Emptiness in the Mind-Only School of Buddhism: Dynamic Responses to Dzong-ka-ba’s The Essence of Eloquence: Vol 1

Part One: Introduction 1. The Voice — Discusses Hopkins’s methodological stance as a participant-observer engaging Tibetan Buddhist philosophical traditions. 2. The Text — Introduces Dzong-ka-ba, the Geluk scholastic curriculum, the composition of The Essence of Eloquence, and later Tibetan commentarial traditions. 3. The Worldview — Explains the doctrinal framework of Mind-Only thought, especially the three natures, three non-natures, superimposition, subject-object relation, and idealism. 4. The Context — Presents the broader intellectual context, including Wonch’uk’s influence, Jo-nang-ba Shay-rap-gyel-tsen’s “other-emptiness,” and Dzong-ka-ba’s critical response. Part Two: Annotated Translation Treatise Differentiating Interpretable and Definitive Meanings: The Essence of Eloquence — Provides an annotated translation of the prologue and Mind-Only section of Dzong-ka-ba’s text. Chapters 1–4 — Treat the Sūtra Unraveling the Thought, apparent contradictions, Buddha’s answer, the three natures, and their overall meaning. Chapters 5–12 — Explain the importance of the sūtra, Asaṅga’s works, Maitreya’s treatises, superimposition, objections, and differentiation of scriptures. Part Three: Synopsis — Offers a structured outline and analytical summary of the translated sections. Part Four: Critical Edition in Tibetan Script — Provides the Tibetan critical edition of the relevant sections of The Essence of Eloquence.