Disputed Emptiness: Vimalamitra’s Mādhyamika Interpretation of the Heart Sutra in the Light of His Criticism on Other Schools

Abstract

The *Āryaprajñāpāramitāhṛdayaṭīkā (hereafter PHT), Vimalamitra’s (ca. the 8th- to 9th cent.) commentary on the long Heart Sutra (hereafter HS), is not merely a commentary on words and phrases of the HS, but it also refers to and criticizes non-Buddhist schools and other schools within Buddhism. However, due to its textual situation, namely, the original Sanskrit being lost and it remains only as the Tibetan translation, the discussion there has not always been well understood. In particular, it has been suggested in recent years that Vimalamitra endorsed the Yogācāra perspective in the PHT. In this paper, I will primarily examine Vimalamitra’s interpretation of the famous four sets of phrases, such as “rūpa (form) is emptiness/empty” in the PHT, and clarify Vimalamitra’s understanding of key Buddhist concepts such as “emptiness” or “dependent origination”. In doing so, I argue that the PHT is written sorely from the Madhyamaka perspective, and Vimalamitra criticizes other schools, including the Yogācāra. Furthermore, by comparison with the writings of Kamalaśīla, an older contemporary of Vimalamitra, I further clarify his position as a Mādhyamika adherent. Finally, I will discuss the significance of those philosophical arguments in the PHT to the modern readers of the HS.