Publisher's Synopsis
Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Theology - Comparative Religion Studies, grade: A, Kathmandu University (Rangjung Yeshe Institute), course: Madhyamika (400), language: English, abstract: In Buddhism, there are two kinds of truth; provisional and definitive. Provisional truth is expedient. It is meant to be believed, but only for the purpose of reaching actual truth, or truth as it really is rather than how it appears in its expedient form. Determining which teachings are meant to be taken provisionally and which are meant to be definitive has been a topic of debate for hundreds of years. In the Nyingma tradition, much of the teachings were meant to be taken provisionally as paths to the ultimate experience of enlightenment, but in a period of Tibetan artistic and academic growth came a modern thinker, Mipham Rinpoche. Some would call his work revolutionary. His interpretation of the provisional and the definitive changed the course of Nyingma monastic philosophy and curriculum. Before Mipham, Longchenpa Rabjamba set the standard in the interpretation of the provisional and definitive. This essay will focus on the topic of Buddha-nature as it was taught in the Nyingma tradition by Longchenpa, comparing Mipham's reaction to his positions. It will argue for the innecessity of Mipham's addition to the Nyingma tradition.
