Echoes From an Empty Sky: The Origin of the Buddhist Doctrine of the Two Truths by John B. Buescher

Echoes From an Empty Sky: The Origin of the Buddhist Doctrine of the Two Truths by John B. Buescher

Author:John B. Buescher
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Snow Lion
Published: 2005-03-17T00:00:00+00:00


A TRANSLATION OF THE FIRST SECTION OF NGAWANG BELDEN'S

An Explanation of the Meaning of the Conventional and the Ultimate in the Four Tenet Systems, The Spring Cuckoo's Song of Good Explanations

THE BOOK AND ITS AUTHOR

GAWANG BELDEN was a Mongolian, born in the area of Khardal Zasag in Tseten Khan Prefecture in 1797 C.E.jSZ He entered the religious life and took the first of the four degrees of monastic vows under Gelsang Tondrup (sKal-bzang Don-grub), who gave him the name Belden Nyima (dPal-Idan Nyi-ma). Subsequently, he went to Urgalater called Ulan Bataar-where he took the second and third degrees of monastic vows under the supervision of the scholar and abbot Ngawang Keydrup (Ngag-dbang mKhas-grub) who gave him the name Ngawang Belden. Through this, he was admitted to the Ganden Monastery in Urga in 1831, where he studied the sutra and tantra systems of the Gelukpas in the College of Drashi Chopel. He attained the Mongolian scholastic rank of Gapju in that same year.153

When he was forty years old, the Manchu Imperial House made him the Chojay of Urga, which high post he occupied until 1847. During this period he traveled to Tibet for the Gongdzok (dgong-rdzogs) ceremony for the Fourth Jetsun Damba, who was reckoned as the reincarnation of the Buddhist historian Taranatha.

After returning to Urga, he gave up the post of Chojay and spent the remainder of his life traveling to various places in China and Inner Mongolia, preaching Buddhism and composing many books, most of which are included in the five-volume collection of his works printed at Urga. He became well known as an author both in Mongolia and in Tibet."'

The following translation is the first section of his work on the two truths, An Explanation of the Meaning of the Conventional and the Ultimate in the Four Tenet Systems, The Spring Song of Good Explanations, which he composed in Urga in 1835.155 It is written from the point of view of the Gelukpas, specifically of the Gomang College of the Drepung Monastery in Lhasa, as is clear from his frequent citation of Jamyang Shayba's works as authoritative evidence for doctrinal positions. In this book, the tenets of each school are first presented in a general way and then examined more carefully through challenges and responses formulated in the fashion of the syllogistic debate commonly used by Gelukpas. Although these take the form of "debates," in fact the interlocutors' positions function primarily as a means for the author to bring up what he considers to be misconceptions.



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