gzhi

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Tibetan Noun

gzhi

ground
གཞི་

Basic Meaning

The foundational basis of both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. It is often used as a synonym for tathāgatagarbha and dharmadhātu.

Has the Sense of

In the Dzogchen teachings it is commonly counted among the trilogy of ground, path, and fruition. Sometimes referred to as the primordial ground (ye bzhi), it is the source from which all phenomena arise.

On this topic
Video
David Higgins at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
David Higgins explores the Eighth Karmapa Mikyö Dorje’s (1507–1554) prolific writings on tathāgatagarbha, which contain several extended discussions on the topic of how buddha-nature relates to different conceptions of selfhood.
Higgins, David. "Buddha-Nature and Selfhood." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:28. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHzI1PxptpI.
Article
Grounds of Buddha-Nature in Tibet
This paper discusses syntheses forged in Tibet among the doctrines of Madhyamaka, Yogācāra, and buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha). Buddha-nature is a distinctively Mahāyāna Buddhist doctrine, taking a place along side of the Yogācāra doctrine of the basic consciousness (ālayavijñāna) and the universal emptiness (śūnyatā) of Madhyamaka. As a fundamental ground of reality, buddha-nature comes to be identified with a positive side of emptiness (in the case of Madhyamaka) and is assimilated with the basic consciousness (in the case of Yogācāra) as well. As the intrinsic purity of mind, buddha-nature also plays a causal role as the potential for complete awakening.

Buddha-nature comes to shape a Madhyamaka interpretation of emptiness in a positive light in a way that parallels its place in a Yogācāra interpretation (as a positive foundation of mind and reality). Buddha-nature supplements a Yogācāra theory of mind and reality by offering a positive alternative to a theory of consciousness that otherwise functions simply as the distorted cognitive structure of suffering. It thus is not only the potential for an awakened mind, but the cognitive content of awakening, too.

In Tibet we see the interpretation of buddha-nature converge with Mahāyāna doctrines in structurally parallel ways. Paired with buddha-nature, the doctrine of emptiness in Madhyamaka pivots from a “self-empty” lack of intrinsic nature to an “other-empty,” pure ground that remains. In narratives of disclosure characteristic of the doctrine of buddha-nature, we also see parallel shifts in the foundations of Yogācāra, as grounds of distortion like the basic consciousness, the dependent nature, and self-awareness are reinscribed into a causal story that takes place within a pure, gnostic ground.
Duckworth, Douglas S. "Grounds of Buddha-Nature in Tibet." Critical Review for Buddhist Studies 21 (2017): 109–36. https://sites.temple.edu/duckworth/files/2019/01/Duckworth_Buddha-Nature-in-Tibet.pdf.
Book
Mipam on Buddha-Nature
A comprehensive overview of Tibetan Buddhist thinker Mipam’s work on emptiness and Buddha-nature.



Mipam ( 'ju mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846–1912) is one of the most prolific thinkers in the history of Tibet and is a key figure in the Nyingma tradition of Buddhism. His works continue to be widely studied in the Tibetan cultural region and beyond. This book provides an in-depth account of Mipam’s view, drawing on a wide range of his works and offering several new translations. Douglas S. Duckworth shows how a dialectic of presence and absence permeates Mipam’s writings on the Middle Way and Buddha-nature.

Arguably the most important doctrine in Buddhism, Buddha-nature is, for Mipam, equivalent to the true meaning of emptiness; it is the ground of all and the common ground shared by sentient beings and Buddhas. This ground is the foundation of the path and inseparable from the goal of Buddhahood. Duckworth probes deeply into Mipam’s writings on Buddha-nature to illuminate its central place in a dynamic Buddhist philosophy. (Source: SUNY Press)
Duckworth, Douglas S. Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the Nyingma Tradition. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008. http://promienie.net/images/dharma/books/mipham_buddha-nature.pdf.
PhD Diss
Sheehy, M.: The Gzhan stong Chen mo
A dissertation on the Jonang position of other-emptiness (gzhan stong) as represented by work of the modern scholar 'Dzam thang Mkhan po Ngag dbang Blo gros grags pa (1920-75).
Sheehy, Michael. "The Gzhan stong Chen mo: A Study of Emptiness according to the Modern Tibetan Buddhist Jo nang Scholar 'Dzam thang Mkhan po Ngag dbang Blo gros Grags pa (1920-75)." PhD diss., California Institute of Integral Studies, 2007.
Book
The Philosophical Foundations of Classical rDzogs Chen in Tibet
An updated book version of David Higgins' dissertation on the presentations of the disparities between dualistic mind (sems) as opposed to primordial knowing (ye shes) and dharmakāya as opposed to the ‘ground of all’ (kun gzhi) conditioned experience, and so forth, in 8th-14th century Nyingma Dzogchen literature.
Higgins, David. The Philosophical Foundations of Classical rDzogs chen in Tibet: Investigating the Distinction between Dualistic Mind (sems) and Primordial Knowing (ye shes). Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien, 2013.
Text
Ngawang Lodrö Drakpa: Fearless Lion's Roar: The Tradition of Jonang Which Ascertains the Profound Meaning of the Supreme Vehicle of Cause and Result
Along with Dol po pa's Ri chos Nge don Rgya mtsho and Tāranātha’s Dbu ma Theg mchog Rab dbyed Brgyad, the Gzhan stong Chen mo comprises the third major textbook studied within the Gzhan stong Madhyamaka curriculum at major Jonang monastic universities, including 'Dzam thang Dgon pa, Bswe Dgon pa and Lcam mda' Dgon pa. For pedagogical reasons, and because of the structure of Mkhan po Blo grags' work, monks generally begin by studying sūtra gzhan stong separately from tantric gzhan stong in preparation for examining Dol po pa's synthetic masterpiece interweaving sūtra and tantra. In a coherent structure identical to the Ri chos, the Gzhan stong Chen mo presents gzhan stong philosophical thinking systematically in accord with the outline of ground (gzhi), path (lam) and fruition ('bras bu), treating sūtra gzhan stong within the main body of the text and tantric gzhan stong as an appendix. Michael Sheehy, 2007.
Term Variations
Key Term gzhi
Topic Variation gzhi
Tibetan གཞི་  ( shi)
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration gzhi  ( shi)
Buddha-nature Site Standard English ground
Richard Barron's English Term ground (of being)
Jeffrey Hopkin's English Term basis
Gyurme Dorje's English Term ground [of spiritual realization], basis
Term Information
Source Language Tibetan
Basic Meaning The foundational basis of both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. It is often used as a synonym for tathāgatagarbha and dharmadhātu.
Has the Sense of In the Dzogchen teachings it is commonly counted among the trilogy of ground, path, and fruition. Sometimes referred to as the primordial ground (ye bzhi), it is the source from which all phenomena arise.
Related Terms Dharmadhātu, Tathāgatagarbha
Term Type Noun
Definitions
Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary 1) basis, source, foundation, base, basic [ground]. 2) Syn {don} referent, the object, objective support. Syn {dngos po} 3) ground (of being); ground aspect; ground, basic ground, basic nature. Syn. buddha-nature. Syn {de gshegs snying po ka dag klong rig pa'i klong} 4) to form a basis for, a source of; matters; to cause, ex. {+r gyur} which causes. which is the foundation. fundamental state; 5) basic; foundational, ground-, fundamental. substratum [ggd]. rtsod gzhi - the subject of the debate [ggd]
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