The Tathāgatagarbha Theory Reconsidered: Reflections on Some Recent Issues in Japanese Buddhist Studies

The Tathāgatagarbha Theory Reconsidered: Reflections on Some Recent Issues in Japanese Buddhist Studies

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Citation:	Takasaki, Jikidō. "The Tathāgatagarbha Theory Reconsidered: Reflections on Some Recent Issues in Japanese Buddhist Studies." Japanese Journal of Religious Studies 27, no. 1–2 (2000): 73–83. https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/2696.

Abstract

The Tathāgatagarbha theory is an influential yet controversial part of the Buddhist tradition. This essay examines some of the issues related to this tradition that have been discussed recently by Buddhist scholars: the dhātu-vāda thesis and the critique of “original enlightenment,” the relationship between the terms tathāgatagarbha and padmagarbha, the interpretation of dependent origination in the Ratnagotravibhāga, the role of relics worship in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, and the Tathāgatagarbha theory in Tibetan Buddhism.

dhātu - A fundamental component or essential constituent. Skt. धातु Tib. ཁམས་ Ch. 界

original enlightenment - According to East Asian Buddhism, the intrinsic enlightenment of all sentient beings. This is obscured by the many stains present in the ālayavijñāna. When these are purified, the natural state of enlightenment is recovered, a status known as "actualized enlightenment." Ch. 本覺

tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏

pratītyasamutpāda - The notion that all phenomena arise in dependence on causes and conditions. Skt. प्रतीत्यसमुत्पाद Tib. རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་བར་འབྱུང་བ་,རྟེན་འབྲེལ་ Ch. 緣起

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt. सूत्र Tib. མདོ། Ch. 佛经