Centre for Tantric Studies
A Direct Path to the Buddha Within published
28 December 2007, by Peter Pasedach
A new book by Dr. Klaus-Dieter Mathes, an associate of the Centre for Tantric Studies, has just been published:
A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Gö Lotsawa’s Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga. Studies In Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 28 December 2007. 608 pp. ISBN 0-86171-528-4. ISBN-13 9780861715282.
Maitreya’s Ratnagotravibhāga, also known as the Uttaratantra, is the main Indian treatise on buddha nature, a concept that is heavily debated in Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. In A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, Klaus-Dieter Mathes looks at a pivotal Tibetan commentary on this text by Gö Lotsawa Zhönu Pal, best known as the author of the Blue Annals. Gö Lotsawa, whose teachers spanned the spectrum of Tibetan schools, developed a highly nuanced understanding of buddha nature, tying it in with mainstream Mahāyana thought while avoiding contested aspects of the so-called empty-of-other (zhentong) approach. In addition to translating key portions of Gö Lotsawa’s commentary, Mathes provides an in-depth historical context, evaluating Gö’s position against those of Kagyü, Nyingma, and Jonang masters, and examining how Gö Lotsawa’s view affects his understanding of a buddha’s qualities, the concept of emptiness, and the practice of mahāmudrā.
Title Page … iii
Copyright … iv
Table of Contents … v
Introduction … 1
General Remarks … 1
Delimitation of the Subject and Methods Employed … 3
The Ratnagotravibhāga and its Vyākhyā … 7
The Reaction of Mainstream Mahāyāna to the Theory of Buddha Nature … 17
Part I: The Tibetan Historical Context
1. The Development of Various Traditions of Interpreting Buddha Nature … 25
Ngog Loden Sherab’s Analytical Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga … 25
Ratnagotravibhāga Commentaries in the Meditation Tradition … 32
The Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga … 34
The Zhentong Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga .. 45
2. Various Positions Related to Zhönu Pal’s Interpretation … 49
The Position of the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorjé … 51
The Position of Dölpopa Sherab Gyaltsen … 75
The Position of Sabzang Mati Panchen … 84
The Position of Lodrö Tsungmé … 91
The Position of Longchen Rabjampa … 98
The Position of Barawa Gyaltsen Palzang … 113
A Comparison of the Positions … 125
3. A Short Account of the Most Important Events in Zhönu Pal’s Life … 131
Part II: Translation
4. Zhönu Pal’s Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā Commentary … 151
Translator’s Introduction … 151
Technical Notes … 154
The Commentary on the Treatise “Mahāyana-Uttaratantra”: The Mirror Showing Reality Very Clearly (Introduction and Initial Commentaries) … 157
Introduction … 157
The Commentary for Those with Sharp Faculties … 169
The Commentary for Those with Average Faculties … 180
The Explanation of RGV I.1 … 181
The Explanation of RGV I.2 … 204
The Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha … 205
Buddha Nature and Its Purification through the Three Dharmackras … 214
Enlightenment, Buddha Qualities, and Activity … 309
A Short Explanation of RGV I.3 … 312
Part III: Zhönu Pal’s Views on Buddha Qualities, Emptiness, and Mahāmudrā
5. Buddha Qualities … 317
General Remarks … 317
Different Views on Buddha Qualities … 318
The Blossoming of Subtle Qualities … 320
The Examples Used to Illustrate the Growth of the Qualities … 342
The Ontological Status of the Buddha Qualities … 344
6. Two Types of Emptiness … 351
7. Zhönu Pal’s Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga … 367
The Ratnagotravibhāga as a Basis for Mahāmudrā Instructions … 367
The Three Dharmacakras: Mahāmudrā Hermeneutics … 368
The Mahāmudrā Approach of Yogic Direct Valid Cognitions … 373
Sutra-Based Mahāmudrā Meditation … 377
The First Mahāmudrā Yoga of One-Pointedness … 381
The Second Mahāmudrā Yoga of Freedom from Mental Fabrications … 382
The Third Mahāmudrā Yoga of One Taste … 384
The Fourth Mahāmudrā Yoga of Nonmeditation … 385
The Four Mahāmudrā Yogas and the Ratnagotravibhāga … 386
Zhönu Pal’s Justification of a Sudden Mahāmudrā Path … 397
Pairs of Paradoxes … 406
8. Conclusion … 411
Notes … 423
Table of Tibetan Transliteration … 555
Bibliography … 565
Subject Index … 589
Indian Text Index … 607