A Treatise on the Yogacara Middle Way and the Decision of Prasangika Madhyamaka

詳細資訊

Foreword & Introduction

I. Historical Origins and the Reason for this Treatise: The Convergence and Clash of the Two Great Mahayana Chariots

The origins of the Buddha Dharma are vast and boundless. Since its transmission from India to China and Tibet, generations of sages and worthies have arisen. In the intellectual history of Mahayana Buddhism, Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, relying on the Prajnaparamita Sutras, initiated the "Madhyamaka School," sweeping away all ordinary attachments to inherent existence with piercing emptiness-wisdom, revealing that all phenomena are ultimately empty. Bodhisattvas Asanga and Vasubandhu, relying on the Samdhinirmocana Sutra, founded the "Yogacara School," constructing a rigorous framework of the Alaya-vijnana (storehouse consciousness) and dependent origination, revealing the "wondrous existence" of the principle that all phenomena are consciousness-only. These two great chariots of Nature (Madhyamaka) and Characteristics (Yogacara) were originally both supreme skillful means used by the Tathagata to teach according to the capacities of beings, and logically, they should run parallel without contradiction. However, as the Dharma streams flowed over time, later scholars often clung to one extreme, giving rise to mutual disputes.

In the history of Tibetan Buddhism, the patriarch of the Gelug school, Master Tsongkhapa, rose during a degenerate age. To rescue the era from lax discipline and confused doctrines, the Master adopted the "Prasangika-Madhyamaka view" of the scholar Candrakirti, authoring monumental works such as the Lamrim Chenmo (Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment) and the Illumination of the Hidden Meaning of Madhyamakavatara. Doctrinally, Master Tsongkhapa held the Prasangika-Madhyamaka in highest esteem, elevating "dependent origination and emptiness of inherent nature" as the ultimate truth. He strictly classified the Yogacara school as "provisional" (neyartha) skillful means, going so far as to refute the existence of the "Alaya-vijnana" and "Svasamvedana" (self-cognizing cognition). This doctrinal classification profoundly influenced the development of Tibetan Buddhist dogma for centuries.

However, if we evaluate this through the orthodox Dharmalaksana system of the Cheng Weishi Lun (Vijnaptimatratasiddhi-sastra) transmitted and translated by the Tang dynasty's Tripitaka Master Xuanzang and Master Kuiji of the Ci'en school, many of Master Tsongkhapa's refutations and propositions are highly debatable within the strict framework of Buddhist logic (Hetuvidya) and Yogacara psychology. The author of this book, Wang Muti, motivated by the compassionate wisdom to seek the ultimate reality of Mahayana, specifically takes the sutras and treatises of the Yogacara school as his guiding standard. He engages in a profound, cross-temporal, and cross-regional "decision" (evaluation) of the Madhyamaka views and Esoteric teachings clung to by Master Tsongkhapa. The purpose of authoring this treatise is to hope that, in the process of dispelling confusion and revealing truth, the supreme status of the Yogacara Middle Way will be re-established, ultimately achieving a perfect Dharma-realm where "Han (Chinese) and Tibetan doctrines converge, returning to the One Vehicle."

II. Criteria for Doctrinal Classification: The "Fourfold Two Truths" of the Great Tang Ci'en School

To judge the superiority or inferiority of two great philosophical systems, one must first establish a precise measuring standard. The core doctrinal classification of this book is based on the system of the "Fourfold Two Truths" established in the Yogacarabhumi-sastra and the Dacheng Fayuan Yilin Zhang. The Yogacara school argues that the "True and Conventional Truths" are not merely two simple layers of "emptiness of nature" and "nominal existence," but possess four levels progressing from shallow to deep, from characteristics into nature:

1. Worldly Conventional Truth and Worldly Ultimate Truth: Progressing from illusory phenomena commonly accepted by ordinary beings (e.g., a vase, clothing, an army, a forest) to the foundational laws established by the holy teachings (e.g., the Skandhas, Dhatus, and Ayatanas).

2. Logical Conventional Truth and Logical Ultimate Truth: Progressing from the differentiated specificities of the Skandhas, Dhatus, and Ayatanas to the principles of the Four Noble Truths (Suffering, Accumulation, Cessation, Path) deduced through reasoning.

3. Realized Conventional Truth and Realized Ultimate Truth: Progressing from the principles of the Four Truths established through explanation, to the "Tathata of the Two Emptinesses" personally realized by holy wisdom, detached from all characteristics.

4. Ultimate Conventional Truth and Ultimate Ultimate Truth: Progressing from the Tathata of the Two Emptinesses, which still carries the verbal designation of "emptiness," to the ultimate realization where words are cut off—neither empty nor non-empty, endowed with immeasurable true merits: the "One True Dharma Realm (The Ultimate Nature of Consciousness-Only / Parinispanna-svabhava)".

The author sharply points out that while Master Tsongkhapa and the Gelugpa's "Prasangika Madhyamaka view" successfully lead practitioners to realize emptiness by vigorously refuting inherent existence, under the strict classification of Yogacara, their realization stops at the third level: "Realized Ultimate Truth." Master Tsongkhapa views "emptiness of inherent nature" as the ultimate truth but fails to establish the fourth level: "Ultimate Ultimate Truth." If even the "Other-Dependent Nature" (the substance of consciousness), which acts as the support for both defilement and purity, is emptied away, one falls into the "attachment to depreciation" (malignant view of emptiness), destroying the deep foundation upon which cause and effect, as well as the untainted merits of Buddhahood, are built.

III. Core Evaluations: The Five Major Debates between Yogacara and Madhyamaka

Following the logic of the Cheng Weishi Lun, this book conducts a comprehensive and meticulous deconstruction and reconstruction of the Gelugpa doctrines. The core debates can be summarized into the following five points:

1. The Subject of Life and Carrier of Karma: Alaya-vijnana vs. Continuum of Mental Consciousness

To guard against the non-Buddhist concept of a "Divine Self", Master Tsongkhapa refuted a substantially existent Alaya-vijnana, arguing that the "continuum of preceding and succeeding mental consciousnesses" or "subtle wind-mind" alone is sufficient to hold karmic seeds and link cause and effect. Relying on Yogacara logic, this book sternly counters: The sixth mental consciousness is interrupted during deep sleep, fainting, or mindless absorptions. Furthermore, mental consciousness can be virtuous, non-virtuous, or neutral; its nature and function simply cannot bear the heavy responsibilities of "receiving perfuming, holding seeds, ripening, and appropriating the physical body." If one abolishes the Alaya-vijnana—whose nature is strictly "unobscured-neutral"—the continuum of life and karmic retribution will face the logical crisis of annihilation. The Alaya-vijnana is not a provisional teaching but the sole physical and psychological foundation that guarantees the infallibility of universal cause and effect.

2. The Limits of Epistemology: Consciousness-Only without External Objects vs. Nominal External Objects

The Gelugpa asserts that although there is no inherent existence in the ultimate truth, one must acknowledge objective external objects outside the mind within "nominal conventional truth," lest worldly common sense be destroyed. Yogacara counters this with Master Xuanzang's "True Inference of Consciousness-Only" and the Three Natures theory: The mountains, rivers, and earth seen by ordinary eye consciousness are all "internal perceived aspects" manifested by the Alaya-vijnana. Grasping at an independent substance outside the mind is the fundamental "attachment to phenomena" and the "Imagined Nature". By utilizing the wisdom that "objects are non-existent while consciousness exists," Yogacara completely subsumes external objects into the internal mind, establishing the standard of true direct perception where "the appearance of external objects is entirely an illusion."

3. Psychological Microcosm and Cognitive Mechanisms: Svasamvedana (Self-Cognition) vs. Mind and Mental Factors

In response to the Gelugpa's refutation of "self-cognizing cognition" (Svasamvedana) using the analogy that "a knife cannot cut itself," this book points out that the essence of consciousness is "cognition/discrimination," much like a lamp that can illuminate objects and simultaneously "illuminate itself." If there were no self-cognizing aspect to record the cognitive process, the human function of "memory" would arise without a cause. Furthermore, this book meticulously analyzes Yogacara's "six fundamental defilements" and "fifty-one mental factors," indicating that the Gelugpa's attribution of all defilements solely to the "view of the transitory collection" (self-grasping) is too coarse. Yogacara emphasizes that defilements must be "counteracted individually" to accurately purify the specific defiled seeds in the field of consciousness.

4. The Causes and Effects of Buddhahood, Provisional vs. Ultimate: The Five distinct Natures vs. The Ultimate One Vehicle

Relying on the Prajnaparamita and Lotus Sutra, the Gelugpa asserts that all sentient beings possess the "Principle Buddha-nature" (Emptiness) and are destined to become Buddhas. In contrast, Yogacara, relying on the ultimate teachings of the Samdhinirmocana Sutra, points out that attaining Buddhahood requires not only the "Principle Buddha-nature" but also the "untainted seeds" (Active Buddha-nature) intrinsically present in the Alaya-vijnana. Just as one cannot extract gold from soil that lacks gold ore, if one lacks untainted seeds (such as those devoid of the nature for enlightenment, or those fixed in the Two Vehicles), even after meditating on emptiness for a thousand eons, one cannot bear the fruit of Buddhahood. Yogacara upholds the ironclad law of cause and effect concerning the "Five Distinct Natures," demonstrating the rigorous and precise reality of the Dharma realm.

5. Deconstructing Esoteric Divine Transformations through Yogacara

The most brilliant aspect of this book lies in using Yogacara principles to provide an unprecedented scientific and philosophical interpretation of Tibetan Buddhism's Highest Yoga Tantra (Generation Stage, Completion Stage, channels, winds, and drops):

- Generation Stage and Mandalas: These are not merely the "imaginative engagement" (illusory imagination) of the mental consciousness as claimed by the Gelugpa. Rather, through the power of concentration triggering the seeds of the four great elements in the Alaya-vijnana, they manifest "Form born of Concentration" which possesses actual functional substance. This is a true physical and psychological reconstruction.

- Channels, Winds, Drops, and Wind-Mind: What Tantra refers to as the "subtlemost wind-mind," seen through Yogacara, is simply the wind (qi) acting as the "perceived object of touch" manifested by the Alaya-vijnana, while the mind is the "perceiving aspect." The flow of energies in the channels is actually the Alaya-vijnana's "appropriating transformation" of the physical body.

- Mantras and Spells: These are not merely dependent originations of faith, but the physical frequencies of "nominal seeds." Through the resonance of specific audio frequencies, they directly vibrate the core of the Alaya-vijnana, achieving a high-frequency rewriting of its program (transformation of the basis).

IV. Ultimate Aim and Vision: The Yogacara Middle Way and the Harmonious Integration of Han and Tibetan Buddhism

Throughout the logical deductions in this book, the author clearly delineates the supreme nature of the "Yogacara Middle Way": "The Imagined Nature is fundamentally empty, while the Other-Dependent and Perfectly Accomplished Natures substantially exist; being neither empty nor non-empty, it is free from the two extremes of addition and subtraction."

Refuting certain arguments of the Gelugpa is not to disparage Madhyamaka, but to point out that an overemphasis on "negation (deconstruction)" easily leads to the faults of nihilism and annihilation. The logic of Prasangika Madhyamaka is like a sharp broom capable of sweeping away the firm, imagined attachments of ordinary beings. However, the ultimate goal of Buddhist practice lies in "constructing" a pure Buddha-land and achieving the Buddhahood of the perfectly bright Four Wisdoms. This must rely on the substantial engineering of the Yogacara school: the "Alaya-vijnana holding seeds" and "transforming consciousness into wisdom."

The ultimate vision of this book is to promote the "convergence and mutual reflection of Han and Tibetan doctrines." The author appeals to future scholars:

"To shatter imagined attachments, learn the sharp sword of Madhyamaka; to establish the other-dependent nature, cultivate the wondrous practices of Yogacara; to realize the perfectly accomplished nature, attain the great bliss of Buddhahood."

In this Dharma-Ending Age and era of flourishing science, Yogacara's precise interpretation of the subconscious (Alaya), universal manifestation (perceived and perceiving aspects), and psychological mechanisms (mental factors) makes it the "science of the mind" most suited to the capacities of modern people. Through this treatise, Evaluating Tsongkhapa's Adherence to Madhyamaka Views and Esoteric Meanings—A Decision Based on the Yogacara Fourfold Two Truths, we can revisit the universe-encompassing, meticulously flawless wisdom of the Tang Dynasty's Tripitaka Master Xuanzang and Master Kuiji of Ci'en, and within the true principle of the singular characteristic of the Dharma Realm, clearly see the ultimate, smooth path from ordinary existence to sagehood.

Wang Muti, Taiwan

At the Bodhisattva Pitaka

March 17, 2026

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