The Nature of Things Emptiness and Essence in the Geluk World

by Magee, William A.

• ISBN13: 9781559391450
• ISBN10: 1559391456
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-05-02
• Publisher: Snow Lion

Summary

The first in0depth scholoarly research into one of the mostimportant topics in Buddhist philosophy.

Author Biography

William Magee has a PhD in Buddhist Studies from the University of Virginia. For the past twelve years, he has taught the University of Virginia's internationally famed summer Tibetan language program. Magee currently teaches at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

Table of Contents

Conventions	viii
Abbreviations	x
PART ONE: THE NATURE OF THINGS
Emptiness and Essence	13	(12)
Introduction	13	(6)
Emptiness in the Middle Way School	19	(6)
Nature in the Consequence School	25	(12)
The Meanings of Nature	25	(4)
The Scriptural Sources for Nature	29	(4)
Nagarjuna: the Art of the Treatise	33	(2)
Treatise on the Middle Chapter XV	35	(2)
Existent Natures	37	(27)
Does the Triply-qualified Nature Exist?	37	(4)
Does the Reality Nature Exist?	41	(8)
The Reality Nature Exists Conventionally	49	(5)
The Reality Nature Endowed with the Three Attributes	54	(10)
Natures That Do Not Exist	64	(52)
What It Means To Exist	64	(12)
Twofold Division of the Object-to-be-negated	76	(3)
Refuting a Fabricated Nature	79	(4)
Heat Is Not the Nature of Fire	83	(4)
Categorization of the Three Attributes Into Entity, State, and Certification	87	(1)
Confusing a Nature of Things Having the Three Attributes with That Which Is to Be Negated	88	(3)
Dzong-ka--ba's Identification of the Object-to-be-negated	91	(4)
Innate Versus Artificial Ignorance: Refuting That the Three Attributes Are the Object-to-be-negated Nature	95	(5)
Modern Scholars on Nagarjuna's Triply-qualified Nature	100	(3)
The Independent and Positive Nature	103	(1)
Dol-bo's Synthesis	104	(5)
Refuting the Independent and Positive Nature	109	(7)
Nagarjuna and His Detractors	116	(15)
Trivializing Nagarjuna	116	(11)
Nagarjuna Is Not Primarily Concerned With Refuting Opponents' Views	117	(3)
Nagarjuna Does Not Employ Axioms but Rather the Putative Consequences of Inherent Existence	120	(5)
Nagarjuna Does Not Use the Term svabhava in Several Different Senses	125	(2)
Conclusions	127	(4)
PART TWO: TRANSLATIONS OF THE TEXTS	131	(90)
Nagarjuna's Treatise on the Middle ``The Analysis of Nature''	134	(7)
Candrakirti's Clear Words ``The Analysis of Nature''	141	(18)
Dzong-ka-ba's Ocean of Reasonings ``The Analysis of Nature''	159	(20)
Explaining the Text of the Chapter	160	(17)
Refuting That Things Exist By Way of Their Nature	161	(10)
Indicating Damage to Existence By Way of an Object's Nature	171	(2)
Indicating That if One Propounds Existence by Way of Nature, One Does Not Pass Beyond Holding an Extreme	173	(4)
Conjoining This With Scriptures of Definitive Meaning	177	(1)
Condensing the Meaning and Indicating the Title	178	(1)
Dzong-ka-ba's Great Exposition of the Stages of the Path: ``The Refutation of an Identification of the Object-to-be-negated That Is Too Narrow''	179	(14)
First, Refuting the Assertion That the Object-to-be-negated Is That Which Possesses the Three attributes	179	(6)
Second, In Our System the Nature Possessing the Three Attributes Is Emptiness	185	(5)
Third, Refuting the Assertion That Reality Is Independent and Positive	190	(3)
Four Interwoven Annotations: ``The Refutation of an Identification of the Object-to-be-negated That Is Too Narrow''	193	(28)
First, Refuting the Assertion That the Object-to-be-negated Possesses the Three Attributes	194	(10)
Second, In Our System the Nature Possessing the Three Attributes Is the Mode of Subsistence, Emptiness	204	(13)
Third, Refuting the Assertion That Reality is Independent and Positive	217	(4)
Translation Equivalents	221	(8)
Bibliography	229	(13)
Index	242	(4)
Tibetan text:	246