Books/Introduction to the Middle Way: Difference between revisions
From Bodhicitta
< BooksBooks/Introduction to the Middle Way
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 3: | Line 3: | ||
|FullRead=No | |FullRead=No | ||
|DisableRedirects=No | |DisableRedirects=No | ||
|TableOfContents= | |TableOfContents=*Foreword by Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche ... xiii | ||
* | *Translators' Introduction ... 1 | ||
* | *Part One: Madhyamakavatara ... 55 | ||
* | *Part Two: The Word of Chandra: The Necklace of Spotless Crystal ... 115 | ||
**A Textual Outline Of The Word Of Chandra ... 117 | **A Textual Outline Of The Word Of Chandra ... 117 | ||
**Preamble ... 143 | **Preamble ... 143 | ||
** | **The Ten Grounds Or Stages Of Realization ... 148 | ||
***- The First Ground: Perfect Joy ... 148 | ***- The First Ground: Perfect Joy ... 148 | ||
***- The Second Ground: Immaculate ... 153 | ***- The Second Ground: Immaculate ... 153 | ||
| Line 15: | Line 15: | ||
***- The Fourth Ground: Radiant ... 160 | ***- The Fourth Ground: Radiant ... 160 | ||
***- The Fifth Ground: Hard to Keep ... 160 | ***- The Fifth Ground: Hard to Keep ... 160 | ||
*** | ***The Sixth Ground: Clearly Manifest ... 161 | ||
****I. ''Establishing Emptiness by Rational Demonstration'' ... 165 | ****I. ''Establishing Emptiness by Rational Demonstration'' ... 165 | ||
*****A. Using Reason to Disprove the Self of Phenomena ... 165 | *****A. Using Reason to Disprove the Self of Phenomena ... 165 | ||
| Line 30: | Line 30: | ||
******2. A reasoned demonstration that production is no more than dependent arising ... 278 | ******2. A reasoned demonstration that production is no more than dependent arising ... 278 | ||
******3. The result of the analysis ... 279 | ******3. The result of the analysis ... 279 | ||
***** | *****B. Using Reason to Disprove the Self of Persons ... 281 | ||
******1. Refutation of the belief that the self is a concrete entity ... 282 | ******1. Refutation of the belief that the self is a concrete entity ... 282 | ||
*******a) A refutation of the belief that the personal self is different from the aggregates ... 282 | *******a) A refutation of the belief that the personal self is different from the aggregates ... 282 | ||
| Line 45: | Line 45: | ||
***- The Ninth Ground: Perfect Intellect ... 328 | ***- The Ninth Ground: Perfect Intellect ... 328 | ||
***- The Tenth Ground: Cloud of Dharma ... 329 | ***- The Tenth Ground: Cloud of Dharma ... 329 | ||
** | **The Qualities of the Ten Grounds ... 331 | ||
***- An exposition of the twelve groups of one hundred qualities that manifest on the first ground ... 331 | ***- An exposition of the twelve groups of one hundred qualities that manifest on the first ground ... 331 | ||
***- The adaptation of these qualities to the following grounds ... 332 | ***- The adaptation of these qualities to the following grounds ... 332 | ||
| Line 51: | Line 51: | ||
***- The attainment of buddhahood ... 334 | ***- The attainment of buddhahood ... 334 | ||
***- What is the goal, namely, buddahood? ... 338 | ***- What is the goal, namely, buddahood? ... 338 | ||
** | **Conclusion ... 349 | ||
* | * Notes ... 355 | ||
* | *Glossary ... 383 | ||
* | *Bibliography ... 393 | ||
* | *Index ... 397 | ||
Revision as of 02:41, 5 January 2026
| 🤓 Admin Zone 🛠️ hidden to non-admins | |
Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara with Commentary by Jamgön Mipham
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. You can find more information about this item on the publisher website.
Description
Introduction to the Middle Way presents an adventure into the heart of Buddhist wisdom through the Madhyamika, or "middle way," teachings, which are designed to take the ordinary intellect to the limit of its powers and then show that there is more.
This book includes a verse translation of the Madhyamakavatara by the renowned seventh-century Indian master Chandrakirti, an extremely influential text of Mahayana Buddhism, followed by an exhaustive logical explanation of its meaning by the modern Tibetan master Jamgön Mipham, composed approximately twelve centuries later. Chandrakirti's work is an introduction to the Madhyamika teachings of Nagarjuna, which are themselves a systematization of the Prajnaparamita, or "Perfection of Wisdom" literature, the sutras on the crucial but elusive concept of emptiness.
Chandrakirti's work has been accepted throughout Tibetan Buddhism as the highest expression of the Buddhist view on the sutra level. With Jamgön Mipham's commentary, it is a definitive presentation of the wisdom of emptiness, a central theme of Buddhist teachings. This book is a core study text for both academic students and practitioners of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. (Source: Shambhala Publications)
Citation
Fletcher, Wulstan, and Helena Blankleder (Padmakara Translation Group), trans. Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara with Commentary by Jamgön Mipham. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2002.
Publisher Link
Table of contents
- Foreword by Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche ... xiii
- Translators' Introduction ... 1
- Part One: Madhyamakavatara ... 55
- Part Two: The Word of Chandra: The Necklace of Spotless Crystal ... 115
- A Textual Outline Of The Word Of Chandra ... 117
- Preamble ... 143
- The Ten Grounds Or Stages Of Realization ... 148
- - The First Ground: Perfect Joy ... 148
- - The Second Ground: Immaculate ... 153
- - The Third Ground: Luminous ... 156
- - The Fourth Ground: Radiant ... 160
- - The Fifth Ground: Hard to Keep ... 160
- The Sixth Ground: Clearly Manifest ... 161
- I. Establishing Emptiness by Rational Demonstration ... 165
- A. Using Reason to Disprove the Self of Phenomena ... 165
- 1. Using reason to refute the theory of inherently real production ... 165
- a) A refutation of the four theories of production from the standpoint of the two truths ... 165
- (1) Refutation of self-production ... 183
- (2) Refutation of other-production ... 187
- (a) A general refutation of other-production on the ultimate level ... 187
- (b) There is no naturally existent other-production, even conventionally ... 203
- (c) Refutation of the Chittamatra position ... 229
- (3) Refutation of production from both self and other ... 260
- (4) Refutation of uncaused production ... 261
- b) Replies to the objections against the refutation of the four theories of production ... 266
- a) A refutation of the four theories of production from the standpoint of the two truths ... 165
- 2. A reasoned demonstration that production is no more than dependent arising ... 278
- 3. The result of the analysis ... 279
- 1. Using reason to refute the theory of inherently real production ... 165
- B. Using Reason to Disprove the Self of Persons ... 281
- 1. Refutation of the belief that the self is a concrete entity ... 282
- a) A refutation of the belief that the personal self is different from the aggregates ... 282
- b) A refutation of the belief that the self is identical with the aggregates ... 285
- c) A refutation of the belief that the self is indescribable ... 296
- 2. The self is a mere dependent imputation ... 298
- a) Even though the self has no existence according to the sevenfold analysis, it is dependently imputed, just like a chariot ... 298
- b) An adaptation to phenomena in general of the arguments that demonstrate that both the chariot and the self are mere imputations ... 304
- 1. Refutation of the belief that the self is a concrete entity ... 282
- A. Using Reason to Disprove the Self of Phenomena ... 165
- II. The Categories of Emptiness Established by Reasoning ... 309
- A. A Detailed Categorization into Sixteen Kinds of Emptiness ... 314
- B. An Abridged Classification into Four Kinds of Emptiness ... 322
- I. Establishing Emptiness by Rational Demonstration ... 165
- - The Seventh Ground: Far Progressed ... 324
- - The Eighth Ground: Immovable ... 325
- - The Ninth Ground: Perfect Intellect ... 328
- - The Tenth Ground: Cloud of Dharma ... 329
- The Qualities of the Ten Grounds ... 331
- - An exposition of the twelve groups of one hundred qualities that manifest on the first ground ... 331
- - The adaptation of these qualities to the following grounds ... 332
- The Ultimate Ground of Buddhahood ... 334
- - The attainment of buddhahood ... 334
- - What is the goal, namely, buddahood? ... 338
- Conclusion ... 349
- Notes ... 355
- Glossary ... 383
- Bibliography ... 393
- Index ... 397
- Supplementary Discussions Appearing In The Text
- 1. A discussion concerning true existence regarded as extraneous to phenomena ... 165
- 2. The ultimate truth in itself and the approximate ultimate truth ... 192
- 3. The valid establishment of phenomena ... 197
- 4. What is refuted by absolutist reasoning? ... 205
- 5. Further discussion concerning true existence considered as extraneous to phenomena ... 208
- 6. Disintegration as a positive entity ... 223
- 7. The purpose of absolutist reasoning (continued) ... 238
- 8. Phenomena as validly established by direct sense experience alone ... 241
- 9. Do the Shravakas realize the no-self of phenomena? ... 310
- 10. Extraneous true existence (continued) ... 314
Interconnections
1 Full translation of
Madhyamakāvatāra. (T. Dbu ma la 'jug pa). In Sanskrit, "Entrance to the Middle Way" (translated also as "Supplement to the Middle Way"); the major independent (as opposed to commentarial) work of the seventh-century Indian master Candrakīrti, who states that it is intended as an avatāra (variously rendered as "primer," "entrance," and "supplement") to Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā. The work is written in verse, to which the author provides an extensive prose commentary (bhāṣya). The work is organized around ten "productions of the aspiration to enlightenment" (bodhicittotpāda), which correspond to the ten stages (bhūmi) of the bodhisattva path (drawn largely from the Daśabhūmikasūtra) and their respective perfections (pāramitā), describing the salient practices and attainments of each. These are followed by chapters on the qualities of the bodhisattva, on the stage of buddhahood, and a conclusion. The lengthiest (comprising approximately half of the work) and most important chapter of the text is the sixth, dealing with the perfection of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā). This is one of the most extensive and influential expositions in Indian literature of Madhyamaka philosophical positions. In it, Candrakīrti provides a detailed discussion of the two truths—ultimate truth (paramārthasatya) and conventional truth (saṃvṛtisatya)—arguing that all things that have these two natures and that conventional truths (which he glosses as "concealing truths") are not in fact true because they appear falsely to the ignorant consciousness. He also discusses the crucial question of valid knowledge (pramāṇa) among the unenlightened, relating it to worldly consensus (lokaprasiddha). The sixth chapter also contains one of the most detailed refutations of Yogācāra in Madhyamaka literature, treating such topics as the three natures (trisvabhāva), the foundational consciousness (ālayavijñāna), and the statements in the sūtras that the three realms of existence are "mind-only" (cittamātra). This chapter also contains Candrakīrti's most famous contribution to Madhyamaka reasoning, the sevenfold reasoning designed to demonstrate the absence of a personal self (pudgalanairātmya). Adding to and elaborating upon a fivefold reasoning found in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, Candrakīrti argues that the person does not intrinsically exist because of it: (1) not being the aggregates (skandha), (2) not being other than the aggregates, (3) not being the basis of the aggregates, (4) not depending on the aggregates, (5) not possessing the aggregates, (6) not being the shape of the aggregates, and (7) not being the composite of the aggregates. He illustrates this reasoning by applying it to the example of a chariot, which, he argues, is not to be found among its constituent parts. The sixth chapter concludes with a discussion of the sixteen and the twenty forms of emptiness (śūnyatā), which include the emptiness of emptiness (śūnyatāśūnyatā). The work was the most widely studied and commented upon Madhyamaka text in Tibet among all sects, serving, for example, as one of the "five texts" (zhung lnga) that formed the Dge lugs scholastic curriculum. The work is preserved only in Tibetan, although a Sanskrit manuscript of verses has been discovered in Tibet. (Source: "Madhyamakāvatāra." In The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 489. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)
1 Related
-front.jpg)
Volume Two of this collection expands on Volume One with a series of longer, in-depth teachings by Khenchen Appey Rinpoche on five essential subjects:
1) A commentary to inspire faith, based on verses in praise of the Buddha’s immeasurable qualities from Sakya Paṇḍita's Clarifying the Sage's Intent.
2) Oral instructions based on Candrakīrti's Entering the Middle Way, offering a practical understanding of the Mahāyāna path as a whole.
3) A commentary on the first three chapters of Śāntideva's Way of the Bodhisattva, which includes an explanation of the ritual for the bodhicitta vow.
4) A rarely given explanation of Gorampa's profound teaching on dependent arising according to the four philosophical schools of Indian Buddhism, entitled Illumination of Saṃsāra and Nirvāṇa.
5) A detailed commentary on Samantabhadra's Noble Aspirations to Sublime Conduct, as the supreme means of dedication.
(Source: Chödung Karmo Translation Group)
