Buddha-nature
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Buddha-nature, Buddha-dhatu or Buddha Principle (Skt: Tathāgatagarbha; Jap: Bussho), is taught differently in various Mahayana Buddhism traditions. Broadly speaking Buddha-nature is concerned with ascertaining what allows sentient beings to become Buddhas. [1]
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[edit] Etymology
Buddha-nature (Classical Chinese: 佛性, modern pinyin fó xìng) literally corresponds to the Sanskrit Buddha-dhātu - "Buddha Element", "Buddha-Principle", but seems to have been used most frequently to translate the Sanskrit "Tathāgatagarbha". The Sanskrit term "tathāgatagarbha" may be parsed into tathāgata ("the one thus gone", referring to the Buddha) and garbha ("root/embryo").[2] The latter has the meanings: "embryo", "essence";[3] whilst the former may be parsed into "tathā" ("[s]he who has there"[clarification needed] and "āgata" (semantic field: "come", "arrived") and/or "gata" ("gone").[4]
For the various equivalents of the Sanskrit term "tathāgatagarbha" in other languages (Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese), see Glossary of Buddhism, "tathagatagarbha"
[edit] Development of the concept of Buddha-nature
The idea of Buddha-nature originated in India, and was further developed in China, due to the different culture Buddhism had to adapt to. It was the result of an interplay between various strands of Buddhist thought, on the nature of human consciousness and the means of awakening.
[edit] India
[edit] Luminous mind
The idea of the tathagatagarbha is grounded on sayings by the Buddha that there is an innately pure luminous mind (prabhasvara citta[5]), "which is only adventiously covered over by defilements (agantukaklesa)"[5] This luminous mind is being mentioned in the Anguttara Nikaya:[6]:
Luminous, monks, is the mind. And it is defiled by incoming defilements".[7]
[edit] The seed of awakening
The Buddha-nature doctrine may be traced back, in part, to the abhidharmic debates over metaphysics. Those arose among the Nikāya schools as they attempted to reconcile various perceived problems.
One problem is how to integrate the doctrine of anatta with the idea of karma and rebirth. The anatta-doctrine stipulates that there is no underlying self, while the idea of karma and rebirth seems to implicate an underlying essence that's being reborn. A solution to this problem was the proposition of the existence of karmic seeds. The karmic effects of the human deeds lay dorment, as seeds, until they germinate in this or a next life. Not an indivual self, but these karmic seeds are the base for the generation of a following life.
This concept of "seeds" was espoused by the Sautrāntika in debate with the Sarvāstivādins over the metaphysical status of phenomena (dharmas). It is a precursor to the ālaya-vijñāna, the store-consciousness of the Yogācāra school which contains all these seeds.[8]. Originally ālaya-vijñāna simply meant defiled consciousness: defiled by the workings of the five senses and the mind. It was also seen as the mūla-vijñāna, the base-consciousness or "stream of consciousness" from which awareness and perception spring. [9]
According to Yogacara, awakening is the result of a seed that comes from outside the human psyche, namely by hearing the teaching.[5]
[edit] Tathāgatagarbha Sutras
From the idea of the luminous mind emerged the idea that the awakened mind is the pure, undefiled mind. The existence of this pure consciousness is realized when one awakens. In the tathagatagarbha-sutras it is this pure consciousness that is regarded to be the seed from which Buddhahood grows.[10] It is the insight into this essence which arises when some-one awakens.
The idea of the Tathāgatagarbha is described in the "Tathāgatagarbha Sutras". This collection of Mahayana sutras present Buddha-nature as the uncreated and indestructible essence (svabhava or atman) of all beings (vide Mahaparinirvana Sutra). This collection was generally ignored in India[11], but East Asian Buddhism assigns some significance to these texts.
The most important of those sutras is The Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala.[12] The best-known sutra with tathagata-garba-influences is the Lankavatara Sutra. Other sutras are the Śūraṅgama Sūtra and the Mahāvairocana Sūtra.
The Mahāvairocana Sūtra] mentions the self in a very affirmative manner:
Those who have been initiated into the Mahayana Mandala Arising from Great Compassion, who are honest and pliant, and who always have great compassion [...] They know their hearts to be the Great Self.[13]
Gregory comments on this origin of the Tathagatagarba-doctrine:
The implication of this doctrine as it was elaborated in tathagatagarba texts such as the Tathagatagarbha and Srimali scriptures and the Ratnagotravibhaga is that enlightenment is the natural and true state of the mind.[5]
[edit] The Lotus Sutra
the Lotus Sutra (written between 100 BCE and 200 CE) further developed and popularized the doctrine of the Buddha-nature. It influenced subsequent later sutras.[14] The tenth chapter emphasizes, in accordance with the Bodhisattva-ideal of the Mahayana-teachings, that everyone can be liberated. All living beings can become a buddha, not only monks and nuns, but also laypeople, shravakas, bodhisattvas, non-human creatures, dragon kings and centaurs.[14] It also details that all living beings can be a 'teacher of the Dharma'.
The twelfth chapter of the Lotus Sutra details that Buddha nature is universal among all people. Even the historical Devadatta has the potential to become a buddha.[15] The story of Devadatta is followed by another story about a dragon princess who is both a nāga and a female, whom the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī proclaims will reach enlightenment immediately, in her present form.
Based on the metaphors of the Lotus Sutra, Tiantai developed the teaching of revealing the Buddha nature in one's current form.[16]
[edit] Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra
The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra (written 2nd century CE) was very influential in the Chinese reception of the Buddhist teachings. This sutra was understood to postulate an underlying essence, though this sutra is ambivalent.
The Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra states that Buddha-nature is everlasting, pure and blissful.[17]
The self of which the Buddha speaks is said by him to be the "essential intrinsic being" (svabhava) or even "life-essence" (jīvaka) of each person, and this essential being is none other than the Buddha himself - "radiantly luminous" and "as indestructible as a diamond".[18] The Buddha-nature is taught to be an ultimate, conceptually inconceivable, immortal reality.[17]
But the Mahaparinirvana-sutra also contrasts its doctrine of the self with that of the Astikas. The Astikas were the orthodox teachings of India, embracing the idea of Atman. The sutra rejects the idea of the self to be an indwelling homunculus:
This, the Buddha says, is a misconception of the nature of self, for:
That opinion of theirs is a mistaken opinion, one that is transmitted onwards from person to person, but it is neither beneficial nor conducive to happiness.[18]
[edit] Lankavatara-sutra
The Lankavatara Sutra (compiled 350-400 CE[19]) synthesized the tathagatagarba-doctrine and the alija-vijnana doctrine. The alija-vijnana is supposed to contain the pure seed, or tathagatagarbha, from which awakening arises. [5]
The Lankavatara-sutra is ambivalent. It contains tathagata-garba thought, but also warns against reification of the idea of Buddha-nature, and presents it as an aid to attaining awakening:
Is not this Tathagata-garbha taught by the Blessed One the same as the ego-substance taught by the philosophers? The ego as taught by the philosophers is an eternal creator, unqualified, omnipresent, and imperishable.
The Blessed One replied: [...] it is emptiness, reality-limit, Nirvana, being unborn, unqualified, and devoid of will-effort; the reason why the Tathagatas [...] teach the doctrine pointing to the Tathagata-garba is to make the ignorant cast aside theur fear when they listen to the teaching of egolessness and to have them realise the state of non-discimination and imagelessness[20]
[edit] China
When Buddhism was introduced to China, in the first century CE, buddhism was being understood by comparing it's teachings to Chinese terms and ways of thinking. Immortality and emptiness, central notions in Taoïsm, gave a frame of reference for the understanding of reïncarnation and sunyata.
In the Chinese thinking of that time reïncarnation was only possible if there was a soul or essence to reincarnate. Early Chinese Buddhism therefore assumed that this was also the teaching of the Buddha. In the 6th century CE it dawned that anatman and sunyata are central Buddhist teachings, which make the postulation of an eternal self problematic.[21]
Another point of confusion was the Two truths doctrine of Madhyamaka, the relative truth and the absolute truth. Chinese thinking took this to refer to two ontological truths: reality exists of two levels, a relative level and an absolute level. But in Madhyamaka these arte two epistemological truthsn: two different ways to look at reality. Based on their understanding of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra the Chinese supposed that the teaching of the Buddha-nature the final Buddhist teaching was, and that there is an essential truth above sunyata and the two truths.[22]
Halfway the 6th century CE the Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana took shape, in which a synthesis was offered of Chinese buddhist thinking. In the Awakening of Faith the 'one mind' has two aspects, namely tathata, suchness, the things as they are, and samsara, the cycle of birth and death.[23] This sutra was in line with an esay by emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty (reign 502-549 CE), in which he postulated a pure essence, the enlightened mind, trapped in darkness, which is ignorance. By this ignorance the pute mind is trapped in samsara. This resembles the tathagata-garba and the idea of the defilement of the luminous mind.[23] In a commentary on this essay Shen Yue stated that insight into this true essence is awakened by stopping the thoughts - a point of view which is also being found in the Platform Sutra of Hui-neng.[23]
The joining together of these different ideas supported the notion of the Lotus ekayana, the one vehicle. Absolute oneness, all-pervading Buddha-wisdom and original enlightenment become a holistic whole. This synthesis was a reflection of the unity which was attained in China with the united Song Dynasty.[23]
[edit] Varying interpretations of Buddha-nature within Buddhist traditions
Scholars of Buddhism have varying interpretations of Buddha-nature. Some[who?] see the buddha-nature as the innate potential to become awakened, without reifying the potential.
[edit] Prajna-paramita sutras
The prajna-paramita sutras, which emerged from the first century BCE on, reject the idea of an eternal self or underlying essence. They emphasize the notion of emptiness. According to Kalupahana they are an early reaction to the "emergence of absolutist tendencies"[9] .
The Sutra of Perfect Wisdom, also called The Questions of Suvikrantavikramin, states it's view on the self in this way:
[O]ne who wisely knows himself (atmanam) as nondual, he wisely knows both Buddha and Dharma. And why? He develops a personality which consists of all dharmas [...] His nondual comprehension comprehends all dharmas, for all dharmas are fixed on the Self in their own-being. One who wisely knows the nondual dharma wisely knows also the Buddhadharmas. From the comprehension of the nondual dharma follows the comprehension of the Buddhadharmas and from the comprehension of the Self the comprehension of everything that belongs to the triple world. "The comprehension of Self", that is the beyond of all dharmas.[24]
[edit] Madhyamaka and Yogacara
According to Kalupahana, the Madhyamaka of Nagarjuna, but also the Yogacara of Vasubandhu are a later reaction to the "emergence of absolutist tendencies". Nagarjuna's work is founded on the prajnaparamita-sutras, which reach back to the anatman doctrine. Vasubandhu gives an analysis of the workings of the human mind and consciousness, based on the analysis of the working of the five skandhas. Vasubandhu's original analysis leaves ample room for the proposition of a transcendent essence[25], but was interpreted in an idealist way by later followers.[9][19]
[edit] Nichiren Buddhsim
Nichiren Buddhism views the Buddha nature as "The inner potential for attaining Buddhahood", common to all people. [26]
[edit] Chan
In Chinese Ch’an Buddhism the Buddha-nature tends to be seen as the essential nature of all beings. Writing from this tradition, Master Hsing Yun, forty-eighth patriarch of the Linji School of Ch’an Buddhism, equates the Buddha-nature with the Dharmakāya in line with pronouncements in key tathāgatagarbha sutras, defining these two as:
the inherent nature that exists in all beings. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, enlightenment is a process of uncovering this inherent nature … The Buddha nature [is] identical with transcendental reality. The unity of the Buddha with everything that exists.[27]
[edit] Tibetan Buddhism
According to the Nyingma and Sakya schools, tathāgatagarbha is the inseparability of the clarity and emptiness of one's mind. According to the Gelug school, it is the potential for sentient beings to awaken since they are empty (i.e. dependently originated). According to the Jonang school, it refers to the innate qualities of the mind which expresses itself in terms of omniscience etc. when adventitious obscurations are removed.
[edit] Nyingma
Speaking for the Tibetan Nyingma tradition, Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche sees an identity between the Buddha-nature, Dharmadhātu (essence of all phenomena and the noumenon) and the three vajras, saying:
Dharmadhatu is adorned with dharmakaya, which is endowed with dharmadhatu wisdom. This is a brief but very profound statement, because "dharmadhatu" also refers to sugata-garbha or buddha nature. Buddha nature is all-encompassing ... This buddha nature is present just as the shining sun is present in the sky. It is indivisible from the three vajras [i.e. the Buddha's Body, Speech and Mind] of the awakened state, which do not perish or change.[28]
The Nyingma meditation masters, Khenchen Palden Sherab and Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal, emphasise that the essential nature of the mind (the Buddha-nature) is not a blankness, but is characterised by wonderful qualities and a perfection that is already present and complete:
The nature of the mind is not hollow or blank; it is profound and blissful and full of wonderful qualities... meditation practice reveals our true nature as being totally perfect and complete.[29]
They add:
The true nature of mind is beyond conception, yet it is present in every object. The true nature is always there, but due to our temporary obscurations we do not recognize it ... The primordial nature is beyond conceptions; it cannot be explained ... cannot be encompassed by words. Although you can say it is clarity and vastness, you cannot see it or touch it; it is beyond expression.[30]
[edit] Dzogchen
Germano (1992: pp.viii - ix) relates Dzogchen, via Buddha-nature to Madhyamaka, Yogachara and Abhinavagupta:
...the Great Perfection represents the most sophisticated interpretation of the so-called "Buddha nature" tradition within the context of Indo-Tibetan thought, and as such, is of extreme importance for research into classical exoteric philosophic systems such as Madhyamaka and Yogacara, while also providing fertile grounds for future explorations of the interconnections between Indo-Tibetan and East Asian forms of Buddhism, as well as between Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and contemporary Indian developments such as the tenth century non-dual Shaivism of Abhinavagupta.[31]
The 19th/20th-century Tibetan Buddhist scholar, Shechen Gyaltsap Gyurme Pema Namgyal, sees the Buddha nature as ultimate truth,[32] nirvana, which is constituted of profundity, primordial peace and radiance:
Buddha-nature is immaculate. It is profound, serene, unfabricated suchness, an uncompounded expanse of luminosity; nonarising, unceasing, primordial peace, spontaneously present nirvana.[33]
[edit] Kagyu
In the Tibetan Kagyu tradition, Thrangu Rinpoche sees the Buddha nature as the indivisible oneness of wisdom and emptiness:
The union of wisdom and emptiness is the essence of Buddha-hood or what is called Buddha-nature (Skt. Tathagata-garbha) because it contains the very seed, the potential of Buddhahood. It resides in each and every being and because of this essential nature, this heart nature, there is the possibility of reaching Buddhahood.[34]
[edit] Gelukpa
The 14th Dalai Lama, representing the Gelukpa School of Tibetan Buddhism, and speaking from the Madhyamaka philosophical position, sees the Buddha-nature as the "original clear light of mind", but points out that it ultimately does not exist independently, because, like all other phenomena, it is of the nature of emptiness:
Once one pronounces the words "emptiness" and "absolute", one has the impression of speaking of the same thing, in fact of the absolute. If emptiness must be explained through the use of just one of these two terms, there will be confusion. I must say this; otherwise you might think that the innate original clear light as absolute truth really exists.[35]
[edit] Jonangpa
The Jonangpa School of Tibetan Buddhism, whose foremost historical figure was the Tibetan scholar-monk Dolpopa, sees the Buddha-nature as the very ground of the Buddha himself, as the "permanent indwelling of the Buddha in the basal state".[36] Dolpopa comments that certain key tathāgatagarbha sutras indicate this truth.
Moreover, the Buddhist tantric scripture entitled Chanting the Names of Mañjuśrī (Mañjuśrī-nāma-saṅgīti), repeatedly exalts, as portrayed by Dolpopa, not the non-Self but the Self, and applies the following terms to this ultimate reality : 'The Buddha-Self, the beginningless Self, the solid Self, the diamond Self'. These terms are applied in a manner which reflects the cataphatic approach to Buddhism, typical of much of Dolpopa's writings.[37]
Dolpopa further expressed the viewpoint that the Buddha-nature transcends the chain of dependent origination. It is not empty of its own ultimately real essence, but only of extraneous, transitory and relative phenomena.
Dr. Cyrus Stearns writes on Dolpopa's attitude to the 'third turning of the wheel' doctrines (i.e. the Buddha-nature teachings):
The Third Turning of the Dharma Wheel presented the teachings on the Buddha nature, which are the final definitive statements on the nature of ultimate reality, the primordial ground or substratum beyond the chain of dependent origination, and which is only empty of other, relative phenomena.'[38]
In the Ghanavyuha Sutra (as quoted by Longchenpa) this Buddha essence is said to be the ground of all things:
... the ultimate universal ground also has always been with the Buddha-Essence (Tathagatagarbha), and this essence in terms of the universal ground has been taught by the Tathagata. The fools who do not know it, because of their habits, see even the universal ground as (having) various happiness and suffering and actions and emotional defilements. Its nature is pure and immaculate, its qualities are as wishing-jewels; there are neither changes nor cessations. Whoever realizes it attains Liberation ...[39]
[edit] The Rimé movement
Ringu Tulku says, "There has been a great deal of heated debate in Tibet between the exponents of Rangtong, (Wylie: Rang-stong) and Shentong, (Wylie: gZhan-stong) philosophies. The historic facts of these two philosophies are well known to the Tibetologists."
Jamgon Kongtrul says about the two systems:
Madhyamika philosophies have no differences in realising as 'Shunyata', all phenomena that we experience on a relative level. They have no differences also, in reaching the meditative state where all extremes (ideas) completely dissolve. Their difference lies in the words they use to describe the Dharmata. Shentong describes the Dharmata, the mind of Buddha, as 'ultimately real'; while Rangtong philosophers fear that if it is described that way, people might understand it as the concept of 'soul' or 'Atma'. The Shentong philosopher believes that there is a more serious possibility of misunderstanding in describing the Enlightened State as 'unreal' and 'void'. Kongtrul finds the Rangtong way of presentation the best to dissolve concepts and the Shentong way the best to describe the experience.[40]
In 2006, Khentrul Rinpoche Jamphal Lodro founded "The Tibetan Buddhist Rimé Institute" in Melbourne, Australia. It aims to propagate the Rimé view of harmony within all Buddhist traditions and to introduce the rare Jonang Kalachakra Tantra lineage teachings in the western world.[41]
[edit] Modern scholarship
Modern scholarship points to the various possible interpretations of Buddha Nature as either Sunyata or an essential self, and Buddha Nature as the inherent possibility of awakening.
According to Heng-Ching Shih, the tathāgatagarbha/Buddha nature does not represent a substantial self (ātman). Rather, it is a positive language expression of emptiness (śūnyatā), which enphasizes the potentiality to realize Buddhahood through Buddhist practices. The intention of the teaching of tathāgatagarbha/Buddha nature is soteriological rather than theoretical.[42]
Paul Williams puts forward the Madhyamaka interpretation of the Buddha-nature as emptiness in the following terms:
… if one is a Madhyamika then that which enables sentient beings to become buddhas must be the very factor that enables the minds of sentient beings to change into the minds of Buddhas. That which enables things to change is their simple absence of inherent existence, their emptiness. Thus the tathagatagarbha becomes emptiness itself, but specifically emptiness when applied to the mental continuum.[43]
According to Matsumoto Shiro and Hakamaya Noriaki, essentialist conceptions of Buddha-nature are at odds with the fundamental Buddhist doctrine of dependent origination.[44][45] Sallie B King objects their view. She sees the Buddha-nature as a metaphor for the potential in all beings to attain Buddhahood, rather than as an ontological reality.[46]
This view of the Buddha-nature as non-Buddhist is termed Critical Buddhism. Paul Williams has criticised this view, saying that Critical Buddhism is too narrow in its definition of what constitutes Buddhism. According to Williams,
We should abandon any simplistic identification of Buddhism with a straightforward not-Self definition".[47]
Sutton agrees with this critique on the narrowness of interpreattion. In discussing the inadequacy of modern scholarship on Buddha-nature, Sutton states,
One is impressed by the fact that these authors, as a rule, tend to opt for a single meaning disregarding all other possible meanings which are embraced in turn by other texts".[48]
He goes on to point out that the term tathāgatagarbha has up to six possible connotations. Of these, he says the three most important are:
- an underlying ontological reality or essential nature (tathāgata-tathatā-'vyatireka) which is functionally equivalent to a self (ātman) in an Upanishadic sense,
- the dharma-kāya which penetrates all beings (sarva-sattveṣu dharma-kāya-parispharaṇa), which is functionally equivalent to brahman in an Upanishadic sense
- the womb or matrix of Buddhahood existing in all beings (tathāgata-gotra-saṃbhava), which provides beings with the possibility of awakening.[49][50]
Of these three, Sutton claims that only the third connotation has any soteriological significance, while the other two posit Buddha-nature as an ontological reality and essential nature behind all phenomena.[51]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Williams, Paul. Buddhist Thought. Routledge 2000, page 160.
- ^ The term "garbha" has multiple denotations. A denotation of note is the garba dence) of the Gujarati: where a spiritual circle dance is performed around a light or candle placed at the centre, bindu. This dance informs the Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine. Interestingly, the Dzogchenpa tertön Namkai Norbu teaches a similar dance upon a mandala, the Dance of the Six Lokas as terma, where a candle or light is similarly placed.[citation needed]
- ^ Lopez, Donald S. (2001). The Story of Buddhism: a concise guide to its history & teaching. New York, NY, USA: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-06-069976-0 (cloth): p.263
- ^ Brandon, G. S. F., ed. (1972). A Dictionary of Buddhism. (NB: with an "Introduction" by T. O. Ling.) New York, NY, USA: Charles Scribner's Sons. [I]SBN 684-12763-6 (trade cloth) p.240.
- ^ a b c d e Gregory, Peter N. (1991), Sudden Enlightenment Followed by Gradual Cultivation: Tsung-mi's Analysis of Mind. In: Peter N. Gregory (editor)(1991), Sudden and Gradual. Approaches to Enlightenment in Chinese Thought. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. Page 288-289
- ^ Harvey, Peter (1989). Consciousness Mysticism in the Discourses of the Buddha. In Werner, Karel, ed., The Yogi and the Mystic. Curzon Press: p. 94. Peter Harvey mentions A I, 8-10.
- ^ Pabhassara Soetra, Anguttara Nikaya I.49-52
- ^ Gethin, p.222
- ^ a b c Kalupahana, David J. (1992), The Principles of Buddhist Psychology. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications
- ^ Wayman, Alex and Hideko (1990), The Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Pagina 42
- ^ Williams, Paul. Buddhist Thought. Routledge 2000, page 161.
- ^ Wayman, Alex and Hideko (1990), The Lion's Roar of Queen Srimala. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers
- ^ Hodge, Stephen, trans. (2003) The Maha-Vairocana-Abhisambodhi Tantra. London: Curzon: p.355
- ^ a b Reeves 2008, pp. 15–16
- ^ Reeves 2008, p. 5
- ^ http://www.sgilibrary.org/view.php?page=1052
- ^ a b Yamamoto, Kosho, trans.; Page, Dr. Tony, ed. The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 Volumes. London: Nirvana: Vol, 8, p. 23
- ^ a b c cf. Yamamoto, Kosho, trans.; Page, Dr. Tony, ed. The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 Volumes. London: Nirvana: Vol. 3, pp. 4-5
- ^ a b Kalupahana, David J. (1992), A history of Buddhist philosophy. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited
- ^ Suzuki, D.T. (1956), The Lankavatara Sutra. A Mahayana Text. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. p.69
- ^ Whalen Lai: Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey. Pagina 10
- ^ Whalen Lai: Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey. Pagina 11
- ^ a b c d Whalen Lai: Buddhism in China: A Historical Survey. Pagina 11-12
- ^ Conze, Edward, trans. (2002). Perfection of Wisdom: The Short Prajnaparamita Texts. Totnes, Devon: Buddhist Publishing Group: p.32
- ^ According to Kalapahuna, Vasubandhu does not propagate a "mind only"-theory, but a conception in mind-only"-theory. Kalupahana, Principles of Buddhist Psychology
- ^ http://www.sgilibrary.org/search_dict.php?id=212
- ^ Hsing Yun, Master; tr. by Tom Graham (1999). Being Good: Buddhist Ethics for Everyday Life. New York: Weatherhill: pp. 152-153
- ^ Urgyen Rinpoche, Tulku (1999). As It Is. Hong Kong: Rangjung Yeshe Books: p. 32
- ^ Sherab, Khenchen Palden and Dongyal, Khenpo Tsewang (2006). Opening to Our Primordial Nature. New York: Snow Lion: pp. 3, 9
- ^ Sherab, Khenchen Palden and Dongyal, Khenpo Tsewang (2006). Opening to Our Primordial Nature. New York: Snow Lion: pp. 22 - 23
- ^ Germano, David Francis (1992). Poetic thought, the intelligent Universe, and the mystery of self: The Tantric synthesis of rDzogs Chen in fourteenth century Tibet. The University of Wisconsin, Madison. Doctoral thesis. Source: [1] (accessed: Friday December 18, 2009)
- ^ Rabjam, Shechen (2007). The Great Medicine: Steps in Meditation on the Enlightened Mind. Boston: Shambhala: p. 21
- ^ Rabjam, Shechen (2007). The Great Medicine: Steps in Meditation on the Enlightened Mind. Boston: Shambhala: p. 4
- ^ Thrangu Rinpoche, Khenchen. Buddha Nature and Buddhahood: the Mahayana and Tantra Yana
- ^ Dalai Lama, the (1999). Buddha Heart, Buddha Mind. New York: Crossroad: p. 110
- ^ Hopkins, Jeffrey, trans. (2006). Mountain Doctrine: Tibet's Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha-Matrix. NY: Snow Lion: p. 196
- ^ cf. Hopkins, Jeffrey, trans. (2006). Mountain Doctrine: Tibet's Fundamental Treatise on Other-Emptiness and the Buddha-Matrix. NY: Snow Lion: pp.279-280
- ^ Dr. Cyrus Stearns, The Buddha from Dolpo: A Study of the Life and Thought of the Tibetan Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, State University of New York Press, Albany, 1999, p. 87
- ^ Thondup Rinpoche, Tulku (1989). Buddha Mind. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion: p.218
- ^ Ringu Tulku: The Rimé (Ris-med) movement of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great
- ^ Website of The Tibetan Buddhist Rime Institute of Australia
- ^ Shih, Heng-Ching. The Significance Of 'Tathagatagarbha' — A Positive Expression Of 'Sunyata.
- ^ Williams, Paul (2000). Buddhist Thought. London: Routledge: pp. 164-165
- ^ Matsumoto Shirõ (1997), The Doctrine of Tath„gata-garbha Is Not Buddhist
- ^ Hakamaya Noriaki (1997), Critical Philosophy Versus Topical Philosophy
- ^ Sallie B. King (1997), The Doctrine of Buddha Nature is Impeccably Buddhist
- ^ Professor Paul Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge, London, 2nd Edition, 2009, p. 128
- ^ Sutton, Florin Giripescu (1991). Existence and Enlightenment in the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra. SUNY (ISBN 0-7914-0172-3): p.51
- ^ Takasaki, Jikido (1991). A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga. ISMEO 1966: p.198
- ^ Florin Giripescu Sutton, Existence and Enlightenment in the Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra, SUNY(ISBN 0-7914-0172-3): p.53
- ^ Wayman, Alex (1981). The Title and Textual Affiliation of the Guhya-garbha Tantra. In: From Mahayana Buddhism to Tantra — Felicitation Volume for Dr Shunkyo Matsumata. Tokyo: p.4
[edit] References
- Gethin, Rupert (1998). Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford University Press.
- Hookham, Dr. Shenpen (tr.) (1998). The Shrimaladevi Sutra. Oxford: Longchen Foundation.
- Page, Dr. Tony, (2003). Buddha-Self: The 'Secret' Teachings of the Buddha in the Mahaparinirvana Sutra. London, Nirvana Publications.
- Powers, J. A. (2000). Concise Encyclopaedia of Buddhism.
- Rawson, Philip (1991). Sacred Tibet. London, Thames and Hudson. ISBN 050081032X.
- Reeves, Gene (2008). The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic. Somerville: Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0-86171-571-3.
- Suzuki, D.T., (1978). The Lankavatara Sutra, Prajna Press, Boulder.
- Yamamoto, Kosho (tr.), Page, Dr. Tony (reviser and editor), (1999–2000) The Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra in 12 volumes. London: Nirvana Publications.
[edit] Further reading
- Zimmermann, Michael (2002), A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, Biblotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica VI, The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University [PDF can also be downloaded from the Institute's website]
- Masahiro Mori (1974), The Buddha in the Robot: a Robot Engineer's Thoughts on Science and Religion.
- Brunnholzl, Karl (2009), Luminous Heart: The Third Karmapa on Consciousness, Wisdom, and Buddha Nature. Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 9781559393188
- Kalupahana, David J. (1992), A history of Buddhist philosophy. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited
[edit] External links
- "Tathagatagarbha Buddhism": key "Buddha Nature" sutras in full or in part
- On the Buddha-nature of Insentient Things
- "Nirvana Sutra": full text of "Nirvana Sutra", plus appreciation of its teachings.
- "Buddha Nature" talk (audio) by Stephen Batchelor
- The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra A Mahāyāna Text
- Theosophy in Tibet: The Teachings of the Jonangpa School by David Reigle
- Nanzan Institute: Pruning the Bodhi Tree. Critical scholarship in the tathagatagarba-doctrine
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