Description
This is a remarkable book with many interesting themes. It presents a translation of the text entitled ?Chariot of Establishment?, Treasure Trove of a Mind Absorbed in the Profound Meaning by the second Drukchen [1428-1476 C.E.] or leader of the Drukpa Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. To begin with, it is of interest simply because it is the first major text of Drukpa Kagyu teachings to have been translated into English.
The text is a compilation of over sixty different oral teachings given by the second Drukchen. The compiler, an attendant, tells us that the teachings included were selected because they establish the ultimate, non-dual view of the Kagyu tradition as it is presented by the Drukpa Kagyu. The text begins with a long teaching on the view of the Kagyu in general, making it of interest to all Kagyu followers. An important feature of this teaching is that it clearly shows the Other Emptiness approach which is at the root of the Kagyu view, though does so according to the earliest teachings of the Kagyu lineage in which the name ?Other Emptiness? is not mentioned. Through it, we see how Other Emptiness was taught originally in the Kagyu and we see how the Drukpa Kagyu in particular presents the Other Emptiness view of the Kagyu without using the name ?Other Emptiness?.
The text continues to a second long teaching in which the second Drukchen neatly establishes the view of the tantras as non-dual wisdom seen in direct perception. In doing so, he cleanly chops the Tibetan Buddhist schools who are infamous for insisting that the emptiness of the second turning of the wheel of the sutra teaching is the utltimate non-dual view. This is a fascinating chapter because it shows a logic to establishing the view which has rarely been seen in the West to this point. It will certainly give academics who have thought that the emptiness of the Middle Way is the ultimate presentation of the view something to think about.
