Costes del proyecto

For the Madhyamaka school to which ’Phags pa adhered, the ultimate truth refers to the theory of emptiness that asserts the lack of intrinsic existence of all phenomena,

including the concept of a “self”. According to Candrakīrti (c.600 – c.650), one of the foremost exponents of this school, the ultimate truth is “the object that is revealed through correct perception” as opposed to the conventional truth of “the object that is revealed through incorrect perception”.44 This is a discourse with the potential to fundamentally undermine the Khan’s perceived notion of himself and his world, including his empire, presenting it all as mere misconceptions. ’Phags pa’s discourse frames itself as providing a range of cognitive restructuring processes that are prescribed specifically as “counteragents” 45 to undo the deeply embedded preconditioning that fosters this misconception. These counteragents, he suggests, will enable Qubilai to progress towards realisation of the ultimate truth.

As the presenter of this truth, ’Phags pa implicitly sets in place what Foucault calls a “system of differentiation”46 through portraying himself as free from this misconception and as being privy to this truth and the inexhaustible transcendental power that results from it, in contrast with Qubilai, for whom this truth remains presently beyond reach. Relatedly, this presentation also reinforces the perception of ’Phags pa as the wielder of what Max Weber refers to as the power of “charismatic

42

Chos rgyal ’Phags pa (1968ar:286, folio, 2).

43 _{I would like to acknowledge that the phrase “empire of emptiness” has been used as a book title by}

Patricia Berger. See Berger (2003).

44

Zla ba grags pa (n.d.), Dbu ma la ’jug pa’i bshad pa,

http://tibetan.works/etext/reader.php?collection=tengyur&index=3862#253B (accessed on 3/11/2015).

45 _{Powers (2007: 82).} 46 _{Foucault (1983: 223).}

authority”. Weber defines this “charisma” as “a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is considered extraordinary and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities.”47

Central among the counteragents to the preconditioning towards misconceived views are the second and the third primary meditative practices at the core of Advice to the King: meditation without an observed object; and meditation on the union of the perceiving awareness and its emptiness, and the union of appearances of the perceived objects and their emptiness. Through the meditation without an observed object, ’Phags pa seeks to familiarise Qubilai with a realisation that, despite being the principal basis for all perceived dualistic phenomena, when examined, the mind itself is devoid of any intrinsic existence—it is free from elaborations and has a space-like nature.48 Through the meditation on the union, ’Phags pa seeks to reconcile the posited lack of intrinsic existence of the mind under analysis with the everyday experience of the existence of a mind through presenting the nature of mind as “a union of awareness and emptiness”.49 And having argued earlier that the mind is the basis for the perception of all phenomena, ’Phags pa also reasons that all phenomena are nothing but appearance and emptiness in union.50 In other words, all phenomena are interdependently arising illusions that we perceive and experience, and they are ultimately devoid of inherent existence because they are interdependently arisen.51

A corollary of Foucault’s thinking is that to resist a form of power, the form of the rationality underlying it must be questioned.52 The logical exposition of the concepts and assumptions underlying the meditative practices that ’Phags pa provides in the section on “stamping the seal” does exactly that. It systematically refutes the rationale for the human inclination towards viewing the self and phenomena as inherently existent, complementing and reinforcing the cognitive restructuring in Qubilai that the meditative practices seek to achieve.

The discussion concerning the ultimate truth also reinforces the view that all sentient beings are fundamentally equal. Just as every sentient being has an equal desire

47 _{Max Weber (1978: 241).}

48 _{Shes rab gzhon nu (1968: 100, folio 1).} 49

Chos rgyal ’Phags pa (1968h: 181, folio 4).

50

Chos rgyal ’Phags pa (1968h: 181, folio 4).

51 _{Interestingly, in The Subject and Power Foucault appears to reach a similar view in analysing the}

nature of power—“…something called Power, with or without a capital letter, which is assumed to exist universally in a concentrated or diffuse form, does not exist”. He then posits that “power exists only when it is put into action…”, implicitly accepting that power too is an interdependently arisen phenomena lacking any inherent existence. See Foucault (1983: 219).

52 _{Foucault (2000: 324).}

for happiness—a key reasoning underlying the practice of compassion—so does every being have the same ultimate nature and potential to reach buddhahood regardless of their social background or even form of life. Through asserting the lack of inherent existence of all phenomena, the theory of emptiness also implicitly rejects any supposition of a Creator that exists independently vis-à-vis its creation, complementing the implicit assertion that Qubilai’s current position does not derive from divine appointment.