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The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyu Tradition (Nitartha Institute) Hardcover – November 2, 2004

by Karl Brunnholzl (Author)

4.9 14 ratings

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Madhyamaka is a potent and universally accessible means of calming our suffering and awakening to our innate wisdom. The Center of the Sunlit Sky artfully rescues this brilliant teaching from its unwarranted reputation for intellectual opacity and reinstates it as a supremely practical tool kit for everyday living. The aim of this book is to take Madhyamaka out of the purely intellectual corner into which it unjustly gets boxed. It is an attempt to show how Madhayamaka actually addresses and works with all of our experiences in life.

The book follows the original Indian sources as well as the standard commentaries on Madhyamaka in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. At the same time, these materials are adapted for a contemporary audience, combining the familiar sharpness of Madhyamaka reasonings (launching a massive assault on our cherished belief systems) with exploring the practical relevance of the Madhyamaka way of mind training.

Review

"A valuable contribution to scholarship and one worthy of study. [Dr. Karl Brunnholzl's] approach to the text is both intellectual and experiential, showing how a clear understanding of what can appear to be a dauntingly complex text can be used to deepen practice."—The Middle Way

About the Author

Karl Brunnhölzl, MD, was trained as a physician and also studied Tibetology. He received his systematic training in Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy and practice at the Marpa Institute for Translators, founded by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. Since 1989 he has been a translator and interpreter from Tibetan and English. He is presently involved with the Nitartha Institute as a teacher and translator.

Print length

984 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Snow Lion
Publication date

November 2, 2004
Dimensions

6.3 x 2.2 x 9.3 inches
ISBN-10

1559392185
ISBN-13

978-1559392181
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Jamgon Mipham
37
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Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso
39
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Snow Lion (November 2, 2004)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 984 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1559392185
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1559392181
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.26 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.3 x 2.2 x 9.3 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,890,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4,258 in Other Eastern Religions & Sacred Texts (Books)
- #4,314 in Philosophy Movements (Books)

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4.9 14 ratings

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J. Conant

Immersion into the concept of emptiness

Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2009

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For anyone interested in Madhyamaka philosophy, Brunnhölzl does an amazingly thorough job presenting it in great detail. He does not present it as an outsider describing Buddhist philosophy in a dry and academic fashion, but rather as a practitioner who has significant meditative experience. In addition to explaining the Madhyamaka point of view, Brunnhölzl gives much practical advice of how to apply it in our daily lives. The idea that all phenomena are empty of inherent nature is a core feature of Buddhism, and yet it is a concept totally foreign to our everyday way of thinking. This book has the effect of immersing the reader in an environment where the idea of emptiness becomes more and more apparent, until, finally, it is actually plain obvious common sense. The book also takes care to distinguish how the Kagyu lineage in particular views Madhyamaka philosophy, as opposed to the later Gelug tradition pioneered by Tsongkhapa.

I often read this book in preparation for analytical meditation. It really primes the pump, putting my mind in a state where the meditation comes very naturally.

19 people found this helpful

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Karma

Good Book that's Big Enough for Bludgeoning

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2014

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Fantastic distillation of the development of Madhyamaka in the Kagyu tradition. I used this by way of comparative work with other Tibetan Renaissance thinkers (Tsongkhapa, Gorampa Sonam Senge, Dolpopa) and it made for a great dialogue between them all.

4 people found this helpful

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Vivianne Crowley

Crowley, Vivianne. “Review: 'The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyü Tradition, by Karl Brunnhölzl

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2015

Crowley, Vivianne. “Review: 'The Center of the Sunlit Sky: Madhyamaka in the Kagyü Tradition, by Karl Brunnhölzl.” The Middle Way: Journal of the Buddhist Society 80, no. 4 (February 2006): 246-247.

The Center of the Sunlit Sky is a weighty tome and Madhyamaka is not for beginners. For those familiar with Madhyamaka teaching, however, and for those following the Kagyü Tradition, The Center of the Sunlit Sky is a valuable contribution to scholarship and a book worthy of study. It provides a comprehensive presentation of the unique Kagyü view of Madhyamaka and, as the first volume of the Nitartha Institute Series, under the guidance of The Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, forms part of a pioneering effort to make Kagyü scholarship more widely available to those not able to read Tibetan.
The Center of the Sunlit Sky is based on Pawo Rinpoche's sixteenth-century commentary on the ninth chapter of eighth century master Shantideva's Bodhicaryavatara, ‘The Entrance to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life’, a guide for those wishing to actualise the practices of the six paramitas. The largest part of the book, Part One, ‘The General Presentation of Madhyamaka in the Kagyü Tradition’, gives Karl Brunnhölzl’s overview of the transmission of Madhyamaka from India to Tibet and its relation to Vajrayana and Mahamudra, followed by a general presentation of Madhyamaka in terms of ground, path, and fruition. Further chapters are devoted to the Autonomist-Consequentialist distinction, the issue of whether there is a ‘Shentong- Madhyamaka’, the distinction between expedient and definitive meaning, and a helpful explanation of the major differences between the Eighth Karmapa's and Tsongkhapa's interpretations of Madhyamaka. In Part Two, Karl Brunnhölzl gives a brief introduction to the Bodhicaryavatara and a translation of the Pawo Rinpoche's commentary on its ninth chapter, which focuses on the paramita of prajña, here translated as ‘knowledge’.
For those unfamiliar with Madhyamaka, Karl Brunnhölzl explains it by a series of negations. Madhyamaka is not a philosophy, religion, doctrine or a historical school of thought, belief system, linguistic theory or psychotherapy. It is not agnostic, nihilistic, existentialist or an intellectual mind game. Madhyamaka is direct and incontrovertible experience of ultimate reality within one’s own mind, not so much a ‘middle way’ as unobstructed, supple and relaxed openness.

By taking any standpoint whatsoever,
You will be snatched by the cunning snakes of the afflictions.
Those whose minds have no standpoint
Will not be caught.
Nagarjuna, Sixty Stanzas on Reasoning, quoted in The Center of the Sunlit Sky, p.34.

The Second Pawo Rinpoche, Tsugla Trengwa (1504-1566) received the majority of his education from the Eighth Karmapa and was a teacher to the Ninth Karmapa. The author and translator, Dr. Karl Brunnhölzl, studied Tibetology and received systematic training in Tibetan language and Buddhist philosophy and practice at the Marpa Institute for Translators, founded by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. His approach to the text is therefore both intellectual and experiential, showing a clear understanding of how what can appear a dauntingly complex text can be used to deepen practice.

9 people found this helpful

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Jason Demchok

The Greatest Book on Madhyamaka in English

Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2022

Center of a Sunlit Sky is far beyond a typical commentary on the Madhyamaka philosophy. It is an in depth survey that examines the history and liberating practices of Buddhist Wisdom or Prajna. Included is a thorough explanation of the Practice Lineage of Maitreya / Asanga; the actual difference between the Autonomous and the Consequentialist School of Madhyamika (not just the Geluk (mis)interpretation; and a detailed explanation of the differences between the final views of Tsongkhapa and Mikyo Dorje. As with all of Karl Brumholzl’s books, every translated word is chosen precisely, and confusions are cleared up with brilliant endnotes that skillfully bridge the language gaps. It's hard to imagine a greater gift for a serious student wanting to understand this most vital and relevant topic - understanding the nature of reality and one’s self. I recommend this to every aspiring Buddhist scholar.

2 people found this helpful

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Barbara

worthwhile

Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2012

Verified Purchase

This is a difficult but worthwhile text. I found it particularly difficult because it uses different terms than I am used to finding in books on Tibetan Buddhism. For "Middle Way", Karl Brunnholzl uses "Centrist". For "Prasangika", he uses "Consequentialist". For "Svatantrika", he uses "autonomists". These terms really have no meaning for me; so I have found the book a hard read. There is still a lot of great information although I do think the writer is negligent in defining his terms more clearly and even the individuals he writes about. He will mention Pawo Rinpoche, for example, without refreshing ones memory and saying this is the 2nd Pawo, Tsuglag Threngwa.(1504-1566), a contemporary of the eigth Karmapa. You will probably need to read this book many times before really absorbing the wonderful insights it has to offer.

Other great books on the subject:

The Adornment of the Middle Way: Shantarakshita's Madhyamakalankara with Commentary by Jamgon Mipham by Shantarakshita,

Introduction to the Middle Way: Chandrakirti's Madhyamakavatara with Commentary by Ju Mipham by Chandrakirti, Jamgön Mipham

Journey to Certainty: The Quintessence of the Dzogchen View: An Exploration of Mipham's Beacon of Certainty by Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Graboski (May 15, 2012)

Maitreya's Distinguishing Phenomena And Pure Being: With Commentary By Mipham by Ju Mipham, Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso and Jim Scott (Apr 2, 2004)

21 people found this helpful

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