The Karmapa's Middle Way: Feast for the Fortunate, A Commentary on Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara

817 Pages·2008·2.88 MB·English

by  Dban-phyug-rdo-rje. Karr

The Karmapa’s Middle Way
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The Nitartha Institute Series
published by Snow Lion Publications
Nitartha Institute was founded in 1996 by Th e Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche,
under the guidance of Khenchen Th rangu Rinpoche and Khenpo Tsültrim
Gyamtso Rinpoche, the leading contemporary teachers of the Karma Kagyü tra-
dition of Tibetan Buddhism. Th e Institute, under the aegis of Nitartha interna-
tional, aims to fully transmit the Buddhist tradition of contemplative inquiry and
learning; it off ers Western students training in advanced Buddhist view and prac-
tice, as taught by the Karma Kagyü and Nyingma lineages of Tibet.
Th e Institute is pleased to ally with Snow Lion Publications in presenting this
series of important works off ering a wide range of graded educational materials
that include authoritative translations of key texts from the Buddhist tradition,
both those unique to the Kagyü and Nyingma lineages and those common to
the wider scope of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism; modern commentaries by notable
lineage scholar-practitioners; manuals for contemplative practice; and broader
studies that deepen understanding of particular aspects of the Buddhist view. Th e
initial releases are from the Kagyü tradition and will be followed by publications
from the Nyingma tradition.
Th is publication is an Advanced Level Nitartha book.
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Th e Karmapa’s Middle Way
Feas t for th e Fortunat e
The Ninth Karmapa,
Wangchuk Dorje
Translated under the guidance of
Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche
and according to the explanations of
Acharya Lama Tenpa Gyaltsen
& Acharya Tashi Wangchuk
by Tyler Dewar
With editing by Andy Karr
Snow Lion Publications
Ithaca, New York
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Snow Lion Publications
P. O. Box 6483, Ithaca, NY 14851 USA
[phone] • www.snowlionpub.com
Copyright © 2008 Tyler Dewar
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without prior
written permission from the publisher.
Printed in USA on acid-free recycled paper.
Designed and typeset by Gopa & Ted2, Inc.
isbn-10: 1-55939-289-4
isbn-13: 978-1-55939-289-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dbaṅ-phyug-rdo-rje, Karma-pa IX, 1556-1603.
[’Jug ṭīk dwags brgyud grub pa’i śiṅ rta bde bar ’dren byed skal bzaṅ dga’
ston. English]
Th e Karmapa’s middle way : feast for the fortunate / the Ninth Karmapa,
Wangchuk Dorje ; translated under the guidance of Dzogchen Ponlop
Rinpoche and according to the explanations of Acharya Lama Tenpa
Gyaltsen & Acharya Tashi Wangchuk by Tyler Dewar ; with editing by
Andy Karr.
p. cm. — (Th e Nitartha Institute series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-55939-289-1 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-55939-289-4 (alk. paper)
1. Kar-ma-pa (Sect)—Doctrines—Early works to 1800. 2. Candrakīrti.
Madhyamakāvatāra. 3. Atīśa, 982-1054. Madhyamakopadeśa. I. Karr,
Andy. II. Candrakīrti. Madhyamakāvatāra. English III. Atīśa, 982-1054.
Madhyamakopadeśa. English IV. Title.
BQ7682.4.D313 2008
294.3'923—dc22 2008005238
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•
Contents
An Aspiration by His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa vii
A Statement by His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa ix
A Verse on the Essence of the Middle Way
by Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche xi
Foreword by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche xiii
Translator’s Acknowledgments xvii
Technical Notes xxi
Introduction 1
Th e Middle Way in India 2
Th e Middle Way in Tibet 8
Considerations on the Debates in Th is Book 14
An Overview of Entrance to the Middle Way and
Feast for the Fortunate 16
Feast for the Fortunate: A Commentary on
the Entrance to the Middle Way That Easily Pulls
Along the Chariot of the Takpo Kagyü Siddhas 75
Preamble 77
Lineages 83
Th e Title and Translator’s Homage 89
Th e Th ree Causes of Bodhisattvas 93
Ground One ~ Supreme Joy 99
Ground Two ~ Th e Stainless 121
Ground Th ree ~ Th e Luminous 129
Ground Four ~ Th e Radiant 139
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vi the karmapa’s middle way
Ground Five ~ Diffi cult to Overcome 141
Ground Six ~ Th e Manifest 143
Introduction to the Teachings on Emptiness 143
Th e Consequentialist-Autonomist Distinction 159
Th e Refutation of Arising from Self 185
Main Refutation of Arising from Other 191
Th e Two Truths 203
Continuation of the General Refutation of
Arising from Other 217
Th e Refutation of the Proponents of Consciousness 241
Th e Refutation of Arising from Both 307
Th e Refutation of Causeless Arising 309
Conclusion to the Refutation of the Self of Phenomena 314
Personal Selfl essness 335
Th e Sixteen Emptinesses 429
Ground Seven ~ Gone Far Beyond 491
Ground Eight ~ Th e Immovable 495
Ground Nine ~ Excellent Intelligence 501
Ground Ten ~ Cloud of Dharma 503
Qualities of the Bodhisattva Grounds 505
Th e Resultant Ground of Buddhahood 511
Conclusion 553
Appendix I: Excerpt fr om Lucid Words 579
Appendix II: Atisha’s Key Instructions of the Middle Way 595
Appendix III: Th e Five Great Reasonings of the Middle Way 599
Appendix IV: How to Do Analytical Meditation on the
Entrance to the Middle Way: A Brief Guide 601
Appendix V: Th e Root Text of the Entrance to the Middle Way 607
Appendix VI: Th e Karmapa’s Outline for Feast for the Fortunate 663
Bibliography 721
Notes 727
Index 771
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An Aspiration by His Holiness

the Seventeenth Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje
You realize that whatever appears dawns within the play
of the mind
And that mind itself is the dharmakāya free of clinging.
Th rough the power of that, you, the supreme siddhas, master
apparent existence.
Precious ones of the Kagyü lineage, please bestow excellent virtue.
Th rough the heart of a perfect Buddha awakening in you,
You possess the blossoming glorious qualities of supreme insight.
You genuine holder of the teachings by the name Dzogchen Ponlop,
Th rough your merit, the activity of virtue,
You publish the hundreds of fl awless dharma paintings
Th at come from the protectors of beings, the Takpo Kagyü,
As a display of books that always appears
As a feast for the eye of intelligence of those without bias.
While the stream of the Narmadā* river of virtue
Washes away the stains of the mind,
With the waves of the virtues of the two accumulations rolling high,
May it merge with the ocean of the qualities of the victorious ones.
* Th e image here alludes to this river being considered as very holy by Hindus—even its
mere sight is said to wash away all one’s negative deeds (it rises on the summit of Mount
Amarakaṇṭaka in Madhya Pradesh in Central India, and aft er a westerly course of about
eight hundred miles ends in the Gulf of Cambay below the city of Bharuch).
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viii the karmapa’s middle way
Th is was composed by Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje as an auspicious aspi-
ration for the publication of the precious teachings called Th e Eight Great
Texts of Sūtra and Tantra by the supreme Dzogchen Ponlop Karma Sun-
grap Ngedön Tenpe Gyaltsen on April 18, 2004 (Buddhist Era 2548). May
it be auspicious.
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A Statement by His Holiness the Seventeenth

Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje
In Tibet, all the ravishing and beautiful features of a self-arisen realm—
being encircled by ranges of snow mountains adorned by superb white
snowfl akes and being fi lled with Sal trees, abundant herbs, and cool clear
rivers—are wonderfully assembled in a single place. Th ese wonders make
our land endowed with the dharma the sole pure realm of human beings
in this world. In it, all aspects of the teachings of the mighty sage, the
greatly compassionate teacher skilled in means, are perfectly complete—
they include the greater and lesser yānas as well as the mantrayāna. Th ey
are as pure and unblemished as the most refi ned pure gold; they accord
with reasoning through the power of things; they dispel the darkness of
the minds of all beings; and they are a great treasury bestowing all ben-
efi t and happiness one could wish for, just as desired. Not having van-
ished, these teachings still exist as the great treasure of the Kangyur, the
Tengyur, and the sciences as well as the excellent teachings of the Tibetan
scholars and siddhas who have appeared over time. Th eir sum equals the
size of the mighty king of mountains, and their words and meanings are
like a sip of the nectar of immortality. Headed by Dzogchen Ponlop Rin-
poche with his utterly virtuous pure intention to solely cherish the welfare
of the teachings and beings, many dedicated workers of Nitartha interna-
tional, striving with devotion, diligence, and prajñā, undertook hardships
and made eff orts over many years to preserve these teachings and further
their transmission, and restore them. In particular, they worked toward
the special purpose of propagating the excellent stream of teachings and
practices of the unequaled Marpa Kagyü lineage, the great family of sid-
dhas, in all directions and times, like the fl ow of a river in summertime.
Th rough these eff orts, the Eight Great Texts of Sūtra and Tantra publica-
tion series, inclusive of all the essential meanings of the perfectly complete
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