Buddhist Forum Seminar: Reading a passage of Patsap Nyimadrak’s commentary

In this seminar, we will read a passage of Patsap Nyimadrak’s (pa tshab nyi ma grags; c. 1055–1145) commentary (dbu ma rtsa ba’i shes rab kyi ti ka) on the third verse of the first chapter of Nāgārjuna’s Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, where, according to Indian commentators, Nāgārjuna negates origination from other. 

Reading Patsap Nyimadrak’s Refutation of Indian Theories on Causal Relation in his Commentary on Mūlamadhyamakakārikā 

Patsap extends the object of the negation to the setting of cause-and-effect relation, which Indian Buddhists and non-Buddhists propound in various ways. For instance, how can we determine that smoke is caused by fire? Some claim that it is determined by cognizing the simultaneous presence and absence of the two. Through dismissing their claims, Patsap demonstrates that no causal relationship is established between two different things.

This critical discussion by Patsap is a step-by-step refutation. Stating that the theories of substantialists including non-Buddhists and the Buddhist Dharmakīrti (7th cent.) are not valid, he adduces arguments of his rivals, the Svātantrika masters Śāntarakṣita and Kamalaśīla (8th cent.). Finally, he concludes the refutation with an argument ascribed to the Prāsaṅgika master Buddhapālita (5th–6th cent.).

Materials for the reading to be provided: the relevant pages of the scanned manuscript of Patsap’s dBu ma rtsa ba’i shes rab kyi ti ka (bKa’ gdams gsung ’bum, vol. 11, Chengdu 2006) along with its transcription in ucän (dbu can) script and an English translation.

The reading should help to understand the hierarchical feature of Patsap’s classification of thought, which is discussed in the lecture, “Patsap Nyimadrak’s classification of Buddhist philosophical systems: the Svātantrika-Prāsaṅgika distinction in twelfth century Tibet.” It should also give participants an opportunity to learn how Indian and Tibetan Buddhists explained causal relationship.

The Buddhist Forum is kindly sponsored by the Khyentse Foundation. 

About the speaker

Chizuko Yoshimizu is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, where she taught Buddhism and Tibetology for twenty-one years. She started to study Buddhism, Indian philosophy, and Tibetan intellectual history at the University of Tokyo and received her Ph.D. from the University of Vienna in 1994. Before and while teaching at the University of Tsukuba, she also lectured as a visiting scholar at the Universities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Tohoku, Harvard, Berkley, UCLA, Vienna, and Hamburg. Currently, she leads a research group on Tibetology at Toyo Bunko (Oriental Library) in Tokyo.

Her main areas of expertise are Indian and Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, in particular, Madhyamaka and epistemology. She has been working on Sanskrit and Tibetan texts such as Candrakīrti’s Prasannapadā, Dharmakīrti’s Pramāṇavārttika, the Tibetan Madhyamaka works of Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), Patshap Nyimadrak (Pa tshab Nyi ma grags; ca. 1055–1145), and Zhang Thangsagpa (Zhang Thang sag pa, late 11th to 12th century). In collaboration with her colleagues, she published the edition of Zhang Thangsagpa’s dBu ma tshig gsal gyi ti ka from the Toyo Bunko. 

Her recent publications in Madhyamaka studies are: “Transmission of the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and Prasannapadā to Tibet from Kashmir.” Around Abhinavagupta. Aspects of the Intellectual History of Kashmir from the Ninth to the Eleventh Century. Eds. Eli Franco and Isabelle Ratié, Leipziger Studien zu Kultur und Geschichte Süd- und Zentralasiens 6. Leipzig, October 2016, pp.645-663; “Updating Prāsaṅgika and prasaṅga.” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies, vol.68, no.3, pp.87–93, March 2020; “The negation of arising from other in the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā and beyond,” Eds. V. Eltschinger, J. Kramer, P. Patil, C. Yoshimizu, Burlesque of the Philosophers. Indian and Buddhist Studies in Memory of Helmut Krasser. Hamburg Buddhist Studies Series 19, Bochum/Freiburg: projekt verlag 2023, pp. 861–893.

Attending the event

This event is free and open to all, but registration is required. Please email Dr. Christian Luczanits (cl46@soas.ac.uk) to register for the seminar and receive the reading material.

• Organiser: SOAS Centre of Buddhist Studies

Image credit: Early Kadam School scholar; private collection, c. 1300.