Tsong khapa Losang Dragpa

Ocean of Reasoning: A Great Commentary on Nāgārjuna’s “Mūlamadhyamakakārikā” (ch. IX–XXVII)/ transl. from Tibetan, research and appendicses by Irina S. Urbanaeva. — Ulan-Ude: BSC SB RAS Publisher, 2021. — 310 p.

This is the second part (chap. IX–XXVII) of a complete translation of a treatise written by the great Tibetan philosopher, yogi and Buddhist reformer Je Tsongkhapa (1357–1419). The treatise is a detailed study of the philosophical poem "Mūlamadhyamakakārikā" — the most important primary source of Madhyamaka, written by Nāgārjuna (II century), whose personality has no comparison in a greatness and contribution to the intellectual history of mankind. Tsongkhapa's text is based on an extensive base of sūtras and shastras and, thanks to the hermeneutic methodology of the Prasangika, clarifies the deep philosophical content of the Buddha's Teachings and the transcendental philosophy of the Middle, which is free from extreme ontological concepts. Tsongkhapa explicates Madhyamaka, linking together the meaning of emptiness and dependent arising as two aspects of reality and thus shows that Madhyamaka is a unique ontology, and also explains that it is this view, expressed in the Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras and in the treatises of Nāgārjuna, that is the perfect basis for the Buddhist path to liberation and enlightenment. Tsongkhapa's treatise was crucial for the restoration of the authentic Mahāyāna in Tibet and for its further spread throughout the world. In the current situation of the spread of distorted interpretations of the philosophy and practice of Buddhism, acquaintance with this text will also be of great importance.

The research was carried out within the state assignment (project “Transformation of Buddhist Trends and Schools: History and Experience of Interaction with Religions and Beliefs of Russia, Central

and East Asia (from the Period of Spread of Buddhism to the Present: Russia — 18^th–21^st Centuries; China — 2^nd–21^st; Tibet — 7^th–21^st Centuries; Mongolia — 16^th–21^st Centuries)”)

© Irina S. Urbanaeva, 2021

© Institute for Mongolian, Buddhist and Tibetan Studies