Tsongkhapa

What is the Absolute? Does God exist?

Nothing escapes emptiness, neither a god nor an Absolute

No creator GodInferred from their doctrine

Tsongkhapa does not devote a treatise to denying God: together with all the Indian scholasticism he comments on, he takes for granted the Buddhist critique of an eternal creator. What occupies his work is more radical. In the Praise of Dependent Origination he venerates the Buddha precisely for having seen and taught that everything arises dependently, and in the section on special insight in the Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path he carefully defines the «object of negation»: intrinsic existence, which nothing possesses. Neither a god nor an impersonal Absolute escapes this analysis; emptiness itself is empty. The buddhas, to whom he addresses prayers and praises, are not creators but beings who have completed the path; taking refuge in them is justified because they teach how to be liberated, not because they govern the world.

Who am I? Is there a true self?

The self exists only as a designation; what is negated is its intrinsic existence

There is no permanent selfStated explicitly

Tsongkhapa devoted much of his work to specifying exactly what is negated when one says there is no self. In the section on special insight in the Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path he distinguishes the conventional self, which acts, remembers and reaps the fruits of its deeds, from the self that exists by itself, which is the «object of negation». Negating too much leads to nihilism and destroys ethics; negating too little leaves clinging intact. The person exists as a mere designation on the aggregates, and precisely for that reason it functions: if it had its own existence it could not change. The Three Principal Aspects of the Path sums up the consequence: without the wisdom that understands how things are, neither renunciation nor the mind of awakening cuts the root of existence.

Why do we suffer?

The root of saṃsāra is clinging to an existence that nothing has

Craving and attachmentStated explicitly

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path devotes its middle section to contemplating the suffering of cyclic existence in order to awaken renunciation: the suffering of pain, that of change and the one that pervades all that is conditioned. Its origin is the afflictions and the karma they impel, and among them attachment keeps the wheel turning. But Tsongkhapa insists that the root is not cut by renunciation or compassion alone: in the Three Principal Aspects of the Path he warns that, without the wisdom that understands how things are, the root of existence cannot be cut (verse 9). That root is the ignorance that clings to self and things as though they existed intrinsically. We suffer because we cling to what we believe solid.

What happens after death?

Death is certain, its hour uncertain, and only the Dharma helps

Rebirth according to karmaStated explicitly

In the section on the initial scope of the Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path, Tsongkhapa arranges the meditation on death around three roots: death is certain, its moment uncertain, and at that moment nothing helps except the Dharma. From there he moves to the sufferings of the lower destinies, to refuge and to the law of karma, because what determines the next birth is one's actions. Rebirth is not for him an inherited, unexamined belief: mind does not arise from matter but from a previous instant of the same nature, which requires a continuity before and after this life. His work also includes tantric instructions for the moment of death, such as the transference of consciousness.

How is liberation or salvation attained?

A path in stages: renunciation, the mind of awakening and correct view

Through disciplined practiceStated explicitly

Tsongkhapa's work is the most systematic exposition of the gradual path in Tibetan Buddhism. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path arranges practice into three scopes: that of one who seeks a good rebirth, that of one who seeks liberation from the cycle and that of one who aspires to buddhahood for the good of all. The Three Principal Aspects of the Path condenses it into renunciation, the mind of awakening and correct view of emptiness, and warns that without the last the other two do not cut the root. Wisdom is not a sudden intuition: it is cultivated by uniting mental calm and special insight, with study, reflection and analytical meditation. Monastic ethics and, at its culmination, tantra complete a path that demands discipline and perseverance.

Is a teacher necessary?

Relying on the master is the root of the path; examining him first, too

IndispensableStated explicitly

The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path opens its practical exposition with how to rely on the spiritual master, which it presents as the root of the whole path. Tsongkhapa lists the qualities the master must have, drawing on the Ornament of the Sūtras: disciplined, serene, pacified, wiser than the disciple, with knowledge of emptiness and compassion. He asks the disciple to examine him before committing and then to serve him in thought and deed. In the tantric domain, his commentary on the Fifty Verses on the Master regulates the relationship in detail. The figure of the master is indispensable because the path is long and subtle; but it does not cancel critical study, which he himself practised rigorously on the Indian texts.

Is the world real?

Appearance dispels the extreme of existence; emptiness, that of nothingness

A web of causes without substanceStated explicitly

Tsongkhapa made dependent origination the centre of his work and of his devotion. In the Praise of Dependent Origination he venerates the Buddha for having seen and taught it, and in the Three Principal Aspects of the Path he formulates his most characteristic thesis: as long as the understanding of appearances, which arise dependently and do not deceive, and that of emptiness present themselves separately, one has not yet understood the Buddha's intent (verse 11). The two imply each other: precisely because things arise dependently they are empty, and because they are empty they can arise and function. Hence, he adds, appearance dispels the extreme of existence and emptiness that of non-existence (verse 13). The world is fully valid conventionally and lacks intrinsic existence.

What is love?

See all as mothers swept by four rivers and take on their liberation

Boundless compassionStated explicitly

In the Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path, Tsongkhapa systematised the two Indian and Tibetan methods for generating the mind of awakening: the seven instructions of cause and effect, which begin by recognising all beings as mothers in previous lives, remembering their kindness and wishing to repay it, and the method of equalising and exchanging self with others, inherited from Śāntideva. From love, which wishes their happiness, arises compassion, which cannot bear their suffering, and from it the extraordinary intention to take their liberation upon oneself. The Three Principal Aspects of the Path condenses it in an image: beings are swept along by the four rivers of birth, ageing, sickness and death, and seeing this awakens the supreme mind.

Are we free, or is everything determined?

Karma is certain and grows, but it can be purified and redirected

Karma and choiceStated explicitly

In the section on the initial scope of the Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path, Tsongkhapa sets out the laws of karma as the Indian tradition records them: it is certain, because happiness arises from virtue and suffering from non-virtue; it multiplies, because a small act can yield a great fruit; one does not meet what one has not done; and what has been done is not lost by itself. But this determinism is not closed: the same treatise teaches how to purify negative karma through regret, the antidote, the resolve not to repeat it and refuge. Emptiness, far from cancelling causality, is what makes it possible, because only what lacks intrinsic existence can change. Present choice is real on the conventional level.

Why meditate or pray?

Unite mental calm and special insight; meditation is also analysis

Seeing reality as it isStated explicitly

The last two sections of the Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path are devoted to mental calm (śamatha) and special insight (vipaśyanā). Tsongkhapa explains how to develop stable concentration, without laxity or agitation, and how to use it to examine the nature of things. His most characteristic thesis is that analytical meditation is not an obstacle to concentration but part of it: whoever merely fixes the mind without examining does not cut the root of cyclic existence. Special insight consists in understanding emptiness with a concentrated mind, until calm and analysis sustain each other. Prayer, supplications to the lineage and tantric practice have their place, but in the service of that understanding.

Can reason know the ultimate?

Reason decides which scripture is definitive and leads to emptiness

Scripture and reasoningStated explicitly

Tsongkhapa grants reason a larger role than almost any other Tibetan Buddhist author. In the Essence of Eloquence he addresses a classic problem: the sūtras say different things, and one must distinguish those of interpretable meaning from those of definitive meaning. That distinction cannot be made by appeal to another scripture, which would be circular, but by reasoning. Scripture is a source of knowledge, but reason interprets it. Likewise, emptiness is first understood inferentially, through analysis, and only afterwards, by meditative familiarisation, directly and non-conceptually. Hence he criticises those who scorn analysis in the name of a thought-free experience: without reasoning, meditation does not cut the root of ignorance.

Withdraw from the world or transform it?

Withdraw into solitude and fulfil your purpose soon; then reform the community

Withdraw in order to findStated explicitly

The Three Principal Aspects of the Path ends with an exhortation: when you have understood the essential points for yourself, withdraw into solitude, rouse the strength of effort and soon fulfil your ultimate purpose (verse 14). Tsongkhapa practised what he taught: he spent years in retreat with a small group of disciples before his maturity as a teacher. But his life is not exhausted in retreat. He restored monastic discipline, founded the monastery of Ganden, instituted the Great Prayer of Lhasa in 1409, with rules he himself set, and wrote letters of advice to rulers and to the Ming emperor. Retreat is the condition of realisation; the well-ordered monastic community is the place where that realisation is preserved and transmitted.