Mi pham rgya mtsho
Wylie | mi pham rgya mtsho |
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English Phonetics | Mipam Gyatso |
- མི་ཕམ་འཇམ་དབྱངས་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་
- འཇམ་དཔལ་དགྱེས་པའི་རྡོ་རྗེ་
- འཇུ་མི་ཕམ་
- mipham
- mi pham 'jam dbyangs rnam rgyal rgya mtsho
- 'jam dpal dgyes pa'i rdo rje
- 'ju mi pham
Birth: | 1846 |
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Death: | 1912 |
Place of birth: | sde dge |
Tibetan calendar dates
Day | |
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Month | |
Gender | Male |
Element | Fire |
Animal | Horse |
Rab Jyung | 14 |
- Religious Affiliation
- Nyingma
- Teachers
- 'jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po · 'jam mgon kong sprul · Dpal sprul rin po che · Lung rtogs bstan pa'i nyi ma · Dzogchen Drubwang, 4th
- Students
- Las rab gling pa · Dodrupchen, 3rd · Zhechen Gyaltsab, 4th · A 'dzoms 'brug pa 'gro 'dul dpa' bo rdo rje · Lung rtogs bstan pa'i nyi ma · Dil mgo mkhyen brtse bkra shis dpal 'byor · Pad+ma dbang mchog rgyal po · kun bzang dpal ldan
Other Biographical info:
- BDRC Link
- https://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=P252
- Treasury of Lives Link
- http://treasuryoflives.org/biographies/view/Mipam-Gyatso/4228
- Wiki Pages
- Mi pham rgya mtsho on the DRL
- Mi pham rgya mtsho on the LIB
- Mi pham rgya mtsho on the RTZ
- Mi pham rgya mtsho on the BNW
- Person description or short bio
- Ju Mipam Gyamtso was a prolific author who brought formal philosophical study, including debate, to the Nyingma tradition. Based in Kham during a period of great inter-sectarian exchange, he trained with the Kagyu lama Jamgön Kongtrul and the Sakya lama Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, among others, even as he preserved a strong Nyingma identity. Among his most celebrated works are the Beacon of Certainty and a commentary on the Ninth Chapter of the Bodhicaryāvatāra. In addition to his considerable literary output he spent decades of his life in retreat.
Expand to see this person's philosophical positions on Buddha-nature.
Is Buddha-nature considered definitive or provisional? | |
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Position: | Definitive |
Notes: | "Mipam explains that the last wheel’s status as the definitive meaning does not refer to everything taught in the last wheel, but specifically concerns the teaching of Buddha-nature: ...'Although the meaning of the last wheel is praised in the sūtras and commentaries, [this does] not [refer to] everything in the last wheel, but is spoken in this way concerning the definitive meaning position of demonstrating the [Buddha-]nature.' Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, pp. 4-5. |
All beings have Buddha-nature | |
Position: | Qualified Yes |
If "Qualified", explain: | For sentient beings, buddha-nature is present, but not yet manifest. |
Notes: | "The primordial endowment of the qualities of Buddha in sentient beings is a central part of Mipam’s presentation of Buddha-nature. This is an important aspect of his interpretation that he shares in common with the Jonang tradition." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 97.
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Which Wheel Turning | |
Position: | Third Turning |
Notes: | Buddha-nature is a third wheel teaching, but he holds both third and second to be of definitive meaning and integrates the two as noncontradictory in his presentation of buddha-nature as the unity of emptiness (in the seceond wheel) and appearance (of kayas and wisdoms in the third wheel). Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, pp. 4-5. |
Yogācāra vs Madhyamaka | |
Position: | Madhyamaka |
Notes: | |
Zhentong vs Rangtong | |
Position: | Rangtong |
Notes: | Though his view is nuanced and he at times wrote from both perspectives. Following are some examples of these variations.
"First it is necessary to ascertain the lack of intrinsic nature of all phenomena in accordance with the scriptures of the protector Nāgārjuna; because if this is not known, one will not be able to ascertain the manner that relative [phenomena] are empty from their own side and the manner that the ultimate is empty of what is other. Therefore, one should first ascertain the freedom from constructs which is what is known reflexively." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 71.
"In the tradition of self-emptiness, since there is only the ultimately nonexistent, an ultimately existing phenomenon is impossible. In the tradition of other-emptiness, what is ultimately nonexistent is the relative, and what is ultimately existent is the ultimate itself. My tradition is clear in the Rapsel Rejoinder, the tradition propounding self-emptiness." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 74.
"When we consider Mipam’s depiction of emptiness in light of the categories of “self-emptiness” and “other-emptiness,” we can see that according to Khenpo Lodrö Drakpa’s definitions of a proponent of self-emptiness (claiming a non-implicative negation as the consummate ultimate) and other-emptiness (claiming wisdom as not empty of its own essence), Mipam is a proponent of neither self-emptiness nor other-emptiness. However, according to Lochen’s definitions of self-emptiness and other-emptiness, we see how Mipam can be said to be a proponent of both self-emptiness and other-emptiness!" And, later on, "It is clear that Mipam defines himself as a proponent of self-emptiness—as one who propounds that there is nothing ultimately existent—in accord with his definition of the term. Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 74. |
Promotes how many vehicles? | |
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Analytic vs Meditative Tradition | |
Position: | |
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What is Buddha-nature? | |
Position: | Tathāgatagarbha as the Unity of Emptiness and Luminosity |
Notes: | Though Mipam clearly presents several different perspectives on this issue:
Self-existing wisdom is simply made manifest; it is not produced by a cause." Duckworth, D., Mipam on Buddha-Nature, p. 100.
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Svātantrika (རང་རྒྱུད་) vs Prāsaṅgika (ཐལ་འགྱུར་པ་) | |
Position: | |
Notes: | |
Causal nature of the vajrapāda | |
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