Tibetan Philosophy
1) "Letting Philosophy Go: the Role of Reasoning in Kagyü Tibetan Philosophy"
Known as the Practice Lineage, Kagyü Tibetan Buddhism bases its highest philosophy, Shentong, on the insights of meditative equipoise. The Kagyü commitment to intensive meditation practice traces back to the yogi Milarepa, who meditated for many years in the caves of Tibet. By making intensive meditation practice into the foundation for its dharma teachings, the Kagyü lineage treats the doha (meditation songs) of Milarepa and other yogis as equal in philosophical importance to the Sutras and the philosophical treatises by Dignaga, Dharmakirti, Nagarjuna, Chandrakirti and their Kagyü commentators. The doha express the central points of the view of reality held by the Kagyüs, as well as the lineage’s guiding instructions for meditators.
There is, however, an important relation between meditative equipoise and philosophical reasoning in Kagyü Tibetan Buddhism, evident in their claim that Shentong is Prasangika Madhyamaka. Like the other Tibetan lineages, Kagyüs have adopted Prasangika Madhyamaka as their final philosophical gesture; it deconstructs all philosophical positions and clears the way for the realization of the ultimate nature of reality, emptiness. Although the spirited refutations of Prasangika Madhyamaka seem, on the surface, to have few similarities with meditative equipoise, the Kagyüs argue that Madhyamaka reasoning is necessary as both preparation and grounding for the culmination of meditative equipoise, which is Shentong.
In the first part of this paper, I discuss the Kagyü application of Prasangika Madhyamaka reasoning in analytical meditation. The second part of the paper analyzes several doha from both traditional and contemporary Kagyü meditation masters as responses to challenges raised through reasoning. The final part of the paper explores the difficulties of understanding the relation between reasoning and meditative equipoise, especially for westerners who like their philosophy ‘straight.’
2) "Transplanting Tibetan Philosophy to the West"
The diaspora of Tibetan Buddhists to the west is in its second phase: during the first phase, Tibetan lamas introduced basic ethical teachings and meditation practices; during the second phase, Tibetan teachers are introducing the more technically difficult philosophical theories about the nature of reality, the criteria for knowledge, and the analysis of perception, as well as Tibetan logic, as it is used in Tibetan philosophical debate.
To transplant these philosophical theories and practices to the west, Tibetan teachers are establishing institutes such as the Nitartha Institute and the Namgyal Institute where Tibetan logic, epistemology, metaphysics and debate can be studied by westerners. Naropa University is also creating a graduate program for the study of Tibetan philosophy and language, in addition to its on-line course in Tibetan philosophy (Naropa’s Lorig course).
This paper provides a brief description of these three attempts to transplant Tibetan philosophy to the west and analyzes some of the changes made to the traditional Tibetan monastic philosophical curriculum (i.e., the shedra curriculum) to make it more accessible to westerners. One change involves the inclusion of women as teachers, debaters and students; another change involves the attempt to develop philosophical terminology that accords with contemporary western philosophical usage; yet other changes are pedagogical, involving different styles of teaching and the western use of online courses, digitalized texts, and other technological advances.
Using the postmodern theories of Foucault, Cixous and Irigaray, the paper also investigates the obstacles in the west to acceptance of Tibetan philosophy as philosophy. Issues of the classification of Tibetan philosophy (i.e., Is it religion or philosophy?) and issues related to the feminist critique of logocentricism are discussed in terms of these postmodern theories.
(Paper delivered June 19, 2003 at the Asian Studies of the Pacific Area conference, University of Hawaii East/West Center)
3) "Introduction to Tibetan Middle Way Philosophy: a Sourcebook in Madhyamaka"
Among the philosophical schools studied in Tibetan philosophy, Madhyamaka or the Middle Way school is regarded as the highest. Founded by the Indian philosopher Nagarjuna, Madhyamaka became a dominant philosophy as it took root in Tibet. Its deconstructive approach not only cleared the way for realization of emptiness, the ultimate nature of reality, but also sharpened the prajna of those who debated with other philosophers.
This synopsis of Madhyamaka begins with an introduction by the Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, who discusses the main purpose of Madhyamaka and describes its distinctive argumentative style. Two selections from Madhyamaka philosophical texts follow: the first selection includes passages from the classic Indian text in Prasangika Madhyamaka, Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara, and from the Tibetan commentary on it by H.H. Eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje (translated by Elizabeth Callahan); the second selection is from Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye’s chapter on Madhyamaka from The Treasury of Knowledge (translated by Karl Brunnhölzl).
