Paṇchen Shākya Chokden

b.1428 - d.1507

Shākya Chokden was born in 1428 in Sangda Bangrim (gsang mda' bang rim) in the vicinity of the famous monastic university Sangpu Neutok (gsang phu ne'u thog) in central Tibet. The identity of his father is not known. His mother, Shākya Zangmo (shAkya bzang mo), was an ex-nun from a retreat center (dben dgon) named

Pangkha Choding (spang kha chos sdings), to the south of the monastic university of Kyormolung (skyor mo lung). She died in 1431.

Shākya Chokden's monastic education started early, in 1435, at Kyormolung. In 1437 he met the highly influential Sakya scholar Rongton Sheja Kunrik (rong ston shes bya kun rig, 1367-1449), from whom he received the name Shākya Chokden and who eventually became one of his main teachers­. That same year, he

entered Nego College (gnas sgo grwa tshang) at Sangpu Neutok. This was the seat of another influential scholar, Donyo Pelwa (don yod dpal ba, 1398-1484), with whom he would study for more than thirty years. Donyo Pelwa would eventually pass down to Shākya Chokden his monastic seat in Tsang named Zilung (gzi lung) which he would later rename Serdokchen (gser mdog can).

At the beginning of his studies under Donyo Pelwa they visited a senior scholar, Pema Zangpowa (padma bzang po ba), who in their conversation argued that the all the Five Books of Maitreya, some of the most important texts of Indian Mahāyāna, actually present a Madhyamaka view, and he encouraged Shākya Chokden to

rethink the standard interpretation of three of these: Differentiation of the Middle and Extremes (Madhyāntavibhāga), Differentiation of Phenomena and the Nature of Phenomena (Dharmadharmatāvibhāga), and

Ornament of Mahāyāna Sūtras (Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra). By showing that the Cittamātra view of mind-only is not the final position articulated in those treatises, Pema Zangpowa presented it as transcending Cittamātra and belonging to Madhyamaka -- a technique Shākya Chokden would later use himself.

At Sangpu Neutok as well as on study trips to other monastic universities, Shākya Chokden undertook extensive study of all major subjects of Tibetan scholasticism, including Prajñāpāramitā literature, Pramāṇa, Abhidharma, Vinaya, Madhyamaka, and Yogācāra. Starting in 1438 when he visited Rongton at Nālendra

Monastery (nA len dra), and until Rongton passed away, he received from that master numerous teachings that he would later transmit to his own students. Rongton gave him his novice monastic ordination in 1440 at Nālendra.

Quickly progressing in his studies, Shākya Chokden started teaching at an early age, eventually becoming "master" (slob dpon) at Nego in 1446. For the next two years he studied Sanskrit, composition, poetry, and Tibetan grammar. He would learn Sanskrit so well that he was able to converse in it, translate from and into Sanskrit, and even give a Kālacakra empowerment in Sanskrit.

Beginning in 1449 Shākya Chokden started receiving tantric teachings, empowerments, transmissions, and instructions from different traditions, primarily Sakya and Kagyu, including Hevajra, Vajrabhairava, Cakrasaṃvara, Guhyasamāja, Kālacakra, and many more. Besides involvement in his own Sakya tradition he

would maintain connection with the Kagyu traditions throughout his life. One of his main tantric teachers was Changlung Choding Zhonnu Lodro (spyang lung chos sdings zhonnu blo gros, 1372-1476), whom he met at the

age of twenty-three. From that master he received the Sakya Lamdre (lam 'bras) teachings, multiple Kālacakra teachings from different lineages, the Six Dharmas of Nāropa (nA ro chos drug), Mahāmudrā (phyag chen), and other teachings of different Kagyu lineages.

In 1451 he met the important tantric master Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo (ngor chen kun dga' bzang po, 1382-1456), the founder of the Ngor branch of Sakya. Until that master's death Shākya Chokden received from him various tantric teachings and empowerments, such as Lamdre, Guhyasamāja, and Cakrasaṃvara. In 1452, he received full monastic ordination from Kunga Zangpo.

In 1454 he composed his first major treatises, which consisted of commentaries and supplementary writings on Ornament of Clear Realizations (Abhisamayālaṃkāra) following Rongton's interpretations. That marked the beginning of more than fifty years of writing on all major topics of Buddhist scholarship. It also marked

the beginning of a long process of writing on the Five Books of Maitreya, including several commentaries on Ornament of Clear Realizations. Shākya Chokden's interest in the Five Books, all of which he eventually classified as Madhyamaka works, persisted until the very end of his writing career.

In 1455 at Sakya Monastery (sa skya) Shākya Chokden took and passed advanced scholastic examinations, demonstrating mastery of all subjects of learning available in monastic institutions of his day. The examinations consisted of giving explanations of about fifty different texts of sūtras, tantras, and other

subjects that included works on Prajñāpāramitā, Pramāṇa, Yogācāra, Tantra, and Sanskrit. In 1465 he was elevated to "chenpo" (chen po), literally "Great One," a position held in high respect by both Geluk and Sakya monastic communities of Sangpu Neutok.

For nine months during 1468-1469 Shākya Chokden stayed in a strict Hevajra retreat, during which time he had various contemplative experiences of luminosity ('od gsal). Around the same time -- right before, during, and after the retreat -- he also wrote commentaries on scriptures that set forth a niḥsvabhāvavāda

("proponents of entitylessness") position, also known as "self empty" (rang stong) in contrast to "other empty" (gzhan stong). These included Candrakīrti's Engaging in Madhyamaka (Madhyamakāvatāra) and Nāgārjuna's Wisdom: Root Stanzas on Madhyamaka (Prajñānāmamūlamadhyamakakārikā). After that period most of

the texts he wrote would not focus purely on the niḥsvabhāvavāda, which was considered by many thinkers as synonymous with Madhyamaka system. In contrast, from among the two major divisions of Yogācāra -- satyākāravāda ("true aspectarians") and alīkākāravāda ("false aspectarians") -- Shākya Chokden considers only satyākāravāda as Cittamātra, and he maintains that the alīkākāravāda version of Yogācāra represents one of the two main divisions of Madhyamaka (the other one being niḥsvabhāvavāda).

During his long writing and teaching career, Shākya Chokden developed a novel, and in many respects unusual approach to the key systems of Buddhist thought and practice. A recurrent theme given special attention in his numerous works is the question of the relationship between conflicting conceptual models of ultimate reality and the means of its realization on the one hand, and practical outcomes of utilizing those models in contemplative practice on the other. The position he articulates based on critical comparison of several

Buddhist systems of thought and practice, is that despite their different, and often conflicting, conceptual approaches to reality, when put into contemplative practice those approaches can bring their followers to the same direct realization of reality.

This issue is repeatedly dealt with in Shākya Chokden's commentaries, short letters, and independent works on Buddhist philosophy and meditation, in particular in the Profound Thunder Amidst the Clouds of the Ocean of Definitive Meaning and Rain of Ambrosia, mentioned below. These texts provide a nuanced comparison and

in-depth analysis of conflicting approaches to the nature of reality, its realization, and related contemplative practices developed by leading Mahāyāna thinkers: Nāgārjuna, Asaṅga, Vasubandhu, and Candrakīrti, to mention just a few. Tibetan commentators commonly group philosophical and contemplative

systems developed by these scholars into the categories of Madhyamaka and Yogācāra, or, less commonly, into the systems of self- and other-emptiness. While having similar perspectives on such basic topics as the Buddhist path, these systems present conflicting, and often contradictory, interpretations of the nature of reality, its realization, and so on. Shākya Chokden also acknowledges and explores disagreements between those systems, and provides a detailed analysis of how they contradict one another. Yet, he persistently

argues that despite those conflicting perspectives, both Madhyamaka and Yogācāra equip their followers with effective means of realizing ultimate reality, developing that realization through contemplative practice, and eventually attaining the final result of buddhahood.

Working this argument out, Shākya Chokden moves between the comparative analysis of the philosophical views on reality on the one hand, and, on the other, the inquiry into how those views are supposed to be put into contemplative practice and how effective that contemplative practice is in terms of dispelling obscurations

and achieving awakening. In doing that, he judges validity of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka not in terms of how accurately they articulate ultimate reality and related topics (although he explores those questions too), but in terms of what can be called "practical effectiveness." In his opinion, as long as a system works as a self-sufficient means of achieving buddhahood, it should be treated as Madhyamaka.

Consequently, according to Shākya Chokden, the category of Madhyamaka is not limited to niḥsvabhāvavāda only (as Tibetan thinkers often claim), but also includes alīkākāravāda Yogācāra, which in his opinion represents the final Yogācāra position. (When also addressing tantric views, he adds a third category --

that of tantric Madhyamaka.) Shākya Chokden emphasizes that despite contradictory philosophical positions, different types of contemplative techniques leading to the direct realization of ultimate reality, and conflicting descriptions of that realization, followers of alīkākāravāda and niḥsvabhāvavāda can access the

same direct meditative experience of ultimate reality. In particular, he argues that different types of conceptual reasoning used by followers of these systems can serve as effective means of accessing the same direct realization of ultimate reality.

In 1471, Shākya Chokden moved to Serdokchen. The next year, at the invitation of King Tashigon (bkra shis mgon, ca. 1440-1489), accompanied by three hundred scholars and students, he travelled to Ngari Lowo (mnga' ris glo bo), where he taught extensively on Abhidharma, Pramāṇa, and other sūtric subjects at Namgyel Monastery (rnam rgyal). During that period he also composed texts on Vinaya, Pramāṇa, tathāgatagarbha, and other topics. Reportedly, in 1474 he generated a deep contemplative realization of emptiness.

In 1475, at the request of Tashigon, he wrote Good Questions About the Thorough Differentiation of the Three Types of Vows (sdom gsum rab dbye la dri ba legs pa) which posed more than one hundred questions to Thorough Differentiation of the Three Types of Vows (sdom pa gsum gyi rab tu dbye ba), the Sakyapa's most

important work on the monastic, bodhisattva, and tantric vows composed by Sakya Paṇḍita Kunga Gyeltsen (sa skya pan di ta kun dga' rgyal mtshan). These questions provoked considerable controversy and polemical responses from other Sakya scholars, prompting Shākya Chokden in 1481 to provide response, titled Golden

Lancet (gser gyi thur ma). While his stated intention was to clarify Sakya teachings and not to criticize them, his exposition was unorthodox and therefore taken as an attack on the Sakya tradition, if not on Sakya Paṇḍita himself. In this way Shākya Chokden became a controversial figure in the Sakya scholarly world.

In 1475, on his way back from Lowo to Serdokchen, Shākya Chokden visited a famous scholar Rikden Namgyel Drakzang (rigs ldan rnam rgyal grags bzang, 1395-1475), with whom he had in-depth discussions about multiple subjects of Buddhist learning, including Asaṅga's texts and Kālacakra teachings. While he had

already been analyzing Yogācāra's final view of ultimate reality after the aforementioned meeting with Pema Zangpowa, it was after this meeting with -- and further encouragement from -- Namgyel Drakzang that his writings started increasingly emphasizing the importance of the alīkākāravāda Yogācāra view -- also

identified as a view of other-emptiness -- and presenting it as Madhyamaka on a par with the niḥsvabhāvavāda view of self-emptiness. The first dated text which did so was [[Ocean of Scriptural Statements and |Reasoning (lung dang rigs pa'i rgya mtsho) composed in 1477.

In 1482, Shākya Chokden became a lama of several powerful rulers, including Hor Shākya (hor shAkya), the ruler of Tsang. Around that time he was also offered different estates by Hor Shākya and other influential individuals. It appears that he developed a very good connection both with Gyama (rgya ma) rulers in U, and

with the Rinpung (rin spungs) rulers in Tsang. He also developed a close connection with an influential Kagyu hierarch, the Seventh Karmapa, Chodrak Gyatso (karma pa 07 chos grags rgya mtsho, 1454-1506). He met the Karmapa for the first time in 1484 in Namtseden (gnam rtse ldan), receiving from him week-long

teachings on Madhyamaka. They would meet again in 1502 and 1503, exchanging teachings with each other. Shākya Chokden would eventually accept Chodrak Gyatso as his guru, while the latter would indicate their closeness by saying that they "have one mind."

While in Serdokchen, Shākya Chokden continued to compose important works on Abhidharma, Pramāṇa, Ornament of Clear Realizations, Asaṅga's [[Summary of Higher Knowledge (Abhidharmasamuccaya), and other topics. In

1489 he composed Profound Thunder Amidst the Clouds of the Ocean of Definitive Meaning (nges don rgya mtsho'i sprin gyi 'brug sgra zab mo) with its auto-commentary Rain of Ambrosia (bdud rtsi'i char 'bebs) in which he most clearly articulated his approach to the Yogācāra and Madhyamaka systems.

In 1490 Shākya Chokden taught Sakya Paṇḍita's [[Thorough Clarification of the Buddha's Intent (thub pa'i dgongs pa rab tu gsal ba) and Thorough Differentiation of the Three Types of Vows at Nālendra, the seat of Rongton, and was requested by the monks to become their abbot, which indicates his high standing in the

Sakya tradition despite the above-mentioned controversy sparked by his questions of Sakya Paṇḍita's Three Vows. He declined their request.

At the beginning of 1495 he delivered extensive teachings on Pramāṇa, Vinaya, Abhidharma, and other systems to about 1,800 leading scholars, students from famous monastic universities, and independent thinkers assembled by his invitation at Serdokchen. He used that event as an occasion to publicly present his views, in particular the ones on the nature and relationship of Madhyamaka and Yogācāra.

In the latter half of the 1480s and throughout the 1490s Shākya Chokden was actively involved in giving numerous tantric teachings, empowerments, and transmissions of the Kagyu and Sakya lineages. The audience

was both monastic and lay, including Rinpung and Gyama rulers and political leaders. By 1501 he had written most of his sūtric treatises, and given their reading transmissions and explanations. For the rest of his life, he would focus primarily on tantric teachings and writings.

From 1504, Shākya Chokden composed several important tantric treatises, such as Thorough Establishment of the Glorious Original Buddha (dpal dang po'i sangs rgyas rab tu grub pa). Throughout 1505, he continuously gave tantric teachings to his disciples and to different rulers, and engaged primarily in tantric contemplative practices. He kept giving tantric teachings in 1506, close to the end of his life. Shākya Chokden died in 1507.

At different times in his life Shākya Chokden acquired numerous disciples across Tibet. His writings, most of which are now contained in twenty-four volumes of his collected works, were largely unavailable during the last few centuries, until they were published in 1975 in Thimphu, Bhutan. That said, his works were

closely studied by such important thinkers as Tāranātha (tA ra nA tha, 1575-1634), later influencing a seminal non-sectarian master, Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Taye ('jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha' yas, 1813-1899), who cited verbatim and paraphrased critical passages from such texts as Rain of Ambrosia in his

acclaimed Treasury of Knowledge (shes bya kun khyab mdzod). Shākya Chokden's writings were also promoted in Bhutan, and they continue to be studied privately by students at such ecumenical monastic universities as Dzongsar (rdzong gsar).

Yaroslav Komarovski (Ph.D. University of Virginia, 2007) is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. He is author of Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Experience by Oxford University Press, Visions of Unity: The Golden Pandita Shakya Chokden's New Interpretation of Yogācāra and Madhyamaka by State University of New York Press and Three Texts on Madhyamaka by Shakya Chokden by Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.

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