Buddha Shakyamuni The Padmakara Translation Group gratefUlly acknowledges the generous support of the Tsadra Foundation in sponsoring the translation and preparation of this book. THE ADORNMENT OF THE MIDDLE WAY "" C\.. ~"~·a~·~·~~~·qC\'i~·~~ l ~~~~l ~~'11~~·~..,~~~~~· ~·~~~~~n THE ADORNMENT OF THE MIDDLE WAY Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara with commentary by ]amgon Mipham TRANSLATED BY THE PADMAKARA TRANSLATION GROUP SHAMBHALA BOSTON & LONDON 2005 Shambhala Publications, Inc. Horticultural Hall 300 Massachusetts Avenue Boston, Massachusetts 02115 www.shambhala.com ©2005 by the Padmakara Translation Group All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. 98765432 First Edition Printed in the United States of America @ This edition is printed on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute 239.48 Standard. Distributed in the United States by Random House, Inc., and in Canada by Random House of Canada Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Santara~ta, 705-762. [Madhyamakalaliklira. English & Tibetan] The adornment of the middle way: Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara with commentary by Jamgon Mipham I translated by the Padmakara Translation Group.-1st ed. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-59030-241-9 (alk. paper) 1. Santara~ta, 705-762. Madhyamaklilarikara. I. Mi-pham-rgya-mtsho, 'Jam-mgon 'Ju, 1846-1912. Dbu rna rgyan gyi rnam bsad 'Jam dbyatis bla rna dgyes pa'i ial hm ies bya ba hiugs so. II. Padmakara Translation Group. III. Title. BQ3182.E5S26 2005 294.3'85-dc22 2004023929 Contents Foreword ix Translators' Introduction 1 PART ONE Madhyamakalankara 49 PART TWO A Teaching to Delight My Master Manjughosha A Commentary on the Madhyamakalankara 67 A Textual Outline of the Commentary 69 Preamble 79 General Introduction 83 The Commentary 147 Notes 385 Works Cited 423 Bibliography 427 Index 431 Foreword THE MADHYAMAKALANKARA was probably the first Madhyamaka text to be rendered into Tibetan, and it was translated under the auspices and with the guidance of its author. Shantarakshita was famous for the way he presented the conventional truth according to the wisdom of the Mind Only school, which provides the best and most subtle way of understand ing the functioning of phenomenal existence. This he combined with the profound view of Madhyamaka as a means of entering the ultimate truth. The Madhyamakalankara is therefore an extraordinary text, for it brings the Mind Only and the Madhyamaka schools together into a single system, thereby unifying the two great traditions of the Mahayana, the Buddhism of the great vehicle. The Madhyamakalankara, the Adornment of the Mid dle Way, is moreover an ornament for the whole of the Madhyamaka teach ings. Not only does it set forth the position of the Svatantrikas, by making a distinction between the two kinds of ultimate truth, but also, when ex plaining the actual ultimate in itself, it does so in a way that is no different from that of the Prasangikas. In studying this text, we are reminded of Shantarakshita's immense wisdom and kindness. He was a scholar of encyclopedic learning and his great work the Tattvasamgraha is still studied today as one of the most ex tensive records of the philosophical schools and traditions of medieval India. It is amazing that, despite his advanced age and the length and diffi culty of the journey, Shantarakshita was willing to travel to Tibet where, at the invitation of King Trisongdetsen, he played a crucial role in the es tablishment of the Dharma. He ordained the first monks and transmitted the entire range of sutra teachings: the vinaya discipline, the Mahayana teachings on bodhichitta, both relative and ultimate and, within that