Unterscheidung der Gegebenheiten von ihrem wohren Wesen (Dharmadharmatavibhaga).

• Author: GUENTHER, HERBERT V.
• Position: Review

Unterscheidung der Gegebenheiten von ihrem wohren Wesen (Dharmadharmat[bar{a}]vibh[bar{a}]ga). By KLAUS-DIETER MATHES. Indica et Tibetica, vol. 26. Swisstal-Oldendorf: INDICA ET TIBETICA VERLAG, 1996. Pp.296 + 11 fold-up pages with Tibetan text. DM 64.

The main topic of this study is devoted to a relatively small (only three hundred lines), but important work ascribed to Maitreya, in which the main ideas of the Yog[bar{a}]c[bar{a}]ra school of Buddhism are outlined in an extremely condensed form. The text presents considerable difficulties which are to some extent explicated in the commentary to this work, the Dharmadharmat[bar{a}]vibh[bar{a}]gavrtti ascribed to Vasubandhu; by 'Ju Mi pham rgya mtsho (1846-1912), by gZhan Phan snang ba (1871-1927), and before them by Rong ston shes bya kun rig [acute{s}][bar{a}] kya rgyal mtshan (1367 - 1449) and a certain [acute{S}][bar{a}] kya mchog Idan (of unknown date).

The author begins his study with a short, but extremely informative, introductory chapter outlining the intellectual and cultural framework in which the basic text had been conceived. Especially valuable is the author's clear exposition of the basic tenets of the Yog[bar{a}]c[bar{a}]ra school; the most important technical terms are presented in a new translation and thoroughly explained. The second chapter lists all the blockprints as well as the sources of the prose version of the basic text, the Tibetan text of Vasubandhu's commentary, the Sanskrit fragments of Vasubandhu's commentary, the k[bar{a}]rik[bar{a}]-version of the...