The Philosophical Foundations of Classical rDzogs chen in Tibet

by David Higgins, Longchenpa (Contributor), Jigme Lingpa (Contributor)

Although the past three decades have witnessed a surge of interest, both popular and academic, in the syncretistic Tibetan tradition known as rDzogs chen (“Great Perfection”), there has been little to date in the way of critical study of its philosophical foundations or key doctrinal developments. A noteworthy case in point is the absence of any systematic appraisal of rNying ma (“Ancient Ones”) views on the nature of mind that traces their evolution and complex relationships with Indian Cittamātra, Madhyamaka, Pramānavāda, and Vajrayāna views. rNying ma contributions to the understanding of human consciousness merit attention not only because of their intrinsic interest and relevance to contemporary philosophies of mind but also because they provide an indispensable key to understanding this tradition’s complex Systems of thought and practice.

As a tentative step toward at least defining the parameters of this crucial but neglected field of inquiry, the following work investigates the nature and significance of the distinction between dualistic mind (sems) and primordial knowing (ye shes), and the related distinction between the all-ground (kun gzhi) and dharmakäya (chos sku), as these two are presented and defended within Tibetan rDzogs chen traditions between the 8th and 14th centuries. In taking a synoptic view of these philosophical developments, my aim has been to trace the conceptual genealogies of the distinctions and examine how they were shaped by, and reciprocally shaped, the scholastic and contemplative milieux in which they emerged. From their origins as spiritual instructions (man ngag) transmitted by early, mostly Indian masters of the Royal Dynastic Period (610–910), through their defence and articulation within wider contexts of Buddhist doctrine and soteriology by scholar-adepts of the Period of Monastic Hegemony (1249–1705), the distinctions emerge as formative elements of rDzogs chen theory and praxis.

The book consists of two parts: (1) a detailed philosophical investigation of the distinctions and (2) an anthology of previously untranslated Tibetan materials on the distinctions accompanied by critical editions and introductions. The first part systematically investigates the nature and scope of the distinctions and traces how they developed in relation, and sometimes reaction, to Indian Buddhist Cittamātra, Madhyamaka, Pramāṇavāda, and Vajrayāna views. It concludes with an exploration of some soteriological implications of the mind/primordial knowing distinction that became central to rDzogs chen path hermeneutics in the classical period as authors of rDzogs chen path summaries used this distinction to reconcile progressivist sūtric and non-progressivist tantric models of the Buddhist path. The translations and texts included in part two of the book consist of (a) a short treatise from Klong chen pa’s Miscellaneous Writings entitled Sems dang ye shes kyi dris lan (Reply to Questions Concerning Mind and Primordial Knowing), (b) selected passages on the distinctions from this author’s monumental summary of the rDzogs chen sNying thig (Heart-essence) system, the Theg mchog mdzod (Treasury of the Supreme Vehicle), and (c) an excerpt on rDzogs chen distinctions taken from ’Jigs med gling pa’s (1729-1798) 18th century Klong chen sNying thig path summary entitled Treasury of Qualities (Yon tan mdzod) along with a word-by-word commentary by Yon tan rgya mtsho (b. 19th c.).

Genres: Buddhism, Philosophy

378 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

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David Higgins received his doctorate from the University of Lausanne, Switzerland in 2012. He is currently a Research Fellow at the Tsadra Foundation with a project to translate the Eighth Karmapa's commentary on the Madhyamakāvatāra into English. Prior to this, he was a Post-doc Research Fellow in the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna where he was exploring the relationship between Mahāmudrā and Madhyamaka philosophies in Bka’ brgyud scholasticism during the post-classical period (15th to 16th centuries). His research interests include Indo-Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and epistemology with a particular focus on Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā and Rnying ma Rdzogs chen doctrinal systems. His doctoral thesis was published under the title Philosophical Foundations of Classical Rdzogs chen in Tibet: Investigating the Distinction Between Dualistic Mind (sems) and Primordial knowing (ye shes) (Vienna, WSTB no. 78, 2013).