Song of the Profound View: A Translation of Song of the Profound View: The Razor that Cuts Down the Enemies of Desire and Hatred, and its Commentary ...

by Geshe Rabten, Gonsar Tulku (Foreword), Stephen Batchelor (Translator)

Song of the Profound View is Geshe Rabten's own account of his long retreat in Dharamsala in the late 1960's into the meaning of the profound view-"emptiness" according to the highest philosophical tenets. His progress and insights, the advice he received from his teacher, Trijang Dorje Chang and the Dalai Lama, philosophical reflections, moments of caution, joy, despair and deepening compassion were set down in twelve short verses interwoven with anecdotes from day-to-day life in a song of awareness and realization. These verses, translated here with their autocommentary, have been described by Gonsar Tulkuk as one of Geshe Rabten's "most essential works". The direct outcome of his own meditational experience, Song is the extraordinary, deeply personal writing of one of Tibet's great modern masters.

Genres: Philosophy, Buddhism

Paperback

First published January 25, 1989

Reviews

[Mesoscope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geshe Rabten's "Song of the Profound View" is a remarkable and haunting book, and it is unique among the many available discussions of the Prasangika-Madhyamaka in offering an extraordinarily intimate view of one Lharampa Geshe's struggle to understand the most subtle aspects of the view.

The book consists of twelve verses written by Geshe-la in the course of a meditation retreat on emptiness he conducted in a hermitage near Dharamsala under the direction of his root lama Trijang Rinpoche, along with an autocommentary explaining the context and meaning of each verse. It offers a startlingly personal and detailed account of his reflection and meditation, particularly concerning his Herculean effort to understand what is meant by nominal designation and imputation by thought.

I find it odd that Wisdom Publications markets this book in their "Intermediate" series, as it deals with the most complicated and subtle aspects of the whole vast enterprise of Gelukpa Madhyamaka. I find that it makes a marvelous companion piece to Kensur Yeshe Thubden's "Path to the Middle", which covers the same material in much more depth from a doctrinal perspective.

Generally when one reads presentations of wisdom teachings in Tibetan Buddhism the material is offered as though it's completely settled and clear, but understanding what these terms really mean in reference to one's actual experience is incredibly difficult, and one gets the flavor of that process in this extraordinary and beautiful little book. This is one of my favorite treatments of Gelukpa Madhyamaka, and I highly recommend it for students of the Middle Way.