(PREPRINT) Transitions in Transitivity

The Complexity of Effort, Effortlessness, and Agency in Tibetan Great Perfection Contemplative Practices

Abstract

The Seminal Heart (snying thig) variant of the Great Perfection (rdzogs chen) tradition in Tibet is marked by a complex array of contemplative practices that have also changed considerably over its fourteen century history dating. back to the eighth century. A central organizing principle, and a hallmark of their innovative character, is the shifting roles of volitional effort and loci of agency at play in each contemplative practice’s procedures, as well as in the manifest appearances, sensations, and dynamics that constitute the unfolding processes and experiences therein. In addition, subtle and dramatic shifts in transitivity—the directional transfer of energy and locus of agency amongst various agents and patients—can occur throughout any given practice, so understanding these questions of effort and agency requires close attention to the contemplative lexicon of elements and the grammar of contemplation, including moments when there are scripted shifts from procedural techniques to the unfolding logic of experience. This article will focus on the most important formative period of the tradition—from the eleventh through fourteenth centuries—and offer speculative thoughts about how these contemplative issues were crucial factors in the tradition’s dynamic changes over time.