Tenets Series

Buddhist Philosophy › Tenets

English (3) | Français (1) | བོད་ཡིག (3)


Jamyang Shepé Dorje

Courtesy of Himalayan Art Resources

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My Dharma has two aspects,

General advice and philosophy.

To ordinary people I give advice,

And to the yogis, philosophy.

The following texts are available as part of our series on philosophical tenets (grub mtha'; siddhānta) or tenet-systems:

Treatises

In this brief text, the celebrated Dzogchen scholar and adept Khenpo Ngawang Palzang summarizes the four main Indian Buddhist tenet systems traditions (according to Tibetan doxographers): 1) Vaibhāṣika, 2) Sautrāntika, 3) Cittamātra (Mind Only) and 4) Mādhyamika (Middle Way), which is further divided into Svātantrika and Prāsaṅgika.

In this short guide to Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophical tenets, Patrul Rinpoche begins by outlining the tīrthika views of eternalism and nihilism. He then summarizes the views of the śrāvaka schools of Vaibhāṣika and Sautrāntika, as well as the two kinds of pratyekabuddha, the various branches of Cittamātra, and the Svātantrika and Prāsaṅgika strands of Mādhyamika. To conclude, he offers a brief overview of the various levels of secret mantra.

In this brief treatise, Rongzom deploys the example of a black snake’s reflection in water to illustrate the differences between the tenets of the Śrāvakas, Mādhyamikas, followers of Kriyā and Yoga Tantra, Mahāyoga, and the Great Perfection.

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