The Jewel Appearance: Exemplifying Wisdom in a Tibetan Tantric Tradition

Buddhist metaphors for the deceptive nature of appearances do not necessarily mean the phenomenal world should be dismissed; understanding why things appear as they do is central to realizing how they truly are. This article examines how Tibetan author Drakpa Gyeltsen (1147–1216) uses experience and metaphor to bridge illusory appearances and wisdom. In his root text and commentary on the inseparability of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, he employs about thirty-two examples to establish the three piths of practice: all phenomena are mind; mind is illusion; and illusion is natureless. Unlike typical Mahāyāna examples, Drakpa Gyeltsen emphasizes what it feels like to inhabit the illusion. Tantric examples embed teachings in a ritual program synthesizing contradictory aspects of experience, guiding the adept through initiation and sādhana toward exemplary wisdom.

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Abstract

While it may be tempting to assume that the preponderance of Buddhist metaphors for the deceptive nature of appearances suggests that our experiences of the phenomenal world should be dismissed, in many Buddhist traditions, understanding why things appear as they do is central to realizing how they truly are. In this article, I illuminate the unique manner in which one Tibetan author uses experience and metaphor to bridge the gap between illusory appearances and wisdom. In his root text and commentary on the teachings of the inseparability of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, Drakpa Gyeltsen (1147–1216) uses examples to convey key elements of the Lamdré tradition, a ritual and philosophical program based on the teachings of the Hevajra tantras. The Sakya master employs about thirty-two examples to establish the “three piths of practice”: all phenomena are mind; mind is illusion; and illusion is “natureless.” While most of these examples are familiar to Mahāyāna literature as well as in the broader pan-Indian context, Drakpa Gyeltsen taps into what it feels like to inhabit the illusion, rather than simply emphasizing its unverifiable status. Moreover, a few examples are decidedly tantric in nature. In exploring Drakpa Gyeltsen’s contemplative pedagogy, I highlight how these tantric examples embed the teachings in a broader ritual program aimed at synthesizing apparently contradictory aspects of human experience. Through transformative ritual processes of initiation and sādhana, the tantric adept is introduced to the “exemplary wisdom,” in a necessary progression toward attaining true wisdom. I argue that while examples may be instrumental rather than an end in themselves, Drakpa Gyeltsen reveals their power to illuminate.