Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text, titled Tattvaprakāśanāma in Sanskrit and De kho na nyid rab tu bstan pa in Tibetan, presents a philosophical exposition on the nature of suchness. The author begins with a devotional invocation to Mañjuśrī and the trikaya, establishing a framework of non-dual cognition. The central argument posits that ultimate reality is a substantiality free from the four extremes and devoid of conceptual imputation. By aligning with the Cognition-Only (Vijñānavāda) school, the text asserts that while the manifold world arises through dependent origination, it remains fundamentally unborn and empty of intrinsic substance. The reader is committed to a view where the distinction between the limit of reality and the phenomenal world is mediated by a non-dual awareness that transcends dualistic categorization, suggesting that the perceived world is a manifestation of a deeper, empty reality.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise providing a thorough exposition of suchness, the Tattvaprakāśanāma originates from the Indian tradition and is attributed to the author Avadhūtipa Advayavajra. The work is preserved in the classical Tibetan period within the Tengyur, specifically volume ཝི, where it comprises two pages and is categorized among the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. The translation begins with an invocation to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta and the essence of the three bodies of the Buddha, establishing a philosophical foundation based on non-dual cognition. It argues that substantial reality is empty of imputation and free from the four extremes, aligning its perspective with the scholars who propound Cognition-Only. The text posits that while the manifold world arises through dependent origination, it remains unborn and empty of substance, existing merely as a name. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine the intersection of non-dual awareness and the nature of reality, specifically how the distinctions between self-consecration and clear light are articulated within the framework of a reality that transcends dualistic categorization.
The work is significant for its explicit synthesis of the Cognition-Only perspective with the concept of suchness. It provides insight into how Indo-Tibetan scholars reconciled the notion of a substantial reality with the doctrine of emptiness. For the modern reader, it illustrates the technical precision used to navigate the boundaries between existence and non-existence.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Invocation
Provides the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan and offers homage to Mañjuśrī and the three bodies of the Buddha.
2
Philosophical Thesis
Defines non-dual cognition and the nature of the manifold world as an expression of dependent origination and emptiness.
Themes
Non-dual Cognition (2)
Dependent Origination (2)
Emptiness and Substance (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Tattvaprakāśanāma. In the language of Tibet: De kho na nyid rab tu bstan pa zhes bya ba (The Thorough Exposition of Suchness). Homage to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.
I prostrate to the one who possesses the essence of the three bodies of the Buddha, from whose power [all] arises—the supreme existence and nirvāṇa, the nature of which is insight and method.
Just as those with cataracts perceive hairs in the sky, so too do the childish, obscured by the darkness of ignorance, think that there is a world to go to. Just as one with clear vision looks at the hairs indicated in the sky by the deluded, so the yogi with pure vision realizes all of existence to be just like that.
"O, look into the center of the sky! I see a mass of tangled hairs." To him, the one with clear vision says: "It does not exist; your intellect is deluded." In order to clear away the delusion caused by the cataracts, he later says, "It does not exist." Because it is empty of both clarity and lack of clarity, in reality there is neither negation nor proof.
Likewise, the uncontaminated dharmas, through the dependent origination of the sambhogakāya and nirmāṇakāya, and by means of aspirations, engage extensively for the sake of sentient beings. These are not separate from that [reality], because they are of its very nature. Their nature is established as uncontrived; by distinguishing them, the doubts of the mind are cleared away.
If one does not accept non-arising, then because of the difference in entities through exclusion, how could this be the meaning of the Middle Way, other than the system of the Yogācāra? If the meaning of the Middle Way is superior because it abandons the four extremes, then that would also follow for the Vijñaptivādins, since they too abandon these [extremes]. Therefore, these [points] are abandoned.
The non-dual cognition, free from the four extremes,
Is a substantial reality, empty of imputation and non-dual.
This is known by the scholars who propound Cognition-Only.
From the limit of reality, this manifold world
Arises through dependent origination.
It is unborn and empty of substance;
It is merely a name, unconfused.
The distinctions between self-consecration and clear light
Were taught by the Omniscient One.
When these are shown as one,
One abandons the view of nihilism.
That very fruit is the discordant side;
For one who has no attachment to it,
Through that effortless application,
The state of Buddhahood is perfected.
The intention of the noble Nāgārjuna,
Who was prophesied by the Tathāgata,
Is to follow the Buddha’s Dharma;
The suchness of phenomena is unborn.
Through whatever merit I have gained
By thoroughly teaching suchness,
May the entire world without exception
Become a vessel for the union.
The Exposition of Suchness, composed by the master Advayavajra, is complete.
Translation status: Not among 84000's published translations, and not in progress there. Translations published elsewhere have not been searched for, so one may exist. (source: 84000 catalogue + registry; checked 2026-11-10).
Set in Newsreader and EB Garamond; Tibetan in Noto Serif Tibetan; Chinese in Noto Serif SC.