག་ལག་ཕྲེང་བ་). byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa'i rnam par bshad pa theg chen chos kyi rgya mtsho zab rgyas mtha' yas pa'i snying po [བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པའི་རྣམ་པར་བཤད་པ་ཐེག་ཆེན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ཟབ་རྒྱས་མཐའ་ཡས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ།]. [Essence of the Boundlessly Vast and Deep Ocean of Teachings of the Great Vehicle: A Detailed Explanation of Entering into the Conduct of the Bodhisattva].
Classical WorksAbout this item
This is a meaning commentary (don 'grel) with a topical outline (sa bcad). It has (1) a topical outline, (2) full verses related to the topic, and (3) complete explanations of the verses.
2 Other editions
Au Coeur du Ciel-front.jpg
Brunnhölzl, Karl. Au cœur du ciel. Vol. 1, Le système de la voie médiane dans la tradition kagyu, translated by Christian Charrier. Plazac, France: Padmakara, 2012.
Books2012About this item
Voie d'accès au réel par le raisonnement analytique et l'expérience directe de la vacuité, le Madhyamaka permet à tout un chacun d'évincer la souffrance et de réveiller la sagesse innée qui dort en lui. Au cœur du ciel rend justice à ce splendide enseignement du Bouddha en montrant que la philosophie de la Voie médiane, souvent jugée impénétrable et trop intellectuelle, loin de nous enfermer dans des raisonnements arides, nous propose des outils à la fois pratiques et puissants pour nous aider à gérer nos difficultés quotidiennes. Karl Brunnhölzl, le traducteur, médecin et tibétologue, offre au chercheur comme au pratiquant un véritable manuel d'étude et de pratique de cette philosophie morale, entièrement fondée sur l'infrangible unité de la connaissance directe de la vacuité et des pratiques de la compassion. (Source: Padmakara)
Au Coeur du Ciel Volume 2-front.jpg
Brunnhölzl, Karl. Au cœur du ciel. Vol. 2, Controverses dans les systèmes de la voie médiane, translated by Christian Charrier. Plazac, France: Padmakara, 2014.
Books2014About this item
Ce deuxième volume nous plonge au cœur des grands débats qui ont entraîné des divergences doctrinales au sein de ce système philosophique. Qu’est-ce qui distingue vraiment les Prāsangikas des Svātantrikas ? Réfutent-ils un objet différent ? Qu’est-ce que le courant shentong au Tibet ? Le troisième cycle des enseignements du Bouddha est-il de sens provisoire ou définitif ? Y a-t-il trois véhicules ou un seul ? Quelles sont les différences majeures entre Jé Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) et Mikyeu Dorjé (1507-1554) ? Pour répondre à ces questions, l’auteur traduit et explique les subtilités de la pensée du VIIIe Karmapa tout en nous donnant un formidable aperçu de l’exégèse qui anime l’école kagyupa, dont on a parfois minimisé les qualités d’érudition et de formation à l’étude des grands traités de logique et de philosophie. (Source: Padmakara)



Madhyamaka - Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. Skt मध्यमक  Tib དབུ་མ་  Ch 中觀見  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Madhyamaka'

Prajñā - One of the key terms for wisdom or knowledge, most often having the sense of insight, transcendent knowledge, or perhaps gnosis. In some contexts it can also refer to cognition or intellectual understanding. Skt प्रज्ञा  Tib ཤེས་རབ་  Ch 般若  

Go to the page with the definition of 'wisdom'

Kagyu - The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa. Tib བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Kagyü'

Vajrayāna - The esoteric Buddhist tradition which developed as a syncretic system involving deity worship, use of mantras, physical energy, and mystical practices. It is also known as the mantra tradition and the tantric school as a result of being based on texts known as tantras. Skt वज्रयान  Tib རྡོ་རྗེ་ཐེག་པ།  Ch 金剛乘  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Vajrayāna'

Mahāmudrā - Mahāmudrā refers to an advanced meditation tradition in Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna forms of Into-Tibetan Buddhism that is focused on the realization of the empty and luminous nature of the mind. It also refers to the resultant state of buddhahood attained through such meditation practice. In Tibet, this tradition is particularly associated with the Kagyu school, although all other schools also profess this tradition. The term also appears as part of the four seals, alongside dharmamūdra, samayamudrā, and karmamudrā. Skt महामुद्रा  Tib ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ།  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Mahāmudrā'

Gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib གཞན་སྟོང་  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Shentong'

Gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib གཞན་སྟོང་  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Shentong'

Neyārtha - Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true. Skt नेयार्थ  Tib དྲང་དོན་  

Go to the page with the definition of 'expedient'

Śāntideva (ཞི་བ་ལྷ་). Bodhicaryāvatāra [बोधिचर्यावतार]. byang chub sems dpa'i spyod pa la 'jug pa [བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པ།]. [The Way of the Bodhisattva]. Tengyur, RKTST 3216 http://www.rkts.org/cat.php?id=3216&typ=2.

Go to the page with the definition of 'Bodhicaryāvatāra'

Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व  Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།  Ch 菩薩  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Bodhisattva'

Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व  Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།  Ch 菩薩  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Bodhisattva'

Yogācāra - Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana). Skt योगाचार  Tib རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྤྱོད་པ་  Ch 瑜伽行派  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Yogācāra'

Rang stong - The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena. Tib རང་སྟོང་  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Rangtong'

Karuṇā - The profound wish for all sentient beings to be free from suffering and the causes of suffering. It is a core virtue in Buddhism and, in the Mahāyāna tradition, develops into 'great compassion' (mahākaruṇā), the driving force behind the pursuit of enlightenment for the benefit of others. Skt करुणा  Tib ཐུགས་རྗེ་  Ch 悲  

Go to the page with the definition of 'compassion'

Gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib གཞན་སྟོང་  

Go to the page with the definition of 'shentong'

Gzhan stong - The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature. Tib གཞན་སྟོང་  

Go to the page with the definition of 'shentong'

Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व  Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།  Ch 菩薩  

Go to the page with the definition of 'bodhisattva'

Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt बोधिसत्त्व  Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།  Ch 菩薩  

Go to the page with the definition of 'bodhisattva'

Mahāyāna - Mahāyāna, or the Great Vehicle, refers to the system of Buddhist thought and practice which developed around the beginning of the Common Era, focusing on the pursuit of the state of full enlightenment of the Buddha through the realization of the wisdom of emptiness and the cultivation of compassion. Skt महायान  Tib ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ།  Ch 大乘  

Go to the page with the definition of 'Mahāyāna'

Bodhicitta - The altruistic thought to seek enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. It is said to have two aspects: compassion aimed at sentient beings and their problems and the wisdom of enlightenment as the solution. Skt बोधिचित्त  Tib བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས།  Ch 菩提心  

Go to the page with the definition of 'bodhicitta'

Pāramitā - The six or ten types of practices which lead an individual to Buddhahood. The practice of perfections is particularly important in Mahāyāna Buddhism in which the entire path of the Bodhisattva to reach full enlightenment is included in the six or ten perfections. The six perfections are that of giving, of discipline, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom. The perfection of skill-in-means, aspirations, power, and pristine wisdom are added to them to make ten perfections. Skt पारमिता  Tib ཕར་ཕྱིན།;ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།  Ch 波羅蜜  

Go to the page with the definition of 'pāramitā'
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