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D. Higgins

1 paper in the library · 1 citation · publishing 2016

Papers

How is Consciousness (rnam shes) Related to Wisdom (ye shes)? The Eighth Karma pa on Buddhist Differentiation and Unity Models of Reality

Studia Religiologica April 19, 2016 D. Higgins 1 citation

The Eighth Karma pa, Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507–1554), argues that human beings possess two concurrent but nonconvergent modes of awareness: conditioned consciousness (rnam shes) and unconditioned wisdom (ye shes). Recognizing their difference is key to realizing their underlying unity, which resolves a Buddhist philosophical tension between a model that sharply differentiates conventional and ultimate truths and a model that identifies them as one. The article includes a translation and critical edition of the Karma pa's short text replying to Bla ma Khams pa's queries on whether two minds can exist in one person.