Book Review

Clarifying the Natural State by Dakpo Tashi Namgal, translated from the Tibetan by Erik Pema Kunsang (Rangjung Yeshe Publications, 2001)

Reviewed by Hugh Williams

This book is a meditation manual written by Dagpo Tashi Namgal, the esteemed 16th Century Tibetan lama and scholar of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, who also wrote the much larger volume of meditation theory and practice, Mahamudra: the Quintessence of Mind and Meditation. By comparison, Clarifying the Natural State is a fairly thin volume with no historical or philosophical component - it is a very precise, 'hands-on' instruction manual on how to meditate in the Mahamudra tradition.

Mahamudra is a variation of advanced Vajrayana (tantric) practice with its own peculiar slant on meditation. By observing the mind, while not accepting or rejecting anything at all, one can achieve a non-dualistic perception of reality in a relatively short time. The emphasis is on seeing directly into the 'nature of mind,' rather than attempting to control the mind through the use of purificatory practices or the use of antidotes.

As a meditation manual, Clarifying the Natural State is considered a Buddhist classic. It is about 200 pages long, with the English translation on one page and the original Tibetan text on the other, which is very useful for students of Tibetan language. Despite its brevity, Clarifying the Natural State covers an enormous amount of ground. It sketches the path of meditation from the initial steps of the general and specific preliminaries, right through to the levels of attainment said to accompany the practitioner traversing the bhumis on the way to full Buddhahood.

The majority of the text, however, is squarely focused on the establishment and stabilisation of mindfulness and calm, through shamatha practice, and developing analytical understanding through vipashyana techniques. There is plenty of practical advice: practising in short sessions that are repeated many times, dealing with lethargy and doubt, correct posture, breathing techniques, what to focus on, the type of inquiry to be made of the mind and so on. Even though there is a substantial amount of technical detail, it is always accompanied by pithy advice on the correct attitude, on how to employ the Mahamudra philosophy of non-resistance, of not trying to cultivate anything, of not inhibiting one thing and promoting another. The idea is to let one's meditation attention be 'as it naturally is: relaxed and free.'

It is probably true to say that Clarifying the Natural State is most suited to experienced practitioners, for it assumes a traditional religious framework. This is to be expected, given Tashi Namgal's intended audience over four hundred years ago. Instances of this are when he occasionally recommends keeping to a mountain retreat or keeping silent for a couple of years! Even so, his advice on meditation is impervious to cultural distortion and at a fundamental level will inspire meditation practitioners of all levels.

The Buddha Within, by SK Hookham, (State University of New York Press, 1991)

Reviewed by David MacAdams

Oxford University accepted the initial draft of this text as a Doctoral Thesis in 1986. The present book is a revision and expansion of this original material. There are several noteworthy features of this book, not the least of which is Hookham's acknowledgement of Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche as her guru and the inspiration for this work. I find this particularly encouraging, because it suggests that we are reading a solid academic writer who is also a practitioner of the lineage under examination. Thus, we can expect that the author has had to pass through the fire and heat of meditation practices that are part of belonging to a tradition. Hookham's style is in sharp contrast to academics that exhibit an almost forensic style of enquiry into early Buddhist scholarship, as if Buddhism was part of an archaeological exercise.

The stature of Hookham's PhD supervisor (Dr Paul Williams), her examiner (Prof. Seyfort Ruegg) and Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche himself, all suggest that she has managed to do justice to both academic rigour and philosophical understanding.
Throughout the body of this work the author frequently quotes both Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche and Thrangu Rinpoche when seeking clarification on issues related to both doctrine and experiential phenomena. This has the effect of placing difficult questions in a contemporary context as well as acknowledging that debate amongst Buddhists continues to be a meaningful part of a living tradition. Accordingly, Shenpen Hookham does not rely solely upon accepted academic sources or on western academic interpretations to establish the validity of her understanding.

The textual material itself is the 'Tathagatagarbha Doctrine according to the Shentong interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhaga Sutra.' This is a very detailed examination of a complex set of topics. The early sections contrast Rangtong (rang stong) and Shentong (gzhan stong) perspectives on absolute reality and apprehending absolute reality (this was a particularly interesting exposition). The middle sections discuss the nature of Beings, the status of the Third Turning of the Wheel of Dharma and the historical background of the Shentong Tradition. The final sections present commentaries on interpretations of the Ratnagotravibhaga Sutra with several appendices on topics related to the Shentong-Rangtong debate.

The Buddha Within is a difficult book to digest, because the topic of tathagatagarbha, or Buddha-nature, is a weighty one. To this reader, it is a bit like panning for gold: one needs to be alert, vigilant and patient to extract the richness that is inherently part of this text and the tradition to which it belongs.