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Ways of Preserving Mindfulness: A Tibetan Typology by Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798)
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Event
Title
Ways of Preserving Mindfulness: A Tibetan Typology by Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798)
When
Fri., Nov 1 2024 - 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM
Where
Contemplative Commons 404
See map: Google Maps
Marc-Henri Deroche, Associate Professor at Kyoto University, presents "Ways of Preserving Mindfulness: A Tibetan Typology by Jigme Lingpa (1730-1798)."
This event is presented by the Contemplative Sciences Center in collaboration with the UVA Tibet Center.
Abstract
This lecture will focus on “mindfulness” (Skt. smṛti, Tib. dran pa) as it has been understood and cultivated in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, according to the typology formulated by Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa (rig ’dzin ’jigs med gling pa, 1730-1798). Based upon the analysis and translation of several of his advice texts, especially Various Questions by Gontse Tulku Rinpoche on the Ways of Preserving Mindfulness (Dgon rtse sprul sku rin po che nas dran pa skyong tshul gyi dris lan), and Chapter on Establishing the Guard of the Support of Mindfulness (Dran pa brten pa’i so btsugs skabs), we will investigate Jigme Lingpa’s twofold typology concerning (1) a deliberate mindfulness according to his classical Indian Mahāyāna sources, and (2) a non-dual mindfulness that is consistent with his Dzogchen practice lineage. For the first type, we will explore the close relationship between mindfulness and wisdom on the path of Mahāyāna (with Asaṅga and Vasubandhu), as well as its moral philosophy of mindful awareness, carefulness, and self-examination (with Śāntideva). Concerning the second element of Jigme Lingpa’s typology, we will examine the “distinctive mindfulness of Dzogchen” that is defined as inseparable from “pure awareness” (rig pa), beyond subject-object duality. But we shall see that if this Tibetan author theoretically distinguish these two ways to cultivate mindfulness, he also exhorts his followers to practically combine them in skillful response to various circumstances. Ultimately, we will critically inquire into the possible significance of this Tibetan typology for the larger field of contemplative studies and the contemporary construct of mindfulness.
About Marc-Henri
Marc-Henri Deroche is Associate Professor at Kyoto University, Japan, where he teaches Buddhist and Tibetan studies. His current research investigates mindfulness in Buddhist philosophy, theories and manuals of meditation, with a focus on Dzogchen texts and traditions. He holds Master and PhD in East Asian Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (Paris). His publications include a monograph, Une quête tibétaine de la sagesse: Prajñāraśmi (1518-1584) et les sources de l’attitude impartiale (ris med) (Brepols, 2023); edited issues of Religions (Study, Reflection, and Cultivation: Integrative Paths to Wisdom from Buddhist and Comparative Perspectives, 2022), and Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie (Tibetan Studies in Japan: Approaching the High Plateau from the Archipelago, 2024); and articles appearing in Revue d’Études Tibétaines, Bulletin of Tibetology, Asian Philosophy, Philosophy East and West, Eidos, Journal of Buddhist Ethics, etc. He is a fellow of the Mind and Life Institute (USA).
