Tenet Systems

The Prasangika refutation of the so-called “false self” provides the subtlest, most sophisticated deconstruction of this misconceived version of how we and others exist. In order to understand fully the Prasangika view, we need to go step by step through the grosser...

The Gelug presentation of meditations on the different Indian Buddhist tenet systems concerning the selflessness of persons and phenomena.

The Indian Buddhist tenet systems differ in their views of the voidness or total absence of impossible ways that establish the existence of something and in their views of what establishes its conventional existence.

The different views among the Indian Buddhist tenet systems concerning the difference between arhats’ and Buddhas’ understanding of the lack of an impossible “soul” of persons and phenomena.

The contrast between the explanations of the two truths given by the Jetsunpa textbook tradition of the Gelug tradition and by the Sakya master Gorampa.

All Indian Buddhist tenet systems, except Vaibhashika, agree that the validly knowable “me” is not a self-sufficiently knowable phenomenon, it is imputedly knowable.

Progressive understanding of the two truths as asserted by the four Indian Buddhist tenet systems helps for deconstructing deceptive appearances.

Understanding the Vaibhashika and Sautrantika assertions of the two truths serves as a steppingstone for understanding the assertions of the Chittamatra, Svatantrika and Prasangika tenet systems.

To know how to cognize voidness, both conceptually and non-conceptually, and thus how to rid ourselves of the true causes of our true sufferings, we need to know the steps that each Indian Buddhist tenet system explains for the meditative process for realizing voidness.

The Nalanda masters of India are the authors of the major texts for studying the four major Buddhist tenet systems to suit the dispositions and capacities of different disciples.