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'''Shentong''' (Tib. གཞན་སྟོང་, [[Wyl.]] ''gzhan stong'') — the extrinsic emptiness or “other empty” tradition of [[Madhyamika]], which is most closely associated with the [[Jonang]] school of Tibetan Buddhism, maintains that the [[absolute]] is not empty of itself (རང་སྟོང་, ''rang stong'') but is empty of all other relative phenomena. ''See also'' [[rangtong]].
'''Shentong''' (Tib. གཞན་སྟོང་, [[Wyl.]] ''gzhan stong'') — the extrinsic emptiness or “other empty” tradition of [[Madhyamika]], which is most closely associated with the [[Jonang]] school of Tibetan Buddhism, maintains that the [[absolute]] is not empty of itself (''[[rangtong]]'') but is empty of all other relative phenomena.


In the [[Beacon of Certainty]], during his polemics, [[Mipham Rinpoche]] makes a further two-fold distinction. He critiques the [[Gelugpa]] tradition for professing to be [[Prasangika Madyamaka]], yet in practice, by refuting not the objects (such as vases) themselves but their true existence, they in fact become Shentongpas. He therefore calls them proponents of 'verbal other-emptiness' (Wyl. ''tshig gi gzhan stong''). The Jonangpas, for whom reality is truly established and empty of conventional objects, he calls proponents of 'other-emptiness of conventional objects' (Wyl. ''don gyi gzhan stong'').
In the ''[[Beacon of Certainty]]'', during his polemics, [[Mipham Rinpoche]] makes a further two-fold distinction. He critiques the [[Gelugpa]] tradition for professing to be [[Prasangika-Madhyamika]], yet in practice, by refuting not the objects (such as vases) themselves but their true existence, they in fact become Shentongpas. He therefore calls them proponents of 'verbal other-emptiness' (Wyl. ''tshig gi gzhan stong''). The Jonangpas, for whom reality is truly established and empty of conventional objects, he calls proponents of 'other-emptiness of conventional objects' (Wyl. ''don gyi gzhan stong'').


==Alternative Translations==  
==Alternative Translations==  
*Ontological extrinsic emptiness (for ''don gyi gzhan stong'') (John W Pettit)
*Ontological extrinsic emptiness (for ''don gyi gzhan stong'') (John W Pettit)
==Teachings Given to the [[About Rigpa|Rigpa]] Sangha==
*[[Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche]], Prajna online, 8 August 2021


==Further Reading==
==Further Reading==
*[[Taranatha]], ''The Essence of Other Emptiness'', Snow Lion, 2007
*[[Taranatha]], ''The Essence of Other Emptiness'' (Snow Lion, 2007)


[[Category:Key Terms]]
[[Category:Madhyamika]]
[[Category:Madhyamika]]
[[Category:Philosophical Tenets]]
[[Category:Philosophical Tenets]]
[[Category:Schools and Lineages]]
[[Category:Schools and Lineages]]

Latest revision as of 21:01, 25 September 2023

Shentong (Tib. གཞན་སྟོང་, Wyl. gzhan stong) — the extrinsic emptiness or “other empty” tradition of Madhyamika, which is most closely associated with the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism, maintains that the absolute is not empty of itself (rangtong) but is empty of all other relative phenomena.

In the Beacon of Certainty, during his polemics, Mipham Rinpoche makes a further two-fold distinction. He critiques the Gelugpa tradition for professing to be Prasangika-Madhyamika, yet in practice, by refuting not the objects (such as vases) themselves but their true existence, they in fact become Shentongpas. He therefore calls them proponents of 'verbal other-emptiness' (Wyl. tshig gi gzhan stong). The Jonangpas, for whom reality is truly established and empty of conventional objects, he calls proponents of 'other-emptiness of conventional objects' (Wyl. don gyi gzhan stong).

Alternative Translations

  • Ontological extrinsic emptiness (for don gyi gzhan stong) (John W Pettit)

Teachings Given to the Rigpa Sangha

Further Reading

  • Taranatha, The Essence of Other Emptiness (Snow Lion, 2007)