This is the sixth of eight volumes presenting Tibetan views on the controversy that arose in Buddhist India over how to refute production from self.
The controversy revolves around the first stanza of the first chapter of Nāgārjuna’s Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Called “Wisdom.” His principal Indian commentators explain the refutation of production from self in varying detail, the differences engendering the split between what came to be called the Autonomy School and the Consequence School.
The first three volumes provide explanations of the controversy by theTibetan scholar Jam-yang-zhay-pa Ngag-wang-tsön-drü (1648-1721/1722). Included also in first volume are translations of Buddhapālita’s and Bhāvaviveka’s commentaries as well as the first translation into English of Avalokitavrata’s (flourishing mid-seventh century) extensive commentary on Bhāvaviveka’s presentation, his minute examination allowing Bhāvaviveka’s terse text to be seen in high relief.
The second volume provides Jam-yang-zhay-pa’s explanation of how Chandrakīrti defends Buddhapālita against Bhāvaviveka’s criticisms of Buddhapālita’s refutation of production from self. The third volume details Jam-yang-zhay-pa’s explanation of
how Chandrakīrti tears apart Bhāvaviveka’s own refutation of production from self. It is concerned with compatibly appearing subjects, which Ge-lug-pa scholars see as the prime, but not only, source showing that Bhāvaviveka accepts that phenomena are conventionally established by way of their own character.
This complex topic stems from an original presentation in Tsong-kha-pa’s Great Exposition of Special Insight in his Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Tsong-kha-pa’s focus
in the Great Exposition of Special Insight begins with the material in the final phase of the controversy between Buddhapālita, Bhāvaviveka, and Chandrakīrti on the topic of compatibly appearing subjects. His analysis of that phase constitutes volumes five and six, utilizing the first three
volumes as introductions. Tsong-kha-pa’s presentation itself is embedded with two commentaries to enhance its accessibility: Jam-yang-zhay-pa’s Golden Wheel of Annotations and Dra-ti Ge-she Rin-chen-dön-drub’s Annotations. The topics are used in Tibetan monastic colleges to draw students into fascinating reflections about how phenomena appear and thereby to explore the nature of the reality behind appearances.