Jose Ignacio Cabezon

This book is an annotated translation of one of the great Tibetan classics of Mahayana Buddhist thought, mKhas grub rje's sTong thun chen mo. The text is a detailed critical exposition of the theory and practice of emptiness as expounded in the three major schools of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy: the Yogacara, Svatantrika, and Prasangika. Used as a supplement to the scholastic debating manuals in some of the greatest monasteries of Tibet, the sTong thun chen mo is a veritable encyclopedia of Mahayana Buddhist philosophy, dealing with such topics as hermeneutics, the theory of non-duality, the linguistic interpretation of emptiness, the typology of ignorance, logic, the nature of time, and the perception of matter across world spheres. This book is an indispensable source for understanding the Tibetan dGe lugs pa school's synthesis of the Middle Way (Madhyamaka) and Epistemological (Pramanika) traditions of Indian Buddhism. In addition, it is an unprecedented source for the philosophical polemics of fifteenth century Tibet.

An Annotated Translation of the sTong thun chen mo of mKhas grub dGe legs dpal bzang

Dose of Emptiness, A

José Ignacio Cabezón

Mkhas-grub Dge-legs-dpal-bza?-po

A Dose of Emptiness

Taking language as its general theme, this book explores how the tradition of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist philosophical speculation exemplifies the character of scholasticism. Scholasticism, as an abstract and general category, is developed as a valuable theoretical tool for understanding a variety of intellectual movements in the history of philosophy of religion. The book investigates the Buddhist Scholastic theory and use of scripture, the nature of doctrine and its transcendence in experience, Mahayana Buddhist hermeneutics, the theory and practice of exegesis, and questions concerning the authority of sacred texts. It also deals with the Buddhist Scholastic theory of conceptual thought as the mirror of language, the Scholastic defense of logic and rationality as a method, as well as the role of language in the idealist and nominalist ontologies of the Mahayana. Finally, the author treats the question of ineffability and the silence of the Buddha from a new perspective.

A Study of Indo-Tibetan Scholasticism

Buddhism and Language

Tibetan Literature addresses the immense variety of Tibet's literary heritage. An introductory essay by the editors attempts to assess the overall nature of 'literature' in Tibet and to understand some of the ways in which it may be analyzed into genres. The remainder of the book contains articles by nearly thirty scholars from America, Europe, and Asia—each of whom addresses an important genre of Tibetan literature. These articles are distributed among eight major rubrics: two on history and biography, six on canonical and quasi-canonical texts, four on philosophical literature, four on literature on the paths, four on ritual, four on literary arts, four on non-literary arts and sciences, and two on guidebooks and reference works.

Studies in Genre

Tibetan Literature

Dalai Lama

Khonton Peljor Lhundrub

"We all have the same human mind - each and every one of us has the same potential. Our surroundings and so forth are important, but the nature of mind itself is more important... To live a happy and joyful life, we must take care of our minds." - His Holiness the Dalai Lama At the heart of this book is The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel of the Oral Tradition, an accessible and nonsectarian treatise on penetrating the nature of mind by Khonton Peljor Lhundrub, a teacher of the Fifth Dalai Lama. His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama's broad-ranging overview of this work insightfully distills some of the most central themes of Buddhism: why the mind is so essential to the tradition, what distinguishes the levels of consciousness, and how different schools of Tibetan Buddhism elaborate those distinctions. Profound and erudite, it brings the reader closer to a fresh and direct experience of Buddhism's central truths. Along with his lucid translations, Jose Cabezon provides an introduction to the root text and presentations of the life and works of Khonton Rinpoche, all richly annotated.

Meditation on the Nature of Mind

This book is a study of the life and most important extant work of Rog Bande Sherab, also known as Rogben (1166-1244). Rogben devoted his life to collecting important textual cycles and meditation techniques. Rogben's most important work, The Lamp of the Teachings, cuts across the genres of history, doctrinal studies, and doxography. It is one of the earliest philosophically robust explanations of the 'nine vehicle' system of the Ancient or Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Rog Bande Sherab's Lamp of the Teachings

The Buddha's Doctrine and the Nine Vehicles

A prolific scholar surveys classical Buddhism’s approach to sex, gender, and sexual orientation in this landmark volume. More than twenty-five years in the making, this detailed sourcebook on Buddhist understandings of sexuality, desire, ethics, and deviance in classical South Asia is filled with both engaging translations and original and provocative analysis. Jose Cabezon, the XIVth Dalai Lama Professor at the University of California Santa Barbara, marshals an incredible array of scriptures, legal and medical texts, and philosophical treatises, explaining the subtleties of this ancient literature in lucid prose. This work will be of immense interest not only to scholars of Buddhism and gender studies but also to lay readers who want to learn more about traditional Buddhist attitudes toward sex.

Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism

Ritual is one of the most pervasive religious phenomena in the Tibetan cultural world. Despite its ubiquity and importance to Tibetan cultural life, however, only in recent years has Tibetan ritual been given the attention it deserves. This is the first scholarly collection to focus on this important subject. Unique in its historical, geographical and disciplinary breadth, this book brings together eleven essays by an international cast of scholars working on ritual texts, institutions and practices in the greater Tibetan cultural world - Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, and Mongolia. While most of the chapters focus on Buddhism, two deal with ritual in Tibet's indigenous Bon religion. All of the essays are original to this volume. An extensive introduction by the editor provides a broad overview of Tibetan ritual and contextualizes the chapters within the field of Buddhist and Tibetan studies. The book should find use in advanced undergraduate courses and graduate seminars on Tibetan religion. It will also be of interest to students and scholars of ritual generally.

Tibetan Ritual

A correct understanding of the mind's nature not only illuminates the many treatises on Buddhist philosophy, it is the key to success in meditation and to the profound insights at the heart of the Buddha's path. The text at the center of this book, the Wish-Fulfilling Jewel of the Oral Tradition by Khöntön Peljor Lhündrub (1561?1637), manages to combine both theory and practical instructions for meditating on the nature of mind in a manner that is easily accessible. Especially interesting is its nonsectarian approach, with liberal citations from across the Tibetan Buddhist spectrum. His Holinesss the Dalai Lama's broad-ranging overview of this important text in the first part of this book insightfully distills some of the most central themes of Buddhism: why the mind is so essential to the tradition, how science and Buddhism can benefit from mutual interaction, what distinguishes subtle and grosser levels of consciousness, how the different schools of Tibetan Buddhism elaborate such a distinction, and how all of these schools have a common source in the scholarly tradition of Nalanda Monastery, the greatest Buddhist university of ancient India. It is a profound and erudite teaching, both in scope and detail, and brings the reader closer to a fresh and direct experience of the all-important topic. As little has been written in Western languages about Khöntön Rinpoché, this volume also includes a short biography of this interesting figure, who was a guru to the Great Fifth Dalai Lama.

Jose Ignacio Cabezon

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