Учение о драгоценности человеческого рождения Чже Цонкапы

Summary

Human birth is considered a rare and precious opportunity in Buddhism, the best condition for ending the cycle of rebirth and achieving spiritual goals. Je Tsongkhapa's Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment treats human birth not as random but as the result of accumulated merits and karmic responsibility. He analyzes its causes and conditions, emphasizing the difficulty of attaining it. Practices contemplating impermanence and death contribute to conscious living and dying without fear or attachment, which are obstacles to better rebirth. This contemplation is an active, transformative process crucial for spiritual realization. The concept of the preciousness of human birth plays a system-forming role throughout the Lamrim teaching.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Introduction. In Buddhism, human birth is considered a rare opportunity and the best condition — to put an end to further births and attain the utmost spiritual goals. In comparison to other realms of existence in saṃsāra (animals, pretas, etc.), the human realm is referred to as ‘the fortunate one’ and birth in a human body is called ‘the precious (Tib. rinchen) birth’. Goals. The work seeks to examine the concept of the preciousness of human birth and its central role in Buddhist practice. Materials and methods. The study attempts a textual analysis of the fundamental treatise in the Gelug sect — Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment (Tib. Lamrim Chenmo) by Je Tsongkhapa. The study employs a cultural anthropological approach aimed at constructing ideas about the value and meaning of human birth in Buddhist worldviews. Results. Je Tsongkhapa deems human birth not a random event but rather a rare and auspicious result of the accumulation of merits (Tib. sodnam) and karmic responsibility. To understand the preciousness of human birth, Je Tsongkhapa analyzes its causes and conditions in detail, draws attention to the incredible difficulty of attaining the former. Practices of contemplating the nature of impermanence and the inevitability of death are to contribute not only to conscious living but also to conscious dying, i.e. without fear or attachment that serve key obstacles to a better rebirth. In Je Tsongkhapa’s teaching, the practice of contemplating death is an active, profound and transformative process, and is a crucial element for spiritual realization. The paper notes that Je Tsongkhapa takes the concept of ālāyavijñāna (storehouse-consciousness) from Chittamatra to adapt it within the contexts of Madhyamaka and, thus, explain the mechanism of rebirth and the continuity of karma. It is concluded that the concept of the preciousness of human birth functions not as an isolated doctrine at the stage of preparatory teachings but rather plays a system-forming role in the entire Lamrim teaching.