The ''Madhyamakālaṃkāra'' is an 8th-century Buddhist text, believed to have been originally composed in Sanskrit by Śāntarakṣita (725–788), which is extant in

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

. The Tibetan text was translated from the Sanskrit by Surendrabodhi () and Jñānasūtra.

Text

In the short-verse text of the ''Madhyamakālaṃkāra'', Śāntarakṣita details his philosophical synthesis of the conventional truth of Yogacara with the ultimate truth of the Madhyamaka, assisted by Buddhist logic with a lengthy discussion of the " neither one nor many" argument.

Dharmic dialogue

Though somewhat lyrical, it is a summary and a key to his encyclopedic '' Tattvasamgraha''. It has the fullness of the

Sutrayana Sūtrayāna ( sa, सूत्रयान) is the Indo-Tibetan three-fold classification of yanas. A yana is a Buddhist mode of practice that leads to the realization of emptiness. The three yanas of the Sutrayana are Sravakayana or Pratyeka ...

and Mahayana traditions' development in its place of origin before the Buddhist tradition of India was transposed by the cultures of the Far East (such as China and Japan) and elsewhere (such as

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

), where Buddhism was already flourishing in culturally specific forms. The text refutes challenges of Buddhist systems and tenets from within the tradition, and is a pedagogical discourse on the development of the

yana Yana may refer to: Locations *Yana, Burma, a village in Hkamti Township in Hkamti District in the Sagaing Region of northwestern Burma *Yana, India, a village in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India * Yana, Nigeria, an administrative ca ...

; the philosophical challenges posed by the non-Buddhist

religions Religion is usually defined as a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, tran ...

and non-Dharmic traditions of India, and crystallizes a dialectical sophistication of Indian logic and the clarity of debate expected of a Khenpo of

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Vihara. The text was seminal in the tradition of Samye which became known as a Nyingma institution in contrast to the emergent Sarma traditions of Atisha's (980-1054) translation phase. It documents the Nyingma

view A view is a sight or prospect or the ability to see or be seen from a particular place. View, views or Views may also refer to: Common meanings * View (Buddhism), a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and affects thou ...

of the

Two Truths The Buddhist doctrine of the two truths (Sanskrit: ''dvasatya,'' ) differentiates between two levels of '' satya'' (Sanskrit; Pali: ''sacca''; word meaning "truth" or "reality") in the teaching of the Śākyamuni Buddha: the "conventional" or " ...

, making it a canonical work. Although the text was marginalized due to the rise of the Prasaṅgika subschool of Mādhyamaka, it was revived by Ju Mipham's (1846–1912) 1876 ''Commentary''.

Samye Monastery

The ''Madhyamakālaṃkāra'' and its tradition survived the destruction of

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Vihara and the ascendancy of the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

empire in India during the 13th-century eclipse of Buddhism through its transplantation to the Tibetan Plateau by Śāntarakṣita at the request of Trisong Detsen. It was taught at the Samye Monastery, which was safeguarded by the Himalayas.

Commentary in English

Lipman (1979) published a study of the ''Madhyamakālaṃkāra'' in English. The text and Ju Mipham's commentary are available in studies by Doctor (2004) and the

Padmakara Translation Group Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

(2005). Blumenthal (2004) also provides a version of the ''Madhyamālaṃkāra'' with commentary by Gyaltsab Je (1364–1432). According to Doctor (2004: p.ix), the ''Madhyamakālaṃkāra''

... is renowned as the principal scripture of the Yogācāramadhyamaka. Although masters such as Ārya Vimuktisena (6th century CE) are said to have set forth their presentations of the Madhyamaka in a way that employs the assertions specific to the Vijñānavāda, Śāntarakṣita was the one to found an actual system in which the ultimate freedom from constructs (Sanskrit ''niṣprapañca'', Tibetan ''spros bral'') is realized through insight into the non-existence of any external matter (''bāhyārtha'', ''phyi don''). This synthesis of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka, the two great currents of Mahāyāna philosophy, the principles of the vast and the profound as originally set forth by Asaṇga (fl. 4th century) and
Nāgārjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...
(possibly 150-250 CE) respectively, is also characterized by its use of the
pramāṇa ''Pramana'' (Sanskrit: प्रमाण, ) literally means " proof" and "means of knowledge".Dignāga Dignāga (a.k.a. ''Diṅnāga'', c. 480 – c. 540 CE) was an Indian Buddhist scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian logic (''hetu vidyā''). Dignāga's work laid the groundwork for the development of deductive logic in India and cr ...
(5th-6th century) and Dharmakīrti (6th-7th century) as integral steps towards the realization of the ultimate.

Berzin (2006) translates the title into English as ''A Filigree of the Middle Way (dBu-ma rgyan, Skt. Madhyamaka-alamkara)''.

Logic

Indian logic is primarily a study of inferences and their patterns. A pramana is a means of knowledge. Indian logic was influenced by grammar, and Greek (or classical) logic was influenced by mathematics.Matilal, Bimal Krishna (author), Ganeri, Jonardon (editor) & (Tiwari, Heeraman)(1998). ''The Character of Logic in India''. Albany, NY, USA: State University of New York Press. (HC:acid free), p.14 Vidyabhusana (1921), Randle (1930) and Fyodor Shcherbatskoy (1930) used the terms "Indian logic" and " Buddhist logic". The

(2005: p. 157) rendered Mipham's advice that Buddhist logic is required to engage the text:

In general, it is important to be familiar with the teachings on probative signs and reasoning and, within that context, the notions of other-elimination, the three conditions of the correct sign, and all the methods of proof or refutation.

According to the doctrine of ''apoha'' (''gshan-sel-wa'' in Tibetan), an entity is defined as the negation of its opposite; a cow is not a non-cow.

Trairūpya: the three conditions

Dignaga formulated three conditions (Sanskrit: ''trairūpya''; Wylie: tshul-gsum) which a logical sign or mark (''linga'') must fulfill: #It should be present in the case or object under consideration (''pakṣa'') #It should be present in a similar case (homologue; ''sapakṣa'') #It should not be present in a dissimilar case (heterologue; ''vipakṣa'') When a ''linga'' is identified, there are three possibilities; the sign may be present in all, some or none of the ''sapakṣas'' or ''vipakṣas''. Identifying a sign assumes that it is present in the ''pakṣa'', and the first condition is met. Dignaga combined these in his ''

Hetucakra ''Hetucakra'' or ''Wheel of Reasons'' is a Sanskrit text on logic written by Dignaga (c 480–540 CE). It concerns the application of his 'three modes’ ( trairūpya), conditions or aspects of the middle term called ''hetu'' ("reason" for a conc ...

''.

Interpretation

The ''Commentary on Difficult Points'' (Sanskrit: Madhyamālaṃkāra-panjika, Wylie: dbu ma rgyan gyi dka' 'grel) was written by

Kamalaśīla Kamalaśīla (Skt. Kamalaśīla; Tib. པདྨའི་ངང་ཚུལ་, Pemé Ngang Tsul; Wyl. pad+ma'i ngang tshul) (c. 740-795) was an Indian Buddhist of Nalanda Mahavihara who accompanied Śāntarakṣita (725–788) to Tibet at the ...

(

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

713-763) Another commentary, ''Remembering The Ornament of the Middle Way'' (Wylie: dbu ma rgyan gyi brjed byang), was written by Gyaltsab Je (1364–1432). Lobzang Dongak Chökyi Gyatso (Wylie: blo bzang mdo sngags chos kyi rgya mtsho, 1903–1957), also known as Tulku Sungrap, wrote the commentary translated into English as ''The Sword to Cut Through False Views'' (Wylie: dbu ma rgyan gyi mchan 'grel nyung ngu lta ngan gcod pa'i ral gri).

Ju Mipham

The title of Ju Mipham's ''Commentary'' (Wylie: dbu ma rgyan gyi rnam bshad 'jam dbyangs bla ma dgyes pa'i zhal lung) conveys Mipham's precepts in honouring the dictate of his guru (''rtsa ba'i bla ma''), Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (1820–1892), who charged him with the commentary.

Manjushri Mañjuśrī (Sanskrit: मञ्जुश्री) is a ''bodhisattva'' associated with '' prajñā'' (wisdom) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. His name means "Gentle Glory" in Sanskrit. Mañjuśrī is also known by the fuller name of Mañjuśrīkumārab ...

is used as a term of respect for the scholarship and understanding beyond letters and words of his Rimé teacher. Suchness is the revelation of Mipham's vajrayana from the Padmakara Translation Group's colophon (2005: p. 382):

Seeing that there are many reasons for expounding the Madhyamakalankara, Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, our incomparable guide, unbounded in his kindness, whose very name I hardly dare to pronounce, who is the very personification of the compassion of the abbot Bodhisattva, of the master Padmasambhava, and of King Trisongdetsen, who is the sovereign among the learned and accomplished, who is supreme Manjushri appearing in the form of a monk in saffron robes, and whose renown fills the world, gave to me the Indian and Tibetan commentaries on the Madhyamakalankara, asking me to study them well and to compose a commentary. And as his diamondlike injunction came down upon my head, I earnestly gave myself to the task.

Ringu Tulku ''et al.'' (2006: pp. 193–194), in their survey of the Rimé movement, convey the importance of Mipham's ''Commentary'' to the Nyingmapa and their view of the

doctrine in light of the Svatantrika Madhyamaka ("those who assert the ultimate is the illusory nature") view and its

Shentong ''Rangtong'' and ''shentong'' are two distinctive views on emptiness ( sunyata) and the two truths doctrine within Tibetan Buddhism. ''Rangtong'' (; "empty of self-nature") is a philosophical term in Tibetan Buddhism that is used to distinguis ...

Madhyamaka refinement as qualifying the Prasangika Madhyamaka ("those who make no assertions"):

Then, for the ultimate truth, there are two schools of Madhyamaka: those who assert the ultimate is the illusory nature, and those who make no assertions. To explain further, the first says that the illusory nature is established when the perceiver of an object experiences a perception of that object as being unreal. This view was put forth by Kamalashila, Shantarakshita, and other proponents of the Svatantrika Madhyamaka school. Their view is clearly explained in Mipham Jamyang Gyatso's commentary on Shantarakshita's 'Ornament of the Middle Way.' This commentary by Mipham Rinpoche is often considered the most important philosophical text of the Nyingma lineage in Tibet, particularly for those who follow Mipham Rinpoche's understanding of the Shentong Madhyamaka view.

Neither one nor many

The mindstream of sentient beings is one application of the argument, neither one nor many. 'Neither one nor many' is an application of the third function of the catuṣkoṭi of Indian logic.

Hopkins Hopkins is an English, Welsh and Irish patronymic surname. The English name means "son of Hob". ''Hob'' was a diminutive of ''Robert'', itself deriving from the Germanic warrior name ''Hrod-berht'', translated as "renowned-fame". The Robert spell ...

and Napper (1983, 1996: p. 160), in ''Meditation on Emptiness'', discussed whether or not a series may be considered a unit:

When a continuum of a lifetime is sought in the individual moments of the continuum, it cannot be found. The continuum is not the individual moments nor their composite; if a continuum were a composite of the moments, either each moment would be a continuum or there would be no separate moments.

Mindstream

In the ninth shloka of the ''Madhyamālaṃkāra'', Śāntarakṣita refutes personal singularity; "person" is conveyed a continuum understood as "neither one nor many". The

qualifies the word "person" (Wylie: gang zag), extending it to all sentient beings. Shantarakshita (author); Ju Mipham (commentator);

(translators)(2005). ''The Adornment of the Middle Way: Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara with commentary by Jamgön Mipham.'' Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Shambhala Publications, Inc. (alk. paper), p.180 The shloka is translated by the group and Doctor.Doctor, Thomas H. (trans.) Mipham, Jamgon Ju.(author)(2004). '' Speech of Delight: Mipham's Commentary of Shantarakshita's Ornament of the Middle Way''. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications. , p.219 Ju Mipham's commentary on the verse is likewise translated by both sources.

Five assertions

Ju Mipham made five assertions not unique to Śāntarakṣita's view:Śāntarakṣita & Ju Mipham (2005) pp.122-141 # Objects (fully qualified objects of comprehension) are posited only with respect to things able to function. # Consciousness in the absence of an object which knows and illuminates itself is uncommon. # The external appears through (or due to) one's own mind and is considered mind-only. # The ultimate is divided into enumerated and non-enumerated ultimates. # In the enumerated ultimate, objects found by individual valid cognition are understood without contradiction.

First

In the first assertion, Śāntarakṣita makes the Sautrantika distinction that objects of cognition are of two kinds: abstract, theoretical mental objects (including generalities, like classes of objects and their names) and actual things, defined as things which function. Although the Sautantrika made that distinction for conventional and ultimate truth, Śāntarakṣita discards theoretical or general objects and discusses actual things as conventional truth. He incorporates Dharmakirti's cognition which analyzes conventionalities, connecting that with cognition which analyzes for ultimacy.

Second

In the second assertion, a self-reflective awareness (

svasaṃvedana In Buddhist philosophy, Svasaṃvedana (also ''Svasaṃvitti'') is a term which refers to the self-reflexive nature of consciousness. It was initially a theory of cognition held by the Mahasamghika and Sautrantika schools while the Sarvastivada- ...

) exists; consciousness can be aware of objects of cognition. This position was later critiqued by

Je Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ('','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school of Tibetan Budd ...

as implying that a self-reflective awareness is separate from objects of cognition. Ju Mipham later qualified its meaning; cognition is self-aware, not a separate material thing. A grand view of Samye

Third

In the third assertion, the

consciousness-only Yogachara ( sa, योगाचार, IAST: '; literally "yoga practice"; "one whose practice is yoga") is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through ...

view of conventional appearances is the best way to progress. Still affirming the supremacy of the Madhyamaka school when students analyze for ultimacy, when relating to conventionalities the mind-only position is recommended.

Fourth

The fourth assertion distinguishes between the ultimate way of abiding established by the Madhyamaka method (the non-enumerated ultimate) and an approximate (enumerated) ultimate: a lesser, conventional understanding of the ultimate which leads to the non-enumerated ultimate.Śāntarakṣita & Ju Mipham (2005) pp.125-135 As part of his explanation of why this is useful, Mipham quotes Gorampa (who references the four conceptual extremes) (Wylie: mtha' bzhi; Sanskrit: caturanta): To analyze the extremes of existence and non-existence, Ju Mipham advises students to contemplate and establish the lack of inherent existence and then contemplate the extreme of non-existence. In contemplating step by step and enumerating the conceptual extremes, a student progresses toward the ultimate. When all extremes have been analyzed, they reach the non-enumerative (true) ultimate.

Fifth

In the fifth assertion, analysis of objects with respect to approximate (enumerated) ultimates does not create a problem of true establishment. A distinction can be made when analyzing for each case, including the two approaches to cognition (one for the conventional domain and the other to analyze for ultimacy) which are his additions to the Pramana tradition of valid cognition. Mipham uses this demonstration in his commentary to point out a problem with Je Tsongkhapa's approach of negating the predicate of "true establishment" instead of the object of perception, which is avoided in Śāntarakṣita's approach. Mipham also notes that many Prasaṅgika writers (similar to their Svatantrika counterparts) made positive assertions to move students closer to the ultimate view, pointing out that the distinction between Prasangika and Svatantrika lies in how students are taught about conventionalities and not in the consideration of ultimate truth. He concludes that Je Tsongkhapa, in making a distinction based on true establishment, proposes a Svatantrika rather than a Prasangika approach.Shantarakshita & Ju Mipham (2005) pp.135-147

Footnotes

Notes

References

* Banerjee, Anukul Chandra. ''Acarya Santaraksita'' in Bulletin of Tibetology, New Series No. 3, p. 1-5. (1982). Gangtok, Sikkim Research Institute of Tibetology and Other Buddhist Studies

*Blumenthal, James. ''The Ornament of the Middle Way: A Study of the Madhyamaka Thought of Shantarakshita''. Snow Lion, (2004). - a study and translation of the primary Gelukpa commentary on Shantarakshita's treatise: Gyal-tsab Je's ''Remembering The Ornament of the Middle Way''. * Doctor, Thomas H. (trans.) Mipham, Jamgon Ju.(author)(2004). '' Speech of Delight: Mipham's Commentary of Shantarakshita's Ornament of the Middle Way''. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications. *Jha, Ganganath (trans.) The Tattvasangraha of Shantaraksita with the Commentary of Kamalashila. 2 volumes. First Edition : Baroda, (G.O.S. No. Lxxxiii) (1939). Reprint ; Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, (1986). * Jitendra Nath Mohanty, Mohanty, Jitendra Nath (1992). ''Reason and Tradition in Indian Thought: An Essay on the Nature of Indian Philosophical Thinking.'' New York, USA: Oxford University Press. *Lipman, Kennard (1979). 'A Study of Śāntarakṣita's ''Madhyamakālaṃkāra. Thesis. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: University of Saskatchewan. Source

accessed: Tuesday November 3, 2009) *Matilal, Bimal Krishna (author), Ganeri, Jonardon (editor) & (Tiwari, Heeraman)(1998). ''The Character of Logic in India''. Albany, NY, USA: State University of New York Press. * Murthy, K. Krishna. ''Buddhism in Tibet''. Sundeep Prakashan (1989) . *Phuntsho, Karma. ''Mipham's Dialectics and Debates on Emptiness: To Be, Not to Be or Neither''. London: RoutledgeCurzon (2005) *Prasad, Hari Shankar (ed.). ''Santaraksita, His Life and Work.'' (Collected Articles from "''All India Seminar on Acarya Santaraksita''" held on August 3–5, 2001 at Namdroling Monastery, Mysore, Karnataka). New Delhi, Tibet House, (2003). *Randle, H. N. (1930). ''Indian Logic in the Early Schools.'' London: Oxford University Press. * Shantarakshita (author); Jamgon Ju Mipham Gyatso, Mipham (commentator);

(translators)(2005). ''The Adornment of the Middle Way: Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara with commentary by Jamgön Mipham.'' Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Shambhala Publications, Inc. *Stcherbatsky, Th. (1930). ''Buddhist Logic.'' Vols 1 and 2, Bibliotheca Buddhica, 26. Leningrad. *Vidyabhusana, Satischandra (1921, 1971). ''A History of Indian Logic: Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern Schools''. Varanasi: Motilal Banarsidass.

External links

Root text of "Umajen" by Shanta Rakshita; commentary ("Jamyang Gyepai Zhalung") by Mipham Rinpoche
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madhyamakalamkara Madhyamaka Tibetan Buddhist texts Mahayana texts Buddhist philosophy Buddhist logic