Translator’s Introduction

The eight texts in this collection focus on both Buddhist phenomenology and psychology, two disciplines traditionally subsumed in Abhidharma. For simplicity, we may define Buddhist phenomenology as the study of phenomena as they appear to consciousness and Buddhist psychology as the study of consciousness within the structure of mind and mental factors. Both disciplines indirectly reference and include each other, since consciousness is a phenomenon, and phenomena can only be known through the mind.

Buddhist phenomenology is based on statements made by Sakyamuni Buddha that were gathered in his lifetime as point-summaries (matrka) of core Buddhist doctrine. This body of instructions was called Abhidharma and was validated by the Buddha’s own yogic perception. The Abhidharma formed the epistemological framework within which he explained the path to enlightenment.

The teachings of the Buddha are categorized as the three baskets (pitaka): Vinaya, Sutra, and Abhidharma. Here, Abhidharma is concerned with the higher training in wisdom, and wisdom itself is defined as that which properly differentiates phenomena. In other words, wisdom or insight differentiates phenomena in terms of their nature and attributes. All the Buddha’s statements on wisdom and the means of developing wisdom are included in Abhidharma.

Over the past two millennia, a vast body of commentarial material has emerged regarding how phenomena and consciousness should be defined and differentiated, and the four major Buddhist tenet systems reflect these diverse Abhidharmic interpretations. The first two tenet systems comprise the two realist (dngos smra ba) schools of the Individual Vehicle: theVaibha?ika (Differentialist) and the Sautrantika (Follower of Sutra) schools. They held the four noble truths to be truly existent, but the Sautrantika asserted a more nuanced view of the nature of substance, causation, and seed-imprints. The second two tenet systems comprise two nonrealist schools of the Great Vehicle: the Yogacara (Yoga Practice) and the Madhyamaka (Middle Way) schools. They rejected the true existence of the four noble truths either in part or whole.

Collection of eight texts

Our present volume is a collection of Tibetan commentaries on Buddhist phenomenology and psychology, ranging from texts composed from the fourteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries. The first was composed by the Sakya scholar Rendawa and the remainder were composed by Geluk scholars. The eight commentaries span three topics: phenomenology, Yogacara theory of eight consciousnesses, and psychology.

1. Buddhist Phenomenology

The first two works focus on Buddhist phenomenology and explain Asanga’s Compendium of Abhidharma (Abhidharmasamuccaya). Asanga (ca. fourth century CE) was a third-level arya bodhisattva and the pathbreaker of the Cittamatra (Mind Only) system. Asanga, along with his half-brother Vasubandhu, developed and defined the tenet system of the Yogacara school. Both commentaries are summaries of the essential points of Asanga’s work.

The first commentary is Jewel Garland of Excellent Explanation by Rendawa Shönu Lodrö (1349–1412). He trained in the Sakya tradition under Kunkhyen Jampa Tsewang (d. 1367) and Lama Sonam Tsemo (1307–85), and he was deeply influenced by the works of Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen (1182–1251). Rendawa became a highly acclaimed adept and authored many works on sutra and tantra, and is revered as one of the main teachers of Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa (1357–1419). His work presented in this volume condenses the main points raised in the Compendium of Abhidharma, often as clarifying definitions. Asa?ga’s root text has been inserted into this commentary as a reference for the reader.

The second work is the Commentary that Captivates the Minds of Scholars by Panchen Sonam Drakpa (1478–1544). He was student of Khedrup Gelek Palsang (1385–1438), Rinchen Namgyal (1432–96), and Tashi Pal (1455–1533), and deeply influenced by the works of Je Tsongkhapa. His collected works span fourteen volumes, and uniquely he was appointed as abbot of each of the three great seats of Geluk learning (gdan sa gsum), namely Sera, Drepung, and Ganden monasteries. The work here comments in detail on specific topics in Asanga’s text.

2. Yogacara theory of the eight consciousnesses

The third and fourth works are centered on the Yogacara theory of the eight consciousnesses, while the fifth work explains the phenomenology of the form and formless realms.

The third work is Root Verses on the Mental Faculty and Foundation Consciousness by Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa. Tsongkhapa was the founder of the highly influential Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism. This work presents forty-two verses that briefly summarize the eight-consciousness model of the Yogacara system: foundation consciousness, the afflicted mental faculty, and the six engaged consciousnesses.

The fourth work is Tsongkhapa’s Extensive Commentary on the Difficult Points of the Mental Faculty and Foundation Consciousness. This work gives a detailed explanation of the forty-two verses of the root text. Here Tsongkhapa sets out the Yogacara position of the eight consciousnesses based on reasoning outlined in Asanga’s and Vasubandhu’s commentaries.

The fifth work is Tsongkhapa’s Notes on the Absorption and Formless States. It presents a phenomenology of consciousness of the form and the formless realms, two realms only accessed by advanced meditation techniques.

3. Buddhist Psychology

The final three texts concern Buddhist psychology and focus on the structure and function of the mind and mental factors.

The sixth text is the Jewel Garland of Concise Verses Explaining the System of Minds and Mental Factors by Yongzin Yeshe Gyaltsen (1713–93), the tutor to the Eighth Dalai Lama, Jampal Gyatso (1758–1804). This text, in verse form, gives a brief account of the main characteristics of minds and mental factors.

The seventh work is Yongzin Yeshe Gyaltsen’s Necklace of Clear Awareness that Clearly Demonstrates the System of Minds and Mental Factors. This work provides a robust presentation of minds and mental factors from the perspective of both Vasubandhu’s Treasury of Abhidharma and Asanga’s Compendium of Abhidharma.

The eighth work is the Mirror Clarifying One’s Mindstream Explaining Some Principles of Minds and Mental Factors by Balmang Konchok Gyaltsen (1764–1853), a distinguished Geluk scholar from Labrang Tashikhyil. This work provides another perspective on the structure and function of minds and mental factors. In particular, it focuses on virtuous and nonvirtuous mental factors and how one enters and exits samsara.

We shall now examine these three sections in more detail.