The Other Emptiness: Rethinking the Zhentong Buddhist Discourse in Tibet - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1438477589 ISBN 13: 9781438477589

Publisher: State University of New York Press, 2020

Synopsis

Presents a new vision of the Buddhist history and philosophy of emptiness in Tibet.

This book brings together perspectives of leading international Tibetan studies scholars on the subject of zhentong or "other-emptiness." Defined as the emptiness of everything other than the continuous luminous awareness that is one's own enlightened nature, this distinctive philosophical and contemplative presentation of emptiness is quite different from rangtong-emptiness that lacks independent existence, which has had a strong influence on the dissemination of Buddhist philosophy in the West. Important topics are addressed, including the history, literature, and philosophy of emptiness that have contributed to zhentong thinking in Tibet from the thirteenth century until today. The contributors examine a wide range of views on zhentong from each of the major orders of Tibetan Buddhism, highlighting the key Tibetan thinkers in the zhentong philosophical tradition. Also discussed are the early formulations of buddhanature, interpretations of cosmic time, polemical debates about emptiness in Tibet, the zhentong view of contemplation, and creative innovations of thought in Tibetan Buddhism. Highly accessible and informative, this book can be used as a scholarly resource as well as a textbook for teaching graduate and undergraduate courses on Buddhist philosophy.

About this title

About the Author

Michael R. Sheehy is Director of Scholarship at the Contemplative Sciences Center and Research Assistant Professor in Tibetan Buddhist Studies at the University of Virginia. Klaus-Dieter Mathes is Professor of Tibetan and Buddhist Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria. His books include A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Gö Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga and A Fine Blend of Mahāmudrā and Madhyamaka: Maitrīpa's Collection of Texts on Non-conceptual Realization (Amanasikāra).

Edition details

• Publisher: State University of New York Press
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1438477589
• ISBN 13: 9781438477589
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400
• Editor: Sheehy Michael R., Mathes Klaus-Dieter