Philippe Turenne
Philippe was born in Canada, and has studied Buddhism in both traditional and academic contexts. Since 1996 he has studied primarily with Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche. Philippe’s academic studies have mostly been at McGill University and the Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies in Sarnath, India. Philippe joined RYI in 2011 where he currently teaches on both the BA and MA programs. (Source Accessed April 14, 2020)
Library Items
Turenne, P.: Interpretations of Unity: Hermeneutics in Śākya mchog ldan's Interpretation of the Five Treatises of Maitreya
Abstract
This dissertation is a study of the process through which Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, by synthesizing doctrines and texts into consistent models, integrates views of reality within doctrinal and soteriological systems. It consists of an analysis of the most fundamental doctrinal tension found in the Tibetan tradition, namely the apparent inconsistency of doctrines belonging to the negative Mādhyamika and to the more affirmative Yogācāra trends of Mahāyāna Buddhism. As a case study aiming to provide a first systematic examination of that problematic, the dissertation surveys and analyzes Tibetan interpretation of the set of texts referred to as the Five Treatises of Maitreya (byams chos sde lnga), and at the way those interpretations deal with the doctrinal tensions found in that set of text. In addition to providing a recension of major interpretations of the Five Treatises developed between 1100 and 1500, a detailed account is given of the model of interpretation given by gSer mdog Paṇ chen Śākya mchog ldan, a famous teacher of the Sa skya school of Tibetan Buddhism. When confronted with the features of other interpretations, Śākya mchog ldan's interpretation of the Five Treatises, which proceeds primarily by allowing a plurality of views to be maintained even at the level of definitive meaning, provides us with a new insight in the Tibetan philosophical tradition: the most fundamental dimension of philosophical reconciliation of doctrinal views, especially of the kind found in the Five Treatises, can be described as pertaining to textual hermeneutics. Moreover, Śākya mchog ldan's contribution to that domain of Buddhist thought, by placing hermeneutics at the very centre of his system of Buddhist doctrine and practice, suggests that hermeneutics is a fundamental category of all Buddhist philosophical debates, and that it should be part of any attempt to understand the Tibetan philosophical tradition.
This dissertation is a study of the process through which Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, by synthesizing doctrines and texts into consistent models, integrates views of reality within doctrinal and soteriological systems. It consists of an analysis of the most fundamental doctrinal tension found in the Tibetan tradition, namely the apparent inconsistency of doctrines belonging to the negative Mādhyamika and to the more affirmative Yogācāra trends of Mahāyāna Buddhism. As a case study aiming to provide a first systematic examination of that problematic, the dissertation surveys and analyzes Tibetan interpretation of the set of texts referred to as the Five Treatises of Maitreya (byams chos sde lnga), and at the way those interpretations deal with the doctrinal tensions found in that set of text. In addition to providing a recension of major interpretations of the Five Treatises developed between 1100 and 1500, a detailed account is given of the model of interpretation given by gSer mdog Paṇ chen Śākya mchog ldan, a famous teacher of the Sa skya school of Tibetan Buddhism. When confronted with the features of other interpretations, Śākya mchog ldan's interpretation of the Five Treatises, which proceeds primarily by allowing a plurality of views to be maintained even at the level of definitive meaning, provides us with a new insight in the Tibetan philosophical tradition: the most fundamental dimension of philosophical reconciliation of doctrinal views, especially of the kind found in the Five Treatises, can be described as pertaining to textual hermeneutics. Moreover, Śākya mchog ldan's contribution to that domain of Buddhist thought, by placing hermeneutics at the very centre of his system of Buddhist doctrine and practice, suggests that hermeneutics is a fundamental category of all Buddhist philosophical debates, and that it should be part of any attempt to understand the Tibetan philosophical tradition.
Turenne, Philippe. "Interpretations of Unity: Hermeneutics in Śākya mchog ldan's Interpretation of the Five Treatises of Maitreya." PhD diss., McGill University, 2010. https://archive.org/details/interpretationsofunityhermeneuticsinsakyamchogldaninterpretationoffivetreatiseso_985_N/mode/2up.
Turenne, Philippe. "Interpretations of Unity: Hermeneutics in Śākya mchog ldan's Interpretation of the Five Treatises of Maitreya." PhD diss., McGill University, 2010. https://archive.org/details/interpretationsofunityhermeneuticsinsakyamchogldaninterpretationoffivetreatiseso_985_N/mode/2up.;Interpretations of Unity: Hermeneutics in Śākya mchog ldan's Interpretation of the Five Treatises of Maitreya;ShAkya mchog ldan;byams chos sde lnga;Philippe Turenne;Interpretations of Unity: Hermeneutics in Śākya mchog ldan's Interpretation of the Five Treatises of Maitreya;ShAkya mchog ldan
The History and Significance of the Tibetan Concept of the Five Treatises of Maitreya
Tibetans use the concept of the “Five Treatises of Maitreya” (Byams chos sde lnga) to refer to a group of texts that they attribute to Maitreya through Asaṅga, including the Abhisamayālaṃkāra (Mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan, AA), the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra (Theg pa chen po’i mdo sde rgyan, MSA), the Madhyāntavibhāga (Dbus dang mtha’ rnam par ’byed pa, MV), the Dharmadharmatāvibhaṅga (Chos dang chos nyid rnam par dbye ba, DDV), and the Ratnagotravibhāga (RGV), which Tibetans most often refer to as the Mahāyāna-Uttaratantra (Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma). Some of the Five Treatises were present at the time of the first dissemination of Buddhism in Tibet (snga dar), and some were discovered or brought later to Tibet. The first set comprises the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, the Sūtrālaṃkāra, and the Madhyāntavibhāga, while the texts that were later discovered and translated are the Ratnagotravibhāga and the Dharmadharmatāvibhaṅga. Although the Five Treatises cover a variety of topics and seem to defend several philosophical positions about these topics, the Tibetan tradition still takes very seriously the idea that they form a unit, and share to some extent a single intent.
Modern scholarship on the Five Treatises has so far privileged studying the texts of the Five Treatises individually, not giving much importance to the concept of the Five Treatises per se and its consequences on the interpretation of the texts that form it. In the following pages I argue that, on the contrary, the notion of the Five Treatises and the idea that they form a unit is crucial enough for Tibetan interpreters that we cannot fully understand Tibetan interpretations of those texts without taking this into consideration. If we look at the way Tibetan interpreters define the category and how they form their interpretations around it, we come to the conclusion that a study of Tibetan interpretations of individual treatises cannot represent fully the influence of those texts on Tibetan Buddhist literature and thought
In order to establish that claim, having explained the concept of the Five Treatises as a unit and where that unit fits among Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, I will trace its origin and development from the recognition of Maitreya’s authorship of the Treatises to the notion that the Five Treatises form a single work. I will conclude by explaining how the study of the Five Treatises as a whole and of that concept itself allows us to understand things that the study of the texts individually cannot provide. (Turenne, introduction, 215–16)
Modern scholarship on the Five Treatises has so far privileged studying the texts of the Five Treatises individually, not giving much importance to the concept of the Five Treatises per se and its consequences on the interpretation of the texts that form it. In the following pages I argue that, on the contrary, the notion of the Five Treatises and the idea that they form a unit is crucial enough for Tibetan interpreters that we cannot fully understand Tibetan interpretations of those texts without taking this into consideration. If we look at the way Tibetan interpreters define the category and how they form their interpretations around it, we come to the conclusion that a study of Tibetan interpretations of individual treatises cannot represent fully the influence of those texts on Tibetan Buddhist literature and thought
In order to establish that claim, having explained the concept of the Five Treatises as a unit and where that unit fits among Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, I will trace its origin and development from the recognition of Maitreya’s authorship of the Treatises to the notion that the Five Treatises form a single work. I will conclude by explaining how the study of the Five Treatises as a whole and of that concept itself allows us to understand things that the study of the texts individually cannot provide. (Turenne, introduction, 215–16)
Turenne, Philippe. "The History and Significance of the Tibetan Concept of the Five Treatises of Maitreya." The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 16 (2015): 215–33.
Turenne, Philippe. "The History and Significance of the Tibetan Concept of the Five Treatises of Maitreya." The Indian International Journal of Buddhist Studies 16 (2015): 215–33.;The History and Significance of the Tibetan Concept of the Five Treatises of Maitreya;Textual study;History;byams chos sde lnga;Philippe Turenne; 
Affiliations & relations
- Rangjung Yeshe Institute · workplace affiliation
- McGill University · secondary affiliation
- https://www.ryi.org/faculty/philippe-turenne · websites
