Can the Buddha See Us? A Tibetan Discussion of the Buddha’s Omniscience


  • Date: October 18th, Friday, 2024, 18:00 – 21:00
  • Location: Room 303, SNUAC (Bldg. 101)

Presenter: Taewoo Kim (PhD candidate, University of Hamburg)

In this workshop, we will examine how the 14th-century Tibetan scholar Barawa interprets the Buddha’s omniscience from an esoteric perspective, based on chapters 1.3.1.3.1.3.2.5.1 and 1.3.1.3.1.3.2.5.2 of his work gSang ba nges don dgong bshad rin po che lung gi gter mdzod (A Precious Explanation of the Ultimate Intention in Tantra: A Treasury of Authoritative Scriptures). We will also explore how Barawa’s interpretation relates to the way the Madhyamaka school adopted the classification system of the later Yogācāra, particularly the divisions of Alīkākāravādin-Satyākāravādin and Sākāravādin-Nirākāravādin. This discussion will begin from the point where Barawa reveals that he, along with other Madhyamaka scholars, shares the same stance as Alīkākāra-Cittamātra (sems tsam rnam [b]rdzun pa) on the existence of external objects.