Nītārtha, Neyārtha, and Tathāgatagarbha in Tibet
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Nītārtha, Neyārtha, and Tathāgatagarbha in Tibet
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| Citation: | Lipman, Kennard. "Nītārtha, Neyārtha, and Tathāgatagarbha in Tibet." Journal of Indian Philosophy 8, no. 1 (1980): 87–95. |
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Abstract
D. S. Ruegg, in his La Théorie du Tathāgatagarbha et du Gotra and other works,1 has mentioned the need for further study of the various Tibetan exegetical traditions involved in the controversies surrounding the tathāgata-garbha doctrine. He has relied extensively on the exegesis developed by dGe lugs-pa scholars. This paper is an initial attempt to address this need voiced by Ruegg, by presenting the views of a bKa'-brgyud-pa and two rNying-ma-pa scholars. In particular, the focus will be on elucidating how they applied the interpretive devices of nītārtha (nges-don, certain, definitive meaning) and neyārtha (drang-don, indirect meaning which is to be established) to texts dealing with the tathāgatagarbha.2 One of the basic philosophical problems the Tibetans faced in this regard was the relationship between the concepts of sûnyatā and tathāgatagarbha emphasized in the second and third "turnings of the wheel of Dharma" (dharmacakra-pravartana) respectively.
