Status Updates From Entering the Way of the Gre...

Having studied Mipham Rinpoche's "Movement, Stillness, Awareness," I'm quite interested to learn that this framework for practice has foundations that stretch back at least to Manjushrimitra, and receive an important commentary in Rongzompa's work.

It seems that the long section on deviations from the view is basically a commentary on key sections of the All-Creating Sovereign Semde tantra.

Turns out that the author is publishing a separate commentary to this book, which in some places is clearly badly needed. It's due to come out in a couple of weeks, so I may put it on hold, even though I'm 3/4 done.

I love this book, but ... I think translating sangs rgyas pa as "perfecting" is flat-out wrong. Sometimes you have to grit your teeth and translate this as "buddhafied" or similar. Otherwise, you have to say Rongzompa wrote that all things are already "perfect" (sangs rgyas) when he wrote that all things are already Buddha. That is not fair to the reader.

The difficult fourth chapter is uncanny in its similarity to Hegel's Science of Logic - more similar than any Buddhist treatise I've seen, by far.

"It is by realizing that the two truths are indistinguishable that one becomes capable of entering into the nonduality of phenomena. Thereby, one may be described as “abiding in the view of the Great Perfection," which is the act of simply being divorced from all clinging to views."

Note to the author: you are using the term "burden of proof" incorrectly. It refers to which party in a debate bears responsibility for establishing their position, and it makes no sense to talk about something being able to "withstand the burden of proof".

I have to say I think it's a very serious omission that this book doesn't include a glossary.