| Freedom from Extremes: Gorampa's "distinguishing the Views" and the Polemics of Emptiness Contributor(s): Cabezon, Jose Ignacio (Author), Dargyay, Lobsang (Author) |
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ISBN: 0861715233 ISBN-13: 9780861715237 Publisher: Wisdom Publications OUR PRICE: $29.66 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2007 Annotation: Fifteenth-century Buddhist scholar Gorampa challenged his contemporaries' thinking about the fundamental concept of "emptiness, " pioneering an approach that avoided what he critiqued as the traps of eternalism and nihilism. "Freedom from Extremes" is his powerful polemic on the subject. This critical edition of a book renowned for its conciseness, lucidness, and profundity provides students and scholars with direct access to Gorampa's own words. The authors offer illuminating context in an extensive introduction on his life and work, along with an overview of Tibetan polemical literature. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Religion | Buddhism - Tibetan |
| Dewey: 294.342 |
| LCCN: 2006036944 |
| Series: Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism |
| Physical Information: 1.01" H x 6.52" W x 8.99" (1.27 lbs) 415 pages |
| Themes: - Religious Orientation - Buddhist |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: What is emptiness? This question at the heart of Buddhist philosophy has preoccupied the greatest minds of India and Tibet for two millennia, producing hundreds of volumes. Distinguishing the Views, by the fifteenth-century Sakya scholar Gorampa Sonam Senge, is one of the most important of those works, esteemed for its conciseness, lucidity, and profundity. Freedom from Extremes presents Gorampa's elegant philosophical case on the matter of emptiness here in a masterful translation by Geshe Lobsang Dargyay. Gorampa's text is polemical, and his targets are two of Tibet's greatest thinkers: Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug school, and Dolpopa, a founding figure of the Jonang school. Distinguishing the Views argues that Dolpopa has fallen into an eternalistic extreme, whereas Tsongkhapa has fallen into nihilism, and that only the mainstream Sakya view - what Gorampa calls "freedom from extremes" - represents the true middle way, the correct view of emptiness. Suppressed for years in Tibet, this seminal work today is widely regarded and is studied in some of Tibet's greatest academic institutions. Gorampa's treatise has been translated and annotated here by two leading scholars of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, and a critical edition of the Tibetan text on facing pages gives students and scholars direct access to Gorampa's own words. Jose Cabezon's extended introduction provides a thorough overview of Tibetan polemical literature and contextualizes the life and work of Gorampa both historically and intellectually. Freedom from Extremes will be indispensable for serious students of Madhyamaka thought. |
Contributor Bio(s): Dargyay, Lobsang: - The late Geshe Lobsang Dargyay was trained at Drepung Monastery in Tibet. He got his doctorate in Buddhist and Tibetan Studies from the Ludwig Maximilians Universitat and held teaching and research positions in Vienna, Hamburg, and Calgary. Geshe-la was the first Tibetan to receive a doctorate from a Western university. He passed away in 1994. |