Dharmottara (ཆོས་མཆོག་)
A major Indian commentator on dharmakirti, belonging to the “philosophical school” of interpretation. An innovator whose readings sometimes depart significantly from Dharmakīrti’s original intent.
Key Contributions
- Offered a strongly pragmatic interpretation of valid-cognition: “it is not apprehending the object that makes a cognition a right cognition but only obtaining a thing” (dreyfus-recognizing-reality, p. 292)
- His famous mirage example (seeking water, finding a mirage, but stumbling upon water anyway) shows why practical success alone is insufficient — a normative/intentional element is also needed (dreyfus-recognizing-reality, p. 292)
- Innovated significantly on the theory of perception, bridging the gap between perception and conception
- Associated with gyel-tsap’s line of Ge-luk interpretation
Sources
- dreyfus-recognizing-reality — Chapters 17, 21, and throughout on valid cognition and perception