| الوصف: |
This thesis examines the Karma Chapter of Abhidharmakośa commentaries written by the Tibetan Kagyu scholars Karmapa Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507-1554) and Karmapa dBang phyug rdo je (1556–1603) with an emphasis on the theory of the ripening of actions or karma (Sanskrit. karmaphala). Authored by Vasubandhu in around 500 A.D., the Abhidharmakośa and its auto-commentary Abhidharmakośabhāṣya are among the major philosophical texts studied by Tibetan Buddhist schools. Nevertheless, the Tibetan Abhidharma traditions have not been thoroughly researched, and many texts still await translation. The two highly complex and extensive commentaries analysed here (one being completely untranslated) are authored by prominent and comparatively little studied Himalayan luminaries, who lived in a period of scholastic efflorescence of their school. The theory of karmaphala takes a central stage in Buddhism since many doctrinal topics are discussed in relation to karmaphala. Using mainly philological and philosophical analysis, this research focusses on the significance of motivation in relation to other karmic dimensions in an action. This is an important aspect in the theory of action from the point of view of the Vaibhāṣika school of thought. In this thesis, findings are contextualised in the intellectual and cultural histories of the Tibetan plateau. The research will contribute to the study of Tibetan Abhidharma traditions, to the history of ideas in general and, in particular, to Tibetan interpretations of karmaphala theories. The first chapter introduces the aims of this research and discusses methodologies involved. It also surveys earlier research on Tibetan Abhidharma and theories of karmaphala and critically examines the main Tibetan Abhidharma commentaries which serve as sources for this study. The second chapter provides an overview of the Karma Chapter of the Abhidharmakośa and briefly surveys its contents, contributing to the overall understanding of karmaphala. The third chapter studies the Karma Chapter interpretations of the two main commentarial sources, namely the ‘The Relaxation of the Joy of Accomplishment’ (Grub bde’i dpyid ‘jo) and the ‘Play of Youth’ (gZhon nu rnam rol) with a focus on the sections that treat the theory of karmaphala. The definition of motivation and its significance in the moral qualification of an action is examined according to the two commentaries, as is the issue of whether motivation overrides other karmic dimensions of an action. The fourth chapter contextualises the two commentaries and the theory of karmaphala in the larger Tibetan Abhidharma tradition and in the context of the Tibetan understanding of karma more generally. The chapter also presents some unique characteristics of the Eighth Karmapa’s commentary in relation to other Tibetan Abhidharmakośa commentaries such as mChims mdzod. It considers the reasons Tibetan scholars composed Abhidharma commentaries and surveys the reception of the two commentaries of the Eighth and Ninth Karmapas by later Tibetan scholars. The fifth chapter concludes by discussing the outcome of this research regarding motivation in contrast to other dimensions of action such as the object of the action according to the understanding of the two commentaries examined. Contextualising the findings within Tibetan doctrinal developments, the thesis also shows the need for future research on the element of motivation, especially from the perspective of Tibetan Mahāyāna Buddhism. |
