Dr. Daisy Sze Yui Cheung (Postdoctoral research fellow, Austrian Academy of Sciences)“Cittamātrising” Nāgārjuna: Śāntarakṣita, Kamalaśīla and Ratnākaraśānti on Yuktiṣaṣṭikā 21 & 34

5 November 2025

16:00, 5 November 2025. ESA-Ost, Raum 120 & Zoom

Previous research has shown that both Śāntarakṣita and Ratnākaraśānti quote Nāgārjuna’s Yuktiṣaṣṭikā 21 & 34 as a set of proof verses and interpret them according to Yogācāra theory. However, the reading of Yuktiṣaṣṭikā 21 as quoted by Śāntarakṣita and Ratnākaraśānti differs from the canonical Tibetan translation of the text. Kajiyama (1978) is of the opinion that Śāntarakṣita quotes Yuktiṣaṣṭikā 21 in the Madhyamakālaṃkāravṛtti and “changes the original reading so that the verses may be interpreted according to his own theory.” Mimaki (1982) maintains that Ratnākaraśānti follows Śāntarakṣita in quoting Yuktiṣaṣṭikā 21 with a different reading. On the other hand, Tsong kha pa (1357–1419) points out in the Drang nges legs bshad snying po the following: Kamalaśīla said in the Madhyamakālaṃkārapañjikā that the “altered verse” was from the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, and it was Ratnākaraśānti who attributed the “altered verse” to Nāgārjuna. The editors of Ichigō 1989 (Gómez and Silk) also maintain that the “altered verse” is from the Laṅkāvatārasūtra. In this paper, I will re-examine all the evidence and propose alternative possibilities.

The second part of this paper focuses on the differences in interpretations of Śāntarakṣita and Kamalaśīla vs. Ratnākaraśānti on Yuktiṣaṣṭikā 21 & 34. While Śāntarakṣita and Kamalaśīla’s interpretation of Yuktiṣaṣṭikā 21 & 34 is still within the framework of the two truths of Madhyamaka, Ratnākaraśānti interprets these two verses according to the Yogācāra theory of the three natures. In other words, Śāntarakṣita and Kamalaśīla interpret the verses in a Yogācāra-Madhyamaka way, but Ratnākaraśānti is really “cittamātrising” Nāgārjuna in order to show that Nāgārjuna also teaches the “Madhyamaka of the three natures” (rang bzhin gsum gyi dbu ma) he upholds. This paper focuses on passages from Śāntarakṣita’s Madhyamakālaṃkāravṛtti, Kamalaśīla’s Madhyamakālaṃkārapañjikā, Ratnākraśānti’s *Madhyamakālaṃkāropadeśa and Ratnākaraśānti’s hitherto understudied tantric Guhyasamāja commentary *Kusumāñjali.

Click to download the invitation as a PDF

Prof. Dr. Dorji Wangchuk (Director) & Dr. Orna Almogi (Co-director)
Khyentse Center for Tibetan Buddhist Textual Scholarship (KC-TBTS)
Abteilung für Kultur und Geschichte Indiens und Tibets
Asien-Afrika-Institut
Universität Hamburg
Alsterterrasse 1
D-20354 Hamburg