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Cutting Through Appearances: Practice And Theory Of Tibetan Buddhism
Presents the authentic daily practice of Tibetan monks and yogis plus the paths and hindrances to freedom, consciousness and the two truths.
- GenresBuddhism
360 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 4, 2015
It is rather prideful to expect to understand this textbook without being guided through by a qualified Buddhist teacher. I study with a senior Geshe from Gomang, and it took our group from August until June once a week for 3 hours to get all the way through this text.
This is one of the sorucebooks for the 4 Schools of Buddhist Tenets, that is used by monks and geshe-scholars at the Gomang Monastic College of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. This is a stepladder to understanding Middle-Way philosophy of Nagarjuna and the others (Chandrakirti, Aryadeva, Shantideva, Tsongkhapa, etc).
The monks training for the geshe degree might get lessons on this in the morning, and then go out and debate one another in the courtyard.
The Gelug school of the Dalai Lamas is well-known for scholarship. They all study the same root texts of Je Tsongkhapa, Buddha's scriptures, & the Indian Pandits, but then each different college has its own commentators who have summed each of the presentations. The divergences are on minor points. Perhaps this to keep lively debates. So even if a student is studying Buddhist philosophy with a Gelug lama or geshe, the college they came from and the textbooks they used might influence they way the present the philosophy of sunyata.
Drepung Gomang college uses texts by Kunkhyen Jamyang Shepa and other commentaries dervied from him. This text by Konchok Jigme Wangpo, is one of those. Jamyang Shepa's name pops up a lot. My teacher told us that Konchok Jigme Wangpo was Jamyang Shepas reincarnation (tulku). These scholars came a few generations after Tsongkhapa.
In contrast, Gomang's sister college Drepung-Loseling, uses entirely differnt set of textbooks for philosophy, derived mainloy form another scholar Panchen Sonam Drakpa. They differ on minor points. My teacher said it keeps the debates very lively when the two colleges debate one another for geshe exams and other exhibitions.
Each understanding gets more and more progressively subtle. It is broken down by means of the Basis, Path & Fruit/Result of the Path --or in another way, Beginning Middle & End. In essence, each school in ancient India was trying to get down and isolate and define just precisely what it was that travelled from life to life, what is the thing that collects karma, what is the collection that gets purified and liberated on the path to Buddhahood. Each school had different assertions. The 4 Tantric Lineages in Tibet follow the Middle Way Consequence.
When studying Tenets, part of the journey is letting go of fixed notions of correct & incorrect, and to think outside the box, to consider the differences in terms of "appropriate for this set of trainees, appropriate for that set of trainees". Or in another way, one cannot have calculus without first grasping algebra. Buddha's skillful means. Again, I recommend that this text is studied with the guidance of a teacher. It is said that a consequence of studying tenets and all of the debates and reasonings and counterarguments that go along with them, is that one's mind starts to become sharp. I dont claim to understand this text but I think I got a little bit more quick having studied it.
As a companion text, I hihgly hihgly highly highly recommend "Buddhist Philosophy: Lobsang GOnchok's Commentary on Jamyang Shepa" and also Jeffery Hopkins'
Meditation on Emptiness. These both helped A LOT as auxiliaries.
This is one of the sorucebooks for the 4 Schools of Buddhist Tenets, that is used by monks and geshe-scholars at the Gomang Monastic College of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. This is a stepladder to understanding Middle-Way philosophy of Nagarjuna and the others (Chandrakirti, Aryadeva, Shantideva, Tsongkhapa, etc).
The monks training for the geshe degree might get lessons on this in the morning, and then go out and debate one another in the courtyard.
The Gelug school of the Dalai Lamas is well-known for scholarship. They all study the same root texts of Je Tsongkhapa, Buddha's scriptures, & the Indian Pandits, but then each different college has its own commentators who have summed each of the presentations. The divergences are on minor points. Perhaps this to keep lively debates. So even if a student is studying Buddhist philosophy with a Gelug lama or geshe, the college they came from and the textbooks they used might influence they way the present the philosophy of sunyata.
Drepung Gomang college uses texts by Kunkhyen Jamyang Shepa and other commentaries dervied from him. This text by Konchok Jigme Wangpo, is one of those. Jamyang Shepa's name pops up a lot. My teacher told us that Konchok Jigme Wangpo was Jamyang Shepas reincarnation (tulku). These scholars came a few generations after Tsongkhapa.
In contrast, Gomang's sister college Drepung-Loseling, uses entirely differnt set of textbooks for philosophy, derived mainloy form another scholar Panchen Sonam Drakpa. They differ on minor points. My teacher said it keeps the debates very lively when the two colleges debate one another for geshe exams and other exhibitions.
Each understanding gets more and more progressively subtle. It is broken down by means of the Basis, Path & Fruit/Result of the Path --or in another way, Beginning Middle & End. In essence, each school in ancient India was trying to get down and isolate and define just precisely what it was that travelled from life to life, what is the thing that collects karma, what is the collection that gets purified and liberated on the path to Buddhahood. Each school had different assertions. The 4 Tantric Lineages in Tibet follow the Middle Way Consequence.
When studying Tenets, part of the journey is letting go of fixed notions of correct & incorrect, and to think outside the box, to consider the differences in terms of "appropriate for this set of trainees, appropriate for that set of trainees". Or in another way, one cannot have calculus without first grasping algebra. Buddha's skillful means. Again, I recommend that this text is studied with the guidance of a teacher. It is said that a consequence of studying tenets and all of the debates and reasonings and counterarguments that go along with them, is that one's mind starts to become sharp. I dont claim to understand this text but I think I got a little bit more quick having studied it.
As a companion text, I hihgly hihgly highly highly recommend "Buddhist Philosophy: Lobsang GOnchok's Commentary on Jamyang Shepa" and also Jeffery Hopkins'
Meditation on Emptiness. These both helped A LOT as auxiliaries.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 25, 2025
Very dry.
September 29, 2025
This was used as our textbook in Professor James Duelinger's class on Tibetan Buddhism at the University of Iowa. I benefited so much from this introduction and credit my familiarity to Buddhism from this one class I spontaneously decided to take.
June 1, 2007
This book is really informative, but a little dry. If anyone is really interested in the topic of Tibetan Buddhism, I recommend this book. It is very well researched and extensive.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews