Madhyamaka and Experience: Daktsang Sherap Rinchen and Purchok Ngawang Jampa on Nonfoundational Epistemology

John Powers

Abstract: By the ninth century, a broad consensus had developed among Tibetan Buddhist philosophers: the Madhyamaka system of Nāgārjuna, as interpreted by Candrakīrti, would be normative in Tibet. But Tibetans had inherited various trajectories of commentary on Madhyamaka, and schools of thought developed, each with a particular reading. This talk will discuss two competing interpretations, one by Daktsang Sherap Rinchen and another by Purchok Ngawang Jampa, who present differing versions of what a nonfoundational Madhyamaka epistemology should look like. Daktsang contends that Mādhyamikas should posit their presentations in terms of three contexts: of no analysis, slight analysis, and thorough analysis, each of which corresponds to a progressively deeper understanding. Purchok, by contrast, puts forward a coherentist and fallibilist vision of Madhyamaka epistemology that takes an anthropological approach to acquisition and defence of knowledge. I will discuss the reasons behind their respective positions and what is at stake for Buddhist thought and practice.