D'Amato, M.

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Mario D'Amato

Mario D’Amato is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion at Rollins College. His area of research is in Buddhist philosophy, with a special focus on the translation, interpretation, and analysis of Sanskrit Buddhist doctrinal texts from the Yogācāra school of Buddhist philosophy. He published a study and annotated translation of the fourth-century CE Buddhist treatise Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes (2012), the coedited volume Pointing at the Moon: Buddhism, Logic, Analytic Philosophy (2009), as well as articles on Buddhist thought in the Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, Journal of Indian Philosophy, Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory, Semiotica, and other journals. He also regularly teaches a course on Psychoanalysis and Religion. (Source Accessed Jul 21, 2020)

Library Items

Article
Can All Beings Potentially Attain Awakening? Gotra-theory in the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra
The Mahāyāna has sometimes been associated with the doctrine that all sentient beings will attain complete awakening, a doctrine which is often linked to some conception of the "embryo of the Tathāgata (tathāgatagarbha)'"`UNIQ--ref-0000109C-QINU`"'. However, according to an alternate Mahāyāna doctrine, only some sentient beings will attain the complete awakening of a buddha — and some may even be excluded from attaining any form of awakening at all. In this paper, I will examine just such a doctrine, as it is found in an Indian Yogācāra treatise, the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra ("Ornament to the Mahāyāna Sūtras"; abbr., MSA), a Sanskrit verse-text, and its prose commentary, the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra-bhāṣya (MSABh),'"`UNIQ--ref-0000109D-QINU`"'. Particular Tibetan and Chinese sources attribute the composition of the MSA to the bodhisattva Maitreya'"`UNIQ--ref-0000109E-QINU`"', which gives us some indication of the importance this text was understood to have within certain traditions. Nevertheless, the authorship and date of the verse-text and its commentary are not certain; I hypothesize that the MSA/Bh may be dated to the fourth century CE (perhaps c. 350 CE)'"`UNIQ--ref-0000109F-QINU`"'. It is my hope that an examination of such a source may contribute to the study of the various ways in which the contours of the Mahāyāna have been drawn from a doctrinal perspective. In the MSA/Bh, one way in which the limits of the Mahāyāna are defined is through the employment of the gotra-theory, a theory which identifies the soteriological potentialities of individuals through reference to their spiritual "family" or "lineage." So in order to understand this text's discursive construction of the category "Mahāyāna," we must understand its concept of gotra. (D'Amato, "Can All Beings Potentially Gain Awakening," 115–16)
D'Amato, Mario. "Can All Beings Potentially Attain Awakening? Gotra-theory in the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra." Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 26, no. 1 (2003): 115–38. https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/view/8933/2826.
Book
Maitreya's Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes
Maitreyanātha's Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes (Madhyāntavibhāga) was transmitted to us by the noble Asaṅga, great saint and champion scholar of fourth century CE Indic Buddhism—along with Vasubandhu’s commentary on the text. It is one of the five seminal texts of what the Tibetans call the “magnificent deeds tradition of universal vehicle Buddhism, according to its spiritual focus and ethical impact. Its emphasis on the nondual, primarily mental nature of reality most powerfully supports the great messianic vow of the bodhisattva, the entry into the universal vehicle lifestyle. In his study introducing the translation, Dr. D'Amato analyzes and elucidates the teachings of this text and its associated school with great learning and insight. (Source: Tibet House)
D'Amato, Mario, trans. Maitreya's Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes (Madhyāntavibhāga): Along with Vasubandhu's Commentary (Madhyāntavibhāga-bhāṣya); A Study and Annotated Translation. Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences. Tengyur Translation Initiative. New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies, Columbia University's Center for Buddhist Studies and Tibet House US, 2012.

Affiliations & relations

  • Rollins College · workplace affiliation
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