NDLI: Shakya Chokden’s Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga: “Contemplative” or “Dialectical”?

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Komarovski, Yaroslav
Copyright Year	2010
Abstract	This reconciliation of the dialectical and contemplative approaches to the buddha-essence is related to and closely resembles Shakchok’s reconciliation of the two approaches to ultimate reality advocated respectively by Niḥsvabhāvavāda (ngo bo nyid med par smra ba, “Proponents of Entitylessness”) system of Madhyamaka and Alīkākāravāda (rnam rdzun pa, “False Aspectarians”) system of Yogācāra. These approaches in turn are connected respectively to the explicit teachings (dngos bstan) of the second dharmacakra (chos ’khor, “Wheel of Dharma”) and the definitive teachings (nges don, nītārtha) of the third dharmacakra that he also presents in a reconciliatory manner. In the same way as the teachings of the last two dharmacakras, as well as the Niḥsvabhāvavāda and Alīkākāravāda systems that derive from them, come to the same point, the dialectical and contemplative traditions also come to the same point. This point is the above-mentioned naturally pure primordial mind luminous by nature, the ultimate reality. In Shakchok’s opinion, application of non-affirming negations is a powerful tool for accessing direct realization of that reality, while its identification as primordial mind (ye shes, jñāna) is important for maintaining that realization and turning it into the basis of unfolding positive qualities on the path to buddhahood. When in the passage above Shakchok says that the two traditions are not contradictory, and when he reconciles the two last dharmacakras together with Alīkākāravāda and Niḥsvabhāvavāda, he is not arguing that their words are non-contradictory. They obviously are! Nevertheless, those systems are non-contradictory in terms of complementing each other in getting access to and maintaining realization of the ultimate reality of primordial mind.
Starting Page	441
Ending Page	452
Page Count	12
File Format	PDF
ISSN	00221791
Journal	Journal of Indian Philosophy
Volume Number	38
Issue Number	4
e-ISSN	15730395
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Netherlands
Publisher Date	2010-06-09
Publisher Place	Dordrecht
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Buddhism Buddhist philosophy Buddhist epistemology Tibetan Buddhism Madhyamaka Yogācāra Buddhist theories of reality Buddha-nature 15th century Tibetan Buddhist thought Non-Western Philosophy
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Philosophy Cultural Studies

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