Shentong
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Shentong is a philosophical sub-school found in Tibetan Buddhism whose followers hold that the nature of mind is "empty of other" (i.e., empty of all qualities other than an inherent, ineffable nature), in contrast to the “Rangtong” view of the followers of Prasangika Madhyamaka, who hold that all phenomena are unequivocally empty of self-nature, without positing anything beyond that. According to Shentongpas, the emptiness of ultimate reality should not be characterized in the same way as the emptiness of apparent phenomena because it is prabhasvarachitta, or "clear light mind/heart," endowed with limitless Buddha qualities.[1]. It is empty of all that is false, not empty of the limitless Buddha qualities that are its innate nature.
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[edit] Nomenclature and etymology
Shentong (also, zhentong; Tibetan: གཞེན་སྟོང་; Wylie: gzhen-stong), also sometimes orthographically rendered as “Yogacara Madhyamaka” or "Great Madhyamaka".
[edit] History
The earliest Shentong views are usually asserted to have been presented initially in a group of treatises variously attributed to Asanga or Maitreya, especially in the treatise known as the Uttara Tantra Shastra ("Unsurpassed Continuum"), and in a body of Madhyamaka treatises attributed to Nagarjuna.
The first exposition of a Shentong view is sometimes attributed to Shantarakshita, but most scholars argue that his presentation of Madhyamaka thought is more accurately labeled “Yogachara-Svatantrika-Madhyamaka.” It is generally agreed that a true Shentong view was first systematized and articulated under that name by Dolpopa Sherab Gyeltsen, an originally Sakya-trained lama who joined the Jonang school with which Shentong is strongly associated. However, the 11th century Tibetan master Yumo Mikyo Dorje, student of Kashmiri scholar Somanatha was possibly the first Tibetan master who articulated a Shentong view after his experiences during a Kalachakra retreat.
After the suppression of the Jonang school by the Tibetan government in the 1600s, various Shentong views were propagated mainly by Kagyu and Nyingma lamas. In particular, the 8th Situpa (Situ Paṇchen Chökyi Jungné (si tu paṇ chen chos kyi 'byung gnas) (1700-1774)) and Katok Tsewang Norbu (kaḥ thog tshe dbang nor bu) (1698-1755), close colleagues and Karma Kagyu and Nyingma lamas respectively, were very instrumental in reviving Shentong among their sects. This revival was continued by Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, a 19th century Rime (ecumenical) scholar and forceful exponent of Shentong, and were also advanced recently by the eminent Kagyu Lamas Kalu Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche.
[edit] View
Shentongpas (those who hold a Shentong view) consider a Shentong position to be the highest expression of Madhyamaka. They claim that gaining a Shentong view is only truly possible through meditative experience and not through conceptual understanding. In light of that, they argue that Rangtong is most useful for individuals who approach dharma practice primarily through philosophical studies, while Shentong is more useful for the meditation-oriented practitioner. Shentongpas often present themselves as “Rantongpas” as well, asserting they see the two approaches as complementary.
H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche, one of the most celebrated Nyingma Lamas of the 20th century, asserts:
- The Madhyamaka of the Prasangika and the Svatantrika is the coarse, outer Madhyamaka. It should indeed be expressed by those who profess well-informed intelligence during debates with extremist outsiders, during the composition of great treatises, and while establishing texts which concern supreme reasoning. However, when the subtle, inner Madhyamaka is experientially cultivated, one should meditate on the nature of Yogacara-Madhyamaka.
When speaking of the emptiness of mind's ultimate nature, Shentongpas often use terms such as "luminous clarity," "luminous awareness," "the clear light nature of mind," and so forth to characterize their experiences. Such language is often employed in Dzogchen expositions as well.
[edit] Criticisms and controversies
Arguments concerning fine points of Madhyamaka tend to be complex and are often found difficult to understand, let alone summarize pithily. Its terms are understood differently by different schools, adding to the confusion. It is therefore beyond the scope of any general overview to present the technical dimension of the argument in detail. However, a historical context for the argument may be helpful.
Shentong views have often come under criticism by followers of all four of the main Tibetan Buddhist schools, but particularly by the Gelug. The “Shentong-Rangtong distinction” is a dichotomy that Gelugpas and some Sakyapas generally do not utilize. “Exclusive Rangtongpas,” as the contemporary western Kagyu scholar S.K. Hookham would call them, have claimed that Shentong views are inconsistent with the basic mahayana teaching of emptiness (shunyata) because Shentongpas hypostasize an absolute. They sometimes label Shentong Madhyamaka "Eternalistic Madhyamaka." Gyaltsab Je and Khedrub Je, two of Gelug founder Je Tsongkhapa’s primary disciples, were particularly critical of the Shentong views of their time. The great fourteenth century Sakya master Buton Rinchen (1290-1364) was also very critical of Shentong views.
Among Kagyupas and Nyingmapas, the noted 19th century Nyingma lama Ju Mipham wrote works both supportive and critical of Shentong positions[1], as did the 8th Karmapa, Mikyo Dorje. The contemporary western Kagyu scholar Karl Brunnhölzl argues that there is no such thing as “Shentong Madhyamaka,” but rather that orthodox Yogacara philosophy (when understood properly) is entirely compatible with Madhyamaka, and therefore "Shentong" is not a novel position. He argues that Yogacara has often been mischaracterized and unfairly marginalized in Tibetan Buddhist curriculums.
[edit] Notes
- ^ I.e., in his Lion's Roar of Extrinsic Emptiness (q.v. external link cited below) and in his Long Excursis on the Core of Thus-Arrivedness e.g., tathãgatagarbha (bde gshegs snying po stong thun chen mo seng ge'i nga ro. In the Long Excursis Mipham Rinpoche follows closely the gist of an historically much earlier discussion of the subject of 'lineage' (Tib. rigs, Skt. gotra, synonymous with Buddha-nature) -- that of Longchen Rabjam's Treasure of Philosophical Systems (grub mtha' mdzod). There Mipham identifies two general extremes of interpretation, the nihilistic identification of Buddha-nature with emptiness to the exclusion of form, and the identification of Buddha-nature as a substantially real entity that is "empty-of-other" (gzhan gyis stong pa). Thus it appears that Mipham Rinpoche wished to distance himself from both the Gelug/Sakya mainstream (e.g., rangtong or self-emptiness) interpretation as well as the Shentong mainstream. However, what Mipham refers to in the Long Excursis as Shentong is only vaguely defined as such, and to that extent, bears more resemblance to the stock misinterpretations of Shentong as given by its ideological opponents, than with any actual position held by classical Shentongpas themselves. In the final analysis, both Longchenpa's and Mipham's interpretations of Buddha-nature in the aforementioned texts are substantially identical with most (though not all) of the most important philosophical distinctions invoked by Dolpopa and others in propounding the superiority and definitude of Shentong approaches. Where Longchenpa and Mipham differ most obviously from self-identified Shentongpa commentators is in not applying the Shentong label to their positions, such as Great Madhyamaka of Other-Emptiness" (gzhan stong dbu ma chen po).
[edit] External links
- Translation of Lion's Roar of Extrinsic Emptiness by Mipham Rinpoche, translated by John Whitney Pettit
- Scholarly disquisition on The Buddha Within
- An exposition of the two truths by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rimpoche
- Jonang Foundation
[edit] References
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This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (January 2007) |
- S. K. Hookham, The Buddha Within, SUNY Press, ISBN 0-7914-0358-0
- Ven. Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rimpoche, Progressive Stages Of Meditation On Emptiness, ISBN 0-9511477-0-6
- Karl Brunnhölzl, The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyu Tradition, ISBN 1-55939-218-5
