Dr. Anne MacDonald (Austrian Academy of Sciences): The Madhyamakāvatāra’s Critique of Yogācāra

12 January 2022

17:00 January 12, 2022. Due to the coronavirus pandemic conducted online via Zoom.

The Madhyamakāvatāra, together with its commentary, as Candrakīrti’s (7th c.) main independent work on Madhyamaka thought, significantly contributes to our understanding of his presentation of Nāgārjuna’s (2nd/3rd c.) views and sheds light on Candrakīrti’s intellectual environment, its self-understanding, and its challenges. Until recently, the Madhyamakāvatāra and its commentary were, with the exception of a limited number of quotations, available only in Tibetan translation. The newly available Sanskrit manuscript of the Madhyamakāvatārabhāṣya, in providing unique access to the written work and thus to Candrakīrti’s thought, facilitates the solving of many of the problems previously encountered by modern editors, translators, and investigators, and allows for clarification of ambiguities in the Tibetan. The talk will focus on aspects of the extended discussion Candrakīrti has with his main opponent in the sixth chapter of the Madhyamakāvatārabhāṣya, namely, the Yogācāra, and examine his critique of dependent nature (paratantrarūpa) and of the idea of the self-awareness (svasamvedana) of cognition.

• Click here to download the invitation [PDF]

The lecture is held online via Zoom. For those who whish to participate, please write a short mail to Prof. Dr. Wangchuk: dorji.wangchuk@uni-hamburg.de

Prof. Dr. Dorji Wangchuk (Director)

Khyentse Center for Tibetan Buddhist Textual Scholarship (KC-TBTS)
Abteilung für Kultur und Geschichte Indiens und Tibets, AAI, Universität Hamburg
Alsterterrasse 1, D-20354 Hamburg