tridharmacakrapravartana

Sanskrit Noun

the three turnings of the wheel of dharma

त्रिधर्मचक्रप्रवर्तन

ཆོས་འཁོར་རིམ་པ་གསུམ་

Basic Meaning

Three successive stages of the Buddhist teachings. Though they are traditionally attributed to the historical Buddha, modern scholarship tends to view them as developmental stages that occurred over the course of an extended period of time, with interludes of several centuries, in which we see major doctrinal shifts often based on seemingly newly emergent scriptural sources.

Read It in the Scriptures

From the seventh chapter of the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra:
Then the Bodhisattva Paramārthasamudgata said to the Bhagavan, "Initially, in the Vārānasī area, in the Deer Park called Sages' Teaching, the Bhagavan taught the aspects of the four truths of the Āryas for those who were genuinely engaged in the [Srāvaka] vehicle. The wheel of doctrine you turned at first is wondrous. Similar doctrines had not been promulgated before in the world by gods or humans. However, this wheel of doctrine that the Bhagavan turned is surpassable, provides an opportunity [for refutation], is of interpretable meaning, and serves as a basis for dispute.

"Then the Bhagavan turned a second wheel of doctrine which is more wondrous still for those who are genuinely engaged in the Great Vehicle, because of the aspect of teaching emptiness, beginning with the lack of own-being of phenomena, and beginning with their absence of production, absence of cessation, quiescence from the start, and being naturally in a state of nirvana. However, this wheel of doctrine that the Bhagavan turned is surpassable, provides an opportunity [for refutation], is of interpretable meaning, and serves as a basis for dispute.

"Then the Bhagavan turned a third wheel of doctrine, possessing good differentiations, and exceedingly wondrous, for those genuinely engaged in all vehicles, beginning with the lack of own-being of phenomena, and beginning with their absence of production, absence of cessation, quiescence from the start, and being naturally in a state of nirvāna. Moreover, that wheel of doctrine turned by the Bhagavan is unsurpassable, does not provide an opportunity [for refutation], is of definitive meaning, and does not serve as a basis for dispute.
~ Translated from the Tibetan by John Powers, Wisdom of Buddha (1995), pages 139-140.

On this topic

Article

Buddha Nature: The Inconceivable Inseparability of Emptiness and Compassionate Awareness

Henkel, Kokyo. "Buddha Nature: The Inconceivable Inseparability of Emptiness and Compassionate Awareness." Unpublished manuscript. n.d., PDF file. https://kokyohenkel.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/7/4/127410773/buddha_nature.pdf.

Henkel, Kokyo. "Buddha Nature: The Inconceivable Inseparability of Emptiness and Compassionate Awareness." Unpublished manuscript. n.d., PDF file. https://kokyohenkel.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/7/4/127410773/buddha_nature.pdf.; Buddha Nature: The Inconceivable Inseparability of Emptiness and Compassionate Awareness; Buddha Nature: The Inconceivable Inseparability of Emptiness and Compassionate Awareness; Defining buddha-nature; Zen - Chan; tridharmacakrapravartana; Kokyo Henkel;Kokyo Yakai (Luminous Owl, Midnight Liberation 光梟夜解);

Video

Filippo Brambilla at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium

Filippo Brambilla examines how a broad range of philosophical views translated to Tsoknyi Gyatso's (1880–1940) position on buddha-nature. On the basis of key passages from two of his major philosophical works, Brambilla argues that Tsoknyi Gyatso sought to harmonize the orthodox perspective of his own (Jonang) tradition on this subject with that of the Gelukpas.

Brambilla, Filippo. "Empty of True Existence, Yet Full of Qualities. Tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940) on Buddha Nature." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:47. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1cTYaIFa4g

Brambilla, Filippo. "Empty of True Existence, Yet Full of Qualities. Tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940) on Buddha Nature." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 41:47. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1cTYaIFa4g;Filippo Brambilla at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium;Dol po pa;Buddha-nature as Emptiness;Jonang;zhentong;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra;tridharmacakrapravartana;neyārtha;nītārtha;prasajyapratiṣedha;Geluk;guṇa;Ngag dbang tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho;Kun mkhyen jo nang pa chen po'i dgongs pa gzhan stong dbu ma'i tshul legs pa bshad mthar 'dzin gdung 'phrog;Kun mkhyen jo nang pa'i bzhes dgongs dbu tshad kyi gzhung spyi dang gung bsgrigs te spyod pa'i spyi don rab gsal snang ba;Filippo Brambilla;Empty of True Existence, Yet Full of Qualities. Tshogs gnyis rgya mtsho (1880–1940) on Buddha Nature

Audio

Kokyo Henkel on Buddha-Nature

This page presents a collection of talks given by Kokyo Henkel on the topic of buddha-nature between 2011–2015. The first talk entitled "Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel and Buddha-Nature" was given at the Santa Cruz Zen Center (SCZC) on August 4, 2011. A talk entitled "Buddha Nature, the Inconceivable Inseparability of Emptiness and Clarity" was delivered on August 10, 2011 at SCZC. A talk called "The Cloudless Sky of Buddha Nature" was given by Henkel at the San Francisco Zen Center on September 6, 2011. "Buddha Nature and Trust" was given at SCZC on August 1, 2012. Another talk on this same theme entitled "Searching for the Sound in the Lute, Three Qualities of Zazen and Three Types of Zazen" was given on December 5, 2012 at SCZC. And a talk titled "Zhaozhou’s Dog and the Middle Way of Buddha Nature (Book of Serenity, case 18)" was given on January 21, 2015.

Henkel, Kokyo. "Kokyo Henkel on Buddha-Nature: A Collection of Talks on Buddha-Nature." Recorded at the Santa Cruz Zen Center and San Francisco Zen Center (Tassajara) 2011–2015. Audio. "Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel and Buddha-Nature," August 4, 2011, 50:16, http://archives.sczc.org/2011/08/04/three-turnings-of-the-dharma-wheel-and-buddha-nature/; "Buddha Nature, The Inconceivable Inseparability of Emptiness and Clarity," August 10, 2011, 56:14, http://archives.sczc.org/2011/08/10/buddha-nature-the-inconceivable-inseparability-of-emptiness-and-clarity/; "The Cloudless Sky of Buddha Nature," September 6, 2011, 1:30:01, https://www.sfzc.org/teachings/dharma-talks/cloudless-sky-buddha-nature; "Buddha Nature and Trust," August 1, 2012, 1:00:48, http://archives.sczc.org/2012/08/01/buddha-nature-and-trust/. "Searching for the Sound in the Lute, Three Qualities of Zazen and Three Types of Zazen," December 5, 2012, 52:54, http://archives.sczc.org/2012/12/05/searching-for-the-sound-in-the-lute-three-qualities-of-zazen-and-three-types-of-zazen/. "Zhaozhou’s Dog and the Middle Way of Buddha Nature (Book of Serenity, case 18)," January 21, 2015, 1:01:23, http://archives.sczc.org/2015/01/21/zhaozhous-dog-and-the-middle-way-of-buddha-nature-book-of-serenity-case-18/.

Henkel, Kokyo. "Kokyo Henkel on Buddha-Nature: A Collection of Talks on Buddha-Nature." Recorded at the Santa Cruz Zen Center and San Francisco Zen Center (Tassajara) 2011–2012. Audio. "Three Turnings of the Dharma Wheel and Buddha-Nature," August 4, 2011, 50:16, http://archives.sczc.org/2011/08/04/three-turnings-of-the-dharma-wheel-and-buddha-nature/; "Buddha Nature, The Inconceivable Inseparability of Emptiness and Clarity," August 10, 2011, 56:14, http://archives.sczc.org/2011/08/10/buddha-nature-the-inconceivable-inseparability-of-emptiness-and-clarity/; "The Cloudless Sky of Buddha Nature," September 6, 2011, 1:30:01, https://www.sfzc.org/teachings/dharma-talks/cloudless-sky-buddha-nature; "Buddha Nature and Trust," August 1, 2012, 1:00:48, http://archives.sczc.org/2012/08/01/buddha-nature-and-trust/. "Searching for the Sound in the Lute, Three Qualities of Zazen and Three Types of Zazen," December 5, 2012, 52:54, http://archives.sczc.org/2012/12/05/searching-for-the-sound-in-the-lute-three-qualities-of-zazen-and-three-types-of-zazen/.; Kokyo Henkel on Buddha-Nature; Kokyo Henkel on Buddha-Nature: A Collection of Talks on Buddha-Nature; Defining buddha-nature; Zen - Chan; tridharmacakrapravartana; The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism; Kokyo Henkel;Kokyo Yakai (Luminous Owl, Midnight Liberation 光梟夜解);

Book

Mahāmudrā and the Middle Way

This two-volume publication explores the complex philosophy of Mahāmudrā that developed in Tibetan Dwags po Bka’ brgyud traditions between the 15th and 16th centuries CE. It examines the attempts to articulate and defend Bka’ brgyud views and practices by four leading post-classical thinkers: (1) Shākya mchog ldan (1423‒1507), a celebrated yet controversial Sa skya scholar who developed a strong affiliation with the Karma Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā tradition in the last half of his life, (2) Karma phrin las Phyogs las rnam rgyal (1456‒1539), a renowned Karma Bka’ brgyud scholar-yogin and tutor to the Eighth Karma pa, (3) the Eighth Karma pa himself, Mi bskyod rdo rje (1507‒1554), who was among the most erudite and influential scholar-hierarchs of his generation, (4) and Padma dkar po (1527‒1592), Fourth ’Brug chen of the ’Brug pa Bka’ brgyud lineage who is generally acknowledged as its greatest scholar and systematizer. It is an important academic work published in the Vienna series WSTB and is divided into two volumes: the first offers a detailed philosophical analysis of the authors’ principal views and justifications of Mahāmudrā against the background of Indian and Tibetan Buddhist doctrines on mind, emptiness and buddha nature; the second comprises an annotated anthology of their seminal writings on Mahāmudrā accompanied by critical editions and introductions. These two volumes are the result of research that was generously funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) from 2012 to 2015 under the supervision of Prof. Klaus-Dieter Mathes. The project was entitled “‘Emptiness of Other’ (Gzhan stong) in the Tibetan ‘Great Seal’ (Mahāmudrā) Traditions of the 15th and 16th Centuries” (FWF Project number P23826-G15). (Source: WSTB Description)

Higgins, David, and Martina Draszczyk. Mahāmudrā and the Middle Way: Post-Classical Kagyü Discourses on Mind, Emptiness and Buddha-Nature. 2 vols. Vol. 1, Introduction, Views of Authors and Final Reflections. Vol. 2, Translations, Critical Texts, Bibliography and Index. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 90.1–90.2. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 2016.

Higgins, David, and Martina Draszczyk. Mahāmudrā and the Middle Way: Post-Classical Kagyü Discourses on Mind, Emptiness and Buddha-Nature. 2 vols. Vol. 1, Introduction, Views of Authors and Final Reflections. Vol. 2, Translations, Critical Texts, Bibliography and Index. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 90.1–90.2. Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien Universität Wien, 2016.;Mahāmudrā and the Middle Way;Kagyu;Karma Kagyu;Madhyamaka;Mahamudra;ShAkya mchog ldan;rang stong;gzhan stong;trisvabhāva;Two Truths;Sa skya paN+Di ta;Karma phrin las pa;dharmakāya;tridharmacakrapravartana;śūnyatā;Pad+ma dkar po;Gzhan blo’i dregs pa nyams byed;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism;Heshang Moheyan;'gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal;David Higgins; Martina Draszczyk;Mahāmudrā and the Middle Way: Post-Classical Kagyü Discourses on Mind, Emptiness and Buddha-Nature. Volume 2: Translations, Critical Texts, Bibliography and Index;ShAkya mchog ldan;karma phrin las pa;Karmapa, 8th;pad+ma dkar po

Book

Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature

This is the third volume in the Dalai Lama’s definitive and comprehensive series on the stages of the Buddhist path.

Dalai Lama, 14th, and Thubten Chodron. Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature. Library of Wisdom and Compassion 3. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2018.

Dalai Lama, 14th, and Thubten Chodron. Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature. Library of Wisdom and Compassion 3. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2018.;Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Theravadin Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism;Defining buddha-nature;Doctrine;Mahamudra;Dzogchen;pratītyasamutpāda;tridharmacakrapravartana;dharmakāya;trikāya;tathāgatagarbha;Madhyamaka;Yogācāra;The 14th Dalai Lama;བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་;bstan 'dzin rgya mtsho; Thubten Chodron;Saṃsāra, Nirvāṇa, and Buddha Nature

Video

Sina Joos at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium

Sina Joos discusses the ways in which Tāranātha utilizes the famous nine examples from the Ratnagotravibhāga in his Dbu ma theg mchog to assert his understanding of buddha-nature as zhentong (other-emptiness). She also compares Tāranātha’s position on Buddha-nature to Dolpopa's own view.

Joos, Sina. "The Role of the Ratnagotravibhāga in Tā ra nā tha’s dBu ma theg mchog." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 40:46. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxn5XgPGnSU.

Joos, Sina. "The Role of the Ratnagotravibhāga in Tā ra nā tha’s dBu ma theg mchog." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 40:46. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxn5XgPGnSU.;Sina Joos at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium;TA ra nA tha;Dol po pa;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;zhentong;Theg mchog shin tu rgyas pa'i dbu ma chen po rnam par nges pa;Jonang;guṇapāramitā;tridharmacakrapravartana;prasajyapratiṣedha;paryudāsapratiṣedha;dharmadhātu;dharmakāya;āgantukamala;gotra;prakṛtisthagotra;nītārtha;Disclosure model;Great Madhyamaka;Ye shes rgya mtsho;guṇa;Terminology;Sina Joos;The Role of the Ratnagotravibhāga in Tā ra nā tha’s dBu ma theg mchog

Book

The Buddha's Dream of Liberation: Freedom, Emptiness, and Awakened Nature

In clear language, James William Coleman guides us through the ancient sutras that preserve the Buddha’s message, illuminating their meaning for today’s world and tying the Buddha’s wisdom together for us. The book concludes with chapters from two great teachers, Reb Anderson from the Zen tradition and Lama Palden from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, on how to use meditation to bring the Buddha’s wisdom into our daily lives. (Source: Wisdom Publications)

Coleman, James William. The Buddha's Dream of Liberation: Freedom, Emptiness, and Awakened Nature. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2017.

Coleman, James William. The Buddha's Dream of Liberation: Freedom, Emptiness, and Awakened Nature. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2017.;The Buddha's Dream of Liberation: Freedom, Emptiness, and Awakened Nature;tridharmacakrapravartana;Contemporary;Zen - Chan;Vajrayana;śūnyatā;James Coleman; Tenshin Reb Anderson;Lama Palden Drolma;The Buddha's Dream of Liberation: Freedom, Emptiness, and Awakened Nature

Book

The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows

Tsering Wangchuk's The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows is a clear and concise introduction to the history of the Uttaratantra and buddha-nature theory in pre-modern Tibet. It is an ideal introduction for someone familiar with Buddhism or Tibetan studies, but not yet familiar with the buddha-nature debate in Tibet. Wangchuk summarizes the writings and views of several of the most important Tibetan philosophers who weighed in on buddha-nature between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries from Ngok Lotsāwa through Sakya Paṇḍita to Dolpopa and Gyeltsap Je.

Wangchuk, Tsering. The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows: Tibetan Thinkers Debate the Centrality of the Buddha-Nature Treatise. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2017.

Wangchuk, Tsering. The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows: Tibetan Thinkers Debate the Centrality of the Buddha-Nature Treatise. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2017.;The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows;Uttaratantra;History of buddha-nature in Tibet;Debates / Debate;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Tibetan Buddhism;Ngok Tradition;Tsen Tradition;Kadam;Sakya;Geluk;Jonang;Rngog blo ldan shes rab;Phywa pa chos kyi seng+ge;Sa skya paN+Di ta;Bcom ldan rig pa'i ral gri;Karmapa, 3rd;Gsang phu ba blo gros mtshungs med;Rta nag rin chen ye shes;Bu ston rin chen grub;tridharmacakrapravartana;Madhyamaka;Yogācāra;Sa bzang ma ti paN chen blo gros rgyal mtshan;Klong chen pa;Dol po pa;Sgra tshad pa rin chen rnam rgyal;Red mda' ba gzhon nu blo gros;Tsong kha pa;Rgyal tshab rje dar ma rin chen;rang stong;gzhan stong;Provisional or definitive;Tsering Wangchuk; The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows: Tibetan Thinkers Debate the Centrality of the Buddha-Nature Treatise;Rngog blo ldan shes rab;phywa pa chos kyi seng ge;Sa skya rje btsun grags pa rgyal mtshan;Bu ston rin chen grub;blo gros mtshungs med;Sazang Mati Panchen;dge 'dun 'od zer;Thogs med bzang po;klong chen pa;sgra tshad pa rin chen rnam rgyal;Red mda' ba gzhon nu blo gros;tsong kha pa;Rgyal tshab rje dar ma rin chen;Dol po pa

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Term Variations
Key Term	tridharmacakrapravartana
Topic Variation	tridharmacakrapravartana
Tibetan	ཆོས་འཁོར་རིམ་པ་གསུམ་ ( chökhor rimpa sum)
Wylie Tibetan Transliteration	chos 'khor rim pa gsum ( chökhor rimpa sum)
Devanagari Sanskrit	त्रिधर्मचक्रप्रवर्तन
Romanized Sanskrit	tridharmacakrapravartana
Buddha-nature Site Standard English	the three turnings of the wheel of dharma
Karl Brunnhölzl's English Term	three turnings of the dharma wheel
Gyurme Dorje's English Term	three (successive) promulgations/turning of the doctrinal wheel, three turnings of the doctrinal wheel (of the causal vehicles), three promulgations of the doctrinal wheel
Alternate Spellings	tridharmacakraparivartana, triparivartadharmacakrapravartana
Term Information
Usage Example	།དེ་ནས་བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་ལ་བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ་དོན་དམ་ཡང་དག་འཕགས་ཀྱིས་ཡང་འདི་སྐད་ཅེས་གསོལ་ཏོ། །བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་ཀྱིས་དང་པོར་ཡུལ་ཝཱ་ར་ཎཱ་སི་དྲང་སྲོང་སྨྲ་བ་རི་དྭགས་ཀྱི་ནགས་སུ་ཐེག་པ་ལ་ཡང་དག་པར་ཞུགས་པ་རྣམས་ལ་འཕགས་པའི་བདེན་པ་བཞིའི་རྣམ་པར་བསྟན་པས་ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་ངོ་མཚར་རྨད་དུ་བྱུང་བ། སྔོན་ལྷར་གྱུར་བའམ། མིར་གྱུར་པ་སུས་ཀྱང་ཆོས་དང་མཐུན་པར་འཇིག་རྟེན་དུ་མ་བསྐོར་བ་གཅིག་ཏུ་རབ་ཏུ་བསྐོར་ཏེ། བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་བསྐོར་བ་དེའང་བླ་ན་མཆིས་པ། སྐབས་མཆིས་པ། དྲང་བའི་དོན། རྩོད་པའི་གཞིའི་གནས་སུ་གྱུར་པ་ལགས་ལ། བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་ཀྱིས་ཆོས་རྣམས་ཀྱི་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་མ་མཆིས་པ་ཉིད་ལས་བརྩམས། སྐྱེ་བ་མ་མཆིས་པ་དང༌། འགག་པ་མ་མཆིས་པ་དང༌། གཟོད་མ་ནས་ཞི་བ་དང༌། རང་བཞིན་གྱིས་ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ་ཉིད་ལས་བརྩམས་ནས་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་ལ་ཡང་དག་པར་ཞུགས་པ་རྣམས་ལ་སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་སྨོས་པའི་རྣམ་པས་ཆེས་ངོ་མཚར་རྨད་དུ་བྱུང་བའི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་གཉིས་པ་བསྐོར་ཏེ། བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་བསྐོར་བ་དེའང་བླ་ན་མཆིས་པ། སྐབས་མཆིས་པ། དྲང་བའི་དོན། རྩོད་པའི་གཞིའི་གནས་སུ་གྱུར་པ་ལགས་ལ། བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་ཀྱིས་ཆོས་རྣམས་ཀྱི་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་མ་མཆིས་པ་ཉིད་ལས་བརྩམས། སྐྱེ་བ་མ་མཆིས་པ་དང༌། འགག་པ་མ་མཆིས་པ་དང༌། གཟོད་མ་ནས་ཞི་བ་དང༌། རང་བཞིན་གྱིས་ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ་ཉིད་ལས་བརྩམས་ནས། ཐེག་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་ལ་ཡང་དག་པར་ཞུགས་པ་རྣམས་ལ་ལེགས་པར་རྣམ་པར་ཕྱེ་བ་དང་ལྡན་པ། ཤིན་ཏུ་ངོ་མཚར་རྨད་དུ་བྱུང་བའི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་གསུམ་པ་བསྐོར་ཏེ། བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་བསྐོར་བ་འདི་ནི་བླ་ན་མ་མཆིས་པ། སྐབས་མ་མཆིས་པ། ངེས་པའི་དོན་ལགས་ཏེ། རྩོད་པའི་གཞིའི་གནས་སུ་གྱུར་པ་མ་ལགས་སོ། འཕགས་པ་དགོངས་པ་ངེས་པར་འགྲེལ་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ། བཀའ་འགྱུར་སྡེ་དགེ་པར་ཕུད། Vol. 49, pages 48-49.
Source Language	Sanskrit
Basic Meaning	Three successive stages of the Buddhist teachings. Though they are traditionally attributed to the historical Buddha, modern scholarship tends to view them as developmental stages that occurred over the course of an extended period of time, with interludes of several centuries, in which we see major doctrinal shifts often based on seemingly newly emergent scriptural sources.
Term Type	Noun
Definitions
Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary	Three Successive Promulgations of the Doctrinal Wheel. The first promulgation (chos 'khor dang po) at Varanasi, the intermediate promulgation (bar ma'i chos 'khor) at Vulture Peak, and the final promulgation (chos 'khor tha ma) in indefinite realms.
Other Definitions	According to the three-wheel scheme in the Discourse Explaining the Intent (Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra), the first wheel of doctrine conveys the teachings of “the four noble truths.” The emphasis of the teachings here is the nature of existence as suffering, impermanence, and no-self (anātman). The content of the second wheel of doctrine, which the sūtra calls “signlessness,” is characterized by emptiness (śūnyatā), the principle that all phenomena lack any true essence. While the second wheel of doctrine is certainly a response to the first, where the ethical foundations of Buddhism are laid, the dis-courses of the second wheel are not a critique of ethics per se, but rather critique a causally constructed, relational world composed of static, discrete entities. That is, the Perfection of Wisdom discourses of the second wheel convey that every phenomenon is empty; even wisdom, nirvana, and the principal teaching of the first wheel (the four noble truths) are denied the status of having any ultimate existence or real identity. Nāgārjuna (ca. 150–250 CE) showed how such denials cut through metaphysical views (dṛṣti) of reality when he stated: “The Victorious Ones have proclaimed emptiness as that which relinquishes all views; but those who hold emptiness as a view are incurable” (Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way [Mūlamadhyāmakakārikā]XIII.8). In short, the second wheel exemplifies deconstruction. In contrast to simply deconstruction, in the third wheel, we get a different characterization of the ultimate truth. The Discourse Explaining the Intent says that the third wheel contains “the excellent differentiation [of the ultimate].” Rather than simply depicting the ultimate truth via negativa, the third wheel reveals the ultimate as an immanent reality; it depicts the pure mind as constitutive of the ultimate. It is the third wheel of doctrine that Tibetan exegetes identify with the teachings of the presence of buddha-nature (in addition to Yogācāra). Significantly, the relationship between emptiness in the second wheel and the presence of buddha-nature in the third wheel becomes a pivotal issue around which Buddhist traditions in Tibet stake their ground. (Douglas Duckworth, "Onto-theology and Emptiness: The Nature of Buddha-Nature" [Journal of the American Academy of Religion 82, no. 4, 2014], 1073–74) It is said that the Buddha’s method of guiding his followers was always adapted to his audience. His teaching is likened to the way specific medicines are used to cure particular diseases. Thus the instructions given to a certain group of disciples in a given context were not in line with—or even seemed to contradict—teachings given at another time, simply because it was not appropriate for all students to hear the same words in order to progress on the spiritual path. To help later followers distinguish between the words that are to be taken literally and those that require interpretation, the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra (Sutra Unraveling the Intent) introduces the hermeneutic principle of differentiating between interpretive meaning (neyārtha; drang don) and definitive meaning (nītārtha; nges don). With this tool, the discourses may be divided into three groups called turnings. The first two turnings are interpretive and the third one is definitive, according to this sutra. In the sutras of the first turning based on the exposition of the four ārya truths, the Buddha affirms the existence of certain phenomena such as form, feeling, discrimination, formative factors, and consciousness, that is, the five skandhas, or psychophysical groups of phenomena that make up a human being. What is denied in those discourses is the existence of an independent, substantially existent identity or self, which is asserted to be imputed on the basis of those skandhas. In the sutras of the second turning based on the Perfection of Wisdom (prajñāpāramitā) teachings, the existence of these phenomena is denied. In the discourses of this group we find words such as, “no form, no feeling, no discrimination, no formative factors, no consciousness,” and so forth. These passages refer to the emptiness (śūnyatā; stong pa nyid) or lack of inherent existence of all phenomena, explained to be their ultimate reality. To resolve the contradictions emerging from the first two turnings, the Buddha turned the Dharma wheel a third time, making a clear distinction between the discourses of interpretive meaning and those of definitive meaning. In these teachings, certain phenomena are identified as nonexistent, while others are defined as bearing the characteristics of existence. The emphasis in this group of discourses is on the luminous and primordially untainted nature of mind, the potential for awakening, or buddha-nature, present in all beings, and on the three-nature model of reality that will be explained below. The Sutra Unraveling the Intent is itself part of this group. (Christian Bernert, trans., Adorning Maitreya's Intent: Arriving at the View of Nonduality [Boulder, CO: Snow Lion Publications, 2017], 3–4)