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The Ornament of Zhentong Madhyamaka

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The Ornament of Zhentong Madhyamaka ༄༅། །གཞན་སྟོང་ད孴་མ荲་རྒྱན་筺ས་宱་བ་བ筴གས། The Ornament of Zhentong Madhyamaka By Jetsun Taranatha Translated by the Dzokden Translation Committee under the direction of Khentrul Rinpoché Jamphel Lödro. First published 2020 Current version (2020) Generated by the Dzokden Library v0.1 (Built using Open Source Software) (https://read.84000.co) The Treasury of Definitive Meaning is an non-profit initiative to perserve and transmit the Dzokden Dharma as a cause for manifesting a golden age of peace and harmony in this world. This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license. co. CONTENTS e ti. Title..................................................................................................... i co. Contents............................................................................................ iii s. Summary ........................................................................................... iv ac. Acknowledgements ........................................................................... iv i. Introduction ........................................................................................v tr. The Translation .................................................................................. 1 p. Prologue............................................................................................. 1 1. The Authority of the Conqueror’s Word ............................................ 1 2. The Three Turnings ........................................................................... 2 3. The Two Truths .................................................................................. 3 4. [The Four Reliances].......................................................................... 3 5. Distinguishing Provisional and Definitive ......................................... 4 6. Divisions of Madhyamaka and Mind-only.......................................... 7 7. [The Traditions of Rangtong and Zhentong]..................................... 8 8. Refuting Zhentong as Non-Buddhist ............................................... 12 9. Refuting Reasoning in Zhentong..................................................... 14 10. Refuting Emptiness as Only Self-Emptiness.................................... 15 11. Refuting Rangtong Madhyamaka as Ultimate................................. 15 12. How Rangtongpas establish Zhentong ............................................ 18 13. Our Own System............................................................................... 21 14. [Conclusion and Dedication of Merit] ............................................. 22 c. Colophon .......................................................................................... 23 n. Notes ................................................................................................ 24 iii s. SUMMARY A detailed analysis of the common misconceptions held during the 17th century regarding the profound view of Zhentong Madhyamaka. ac. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Translated by the Dzokden Translation Group under the direction of Khentrul Rinpoché Jamphel Lödro. The text was translated, introduced, and annotated by Ives Waldo (Rimé Lödro). iv i. INTRODUCTION One reason that this profound text, has not been more influential and has aroused bitter controversy is that the presentation is condensed to the point that it is, at best, easily misunderstood, and at worst, literally false. Unsympathetic opponents looking for something to refute only exacerbate this problem. Hence Jonangpas have been frequently accused of being secret Hindus, or advocates of the absolute conceptual consciousness of Mind-only. We should recall that, in Tibet, texts like this are most often used as bases for commentary for students by more learned teachers. The text is condensed into summary verses that can be easily memorized. Then the teacher fills out the argument and resolves doubts. Therefore, I feel there is a need for explanatory notation to clarify Tāranātha’s intended meaning. Lengthy footnotes and parenthetical additions can be tedious. So, while I do have some footnotes, I have also added shorter notations to the text, so that readers will not be confused about which words are Tāranātha’s. Longer notations on bolded passages are referenced to appendices A1, and so forth. Links connect passages in the text with supporting scriptures in the companion text. Capitalized epithets like “the Conqueror” or “the World Protector” refer to the historical Buddha, Śākyamuni. “Word” capitalized refers to the Buddha’s teachings. When one line of Tibetan verse is translated by two or more lines in English, the extra lines begin with a small letter. Perhaps the vagueness of Tāranātha’s approach has its virtues, though. A common oriental way of proceeding in such cases is to give a corner or two of the verbal teachings, to make students work out the rest. That makes students go beyond rote learning, and develop a thorough understanding of the intricacies of their school’s view, and its connection to the associated practice and experience. 5 tr. THE TRANSLATION The Ornament of Zhentong Madhyamaka p. PROLOGUE OṂ Svāsti. Namo Buddhaya. The one who, by tongues of flame of vajra pristine wisdom,1 Consumed the mountains and forests of the view of self, The World Protector, who abides beneath the place2 Of the seven kinds of [relative] consciousness, Who became the god of gods, I bow to the Lord of Conquerors; The one whose teachings, with [different] manners for different occasions,3 Taught to all the way of occurrence of dharmatā; Though disagreeable, childish ones were disputatious, Still gave them these authentic instructions on reasoning. 1. The Authority of the Conqueror’s Word Though here in the Land of Snow,4 concrete, extremist doctrines,5 And the [realist] approach of the Śrāvakas6 were not accepted as the highest [formulation of Buddhist teachings]; Awakened karmic propensities of these two [approaches], [Led to] the meaning of the texts of the Highest Vehicle being wrongly explained. This needs to be corrected. Learned [Mahāyānists], in the Land of Noble Ones,7 Declared, “The scriptures spoken by the Conqueror Shall be proclaimed as authoritative from now on. Reasoning that has exhausted faults does not speak falsely. For that reason, [the falsehoods of] the Śrāvaka [Vehicle] Cannot be the Word of the Conqueror who taught the Great Vehicle;” [Then,] when they proved the Word, Tibetans proclaimed that proving The Word of the Mahāyāna was accomplished by [certain] treatises, Some scriptures that happened to be in accord with their own ideas, And that all [texts] saying otherwise were of [merely] provisional 1 meaning. Insofar as their meaning benefits beings, indeed it is wonderful; [Still,] meanings that do not abide in the essence8 are said to be false – [Mere] claims [of validity] cannot establish scriptures as valid. If the Conqueror who has exhausted all faults [still] speaks falsely,9 Why mention his noble disciples who abandon all partiality And ordinary beings who still possess all faults?10 [Such] persons cannot avoid falsity. They cannot be authoritative. Then, according to the meaning just presented, how can it be right for speakers of Buddhist doctrine To claim that the Buddha’s words are not authoritative? [Instead, we should seek the perspective from which those teachings are true.] 2. The Three Turnings Most Tibetans claim, regarding the [Buddha’s] three turnings, That the first, by teaching all dharmas as truly existent, is false; The middle, by teaching emptiness, is of the definitive meaning; And the last, by teaching existence,11 is [again of] provisional meaning. In general, not all the provisional meaning is false words. In the gradual path that leads to the excellent way things are, Teachings true in the relative are taught as provisional meaning – [Thus, in giving those teachings, the Buddha does not speak falsely;] But teachings of the absolute way things really are Teach the definitive meaning. So capable ones maintain. “All teachings taught for a purpose are of the provisional meaning,”12 Some, indeed, maintain this; but, as all holy Dharma Is for the purpose of taming beings, it would [all] be provisional. Nāgārjuna, as well as Asaṅga and his brother,13 Establish that the three turnings have a single intention: The first turning [of the wheel] teaches the relative. It is taught in accordance with the way things appear. There is no teaching that what [appears] has true existence, Within the subject of analyzing for how things are; therefore, the words [of these relative teachings] are not false. The middle14 refutes all dharmas of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, All of the relative; but whether sugatagarbha, Exists or not is never taught or examined at all. Therefore, these two [turnings] do not contradict the last. In any case, the first chiefly teaches the relative. In the middle, there is only half the definitive meaning; [The lack of true existence of the relative, But not the true existence of the absolute.] The last [turning] perfectly teaches the definitive absolute.15 2 The examples of medicine for the sick and learning letters; Have this intention, and others16 are contradictory. If it the first turning were to teach, All“ dharmas are stable,”17 That would contradict the Sūtra of Katyayana.
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