Buddha Nature in Tibet: Transformation of the Ground: Talk by Douglas Duckworth

Buddha Nature in Tibet: Transformation of the Ground: Talk by Douglas Duckworth

Audio

Audio

This talk will address 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. In Tibet we see buddha-nature converge with and transform these central Mahāyāna doctrines. 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 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. (Source Accessed July 15, 2020)

About the recording

Featuring	Douglas Duckworth
Creator	Rangjung Yeshe Institute
Related Website	https://www.ryi.org/
Citation	Duckworth, Douglas S. "Buddha Nature in Tibet: Transformation of the Ground." Recorded 2017 at Rangjung Yeshe Institute, Nepal. Audio, 1:24:26. https://soundcloud.com/rangjung-yeshe-institute/dr-douglas-duckworth-buddha-nature-in-tibet-transformations-of-the-ground.