A Study of Svātantrika

THE TEXTS ON WHICH THEY RELY

As was explained earlier [in a section not translated here], the founder of the Mahāyāna in general is the protector Nāgārjuna. Thus, the Descent into Laṅkā Sutra (Laṅkāvatārasūtra) says:

If the vehicle of individual knowledge

Is not accessible to logicians,

I beseech you to explain who will bear [this teaching]

After the Protector has passed away.¹

That is, the object of the exalted wisdom, known by individual meditative equipoise (samāhita, mnyam gzhag), is itself the vehicle that pacifies all terminological and conceptual elaborations (prapañca, spros pa). Because it is very profound, it is asked who will bear [this profound vehicle] after the Teacher [Buddha] has passed into nirvana. In answer to this question, the Teacher said:

Mahāmati, you should know that

After the Sugata has passed away

There will appear after some time

One who will uphold the ways.

In the south, in the land of Veda

A monk renowned as Śrīmān,

Called by the name of Nagā,

Will destroy the positions of existence and non-existence.

He will fully explain to the world

My vehicle, the unsurpassed Mahāyāna.

He will then achieve the Joyful (pramuditā, rab tu dga’ ba) Ground

And go to the Land of Bliss (sukhāvatā, bde ba can).²

Hence it was clearly prophesied that just this master [Nāgārjuna] would comment accurately on the vehicle of definitive meaning (nītārtha, nges don), free from the extremes of [true] existence and [utter] non-existence. He is similarly prophesied in the Great Cloud Sutra in Twelve Thousand Stanzas (Dvādaśasāhasrikāmahāmeghasūtra), the Action Tantra Mañjuśrī Root Tantra (Mañjuśrīmūlatantra), and the Great Drum Sutra (Mahābherīhārakaparivartasūtra).

In some sutras it is explained that this master is a first ground (bhūmi, sa) Bohisattva and in some, a seventh ground Bodhisattva. [However] the glorious Candrakīrti states in his Brilliant Lamp Commentary (Pradīpoddyotana) that this master manifested the state of Vajradhara in that same lifetime by means of the Mantra path. [Still,] it is explained in the Great Cloud Sutra and the Great Drum Sutra that in the future Nāgārjuna will become the Conqueror called Jñānākarāloka. Although there are many such disparate explanations, they are not contradictory. For example, many different presentations appear in sutras regarding the time at which our Teacher created the aspiration to enlightenment, became fully enlightened, and so forth because [such presentations] were made in terms of common and uncommon modes of appearance and actuality. This was stated by the foremost great being Tsong-kha-pa.

Regarding [the life of] this master [Nāgārjuna], four hundred years after the Buddha passed away, in the southern country of Vedarbha a wealthy childless brahmin received in a dream a prophecy from a deity that if he invited one hundred brahmins to teach religion, he would have a child. He did so, and through his prayers, in the tenth [lunar] month a child was born. The child was shown to an astrologer who said that although the signs were auspicious, he would not live more than seven days. The parents asked him if there was anything that would help and were told that if they invited one hundred brahmins to teach religion, the child would live for seven months; if they invited one hundred [Buddhist] monks to teach religion, he would be able to live for seven years. Beyond this there was nothing they could do. This was done and as the seventh year approached, the father and mother could not bear to see their child’s corpse and so sent him to wander, accompanied by a servant.

Eventually, they arrived before the doors of glorious Nālandā [monastery]. There the child recited hymns from the Sāma Veda that were heard by the great brahmin Saraha, who was living there. He was taken inside where he explained his situation. The master [Saraha] said that if he were able to go forth [from the household life, that is, become a monk] there was a means for prolonging his life. Thus, he became a monk. He was given instruction concerning the protector Amitāyus [the Buddha of long life] and, having practiced, became free from the Lord of Death.

There [at Nālandā] he heard many instructions on Mantra from that same master [Sahara], was ordained by the abbot of Nālandā, Rāhulabhadra, and was known as the monk Śrīmān. (This is in accordance with Bu-dön’s (Bu-ston) History. A different name for this abbot appears in the statements of some scholars.) Acting as the steward of Nālandā’s spiritual community (saṃgha, dge ’dun), he transmuted [iron into] gold and relieved the misery of the spiritual community. Shortly thereafter, a monk named Śaṃkara wrote a text called Ornament of Reasoning (Nyāyālaṃkāra) of twelve hundred thousand stanzas³ refuting everyone, but this master defeated him.

When he was teaching the doctrine, two children came to listen. Because he had seen them go under the ground, he asked them who they were. They replied that they were nāgas. The master asked them to bring him some yakṣa clay [which is apparently ideal for building temples and stūpas], and they reported his request to the king of the nāgas. The king replied that if he would come [to the land of the nāgas], he would offer [him the clay]. Thus, knowing that it would be useful, he went to the land of the nagās. He taught the doctrine to many nāgas and brought much nāga clay and the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Stanzas (Śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra) and so forth to the world of humans. Therefore, he is renowned as Nāgārjuna.

He benefited many beings in such countries as Puṇḍravardhana and Paṭavesa. He also went to the northern continent of Kuru where he brought limitless benefits to transmigrators through performing miracles, teaching the doctrine, and so forth. He also erected many stupas and temples. [In Bodhgayā] he encircled the vajra seat with a railing having a latticework of vajras and also established and erected the glorious Dhyānakaṭaka stūpa.⁴ Through the imprint of such activities he gave inconceivable aid to the teaching. In particular, he completely restored the declined teaching of the Mahāyāna and spread the teaching of the Conqueror Buddha with a kindness comparable to that of the Conqueror himself.

Some Chinese histories that were translated from an Indian language explain that this master also brought the Garland Sutra (Avataṃsakasūtra) from the land of the nāgas. Since Indian texts and ancient Tibetan treatises refer to [his bringing] “the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Stanzas and so forth,” it is clear that the Mahāyāna sutras that this master brought from the land of the nāgas were not confined to the Perfection of Wisdom class.

Although there are many different modes of explanation concerning how long he lived in the world of humans, [the explanation] that he lived for six hundred years accords with the scriptural prophecies. It is also taken to be the correct position by the omniscient Bu-dön and the omniscient Tsong-kha-pa.

It is explained that this great master made great proclamations of the doctrine three times, but a clear explanation of what the three great proclamations of the doctrine were does not appear in the early texts nor in the statements of Tsong-kha-pa and his spiritual sons. Some scholars of another sect explain that the first proclamation of doctrine refers to his defeat of some Hearer (śrāvaka, nyan thos) sectarians, such as the monk Śaṃkara; that the second proclamation refers to his composition of treatises that teach the profound emptiness, such as the Six Collections of Reasoning; and that the third proclamation of doctrine refers to such texts as the Praise of the Sphere of Reality (Dharmadhātustrota) which, relying on sutras such as the Great Drum, teach that a permanent sphere of reality (dharmadhātu, chos dbyings)—the Sugata essence (sugatagarbha, bder gshegs snyingpo)—pervades all sentient beings. This explanation [of the three proclamations of doctrine] appears to be based on several statements in the Great Cloud and the Great Drum sutras. The excellent venerable Jam-yang-shay-bay-dor-jay (’Jam-dbyangs-bzhad-pa’i-rdo-rje) takes this mode [of explanation] to be the correct position and explains that although the last two proclamations of doctrine accord in being topics of the middle wheel [of doctrine, that of the Perfection of Wisdom sutras], the third proclamation is distinguished from the second by the fact that the third proclamation extensively teaches that the Buddha is permanent in the sense of his continuum [lasting forever] and that, in fact, he did not pass into nirvana.

This great being wrote many treatises setting forth the common and uncommon sciences. There are Tibetan translations of medical treatises such as the Hundred Applications (Yogaśataka) and treatises on political ethics (nītiśāstra): Drop for Supporting the People (Janapo-ṣaṇabindu) and the Hundred Wisdoms (Prajñāśataka). In addition, there are works on the interpretation of omens, the preparation of incense, alchemy, etc. Regarding the Buddhist sciences, there are many commentaries on sutras, such as the Rice Seedling Sutra (Śālistambusūtra) and the Sutra on Dependent Arising (Pratītyasamutpādasūtra). In particular, there is the Compendium of Sutra (Sūtrasamuccaya) which proves through scripture the profound path of the middle way—the final definitive meaning. For the proof [of the middle way] through reasoning, there are six works: the Treatise on the Middle Way (Madhyamakaśāstra), the Seventy Stanzas on Emptiness (Sūnyatāsaptatikārikā), the Refutation of Objections (Vigrahavyāvartanīkārikā), the Sixty Stanzas of Reasoning (Yuktiṣaṣṭikākārikā), the Treatise Called “The Finely Woven” (Vaidalyasūtranāma) and the Precious Garland of Advice for the King (Rājaparikathāratnāvalī).

Although it is renowned that there were eight commentaries to the Treatise on the Middle Way in India, [only] four of them were translated into Tibetan: the Akutobhayā (Mūlamadhyamakavṛttiakutobhayā)⁵, the Commentary by Buddhapālita (Buddhapālitamūla-madhyamakavṛtti), Bhāvaviveka’s commentary Lamp for (Nāgārjuna’s) “Wisdom” (Prajñāpradīpamūlamadhyamakavṛtti), and the glorious Candrakīrti’s commentary Clear Words (Mūlamadhyamakavṛttiprasannapadā). In addition, there is the work by Avalokitavrata (Prajñāpradīpaṭīkā), which is an explanatory commentary to Bhāvaviveka’s Lamp for (Nāgārjuna’s) “Wisdom”. The contention that the Akutobhayā is an autocommentary [by Nāgārjuna] is not correct according to the foremost great being Tsong-kha-pa.

There are autocommentaries to the Seventy Stanzas on Emptiness, the Refutation of Objections, and the Treatise Called “The Finely Woven”. Candrakīrti wrote a commentary to the Sixty Stanzas on Reasoning (Yuktiṣaṣṭikavṛtti) and paṇḍiṭa Parahitabhadra wrote a commentary to the Seventy Stanzas on Emptiness (Śūnyatāsaptativṛtti).⁶ It was asserted by many in the past that the Essay on the Mind of Enlightenment (Bodhicittavivaraṇa) written by this great master [Nāgārjuna] is instructions on the perfections, but Tsong-kha-pa and his [spiritual] sons assert that it is a supplement to the text of the Guhyasamāja Tantra (Guhyasamājatantra). [He composed] many texts on Secret Mantra such as the Five Stages (Pañcakrama), but I will not elaborate on them here.

With respect to the followers of this great being, the master Āryadeva wrote several short works on Mādhyamika, such as the Compendium on the Essence of Exalted Wisdom (Jñānagarbhasamuccaya), the Establishment of the Reasoning and Logic Refuting Error (Skhalitapramathanayuktihetusiddhi), and the Length of a Forearm (Hastavālaprakaraṇakārikā). However, his Treatise of Four Hundred Stanzas on the Yogic Deeds of Bodhisattvas (Bodhisattvayogacaryācatuḥśatakaśāstrakārikā) has all the topics. There is also a commentary to this by the glorious Candrakīrti (Bodhisattvayogacaryācatuḥśatakaṭīkā).

Buddhapālita’s commentary on the Treatise on the Middle Way has already been mentioned. Although he is known to have written many treatises, others do not appear in Tibetan translation.

The two independent works by Bhāvaviveka [in the sense that they are not commentaries on Nāgārjuna] are the Essence of the Middle Way (Madhyamakahṛdaya) and its autocommentary, the Blaze of Reasoning (Tarkajvālā). Many specifics of non-Buddhist and Buddhist tenets appear in these texts, and the essential points of Mādhyamika view, meditation, and behavior are given at length. For this reason, the incomparable great master Atīśa lectured on the Blaze of Reasoning on many occasions in India and Tibet. The Precious Lamp for the Middle Way (Madhyamakaratnapradīpa) was written by one known as Bhāvaviveka the Lesser and is not a work by this master.

The great master Candrakīrti’s independent work, the Supplement to the Middle Way (Madhyamakāvatāra) together with its autocommentary are very famous as excellent good explanations. The master Jñānagarbha wrote the Discrimination of the Two Truths (Satyadvayavibhaṅga) with an autocommentary; the explanatory commentary (Satyadvayavibhaṇgapañjikā) attributed to Śāntarakṣita is a case of someone borrowing his name [and is not by the Yogācāra-Svātantrika Śāntarakṣita].

The master Śāntarakṣita wrote the Ornament for the Middle Way (Madhyamakālaṃkara) and its autocommentary. With reference to this, that which is known as the autocommentary is a composition of alternating poetry and prose and is the actual treatise—the Ornament for the Middle Way. That which is known as the root text is the poetry within that set apart; it is not a case of two treatises, with the root text written earlier and the commentary added later. This is the position of the foremost omniscient being Tsong-kha-pa. The Commentary on the Difficult Points of the “Ornament for the Middle Way” (Madhyamakālaṃkārapañjikā) which is attributed to Kamalaśīla is a fabrication according to Kay-drup-jay (mKhas-grub-rje). There are several mistakes in the Commmentary on the Difficult Points; however, since the master Dharmamitra holds that Kamalaśīla is the author, it must be considered whether it was written at a time when the master’s mind had not yet matured. This point is made by the foremost precious Tsong-kha-pa in his Notes on the Ornament for the Middle Way (dbU ma rgyan zin bris). The master Dharmamitra wrote an explanatory commentarry to the Ornament for the Middle Way (Madhyamakālaṃkāratīkā).

The master Kamalaśīla wrote the Illumination of the Middle Way (Madhyamakāloka) in which he very clearly sets forth the uncommon systems of the great charioteers of Mādhyamika and Cittamātra. His points of reasoning are very subtle, and the foremost great being Tsong-kha-pa valued them highly. Śāntarakṣita’s Ornament for the Middle Way, Jñānagarbha’s Differentiation of the Two Truths of the Mādhyamika, and Kamalaśīla’s Illumination of the Middle Way are renowned as the three books illuminating Svātantrika (rang rgyud shar gsum).

In addition, there are many explanations of reasonings delineating the [Mādhyamika] view scattered in Mantra treatises written by these masters, but I will not mention them here.

The great master Śāntideva’s Compendium of Trainings (ikṣāsamuccaya) and Engaging in the Bodhisattva Deeds (Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra) are superior works of Mādhyamika. The texts of the masters Śūra [Aśvaghoṣa], Nāgabodhi, Āryavimuktisena, Haribhara, Buddhajñānapāda, and Abhayākāragupta are alk included in the Mādhyamika class. Most of the accomplished great beings, such as the lord of adepts Lūhipāda, Ghaṇḍāpāda, Kṛṣṇacārin, Nāropa, and the lord Maitrīpāda are only followers of the master, the Superior Nāgārjuna. I will explain briefly at a later point which of them are Prāsaṅgikas and which are Svātantrikas. This has been brief; it can be known in its entirety from [consulting] other [texts].