Posts Tagged ‘zhentong’
Tags: zhentong
Expressions of the Essence
Buddhist phenomenology tells us that one of the five fundamental constituents of the egoic complex is “form” (rūpa, gzugs), the configuration of tangible materiality that is so integral to ordinary…
Read MoreDolpopa’s Experience
With “expressions of emptiness” on my mind, I thought it might be nice to reflect on Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen’s experience of this quintessential phenomena, and how this experience acted as…
Read MoreExpressions of Emptiness
When we think about emptiness, there is usually an intimation of absence. That is, a lack of presence is implied. However, in zhentong contemplative thinking, the recognition of the ultimate…
Read More“Wheel of Time” III
Now that we have a rough sketch of Dolpopa’s concept of time according to Kālachakra cosmology, we can begin to think about what Dolpopa and later Jonangpas refer to as…
Read More“Wheel of Time” I
Lately, I’ve been thinking about time. Time in the cliché sense of that which “does not stop for anyone.” Historical time. Real time. Blinks and breathes and heart-beats. The wax…
Read MoreDzogchen & Zhentong
Reading through the miscellaneous guidance texts (khrid yig) of Khenpo Lodrö Drakpa, I came across a brief instruction that he gave on clarifying the distinctions between the 4 predominant Mahāyāna…
Read MoreWhose Svabhāva is It?
One of the major tripping points in Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy is identifying what is intrinsically existent ― what is referred to in Sanskrit as “svabhāva” (rang bzhin), and what is…
Read MoreThe “Other” Emptiness
The technical Tibetan term “zhentong” (gzhan stong, often mis-phoneticized “shentong”) suggests a particular view of reality, one that can be misconstrued due to the word itself. To give a simple…
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