De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa'i bstan bcos

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LibraryCommentariesDe bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa'i bstan bcos


དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་བསྟན་པའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།
de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa'i bstan bcos
The Treatise on Pointing Out the Tathāgata Heart
SOURCE TEXT

The Third Karmapa's treatise on buddha-nature written in verse, which is essentially a synopsis of the Uttaratantra. According to Schaeffer, "This verse text (De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa, or De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa) blends scriptural quotations from both sūtra and tantra with Rang byung's own words, creating an evocative picture of the relation between the primordially pure enlightened state- symbolized by the Enlightened Heart (snying po)- human existence, and Buddhahood. While Rang byung has relied heavily on the Ratnagotravibhāgaśāstra, (known in Tibet as the Uttaratantra, or Rgyud bla ma), the syncretism of various strands of Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna apparent in the text is particular to Tibet. Tathāgatagarbha, Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, Mahāmudrā, and Annuttarayogatantra all coalesce in this work, which is a testament to the hundreds of years of appropriation and synthesis of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist thought that preceded it. - Kurtis Schaeffer, from the introduction to The Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood.

Relevance to Buddha-nature

Though the text is a brief overview of issues discussed in the Uttaratantra, the Third Karmapa clearly views the treatise as not merely a sūtra work. As he states in the closing of the text, "This completes the determination of the buddha heart, the essence of the vajrayāna." (sangs rgyas kyi snying po gtan la dbab pa rdo rje theg pa'i snying po rdzogs so). The authors presents a theory of buddha-nature which is the base of all existence and endowed with the qualities of the Buddha and not empty of these transcendent qualities. He integrates many well known verses from the sūtras and tantras in his text.

Philosophical positions of this text

Text Metadata

Other Titles ~ de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa zhes bya ba'i bstan bcos
~ snying bstan

Text exists in ~ Tibetan
Commentaries on this text
  1. 'jam mgon kong sprul. de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa'i bstan bcos kyi rnam 'grel rang byung dgongs gsal. In mdo sngags mtshams sbyor, pp 395-444. Zi ling: mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2004. Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg
  2. mkha' khyab rdo rje, (Karmapa, 15th). de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa'i bstan bcos kyi mchan 'grel. In gsung 'bum mkha' khyab rdo rje(dpal spungs par ma), Vol. 9: 437-474. Delhi: konchhog lhadrepa, 1993-1994. Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg
  3. Shamarpa, 5th. de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po gtan la dbab pa zhes bya ba'i bstan bcos. In gsung thor bu dkon mchog yan lag (Selected Writings on Vajrayana Buddhist Practice). Vol. 1: 459-474. Gangtok: dzongsar chhentse labrang, 1974. Buda by BDRC Logo.jpg