bden 'dzin - grasping to true existence

This is the second form of graping that bag chags from past will trigger, bden 'dzin, grasping to true existence. bden is true, authentic.

The grasping in this case is to hold on to thinking that an external reality exists independently, from its own side, rather than everything being interdependent connected.

This world view is only supported by the higher Buddhist schools, where there are different interpretations and levels of how much truly exists, or not at all. The Prasangika-Madhyamika is the highest presentation, where nothing exists from its own side, not even the rules that define how things work. Note again, it does not mean that nothing exists at all, rather that nothing exists by its own, rather by dependence to something else.

This one and the earlier bdag 'dzin are sometimes called 'dzin pa gnyis, the two graspings, so you might encounter this term in translations and then you know what it's all about. As you will learn, many texts have short terms and labels for more complex terms, that's why it's very important to learn as many dharma terms as possible.

Next another presentation on grasping that might open up other, interesting avenues.