Between India and Tibet: Chapa Chökyi Sengé and the Making of Buddhist Philosophy
This talk examines the transformation of Buddhist ideas as they crossed linguistic and cultural boundaries in premodern Tibet. Focusing on Chapa Chökyi Sengé (1109–1169), a distinguished philosopher of the Tibetan Renaissance, it specifically analyzes how Chapa redefined the core Buddhist doctrine of the two truths. Challenging Candrakīrti’s (ca. 600-650) skeptical Prāsaṅgika model, he promoted a reason-based Madhyamaka that affirmed the legitimacy of conventional truth and the conceptual comprehensibility of the ultimate. Drawing on recently discovered Chapa manuscripts, the presentation situates Tibet within a transregional Buddhist cosmopolis and demonstrates how imported Indian ideas gained local significance. Chapa’s synthesis demonstrates that Tibet was a center of innovative philosophical development rather than merely a transmission center.
Tulku Ngawang Sonam's research interests center on the intellectual history of Tibet, especially Indo-Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and textual traditions. He holds a Ph.D. (2025) and an M.A. (2021) in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia.
Sonam's doctoral dissertation examines how early South Asian philosophers, such as Jñānagarbha (8th cent.), Śāntarakṣita (ca. 725–ca. 788), and Kamalaśīla (ca. 740–ca. 795), interpreted the Middle Way philosophy of Nāgārjuna, the founder of the Buddhist Middle Way school.
Before pursuing academia, Sonam spent over twenty years studying at Gaden Monastic University and Gelugpa University in South India. He completed the Geshe Lharampa degree exam, the highest qualification available in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist philosophy within the traditional Tibetan education system, in 2015.