Shentong view, also sometimes called “Yogacara Madhyamika,” is a philosophical sub-school found in Tibetan Buddhism, holding that the nature of mind is "empty of other" (i.e., empty of all qualities other than an inherent, ineffable nature), in contrast to the “Rangtong” view of Prasangika Madhyamika, which holds that all phenomena are unequivocally empty of self-nature, without positing anything beyond that. According to Shentong, the emptiness of ultimate reality should not be characterized in the same way as the emptiness of apparent phenomenon. Jump to: navigation, search Tibetan Buddhism - formerly (and incorrectly) also called Lamaism, after their religious gurus known as lamas - is the body of religious Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and the Himalayan region. ...

History

Shentong view derives from the group of treatises variously attributed to Asanga or Maitreya, and especially from the treatise known as the Uttara Tantra Shastra ('Unsurpassed Continuum'), in conjunction with the body of Madhyamika treatises originating with Nagarjuna. Asanga (also called Aryasanga), born around 300 C.E., was a great exponent of the Yogacara. ... Jump to: navigation, search In Buddhism, Maitreya Bodhisattva is the future Buddha. ... Jump to: navigation, search A statue depicting Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna (నాగార్జునా in Telugu, 龍樹 in Chinese) (c. ...

The first exposition of Shentong is sometimes attributed to Shantarakshita, but most scholars argue this his presentation of Madhyamika thought is more accurately labeled “Yogachara-Svatantrika-Madhyamika.” It is generally agreed that the Shentong view was first systematized and articulated under that name by Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, a Sakya lama who founded the Jonang school with which Shentong is strongly associated. He made his exposition in response to what he saw as a need for a more precise description of the experiences that arose from his practice of Kalachakra. Shantarakshita was an Indian sage, abbot of Nalanda University, a great center of Buddhist scholarship. ... The Jonang or Jonangpa school of Tibetan Buddhism was founded in the early 14th century by Sherab Gyeltsen, a monk trained in the Sakyapa school. ... Kalachakra is a term used in tantric Buddhism that means time-wheel or time-cycles. The Kalachakra tradition, which is described in the Kalacakra Tantra, revolves around the concept of time and cycles: from the cycles of the planets, to the cycles of our breath and the practice of controlling...

After the suppression of the Jonang school by the Tibetan government in the 1600s, the Shentong view was propagated mainly by Kagyu and Nyingma lamas. The revival it has experienced in modern times began with Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, a great 19th century Rime (ecumenical) scholar and forceful exponent of Shentong, and has been further advanced by the eminent Kagyu lamas Kalu Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. The Kagyu (Wylie transliteration: Bka-brgyud) school (known as the Oral Lineage and the Spotless Practice Lineage school) is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the other three being Nyingma (Rnying-ma), Sakya (Sa-skya), and Gelug (Dge-lugs). ... The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism (the other three being Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug). ... The Jamgon Kongtruls ..line of incarnate Lamas begins with Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye in the 19th century. ... The word rime has several meanings in English: For various forms of frost, see rime (frost). ... Jump to: navigation, search Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche is a prominent scholar yogi in the Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. ...

View

Shentongpas (those who hold to the Shentong view) consider the Shentong position to be the highest expression of Madhyamaka. They claim that Shentong is only truly accessible through meditative experience and not through conceptual understanding. In light of that, they argue that Rangtong is most useful for individuals who approach dharma practice primarily through philosophical studies, while Shentong is more useful for the meditation-oriented practicioner. Shentongpas generally consider themselves “Rantongpas” as well, as they see the two approaches as complimentary. Madhyamaka is a Buddhist philosophical tradition that asserts that all phenomena are empty of self-nature or essence (Sanskrit: Svabhāva), that they have no intrinsic, independent reality apart from the causes and conditions from which they arise. ...

H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche, one of the most celebrated Nyimgma lamas of the 20th century, explains:

The Madhyamaka of the Prasangika and the Svatantrika is the coarse, outer Madhyamaka. It should indeed be expressed by those who profess well-informed intelligence during debates with extremist outsiders, during the composition of great treatises, and while establishing texts which concern supreme reasoning. However, when the subtle, inner Madhyamaka is experientially cultivated, one should meditate on the nature of Yogacara-Madhyamaka.

When speaking of the emptiness of mind's ultimate nature, Shentongpas often use terms such as "luminous clarity," "luminous awareness," "the clear light nature of mind," and so forth to characterize it. Such language is often employed in Dzogchen expositions as well. Jump to: navigation, search Dzogchen is a meditation practice and body of teachings considered the pinacle of the nine yana systems of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan Bön tradition. ...

Criticisms and Controversies

Arguments concerning fine points of Madhyamaka tend to be complex and difficult to understand, let alone summarize pithily. Often terms are understood differently by different schools, adding to the confusion. It is therefore beyond the scope of any general overview to present the technical dimension of the argument in detail. However, a historical context for the argument may be helpful.

The Shentong view has often come under criticism by all four Tibetan Buddhist schools, but particularly by the Gelug. The “Shentong-Rangtong distinction” is a dichotomy that Gelugpas and Sakyapas generally do not utilize. “Exclusive Rangtongpas,” as the modern Kagyu scholar S.K. Hookham would call them, have claimed that Shentong view is inconsistent even with the basic mahayana teaching of emptiness (shunyata), on the grounds that Shentongpas hypostasize an absolute. They sometimes label Shentong Madhyamaka "Eternalistic Madhyamaka." Indeed, for many Gelugpas, the term “Jonang’’ has become almost shorthand for heretical views. Gyaltsab Dharma Rinchen and Khedrub Geleg Pälsang, two of Gelug founder Je Tsongkhapa’s primary disciples, were particularly critical of Shentong. The great the fourteenth century Sakya master Buton Rinchen Drub (1290-1364) was also very critical of Shentong. The Geluk (dge lugs) School was founded by Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), Tibets best known religious reformer and arguably its greatest philosopher. ... Relief image of the bodhisattva Guan Yin (Avalokitesvara) from Mt. ... Jump to: navigation, search Śūnyatā, शून्यता (Sanskrit, Pali: suññatā), or Emptiness, is a term for an aspect of the Buddhist metaphysical critique as well as Buddhist epistemology and phenomenology. ... The Gelug School Je Tsongkhapa, whose name means The Man from Onion Valley, also known as Je Rinpoche and by his ordained name Lobsang Drakpa, is recorded as the founder of the Gelugpa school in Tibetan Buddhism. ... Jump to: navigation, search For broader historical context, see 1290s and 13th century. ... Centuries: 13th century - 14th century - 15th century Decades: 1310s 1320s 1330s 1340s 1350s - 1360s - 1370s 1380s 1390s 1400s 1410s Years: 1359 1360 1361 1362 1363 - 1364 - 1365 1366 1367 1368 1369 See also: 1364 state leaders Events Foundation of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków The Breton War of Succession...

Among Kagyus and Nyingmas, the noted 19th century Nyingma lama Ju Mipham wrote works both supportive and critical of the Shentong position, as did the 8th Karmapa, Mikyo Dorje. The contemporary western Kagyu scholar Karl Brunnhölzl argues that there is no such thing as “Yogacara Madhyamika,” but rather that orthodox Yogacara philosophy (when understood properly) is entirely compatible with Madhyamika, and therefore no synthesis is needed. He argues that Yogacara has often been mischaracterized and unfairly marginalized in the typical Tibetan Buddhist curriculum. Jamgön Ju Mipham, Mipham Jamyang Namgyal Gyamtso (“Mipham the Great”), was born to an aristocratic family in 1846 in Kham, a province of eastern Tibet. ...

References

• S. K. Hookham, ‘The Buddha Within’, SUNY Press, ISBN 0-7914-0358-0
• Ven. Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rimpoche, Progressive Stages Of Meditation On Emptiness, ISBN 0-9511477-0-6
• Karl Brunnhölzl, The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyu Tradition, ISBN 1-559392-185

External Links

• Scholarly disquisition on The Buddha Within
• An exposition of the two truths by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rimpoche