Preface to Tibetan Madhyamaka Studies: The Profound View of the Madhyamakāvatāra

Lin Chong'an, 2007

A distinctive feature of Tibetan Buddhist scholarship is its penetrating analysis of the correct view in Madhyamaka, its careful uncovering of the difficult points within Buddhist doctrine, and its elucidation of the profound meaning of selflessness. Among these pursuits, the study of the Madhyamakāvatāra stands out as the most outstanding. The treatise embraces the two great aspects of the Madhyamaka tradition: the profound view and the vast conduct—in other words, wisdom and compassion. This book takes Tsongkhapa's celebrated commentary on the Madhyamakāvatāra (the Madhyamakāvatārabhāṣya, or "Extensive Commentary That Clearly Illuminates the Intended Meaning") as the central thread of the "profound view" within Tibetan Madhyamaka studies, and develops it as an extension of the vipaśyanā (insight) section of the Lam rim chen mo (Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment).

The Buddha taught the three seals of the Dharma: all conditioned phenomena are impermanent, all phenomena are without self, and nirvāṇa is beyond conceptual elaboration. Two hundred years after the Buddha's passing, the various Buddhist schools began to diverge on the meaning of selflessness and emptiness—some upholding a "self identical with the aggregates," others an "inexpressible self," and so on. About six hundred years after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, around the second century CE, Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā appeared to clarify the meaning of selflessness and emptiness as found in the Āgamas, refuting erroneous views such as a self separate from the aggregates, a self identical with the aggregates, an inexpressible self, a self of substantial existence, and a self of intrinsic nature. Yet the philosophy of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā is so subtle that it is still often misunderstood. By about 650 CE, Candrakīrti's Madhyamakāvatāra had emerged, offering a more nuanced analysis of selflessness and emptiness, and joining profound view and vast conduct through the bodhisattva's great compassion. It came to be regarded as the crowning achievement of later Indian Buddhist thought. This system is known as the Prāsaṅgika branch of the Madhyamaka school.

Tibetan Buddhist scholarship places great value on rational analysis, employing the methods of pramāṇa debate and drawing extensively on sūtras and śāstras to examine doctrinal principles. This style is evident throughout Tsongkhapa's works—from his early commentary on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, the Legs bshad gser phreng (Golden Garland of Elegant Sayings), composed at age 31, through his middle-period Lam rim chen mo at age 46, to his late commentary on the Madhyamakāvatāra at age 62. Because Madhyamaka philosophy is exceedingly profound, Tsongkhapa's commentary on the Madhyamakāvatāra clarifies its most subtle and difficult points, giving later practitioners a reliable guide.

The distinctive view of the Prāsaṅgika school is that all phenomena—both material and mental—do not exist from their own side, are empty of intrinsic nature, and are empty of inherent characteristics. What is more, this perspective aligns with the findings of modern science, which holds that any observed phenomenon is necessarily shaped by the observer. The view that phenomena are "empty of intrinsic nature, empty of inherent characteristics, and do not exist from their own side" can therefore withstand scientific scrutiny.

The contemplative practices of the Dharma come down to śamatha (calm abiding) and vipaśyanā (insight). Clarifying the meaning of selflessness lies at the heart of vipaśyanā. To truly understand the selflessness of phenomena, one must first study and reflect on the central teachings on selflessness as presented in the Madhyamakāvatāra, and then cultivate the union of calm abiding and insight in order to directly realize ultimate reality and attain the peace of nirvāṇa. In preparing this volume, I have drawn on Venerable Fazun's Chinese translation of Tsongkhapa's commentary (first published in 1942), focusing on the theme of the profound view. I have undertaken a preliminary collation against the original Tibetan, added brief explanatory notes, and condensed the elaborate outline into a series of concise chapters suited to the modern reader. The work begins with a concise presentation of the selflessness of phenomena, followed by a detailed exposition of both the selflessness of phenomena and the selflessness of persons, arranged into three chapters (three units). The remaining five chapters are likewise organized as discrete units to facilitate teaching and help readers grasp the essential points. Their contents are: the Hīnayāna's realization of the selflessness of phenomena, the examination of fallacious conceptions of reality, the distinction between the two truths, the complete absence of intrinsic arising, and the differentiation of types of emptiness.

I recall that in August 1975, by fortunate circumstances, I began studying the teachings of the Tibetan Nyingma school under Guru Merit-Dharma-Banner (1914–1997). That November, I also began studying under Lama Champa Jigmey (Professor Ouyang Wuwei, 1913–1991), sequentially working through the Gelug school's essential texts in Tibetan: an introductory primer on pramāṇa, the Siddhāntadīpa (Lamp of Tenets), Tsongkhapa's Legs bshad gser phreng commentary on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, his commentary on the Madhyamakāvatāra, and the Pramāṇavārttika. The study lasted sixteen years in all, from which I benefited immensely. Today, as I review the old and learn anew, moving from pramāṇa to the Madhyamakāvatāra, I have organized the essential meanings of Tsongkhapa's commentary into this volume, Tibetan Madhyamaka Studies, as a small token of gratitude to my teachers.

May the True Dharma long endure!

◎ This book is published by Daqian Publishing House. The table of contents is as follows:

Chapter One: Materials Related to the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā

Chapter Two: A Concise Presentation of the Selflessness of Phenomena

Chapter Three: A Detailed Exposition of the Selflessness of Phenomena

Chapter Four: A Detailed Exposition of the Selflessness of Persons

Chapter Five: The Hīnayāna's Realization of the Selflessness of Phenomena

Chapter Six: Examining Fallacious Conceptions of Reality

Chapter Seven: The Distinction Between the Two Truths

Chapter Eight: The Complete Absence of Intrinsic Arising

Chapter Nine: The Differentiation of Types of Emptiness