Nāgārjuna - Dharmadhātustava (In Praise of Dharmadhātu)

Описание: The Dharmadhātustava (In Praise of Dharmadhātu) stands apart within the works attributed to Nāgārjuna as a luminous hymn to ultimate reality itself. Rather than advancing the sharp dialectical negations for which Madhyamaka is famous, this short but profound text adopts the language of praise to disclose the dharmadhātu: the unborn, unceasing expanse in which all phenomena arise and are liberated. Here emptiness is not presented as a barren absence, but as a radiant openness, free from adventitious defilements and inseparable from wisdom. Through evocative metaphors of gold in ore and clouds parting from the sky, Nāgārjuna gestures toward an experiential realization of awakening that complements, rather than contradicts, his critical philosophy.

The Tibetan tradition recognized the exceptional importance of this work, most notably in the commentary by the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje. Reading the Dharmadhātustava through the lens of Mahāmudrā, Rangjung Dorje interprets its verses as direct pointers to the nondual nature of mind, where emptiness and luminosity are indivisible. His exegesis situates the text at the crossroads of Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, and tathāgatagarbha thought, demonstrating how one may speak positively about ultimate reality without reifying it. As such, the work became a crucial scriptural bridge between philosophical analysis and contemplative realization.

Long before later Tibetan debates over buddha-nature and other-emptiness, In Praise of Dharmadhātu already articulated an emptiness “endowed with all supreme aspects.” Its vision of the ultimate as empty of distortion yet rich in enlightened qualities made it a touchstone for Kagyu and Jonang thinkers alike, and a subtle challenge to reductive readings of śūnyatā. For contemporary readers, the text offers a compelling alternative to both nihilism and metaphysical absolutism: a vision of awakening as the uncovering of a luminous reality always already present.