The Two Truths Debate: Tsongkhapa and Gorampa on the Middle Way by Sonam Thakchoe (PDF)

Description

All lineages of Tibetan Buddhism today claim allegiance to the philosophy of the Middle Way, the exposition of emptiness propounded by the second-century Indian master Nagarjuna. But not everyone interprets it the same way. A major faultline runs through Tibetan Buddhism around the interpretation of what are called the two truths–the deceptive truth of conventional appearances and the ultimate truth of emptiness. An understanding of this faultline illuminates the beliefs that separate the Gelug descendents of Tsongkhapa from contemporary Dzogchen and Mahamudra adherents. The Two Truths Debate digs into the debate of how the two truths are defined and how they are related by looking at two figures, one on either side of the faultline, and shows how their philosophical positions have dramatic implications for how one approaches Buddhist practice and how one understands enlightenment itself.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: About the Author Sonam Thakchoe (PhD, University of Tasmania) is a senior philosophy lecturer at University of Tasmania, where he teaches Asian philosophy, coordinates the Asian Philosophy Program, and directs the Tasmanian Buddhist Studies in India Exchange Program. His research focuses on Indo-Tibetan Madhyamaka philosophy, with a particular emphasis on ontology, epistemology, ethics, and Buddhist philosophy of mind. His publications include two dozen of referred articles and six scholarly books: Knowing Illusion: Bringing a Tibetan Debate into Contemporary Discourse, Vol. I: A Philosophical History of the Debate (Oxford University Press, 2021; coauthored with the Yakherds); Knowing Illusion: Bringing a Tibetan Debate into Contemporary Discourse, Vol. II: Translations (Oxford University Press, 2021; coauthored with the Yakherds); Dignaga’s Investigation of the Percept (Oxford University Press, 2016; coauthored with the Yakherds); Moonpaths: Ethics and Emptiness (Oxford University Press, 2015; coauthored with the Cowherds); Moonshadows: Conventional Truth in Buddhist Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2011; coauthored with the Cowherds); and his monograph, The Two Truths Debate: Tsongkhapa and Gorampa on the Middle Way (Wisdom Publications, 2007).Jay Garfield is Doris Silbert Professor in the Humanities, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Logic Program and of the Five College Tibetan Studies in India Program at Smith College, Professor in the graduate faculty of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Professor of Philosophy at Melbourne University and Adjunct Professor of Philosophy at the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies. He teaches and pursues research in the philosophy of mind, foundations of cognitive science, logic, philosophy of language, Buddhist philosophy, cross-cultural hermeneutics, theoretical and applied ethics and epistemology. Garfield’s most recent books are his translation, with the Ven. Prof Geshe Ngawang Samten of the Fourteenth-Fifteenth Century Tibetan Philosopher Tsong Khapa’s commentary on Nagarjuna’s Mulamadhyamakakarika (Ocean of Reasoning) and Empty Words: Buddhist Philosophy and Cross-Cultural Interpretation (Oxford University Press 2002 and 2006, respectively. Garfield is also working on projects on the development of the theory of mind in children with particular attention to the role of pretence in that process; the acquisition of evidentials and its relation to the development of theory of mind (with Jill deVilliers, Thomas Roeper and Peggy Speas), the history of 20th Century Indian philosophy (with Nalini Bhushan) and the nature of conventional truth in Madhyamaka (with Graham Priest and Tom Tillemans). He recently co-directed, with Peter Gregory, Jill Ker Conway Professor of Religion and Buddhist Studies, a year-long research institute, Trans-Buddhism: Transmission, Translation and Transformation investigating the interaction of Buddhist societies with the West. Other books in progress include the Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy (editor), Readings in Buddhist Philosophy (co-editor with William Edelglass for Oxford University Press), Trans-Buddhism: Transmission, Translation and Transformation (co-editor with Nalini Bhushan and Abraham Zablocki, for the University of Massachusetts Press), and Sweet Reason: A Field Guide to Modern Logic (co-authored with Jim Henle and the late Thomas Tymoczko).

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Excellent treatise on this great Buddhist debate between Gorampa and Je Tsongkhapa: do you have to realize conventional truth before you can know ultimate truth? Or can you have realizations of emptiness (ultimate truth) without realizing conventional truth first? Ignorance (of how phenomena truly exist) and Wisdom (the understanding of how phenomena exist) “give rise to the two truths which are interdependent, says the author.For Gorompa,”all objects of knowledge except ultimate truth are thought constructs.”For Tsongkhapa, “every empirically given object of knowledge consists of dual natures,” (ultimate and conventional truth). That means one cannot realize ultimate truth without a conventional truth and vice versa.Gorampa then argues that “truth is not divisible into 2 types – it’s either true or it’s false. Since conventional “truth” is “false and deceptive, it is not even truth – it is ignorance to believe it is truth.”Tsongkhapa argues “. . . that the realization of phenomena as dependently arisen is a necessary condition for the realization of both truths; . . .”You probably need a fairly thoroughly background in Buddhism and the evolution of the various traditions to understand this, however if you’ve ever wondered (as I did) why Tsongkhapa’s views won out over Gorompa (who I’d never heard of in my 25 years of Buddhist practice), or the difference between conventional and ultimate truth, this book brings an enlightening experience!

⭐This book was one continuous representation of what was once called mental masterbation. Having said that , most of the data from both perspectives seem ok to me. I have come along through the practice traditional approaches of Zen Mahamudra and lastly Dzogchen where by after being given scant pointings out, one gets to and does the work, then is lead through the field of awareness to bare perception by dialouge with the mentor. This book is obviously representation of the analytical approach. Seems like these guys were either talking in depth from experience or just wasting away their interest on otherwise already realised stuff. Either way every view is included in the absolute . Have a read see for your self

⭐Physically the book was fine and delivered ahead of time. I have never reviewed a book before so I,m not sure what you want to hear. I have only begun to read it but I have been a Nichiren Buddhist for 38yrs so the subject of the two truths is not new to me but still it is a very deep subject. So far the analytics of the debait are quite. Clear and easily understood provided one has a reasonable background in the subject. I highly recommend it but it will be much more enjoyable approached with an open mind.

⭐This is probably one of the best books on philosophy ever written. It is too bad that it was not translated earlier so that it could be taught in college philosophy curriculums. It is an essential book for Buddhists who want to understand the logic behind two schools of thought by two of the greatest thinkers.

⭐Thanks

⭐Dr. Thakchoe provides an important study of diametrically opposed understandings of emptiness in Tibet, showing clearly and with many citations the ways in which the Indian masters Nagarjuna and Candrakirti were comprehended differently. Thakchoe also refers to the Buddha’s own words, particularly those in the Pali canon – an important move which shows the continuity of thought across the Buddhist traditions. This study is critical for understanding common misapprehensions of emptiness and more than supplements the works of Tsongkhapa and Gorampa. The most important doctrinal points are examined, and topics are considered in significant depth at each step. Anyone interested in the intellectual history of Tibet or the doctrinal concerns of Buddhism will want this book.

⭐Fantastic exposition. One of the best, perhaps the best, Tibetan Renaissance Madhyamaka debate books I have come across (Svatantrika-Prasangika Distinction and Freedom From Extremes are pretty close). If you are new to madhyamaka this might be a little heavy, but can provide benefit if read a couple-few times.

⭐Tsongkhapa’s View is close to Jiva Gosvami’s Achintya Bhedābheda.

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