Review of Jeffrey Hopkins’, Mountain Doctrine: Tibet’s Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha Matrix

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Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsan (Dolpopa shes rab rgyal mtshan) (1292–1361), known simply as Dolpopa, was the main proponent of the other-empty (gzhan stong) doctrine in Tibet. He was an extraordinary scholar and had multiple high-level realisations during his meditation practice, including the realization of four branches from the six-branch yoga of the Kālacakra-tantra. The seminal text for which Dolpopa is best known is his fundamental treatise called the ‘Mountain Doctrine’ (Ri chos nges don rgya mtsho), which for the first time is now translated into English by Jeffrey Hopkins. This translation of Dolpopa’s Mountain Doctrine is a significant contribution to the field of other-emptiness studies since the available translated literature is minimal. Dolpopa was also an extremely important commentator in the Tibetan tradition because he was one of the few figures who really investigated and commented upon this doctrine. The study of Dolpopa’s life and prolific and influential writing has the potential to dramatically expand the doctrine of other-emptiness in the field of Madhyamaka philosophy. Furthermore, this translation provides a significant explanation of Dolpopa’s controversial philosophical views. In differentiating his view of emptiness from that of the self-empty school, Dolpopa says that there are two types of emptiness, self and other. He states that other-emptiness is the ultimate truth that comes from the final and most definitive of the Buddha’s three cycles of teachings. The teachings of the self-empty school, which are from the second turning, are SOPHIA (2008) 47:71–74 DOI 10.1007/s11841-008-0045-8