The Fruition in a Comparative Perspective
(2017) Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies — Vol. 40, p. 159-188 (2017)
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- (en) If “all roads lead to Rome” (or did so in the days of the Roman Empire), all paths do not lead to enlightenment – at least not to the same enlightenment. This, in any case, is the conclusion we must derive from reading gNubs-chen Sangs-rgyas ye-shes’ doxographical work, the bSam-gtan mig-sgron (Tibet, 10th century). In it he presents four distinct ways to reach enlightenment that encompass both sūtra-based and tantra-based doctrinal formulations: the gradual approach of the classical Mahāyāna, the simultaneous approach of Chan, the method of alchemical transformation of Tantra and the path of self-liberation, rDzogs-chen. These four different paths lead to distinct forms of fruition (’bras-bu; Skt. phala). It is the latter that will be the focus of the present article.
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Esler, D. (2017). The Fruition in a Comparative Perspective. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, 40, 159-188. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/54049 (Original work published 2017)