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Interpretations of Unity: Hermeneutics in ŚĀKYA MCHOG LDAN‖S Interpretation of the Five Treatises of Maitreya

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Interpretations of Unity: Hermeneutics in ŚĀKYA MCHOG LDAN‖S Interpretation of the Five Treatises of Maitreya Interpretations of Unity: Hermeneutics in ŚĀKYA MCHOG LDAN‖s Interpretation of the Five Treatises of Maitreya Philippe Turenne Faculty of Religious Studies, McGill University, Montreal August 2010 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy © Philippe Turenne, 2010 Abstract This dissertation is a study of the process through which Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, by synthesizing doctrines and texts into consistent models, integrates views of reality within doctrinal and soteriological systems. It consists of an analysis of the most fundamental doctrinal tension found in the Tibetan tradition, namely the apparent inconsistency of doctrines belonging to the negative Mādhyamika and to the more affirmative Yogācāra trends of Mahāyāna Buddhism. As a case study aiming to provide a first systematic examination of that problematic, the dissertation surveys and analyzes Tibetan interpretation of the set of texts referred to as the Five Treatises of Maitreya (byams chos sde lnga), and at the way those interpretations deal with the doctrinal tensions found in that set of text. In addition to providing a recension of major interpretations of the Five Treatises developed between 1100 and 1500, a detailed account is given of the model of interpretation given by gSer mdog Paṇ chen Śākya mchog ldan, a famous teacher of the Sa skya school of Tibetan Buddhism. When confronted with the features of other interpretations, Śākya mchog ldan‖s interpretation of the Five Treatises, which proceeds primarily by allowing a plurality of views to be maintained even at the level of definitive meaning, , provides us with a new insight in the Tibetan philosophical tradition: the most fundamental dimension of philosophical reconciliation of doctrinal views, especially of the kind found in the Five Treatises, can be described as pertaining to textual hermeneutics. Moreover, Śākya mchog ldan‖s contribution to that domain of Buddhist thought, by placing hermeneutics at the very centre of his system of Buddhist doctrine and practice, suggests that hermeneutics is a fundamental category of all Buddhist philosophical 2 debates, and that it should be part of any attempt to understand the Tibetan philosophical tradition. La présente thèse consiste en une étude du processus par lequel la philosophie bouddhiste tibétaine intègre des descriptions de la réalité au sein de systèmes doctrinaires et sotériologiques, c‖est-à-dire en effectuant la synthèse de différentes doctrines et textes. Elle présente une analyse du plus important sujet de tension doctrinaire de la tradition tibétaine : les contradictions apparaissant au sein des deux courant principaux du bouddhisme Mahāyāna, le Madhyamaka et le Yogācāra. Cette problématique n‖ayant pas jusqu‖ici été étudiée systématiquement, la thèse propose une étude de cas visant à en produire, pour la première fois une analyse systématique. Le cas étudié est celui des interprétations tibétaines du groupe de texte appelé les cinq Traités de Maitreya (byams chos sde lnga), en particulier de la façon dont ces interprétations parviennent à résoudre les tensions doctrinaires présentes dans ces textes. Outre un résumé et une analyse des plus importantes interprétations de ces textes produites approximativement entre les années 1100 et 1500, la thèse fournit une exposition détaillée de l‖interprétation développée par gSer mdog Paṇ chen Śākya mchog ldan, un célèbre auteur appartenant à l‖école Sa skya du bouddhisme tibétain. Lorsque comparée aux autres principales interprétations, l‖approche construite par Śākya mchog ldan, qui repose sur la possibilité pour une multitude de perspectives de cohabiter, même au sein du sens définitif, nous révèle une nouvelle facette de la tradition philosophique tibétaine: l‖herméneutique textuelle joue un rôle fondamental dans l‖organisation des doctrines bouddhistes, et en particulier dans le type de débat ayant lieu autour des cinq Traités. De plus Śākya mchog ldan, en plaçant 3 l‖herméneutique au centre de son système d‖interprétation et de pratique de la doctrine bouddhiste, nous suggère que l‖herméneutique représente une dimension fondamentale de toute forme de philosophie bouddhiste. 4 Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Abbreviations ..............................................................................................................................................10 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................13 1. Context ................................................................................................................................................13 2. Buddhist Hermeneutics: Literature Review ..................................................................................28 3. Division of Topics ...............................................................................................................................38 Chapter 1 .....................................................................................................................................................43 The Place and Importance of the Five Treatises of Maitreya in Tibetan Buddhist Doctrine .........43 1. Tibetan fields of knowledge .............................................................................................................43 2. The importance of Madhyamaka for doctrinal identity..............................................................48 3. Scriptural sources for Perfection of Wisdom and Madhyamaka ...............................................51 4. The Tension Between Two Currents ...............................................................................................56 5. The Importance of a Resolution ......................................................................................................60 Chapter 2 : Tibetan Interpretations of the Five Treatises ...................................................................70 Note on Method .................................................................................................................................71 1. Definition and History of the notion of the "Five Treatises" ................................................74 1. History of the Five Treatises in Tibet ...................................................................................75 a) The Treatises translated during the early propagation (snga dar) .............. 75 b) The Five Treatises at the time of the later propagation (phyi dar) .............. 77 2. History of the Concept of the Five Treatises .............................................................................80 2. Interpretations of the Five Treatises ..............................................................................................89 rNgog Lotsāwa Blo ldan shes rab (1059-1109) ........................................................... 89 Phya pa Chos kyi seng ge (1109-? ) .............................................................................. 90 Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga‖ rgyal mtshan (1182-1251) ................................................ 92 Dol po pa Shes rab rgyal mtshan (1292-1360) ............................................................ 96 Bu ston Rin chen grub (1290-1364) .............................................................................. 99 kLong chen rab ―byams (1308-1363) .......................................................................... 101 Third Karmapa Rang byung rdo rje (1284-1339) ..................................................... 104 Blo gros mtshungs med (early 1300s) ....................................................................... 106 Red mda‖ ba gZhon nu bLo gros (1349-1412) ........................................................... 108 Tsong kha pa bLo bzang grags pa (1357-1419) ........................................................ 110 5 Rong ston Shes bya kun rig (1367-1449) ................................................................... 112 3. Analysis and typology of interpretations ................................................................................... 113 Chapter 3: Śākya mchog ldan‖s defense of the definitive meaning of the Five Treatises in the Byams chos lnga‖i nges don rab tu gsal ba ................................................................................................. 120 1. The Byams chos lnga‖i nges don rab tu gsal ba .......................................................................... 122 2. The Order of the Five Treatises .................................................................................................... 125 3. The Doxographical Classification of the Five Treatises ............................................................ 130 1. Privileging the authority of Asaṅga and Vasubandhu ......................................................... 133 2. Stressing passages against reification of mind in the Five Treatises and their commentaries. ................................................................................................................................ 139 3. Śākya mchog ldan's systematic harmonization of the meaning of the
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