Madhyamaka through Metaphors
An attempt to capture and convey the journey, intricacies, and experiences of cultivating the profound Madhyamaka
View through metaphors.
Compiled and presented by Geshe Dadul Namgyal,Senior Resident Teacher at Drepung Loseling Monastery, Inc., Atlanta.
Whatdoeshavingamadhayamakaviewamountto?
• Arrivingatanunderstandingaboutthemodeofexistenceofallphenomenaasfreefromthetwoextremesof‘existence’and‘non-existence.’
• Seeingemptinessasreinforcingdependentorigination;seeingdependentoriginationasreinforcingemptiness
• Succeedinginexhaustivelyrefutinganyintrinsicnaturewhilecomfortablyupholdingallconventionalrealities.
Makingsenseoftheconflictingviewsontheultimatestatusofphenomena
• Everythinghasanabsolutebase;essentialism/reductionism/atomism
Makingsenseoftheconflictingviewsontheultimatestatusofphenomena
• Everythingismerelymentalprojections;nothinghasexternalreality;idealism
Makingsenseoftheconflictingviewsontheultimatestatusofphenomena
• Everythingispartprojection,partobjective;partialemptiness/autonomoussyllogismwielders
Makingsenseoftheconflictingviewsontheultimatestatusofphenomena
• Everythingismeredesignation;nothingexistsinandofitself;emptinessschool/reductio adabsurdumwielders
Makingsenseoftheconflictingviewsontheultimatestatusofphenomena
• Helpsusstartfromwhereweareandthenadvancegradually
• Helpsusidentifywayswemightstrayfromthepathofrightunderstanding
• Helpsusavoidbecomingstuckinwrongorpartialunderstandingofthetruenatureofemptiness
• Givesusgreaterappreciationoftheprofundityoftheultimatestandpoint
• Safelypreparingustothetaskofdevelopinganon-conceptual,directrealization
Whyismadhyamika viewessential?
Theroleofrestofthepracticesvis-à-viswisdom
Theupholder:Therestofthevirtues.
Theupheld:Wisdomrealizingemptiness
Theroleofwisdomvis-à-vistheotherspiritualpractices
TheGuide:Wisdomrealizingemptiness
Blindpeople:Therestofthevirtues.
Withoutit,thereisnowayoutofsamsara
• Eitheronecarestheleastaboutthedestructivenessofactionsoneengagesinandsuffertheconsequences/
• Eitheroneisbornintothelowerrealms(bothinsymbolicandliteralsenses)
• Oronehastobecontentwithonlylimitedsuccesswiththepositiveactionsoneengagesinandreapthelimitedbenefits/
• Oronedoesnotgopastthehigherrealms(bothinsymbolicandliteralsenses)
Benefitsofpursuingamadhayamaka understanding
Benefits
• Itprovidesonewiththeeyesthatseetheheartofthepath,forbothindividualliberationseekersandfull-enlightenmentseekers.
Benefits
• Accumulatesalltypesofmerits,bothmundaneandsuper-mundane.Evenwhenpursuedwithdoubt.
Benefits
• Meritaccumulatedonthisalonefarexceedsthosereapedfromtherestofthefar-reachingpractices
Benefits
• Protectsonefromenteringthelowerrealmsevenwhenoneisboggeddownbythetennon-virtuousactions
Benefits
• Repelsthekarmic-obstructionlayeroffoftheboundlessmisdeedsandtheactofabandoningdharma.
Tendenciestowatch outforwhenencounteringthetopicofemptiness
Tendenciestowatch outfor
• Totallackofinterestandevenshunsit
Tendenciestowatch outfor
• Thoughenthusedoverit,butsettlingforamoresimplisticandnihilisticposition
Conditionsrecommendedforlayingafirmgroundforsuchanunderstanding
Conditionsforasoundunderstanding
• pureethicalconduct• relyingonanauthenticspiritualmentor
• purifyingdefilements• accumulatingmeritandwisdom• followingdefinitivescriptures
• usingtheguidanceofgreatsagesasNagarjuna,Aryadeva,Buddhapalita,andChandrakirti
• study,reflect,andmeditateonemptiness.
Importantdistinctionstobemadeinarrivingatanunmistakenunderstanding
Importantdistinctions
• Twotypesofexistencesv/stwotypesofnon-existences
Importantdistinctions
• Existencebywayofconventionsv/sexistencemerelyinthefaceofdelusion
Importantdistinctions
• Centrismfreefromthetwoextremesv/sanypositionfreeevenfromthestanceofthatCentrality
Importantdistinctions
• Amindnotengagedwiththetwo(projected)selfhoodsv/samindengagedwiththetwoselflessness
Importantdistinctions
• Thatsomethingdoesnotwithstandultimateanalysisv/sthatsomethingisharmedbyultimateanalysis
Importantdistinctions
• Thatsomethingisunfindablebyaultimateconsciousnessv/sthatsomethingisnegatedbyaultimateconsciousness
Importantdistinctions
• Everythingthatexistsdosothroughmeredesignationv/snoteverythingthatisdesignatednecessarilyexists.
Synonymsoftheobjectofnegation
• Trueexistence
• Ultimateexistence
• Perfectexistence
• Inherentexistence
• Self-characterizedexistence
• Intrinsicexistence
• Independentexistence*
The risk of misconstruing the meaning of emptiness: like mishandling a
snake, andaspellgoneawry.
Therangeofreactionsvis-à-visinherentexistence
• Magicianbeholds,butnotbelievesattheshow
• Influencedspectatorsbothbeholdandbelieve
• Uninfluencedonlookersdoneither
Theneedtopullupoursocksinoursearchforthe‘view’
Theonlywaytodispeltheself-graspingignoranceisbyexposingitswayofapprehension;
Thatis,byrealizingthelackofinherentexistence,nothingless;
Merelylettingthemindinproximitytoignoranceorwithdrawingthemindfromitperiodicallyisnotenough;
Forwehavethreedifferentmodesofmindrelatingtoitsobjectsvis-à-vis theappearanceofinherentexistence.
Correctlyidentifyingtheobjectofnegation—thesubjectiveexperiencegraspingatinherentexistence
• Correctlyidentifyingtheignoranceiscrucial;makingallouteffortswhilefailinginthisislikeshootingarrowswithoutseeingthetarget.
Identifyingtheself-graspingattitudewithinoneselfisthewholepurposeoftheenterprise;don’tlosetouchwiththis!
• Orelse,itwouldendupturningintoamissionconfinedtolookingforthefootprintsoftheculpritonthelawnwhileheescapessafelyintotheforest.
Whatamountstograspingatinherentexistence:
Whydoesitmatterwhatwisdomyouspecializeon?
Wouldtheknowledgeofelephant’sabsencedispelthedangerofasnakestrike?
Thewisdomsrealizingimpermanence,subservience,superficiallevelsofselflessnessfallshortofdirectlyactingagainsttheinnatelevelofself-grasping.
Relationship between the self-grasping attitude (ISGA) andrestoftheafflictions(RoA)
Senseoftouch=ISGARemainingsenses=RoA
Thethreemodesofsubjectiveexperiencesvis-à-vistherealityofemptiness
• Graspingatthenotionofinherentexistenceofitsobject
• Apprehendingthelackofinherentexistenceofitsobject
• Apprehendingitsobjectwithoutfallingintoanyoneoftheabovemodes.
Whatdoesittaketorenderafflictionsirreversible?Wisdomormethods?
Itisbutnaturaltoexperienceafflictionssolongasweharbortheconceptionofinherentexistence
• Likelivinginthemidstofsnakenest,wecannotavoidencounteringsnakessoonerorlater,onewayortheother.
Doescultivatingthewisdomofemptinessentailalteringthegroundrealityatall?
• Noaddition• Nodeletion• Itonlyenablesonetoseethefundamentalrealityasitis.
Theactualstatusofeachandeveryphenomenon
•Ithaspartsinrespecttowhichitisthewhole;
•Itisnotidentifiablewithanyoftheparts,northecollectionofthoseparts;
•Norisitfindableoutsideofthepartsandthecollectionthereof;
•Itisimputednoton theparts,noronthecollectionthereof;
•Itisimputedindependenceuponthepartsorthecollectionthereof.
What,inthispicture,isthehorse-sledge?
• horses?• cart?• runners?• straps?• Peopleinit?• Parts
collectively?• Shape/softhe
partsorofthecollective?
• Outsideofthem?
Beyondthemereconventionalityoftheirexistence,nothingcanwithstandanalysisintheultimatesense.
• Justasahornonarabbit’sheadisun-findable,
• Everyphenomenonisnotfindableuponanalysisbeyondconvention;
• Notevenabull’shornisexception;goaheadandsearchforitinthemidstofitssub-atomicparticlesandbeyond.
Thebalancingact,avoidingthetwoextremesofabsolutismandnihilism
• Hurtingthecubwithitsjawsbyover-tighteningitsgripislikenedtohurtingourselvesbyholdingontoabsolutes;
• Losingthecubbydroppingitonthegroundislikenedtofailinginourvirtuouseffortsbyunderminingconventionalreality.
Aclose-uponthemeaningof‘extreme’andoffallingintothem
• Theextremesarethoseintowhichwhensomeonefallsitbringsconsiderabledamage
• Theissueisnotjustrelatedtotheterms‘existence’and‘non-existence’
• Orelse,onewouldenduphavingtoadjusttotheawkwardpositionofneitherexistencenornon-existence,andwouldseektore-arrangethewordingsoftextsliketheHeartSutra,etc.
Isthedebatebetweeninherentexistenceandlackthereofameresemanticone?
HowdoesthiscomparewiththepositionoftheMind-onlyschool?
Different interpretations of Self-emptinessv/sOther-emptiness
Self-emptiness:
• Theultimaterealityofaphenomenonisthatitisemptyofitself
• Theultimaterealityofaphenomenonisthatitisemptyofbeingitsownultimatereality
• Theultimaterealityofaphenomenonisthatitisemptyofexistinginandofitself.
Other-emptiness:
• Theultimaterealityofaphenomenonisthatitisempty,notinandofitself,butofsomethingelse
• Theultimaterealityofaphenomenonthatitisempty,notinandofitself,butofasubject-objectduality
• Theultimaterealityofaphenomenonexistsinandofitself;alltherestdonotexistinandofitself
Self-emptinessinperspective
•Everyphenomenonisemptybywayofbeingemptyofexistinginandofitself;
•Itisnotthatanyphenomenonisemptybywayofbeingemptiedbyitsownemptiness;
•Itisnotthatanyphenomenonisemptyofitself;instead,eachoneisemptyofexistingbymeansofitsownpower.
Theparadoxofrope/snake
Thereisnodifference,whatsoever,intermsofthemeasureofimputation;
However,thereisaworldofdifferenceintermsofwhetherornotthereisactualsnakeasimputed;
Also,thereisaworldofdifferenceintermsofwhetherornottheyarecapableofperformingthefunctions;
Thisisbecausethereisdifferenceintermsofwhichimputationisupheldconventionally;
Thisisalsobecausethereisdifferenceintermsofwhichimputationfacesobjection.
Eightexamplesillustratingtheillusorynatureofphenomena
mirage magicalillusions dream visualdistortions
reflectioninthemirror
echo the mooninthewater
rainbow
Whatmarkstheculminationofasoundunderstandingofemptiness
Itdoesnotconflictwiththeworkingsofcausality;
Instead,itseescausalitypossibleonlyinthelightofnon-inherentexistence;
Itseeseveryphenomenontobeexistingbytheforceofothers(i.e.conventions),notbyitsownpower;
Wheneverwerelatetoanyphenomenoninourordinarylife,wedosobynotsearchingforitbeyondtheconvention.
Whatisthemeasureofultimateanalysis?
Withoutbeingcontentwiththeconventionalityofsomething,say,a
plant,ifonepersistsinthesearchofitsbasisofdesignation.
Whattypeofanalysisentailsdisowningthelineofconventionality?
Applyingtherationaleofultimateanalysiswhiledealingwiththeconventionalrealitieswillentaildisowningtheconventions.
Generalmistakestowatchforinpursuitofanunmistakenunderstanding?
ToobroadanobjectofnegationToonarrowanobjectofnegation
PartialemptinessMentallyfabricatedemptinessUnsuitabletobeunderstood
Theunderstandingbringsnobenefit.
SomepointsofclarificationaboutEmptiness
• Itisnotsomekindofanabsolutestrataofrealitythatunderliesourillusoryworld
• Itisnotsomethinglikeacorereality,lyingsomehowattheheartoftheuniverse
• Itdoesnotexistseparatelyandindependentlyofparticularphenomena
• Itexistsonlyasaqualityofaparticularphenomenon
• Thoughnotaproductofcausesandconditions,theemptinessofaphenomenonceasestoexistwhenthatphenomenonceasestoexist.
Ineffabilityandincomprehensibilityofthemeaningofemptiness
• Inexpressibleasexperiencedbytheuntainted
• Incomprehensibleasexperiencedbytheuntainted
• Theexperienceoftheuntaintedisinaccordwiththereality
No-seeingisthesupremeseeing!
• Isthisseeingnotseeingatall?
• Whatitisnotseeingisthe‘fabricatedelaborations’.
• Whatitisseeingisthe‘lackthereof’.
• ‘Space’servesastheperfectexample.
• Notseenisthe‘obstruction’,andthatwhichisseenisthe‘space’,thelackofobstruction.
Thefourfold/sixfold emptiness
• Formisemptiness,• Emptinessisform;
• Emptinessisnototherthanform,• Formisnototherthanemptiness;
• Whateverisformisitselftheemptiness,• Whateverisemptinessititselftheform.
IsMadhyamaka aschoolofscepticism? Ifso,which?Pyrrhonian,Academic,Modern,
orelse.
•Pyrrhonian scepticism holdsthatsceptical argumentsapplytoscepticismitself;
•Academicscepticism holdsthatscepticism itselfcouldbeindependentlyjustified.
•Inthemodernsense(beginningwithDescartes)scepticism hasbeenunderstoodastheideathatitisimpossibletoknowtheexistenceofthe
externalworld.
•WhatdoyouthinkisthisMadhyamaka schoolapartofornotthereof?
ThreedimensionsofDependentOrigination
• Dependentcausation
ThreedimensionsofDependentOrigination
• Dependentconstitution
ThreedimensionsofDependentOrigination
• Dependentdesignation
Meditativeequipoiseintoemptiness:whatmighttheexperiencebelike?
TheexperienceiscalledtheSpace-likeemptinessOftheequipoise
Post-meditativewisdomofemptiness:whatmighttheexperiencebelike?
TheexperienceiscalledtheMagical-illusion-likeemptinessofthepost-equipoise
ThetranscendedwisdomoftheBuddha:whattheexperiencemightbelike.
• Seesboththeemptynatureandvarietynaturesimultaneouslyyetdiscreetly
• Thus,eachsightisunaffectedbytheother;thoughthetwoexperiencesareinextricablyblended
• Infact,thesightoftheoneoccurswithintheframeworkofnotseeingtheother,yetseeingthemsimulataneously
PerfectionofWisdomssutras
• ThePrajnaparamita sutrainhundredthousand(verses)
• ThePrajnaparamita sutraintwentythousand(verses)
• ThePrajnaparamita sutraineightthousand(verses)
• TheDiamondSutra)
• TheHeartofWisdomSutra
• TheOneLetterPrajnaparamita Sutra…
SynonymsofEmptiness
Ultimateobject
UltimateTruth
Reality/Actuality
Suchness/Thusness
Fundamentalnature
BobMarley’ssong
• Emancipateyourselvesfrommentalslavery;nonebutourselvescanfreeourminds.
• Havenofearforatomicenergybecausenoneofthemcanstopthetime.
• Havenodoubtfortheneedtoworkforliberationandenlightenmentbecausenothingcanseverthecontinuanceofconsciousness.
GestaltPrinciples• “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The
Gestalt Principles, advocated by theorists such as Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kure Koffka.
• In other words, the principle suggests that “the whole (a picture, a car) carried a different and altogether greater meaning than its individual components” (paint, canvas, brush; or tire, paint, metal, respectively).
• In viewing the whole, a cognitive process takes place—the mind makes a leap from comprehending the parts to realizing the whole.
WilliamJames
• Agreatmanypeoplethinktheyarethinkingwhentheyaremerelyrearrangingtheirprejudices.
NielsBohrquotes NielsHenrikDavidBohrwasaDanishphysicistwhomadefoundationalcontributionstounderstanding
atomicstructureandquantumtheory,forwhichhereceivedtheNobelPrizeinPhysicsin1922.
• “How wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress.” ―NielsBohr
• “Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it.” ―NielsBohr,Essays1932-1957onAtomicPhysicsandHumanKnowledge
• “Everything we call real is made of things that cannot be regarded as real.” ―NielsBohr
༢༦༣་་་་་་་༢༦༥ ༢༦༦འཇིག་རྟེན་པའི་ཐ་སྙད་ཉམས་མ་ཉམས་
དང་དཔྱད་མ་ད8ད་ཀྱི་ཚད།
ཤིང་རྟའི་ཡན་ལག་ཚོགས་པ་དེ་ཤིང་རྟའི་ཆ་ཤས་ཡིན་པ་ལས་ཆ་ཅན་
མིན་ཚུལ། ཚོགས་པ་ཤིང་རྟའམ་གང་ཟག་མིན་ཚུལ་ཇི་ལྟར།༡༧༠་་་
506གཤམ་དུ་ཚོགས་པ་དེ་ཡིན་པར་འགོག་སྐབས་་་་
Howdoweaccountfortheexistenceofthemultiplicityofphenomenainthe
lightofnon-inherentexistence
Themarkofhavingarrivedatanunmistakenunderstandingofemptiness
སྟོང་ཉིད་ཀིྱ་ལྟ་བའི་གོ་བ་གནད་དུ་སོང་བའི་ཐེག་ཆེན་པ་ལ་ནི། གོ་བ་རྣམ་དག་རྣམས་སྐྱེས་ནས་རྒྱ་ཆེ་བའི་ཕྱོགས་རྣམས་སྒྲུབ་པ་ལ་ཤིན་ཏུ་གུས་པར་འགུྱར་ལ།༡༥༣
སྣོད་མི་རུང་གི་སྐྱོན་གཉིས་སྤངས་ནས་རང་བཞིན་མེད་པའི་སྟོང་ཉིད་ཀིྱ་ལྟ་བ་ཉིད་ལ་བརྟེན་ནས་བྱ་བྱེད་ཐམས་ཅད་ཆེས་འཐད་པར་རྟོགས་པ་ཞིག་འོང་བ་ཡིན་ནོ།། ༡༥༣
རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་བར་འབྱུང་བ་རྐྱེན་ཉིད་འདི་པ་ཙམ་གིྱ་ཟབ་མོའི་དེ་ཁོ་ན་ཉིད་མཐོང་།༡༤༡
དགོངས་པ་རབ་གསལ། ༡༧༥/༢ མ་རིག་པ་དེ་ལོྡག་པ་ལ་སྟོང་པ་རྟེན་འབྱུང་གི་དོན་དུ་ཤར་བའི་རྟེན་འབྱུང་ཟབ་མོའི་དོན་རྟོགས་དགོས་པར་གསུངས་སོ།། རྟེན་འབྱུང་གི་དེ་ཁོ་ན་ཉིད།
Whatmarkstheexposureoftheinnateself-graspingignorance
དགོངས་པ་རབ་གསལ། ༡༧༥/༢ མ་རིག་པ་དེ་ལོྡག་པ་ལ་སྟོང་པ་རྟེན་འབྱུང་གི་དོན་དུ་ཤར་
བའི་རྟེན་འབྱུང་ཟབ་མོའི་དོན་རྟོགས་དགོས་པར་གསུངས་སོ།། རྟེན་འབྱུང་གི་དེ་ཁོ་ན་ཉིད།
• རེྟན་འབུྱང་སོྟང་པའི་དོན་ཤར་བ་དང་། སྟང་པ་རེྟན་འབུྱང་གི་དོན་དུ་ཤར་བ།
• Emptinessunderstoodintermsofdependentorigination;dependentoriginationunderstoodintermsofemptiness.
• Seeingemptinessasimplyingdependentorigination;seeingdependentoriginationasimplyingemptiness
• Seeingemptinessasreinforcingdependentorigination;seeingdependentoriginationasreinforcingemptiness
LudwigWittgenstein
• “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent.” Ludwig Wittgenstein
ErwinSchrodinger;RichardSlansky;J.S.Bell
• “What we observe as material bodies and forces are nothing but shapes and variations in the structure of space.” Erwin Schrodinger
• “Language is just a sound. How does the word refer beyond the mere word to the total experience?” Richard Slansky
• “What is much more likely is that the new way of seeing things will involve an imaginative leap that will astonish us.” J.S.Bell
Thethreemodesofsubjectiveexperiencesvis-à-vis
therealityofemptiness
བདེན་མེད་དུ་མ་བཟུང་ཡང་བདེན་པར་འཛིན་མི་དགོས་པ་བཞིན་དུ།
བདག་གཉིས་ལ་མ་ཞུགས་ཀྱང་བདག་མེད་གཉིས་ལ་ཞུགས་མི་དགོས་ཏེ།
བློ་ཕུང་པོ་གསུམ་པ་ལ་གནས་པ་མཐའ་ཡས་པ་ཅིག་ཡོད་པའི་ཕྱིར་རོ།།
བཏགས་དོན་བཙལ་ནས་མ་རྙེད་པ་ཙམ་གིྱས་ལྟ་བའི་གོ་བ་རྫོགས་པ་མིན་
ཚུལ།
ཞ་སྨྱུག་གི་དཔེའི་སྟེང་ནས་གདགས་གཞི་དང་གདགས་ཆོས་སྐོར།
ཡོད་པ་གཉིས་དང་མེད་པ་གཉིས།༢༧༢
• བསླབ་བཏུས་ལས།
• ཇི་ལྟར་ལོ་ཏོག་བཅས་ཁེབས་ན། །ནད་ཀིྱས་ཞུམ་ཞིང་རྒྱས་མི་འགུྱར། །དེ་ལྟར་སངས་རྒྱས་མུྱ་
གུ་ཡང་། །ཉོན་མོངས་ཁེབས་ན་རྒྱས་མི་འགུྱར།།
ཇི་ལྟར་སྐྱེས་བོས་ཟོ་ཆུན་རྒྱུད། རྡོག་ཐབས་གཅིག་གིས་བསྐྱོད་
Themeritofcontemplatingandsharingthegiftofthewisdomofemptiness
Subtlepointsofdistinctionsurroundingtheanalyticwisdom
སྟོན་པས་སྤྲུལ་པ་ཞིག་གིས་སྤྲུལ་པ་གཞན་དེས་སྤྲུལ་པ་གཞན་་་་
༢༧༣
རྟེན་འབྲེལ་གསུམ་གིྱ་རྣམ་གཞག་དང་དབུ་མའི་ལྟ་བ་དང་ཉེ་རིང་གི་ཁྱད་
པར།
• བརྟེན་ནས་སྐྱེས་པ།
• བརྟེན་ནས་བཞག་པ།
• བརྟེན་ནས་བཏགས་པ།
ཕྱིན་ཅི་ལོག་བློ་སྣ་བཞི་བཟློག་པའི་ཚུལ་དང་འབྲེལ་བ།
Isthedebatebetweeninherentexistenceandlackthereofamere
semanticone?304
དབུ་མའི་ལྟ་བའི་དཀའ་ས། 170/para 3
རྟོག་པས་བཞག་པ་དེ་ལ་རང་རང་གི་བྱ་བྱེད་འཐད་པ།
དོན་དམ་པར་མིང་ཙམ་ཡང་མེད། ཐ་སྙད་དུ་མིང་གི་ཐ་སྙད་ཀིྱ་དབང་གིས་བཞག་པ་ཙམ་མ་
གཏོགས་པ་ཅི་ཡང་མེད་པ།
ཆོས་གང་ཡོད་པར་འཇོག་ནའང་བཏགས་དོན་མ་བཙལ་བར་འཇོག་པ།
སྟོང་པ་རྟེན་འབྱུང་གི་དོན་དུ་ཤར་བའི་བརྟེན་འབྲེལ་ཟབ་མོའི་དོན་རྟོགས་དགོས།