In this paper I clarify the relationship between the truth of cessation (nirodha satya) and absolute truth (paramārtha satya) in the Madhyamaka thought of Tsong kha pa.
Tsong kha pa sharply criticizes Tibetan Middle Way thinkers before him for asserting that the ultimate truth is not an object of knowledge. Instead, Tsong kha pa follows the words of Candrakīrti and states that the ultimate truth is an object of knowledge which is attained through the undefiled samādhi wisdom and Buddha wisdom of an awakened being. The ultimate truth, emptiness, and reality are seen as the same and, in the end, everybody aims to realize it but differences in its perception arise based on the subject that is perceiving it.
Amongst the four noble truths, the truth of cessation aims towards the one-by-one purification of ignorance and its habits during the observation of emptiness during meditation. This is called Dharma nature. Generally, the ultimate truth or Dharma nature is seen as a rejection of the establishment of all dharmas as reality. This is an object of negation in which the object of knowledge does not exist. However, because the truth of cessation points out that the object of negation in the equating of impurity as ignorance is to be discarded, that object of negation exists as an object of knowing. When one separates from the delusion that comes from the defilements of the mind’s Dharma nature, what is attained is the undefiled mind’s Dharma nature. This is the truth of cessation and the ultimate truth. From there we can see the equality of the ultimate truth which points to the emptiness of self-nature and the truth of cessation which refers to the Dharma nature that is separate from habit and ignorance.
Hence, the uncertainty regarding Tsong kha pa’s discussion of the ultimate truth and the truth of cessation in regards to Madyhamaka thought is made clear.
