Jayānanda

Jayānanda on the DRL

Classical Indian Authors

རྒྱལ་བ་ཀུན་དགའ་

Wylie	rgyal ba kun dga'
Romanized Sanskrit	Jayānanda

Other names

• ཁ་ཆེའི་པཎྜི་ཏ་ཛཱ་ཡ་ཨ་ནནྡ་

• kha che'i paN+Di ta dzA ya a nan+da

Dates

Birth:	11th century
Death:	12th century

Tibetan calendar dates

Dates of birth

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

Dates of passing

Day
Month
Gender
Element
Animal
Rab Jyung

About

Students

rma bya byang chub brtson 'grus

Other Biographical info:

Links

BDRC Link

https://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=P4CZ15242

Wiki Pages

• Jayānanda on the DRL
• Jayānanda on the LIB
• Jayānanda on the BNW

Buddha Nature Project

Person description or short bio

Jayānanda (Tib. རྒྱལ་བ་ཀུན་དགའ, gyalwa kün ga, Wyl. rgyal ba kun dga') was the author of an important commentary on the Introduction to the Middle Way (Madhyamakāvatāra) by Candrakīrti.

The Tibetan literature has not preserved very much about Jayānanda. He appears to have publicly debated with Phya-pa Chos-kyi seng-ge (1109–1169) on madhyamaka subjects at Gsang-phu ne'u-thog monastery, of which the latter was abbot for eighteen years, most likely from 1152 to 1169, which resulted in a public defeat for him by that unique thinker who was one of Tibet's few, but foremost opponents of the *prāsaṇgika-madyamaka. The great Gser-mdog Paṇ-chen Śākya-mchog ldan (1428–1507) writes that he thereafter left Tibet for Mount Wutai. In this connection, it is rather curious that he also writes . . . that Jayānanda had composed the Madhayamakāvatāravṛtti in Tibet. This work was not very much studied in later times, akthough a notable exception seems to have been Tsong-kha-pa, who cites it severally in some of his major writings, and then usually in a highly critical vein, particularly in connection with its "Tibetan followers." His influence in Tibet was nonetheless not inconsiderable. Among his many disciples, we should count Rma-bya Brtson-'grus seng-ge (?–1185) who, in fact, wrote a commentary on the Tarkamudgarakārikā. So far, it seems that only his exegesis of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā has been presevered by way of a late nineteenth century Sde-dge blockprint. (Leonard W. J. van der Kuijp, "Jayānanda. A Twelfth Century Guoshi from Kashmir Among the Tangut." Central Asiatic Journal 37, no. 3/4 (1993): 188–97.)

Expand to see this person's philosophical positions on Buddha-nature.

Is Buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional?
Position:	Provisional
Notes:	*"Jayānanda is arguably the first scholar who indicated that the Uttaratantra is provisional within the Tibetan intellectual landscape." Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 14. "...He states that Buddha-nature was taught in order to attract those who fear emptiness. Kano, K., Buddha-Nature and Emptiness, pp. 150-151.
All beings have Buddha-nature
Position:	Qualified Yes
If "Qualified", explain:	Since he equates the teachings on buddha-nature as an expedient way to teach emptiness, all being have it because emptiness is pervasive.
Notes:	Kano, K., Buddha-Nature and Emptiness, p. 151.
Which Wheel Turning
Position:
Notes:
Yogācāra vs Madhyamaka
Position:	Yogācāra
Notes:	Though he was a followed of Madhyamaka, he likely equates the buddha-nature teachings with Yogācāra, as he deems both to be provisional.
Zhentong vs Rangtong
Position:
Notes:
Promotes how many vehicles?
Position:	1
Notes:	*Kano, K., Buddha-Nature and Emptiness, p. 150. "One problem with Jayānanda’s position is that, having asserted that the Buddha-nature doctrine is provisional, he utilizes it as an authoritative teaching for establishing the single-vehicle theory, which he takes to be a definitive teaching." Kano, K., Buddha-Nature and Emptiness, p. 152.
Analytic vs Meditative Tradition
Position:
Notes:
What is Buddha-nature?
Position:	Tathāgatagarbha as the Emptiness That is a Non-implicative Negation (without enlightened qualities)
Notes:
Svātantrika (རང་རྒྱུད་) vs Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་པ་)
Position:	Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་)
Notes:	*Kano, K., Buddha-Nature and Emptiness, p. 148. Wangchuk, Tsering, The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, p. 14.
Causal nature of the vajrapāda
Position:

Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true.

The Ultimate Continuum, or Gyü Lama, is often used as a short title in the Tibetan tradition for the key source text of buddha-nature teachings called the Ratnagotravibhāga of Maitreya/Asaṅga, also known as the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra.

The state of being empty of an innate nature due to a lack of independently existing characteristics.

Refers to something that is taught for a specific reason, rather than because it is entirely true.

Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana).

Along with Yogācāra, it is one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Nāgārjuna around the second century CE, it is rooted in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, though its initial exposition was presented in Nāgārjuna's Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.

The state of being devoid of that which is wholly different rather than being void of its own nature. The term is generally used to refer to the ultimate, or buddha-nature, being empty of other phenomena such as adventitious defiling emotions but not empty of its true nature.

The state of being empty of self, which references the lack of inherent existence in relative phenomena.

Tsen Khawoche's "meditative tradition" of exegesis of the Uttaratantra; it is one of two major Tibetan traditions of exegesis, both stemming from students of Sajjana.

The qualities or attributes of an enlightened being.