Reburying the treasure—maintaining the continuity: Two texts by Śākya Mchog Ldan on the Buddha-essence

The rich and interconnected universe of ?ākya Mchog Ldan’s views, including those on the buddha-essence, cannot be limited to or summarized in a few neat categories. Nevertheless, the following two interrelated ideas are crucial for understanding ?ākya Mchog Ldan’s interpretation of the buddha-essence: 1) only Mahāyāna āryas (’phags pa) have the buddha-essence characterized by the purity from adventitious stains (glo bur rnam dag); 2) the buddha-essence is inseparable from the positive qualities (yon tan, gu?a) of a buddha; In his writings, ?ākya Mchog Ldan argues against identifying the buddha-essence as a mere natural purity (rang bzhin rnam dag), i.e., the state of natural freedom from obscurations as it is taught in the Middle or Second Wheel of Doctrine (chos ’khor, dharmacakra) and its commentaries. The buddha-essence has to be posited as inseparability from positive qualities of a buddha. ?ākya Mchog Ldan approaches the buddha-essence inseparable from positive qualities of a buddha in two ways. In some texts, such as the Essence of Sūtras and Tantras, he argues that it has to be identified only as purity from adventitious stains, i.e., the removal of all or some negative qualities that prevent one from directly seeing the buddha-essence. In other texts, such as The Sun Unseen Before, he interprets it as the purity from adventitious stains and the natural purity as it is taught in some sūtras of the Third Wheel of Doctrine and their commentaries. That type of natural purity is understood as the state of natural freedom from all obscurations inseparable from positive qualities of a buddha. Thereby, in this second type of texts, ?ākya Mchog Ldan arrives at positing two types of the buddha-essence: relative (kun rdzob, sa?v?ti) and ultimate (don dam, paramārtha). Despite different interpretations of the natural purity, the identification of the buddha-essence as the purity from adventitious stains is present in both. In his interpretation of the buddha-essence, ?ākya Mchog Ldan utilizes the categories of the three levels found in the Sublime Continuum: the impure (ma dag, a?uddha), impure-pure (ma dag dag pa, a?uddha?uddha, i.e. partially pure) and very pure (shin tu rnam dag, suvi?uddha) levels that correspond respectively to the categories of sentient beings, bodhisattvas (understood as ārya bodhisattvas in this context), and tathāgatas. ?ākya Mchog Ldan argues that one becomes a possessor of the buddha-essence free from adventitious stains only on the impure-pure level. In other words, when bodhisattvas enter the Mahāyāna Path of Seeing (mthong lam, dar?anamārga) simultaneously with the attainment of the first boddhisattva ground (byang chub sems pa’i sa, bodhisattavabhūmi)of Utmost Joy (rab tu dga’ ba, pramuditā), they become āryas, i.e. ‘exalted’ or ‘superior’, bodhisattvas, directly realize the ultimate truth (don dam bden pa, paramārthasatya), and thereby for the first time generate an antidote to obscurations of knowables (shes bya’i sgrib pa, jñeyāvara?a). They start gradually removing them, and thereby actually see at least a partial purification of stains ‘covering’ the buddha-essence, and its inseparability from at least some positive qualities. Such is not possible for anyone below that level, even for the non-Mahāyāna arhats (i.e., ?rāvakas and pratyekabuddhas). Thus, only Mahāyāna āryas have the buddha-essence characterized by the purity from adventitious stains; ārya bodhisattvas have only a part of it, while buddhas have it completely.     

以“三个代表”的重要思想为指导努力实现企业工会工作新突破

贯彻落实江泽民同志“三个代表”的重要思想 ,企业工会要以代表中国先进生产力的发展要求为指导 ,带领职工抓住机遇 ,维护改革 ,促进发展 ;要以代表中国先进文化的前进方向为指导 ,在企业文化建设中充分发挥组织作用、载体作用、主导作用 ;要以代表中国最广大人民的根本利益的重要思想为指导 ,切实维护职工利益。     

创新：思想政治工作的基石

加强和改进新时期的思想政治工作,必须着眼于新的实践和新的发展.在继承和发扬优良传统的基础上,不断改进和创新,在针对性、实效性上下功夫,不断提高思想政治工作的感召力和渗透力.     

论邓小平国际战略思想形成的现实依据

邓小平国际战略思想的形成,是国际形势的发展与我国社会主义现代化建设需要的时代产物.其形成的现实依据可以集中概括为一是20世纪70年代末国际形势发展的基本趋势,二是要把意识形态的争端限制在特定的范围内,三是我国进行社会主义现代化建设的需要,四是根据我国国力的现状量力而行.     

教职工思想政治工作初探

教职工是知识分子队伍中的一个特殊群体,是学校教学科研的主力军.如何做好教职工的思想政治工作,使他们在工作和实践中实现自我教育、自我提高和自我发展的目标,是各级各类学校领导班子必须面对的主要课题之一.本文从理论和实践层面对此进行了探讨,并提出要坚持抓好"四个立足",即坚持立足于教育,坚持立足于引导,坚持立足于关心,坚持立足于创新,试图以此推动教职工不断学习现代教育的理论和方法,提高教书育人的综合能力.     

浅析老子思想对社区警务工作的启示

通过将我国先贤老子思想中关于社会治安管理的理念与社区警务的实质精神进行比较研究,加深对"推行社区警务战略"的精神实质的理解,并就构建社区警务制度的具体要求进行了初步探讨.     

建立中俄朝图们江自由路港区的构想

图们江的国际合作开发,关键是解决好交通运输瓶颈问题。建立中俄朝图们江自由路港区是解决交通运输瓶颈的惟一正确选择。所谓图们江自由路港区,就是在图们江下游地区,整合交通运输资源,将海上航线、港口、陆路运输线、口岸设施及通关查验结成一体化,实行统一的自由口岸通关查验制度和交通运输制度,实现商品、运输工具、人员在区域内的自由流动。从目前该区域的实际情况和可行性分析看,已具备建立自由路港区的条件,因此,建立中俄朝自由路港区,将加快图们江区域的国际合作开发进程。     

习近平法治思想的整体认读

习近平法治思想是习近平同志丰富的法律思想聚变升华的理论硕果,是我国法治建设实践催生的理论创造,是在中国特色社会主义建设的“总依据”下探索形成的关于中国特色社会主义法治的思想,是以中国特色社会主义法治建设为核心内容的法治思想。习近平中国特色社会主义法治思想是由关于法治的社会主义性质和中国特色的思想、关于中国特色社会主义法治体系的思想、关于中国特色社会主义法治的建设和运行的思想三个方面构成的一个完整的法治思想体系。     

论胡锦涛“为民”思想的理论价值和实践意义

以胡锦涛为总书记的新一代中央领导集体,从当今中国的实际出发,提出了具有时代特色的＂为民＂思想。胡锦涛＂为民＂思想,升华了中国传统民本思想,发展了马克思主义唯物史观,细化了党的根本宗旨,深化了党的执政理念,为保持党的先进性、实现党群关系和谐、巩固党的执政地位提供了行动指南,为构建社会主义和谐社会、推进党的建设和社会主义现代化建设新的伟大工程提供了有力的思想武器。     

Rational Choice,Agency and Thoughtfully Reflective Decision Making: The Short and Long-Term Consequences of Making Good Choices

Notions of human agency are a prominent part of some but not all criminological theories. For example, McCarthy (Annu Rev Sociol 28:417–442, 2002) argues that rational choice theory, which allows persons great involvement in decision making, is more congenial with notions of human agency than others. It would appear from his argument that rational choice theory offers fertile ground to develop a clearly defined role for human agency in criminal behavior. In this paper we have taken up McCarthy’s view and argue that an important part of what is human agency consists of thoughtfully reflective decision making. We outline four elements of thoughtfully reflective decision making, and claim that it is a characteristic that varies both across persons and within persons over time. It is in short the process by which good decisions are made because by using this process one increases the likelihood that choices made will be consistent with preferences. We develop a clear operational definition of thoughtfully reflective decision making and link it to the concept of human agency. We also articulate testable hypotheses about the short-term and longer-term implications of thoughtfully reflective decision making. We conclude with a discussion of what we think lies ahead for future conceptual and empirical work.