Martina Draszczyk at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium

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Martina Draszczyk at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
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Martina Draszczyk discusses the early Kagyu masters and explores how their meditation-oriented approach is based in both affirming buddha-nature as the ground and goal of Buddhist soteriology and avoiding its reification into an entity with real properties.

Abstract from the Author

Buddha Nature as Seen by Early Bka’ brgyud Masters
Sgam po pa (1079-1153), whose way of teaching had such an impact on his disciples that the traditions evolving from them were all summed up under the umbrella Dwags po Bka’ brgyud, is well known for his Precious Ornament of Liberation (Thar pa rin po che’i rgyan). He begins this Mahāyāna manual by emphasizing that the very basis for the spiritual process culminating in awakening is *sugatagarbha and proceeds to identify buddha-nature with emptiness. On a first glance this seems to resemble presentations of buddha-nature from a negating perspective. However, in a number of his other teachings recorded by his disciples and collected in his gSung ‘bum, he is very specific in his understanding of mind’s emptiness. In his Excellent Qualities, Teachings to the Assembly (Tshogs chos yon tan phun tshogs), he points out that mind is not mere essencelessness, but rather coemergent wisdom which he in turn equates with natural awareness (tha mal gyi shes pa), both key terms of Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā. While Sgam po pa rather uses this terminology and hardly ever the term buddha-nature, La yag pa (12 c.), one of his immediate disciples, explicitly equates nonarising, coemergent wisdom and natural awareness with buddha-nature imbued with inconceivable buddha qualities. A century later, during the time of the Third Karma pa (1284–1339), it had become standard that Bka’ brgyud masters equated natural awareness with buddha-nature endowed with qualities while simultaneously refraining from attributing any substantial quality to it. This paper’s intention is to take a closer look at the early masters and explore how their meditation-oriented approach is based in both affirming buddha-nature as the ground and goal of Buddhist soteriology and avoiding its reification into an entity with real properties.

Sources Mentioned

Text
Maitreya, Asaṅga: Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
The Ratnagotravibhāga, commonly known as the Uttaratantra, or Gyu Lama in Tibetan, is one of the main Indian scriptural sources for buddha-nature theory. It was likely composed during the fifth century, by whom we do not know. Comprised of verses interspersed with prose commentary, it systematizes the buddha-nature teachings that were circulating in multiple sūtras such as the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, and the Śrīmaladevisūtra. The Tibetan tradition attributes the verses to the Bodhisattva Maitreya and the commentary to Asaṅga, and treats the two as separate texts, although this division is not attested to in surviving Indian versions. The Chinese tradition attributes the text to *Sāramati (娑囉末底), but the translation itself does not include the name of the author, and the matter remains unsettled. It was translated into Chinese in the early sixth century by Ratnamati and first translated into Tibetan by Atiśa, although this text is not known to survive. Ngok Loden Sherab translated it a second time based on teachings from the Kashmiri Pandita Sajjana, and theirs remains the standard translation. It has been translated into English several times, and recently into French. See the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā, read more about the Ratnagotravibhāga, or take a look at the most complete English translation in When the Clouds Part by Karl Brunnholzl.
Text
Laṅkāvatārasūtra
An important Mahāyāna sūtra that was highly influential in East Asia as well as in Nepal, where a manuscript was discovered that remains the only extant Sanskrit recension of this text. It is notable for its inclusion of many doctrinal features that would come to be associated with the Yogācāra philosophy of Mind-Only (Cittamātra), such as the ālayavijñāna, or store-house consciousness, that acts as a repository for the seeds of karmic actions. It also includes several lengthy discussions of tathāgatagarbha and, though it is never actually referenced in the Uttaratantra, it is often listed among the so-called tathāgatagarbha sūtras. While its lack of mention in the Uttaratantra has been interpreted by scholars as evidence that the sūtra postdates the treatise, it should be noted that the ways in which the tathāgatagarbha is discussed in the sūtra is often at odds with its presentation in the Uttaratantra.
Text
Tathāgatagarbhasūtra
The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra (TGS) is a relatively short text that represents the starting point of a number of works in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism centering around the idea that all living beings have the buddha-nature. The genesis of the term tathāgatagarbha (in Tibetan de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po, in Chinese rulai zang 如來藏, the key term of this strand of Buddhism and the title of the sūtra), can be observed in the textual history of the TGS. (Zimmermann, A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, p. 7)
Text
Śrīmālādevīsūtra
One of the more prominent sūtra sources for the Ratnagotravibhāga, this text tells of the story of Śrīmālādevī taking up the Buddhist path at the behest of her royal parents based on a prophecy of the Buddha. It includes mention of important concepts related to the teachings on buddha-nature, such as the single vehicle and the four perfections, or transcendent characteristics, of the dharmakāya. It also mentions the notion that buddha-nature, which is equated with mind's luminous nature, is empty of adventitious stains but not empty of its limitless inseparable qualities. In his commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāga, Asaṅga quotes this sūtra more than any other source text. In particular, it is considered a source for the fifth of the seven vajra topics, enlightenment.
Text
Atyayajñānasūtra
While the Buddha is residing in the Akaniṣṭha realm, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Ākāśagarbha asks him how to consider the mind of a bodhisattva who is about to die. The Buddha replies that when death comes a bodhisattva should develop the wisdom of the hour of death. He explains that a bodhisattva should cultivate a clear understanding of the non-existence of entities, great compassion, non-apprehension, non-attachment, and a clear understanding that, since wisdom is the realization of one’s own mind, the Buddha should not be sought elsewhere. After these points have been repeated in verse form, the assembly praises the Buddha’s words, concluding the sūtra. (Source: 84000 Reading Room)
ADARSHA
Hevajra Tantra
Derge (sde dge): (D 417) rgyud, nga 1b1-13b5 (vol. 80)
external link
ADARSHA
Gampopa: Excellent Qualities, Teachings to the Assembly (Tshogs chos yon tan phun tshogs)
In this text Gampopa points out that mind is not mere essencelessness, but rather coemergent wisdom which he in turn equates with natural awareness (tha mal gyi shes pa), both key terms of Bka’ brgyud Mahāmudrā.
external link
ADARSHA
Gampopa: Key Instructions on the Two Modes of Abiding in the Two Armors (Gnas lugs gnyis kyi man ngag dang go cha gnyis kyi man ngag)
Text within Gampopa's Collected Works which talks about the inherent qualities of mind's true nature.
external link
ADARSHA
Gampopa: Responding to Questions of Dusum Khyenpa (Dus gsum mkhyen pa’i zhu lan)
Text within Gampopa's Collected Works in which he explains that buddhas and sentient beings are of one stream. Manifestations and mind as such are not separable from each other.
external link
BDRC
Layakpa Jangchub Ngödrup: Commentary on the Four Dharmas of Gampopa (Dwags po chos bzhi'i rtsa 'grel)
Commentary on Gampopa's Four Dharmas treatise that explicitly identifies buddha-nature with natural luminosity and wisdom that is endowed with qualities.
external link
BDRC
Pakmodrupa Dorje Gyalpo: Five Instructions on the Essential Meaning (Snying po don gyi gdams pa lnga)
Text which interprets Gampopa's thoughts on buddha-nature and contains the famous metaphor for buddha-nature as being akin to sesame oil which is naturally and fully contained in the sesame seed.
external link

Secondary Publications Mentioned

Book
The Jewel Ornament of Liberation (Guenther)
In this skillful translation, Herbert Guenther offers English-speaking readers sGam.po.pa's comprehensive and authoritative exposition of the stages of the Buddhist path. A masterly survey of Tibetan Buddhism, The Jewel Ornament of Liberation explains how an enlightened attitude is strengthened by practicing the six perfections (generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and knowledge) and offers a concise presentation of Buddhism as a living experience.

As Chögyam Trungpa writes in his foreword: "It is in the flow of karma that this book materialized in 1959 on the very eve of the destruction of the spiritual land of Tibet. Professor Guenther was instrumental in making available the only commentary and guide in English to the bodhisattva tradition of Tibet, Japan, and China. The book remains the classic text of all Buddhists."

sGam.po.pa, who lived in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, was the organizer of the Kagyü order of Tibetan Buddhism.

Herbert V. Guenther is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Far Eastern Studies at the University of Saskatchewan.

(Source: back cover)
Guenther, Herbert V., trans. The Jewel Ornament of Liberation. By Gampopa (sgam po pa). The Clear Light Series. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1989. First published 1959 by Rider & Co. (London).
Ornament of Precious Liberation (Holmes)

People Mentioned

Gampopa
1079 ~ 1153
Herbert V. Guenther
1917 ~ 2006
Chayulpa Zhonnu Ö
1075 ~ 1138
Chakriwa
11th century
Milarepa
1052 ~ 1135
Atiśa
982 ~ 1054
Marpa Chökyi Lodrö
1012 ~ 1097
Nāropa
1012/1016 ~ 1100
Maitrīpa
986 ~ 1063
Ngok Lotsāwa Loden Sherab
1059 ~ 1109
Tsen Khawoche
1021
Sajjana
11th century
Bhāvaviveka
500 ~ 578
Kamalaśīla
713/740 ~ 763/795
Jñānaśrīmitra
975/980 ~ 1025/1030
Jayānanda
11th century ~ 12th century
Śākya Chokden
1428 ~ 1507
Gö Lotsāwa Zhönu Pal
1392 ~ 1481
Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye
1813 ~ 1899
Maitreya
Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorje
1284 ~ 1339
Layakpa Jangchub Ngödrup
early 12th century ~ late 12th century
Pakmodrupa Dorje Gyalpo
1110 ~ 1170

About the video

Featuring Martina Draszczyk
Creator University of Vienna, Tsadra Foundation
Event Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia (17 July 2019, University of Vienna, Austria)
Related Website Buddha-Nature Project
Video Web Location Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia
Creation Date 17 July 2019
Citation Draszczyk, Martina. "Buddha Nature as Seen by Early Bka’ brgyud Masters." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 37:27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoMUdg40Qv8.

Kagyu - The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa. Tib. བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་

sugatagarbha - Literally, the "essence" or "heart of the Bliss Gone One(s)," a synonym for tathāgatagarbha that is likewise often rendered into English by the term buddha-nature. Though it is often back translated into Sanskrit as sugatagarbha, this term is not found in Sanskrit sources. Skt. सुगतगर्भ Tib. བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་

śūnyatā - The state of being empty of an innate nature due to a lack of independently existing characteristics. Skt. शून्यता Tib. སྟོང་པ་ཉིད་ Ch. 空

tha mal gyi shes pa - A Mahāmudrā term for the basic state of consciousness that has not been fabricated or altered in any way. Tib. ཐ་མལ་གྱི་ཤེས་པ་

Mahāmudrā - Mahāmudrā refers to an advanced meditation tradition in Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna forms of Into-Tibetan Buddhism that is focused on the realization of the empty and luminous nature of the mind. It also refers to the resultant state of buddhahood attained through such meditation practice. In Tibet, this tradition is particularly associated with the Kagyu school, although all other schools also profess this tradition. The term also appears as part of the four seals, alongside dharmamūdra, samayamudrā, and karmamudrā. Skt. महामुद्रा Tib. ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོ།

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

Uttaratantra - The Ultimate Continuum, or Gyü Lama, is often used as a short title in the Tibetan tradition for the key source text of buddha-nature teachings called the Ratnagotravibhāga of Maitreya/Asaṅga, also known as the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra. Skt. उत्तरतन्त्र Tib. རྒྱུད་བླ་མ་ Ch. 寶性論

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

An important sūtra source for the Ratnagotravibhāga, particularly for its discussion of the nine examples that illustrate how all sentient beings possess buddha-nature.

"This sūtra became an important scriptural source for the discussion of buddha-nature in China and is famous for associating the term buddhadhātu with tathāgatagarbha.

byams chos sde lnga - This refers to a series of five texts that, according to the Tibetan tradition, Asaṅga received directly from Maitreya in the pure realm of Tuṣita. Tib. བྱམས་ཆོས་སྡེ་ལྔ་

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

These are the root verses of the Uttaratantra attributed to Maitreya by the Tibetan tradition.

Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

sūtra - Sūtras mainly refer to the discourses delivered by the Buddha and his disciples, and the Sūtra corpus is one of the three main sets of teachings which form the Buddhist canon. Skt. सूत्र Tib. མདོ། Ch. 佛经

Yogācāra - Along with Madhyamaka, it was one of the two major philosophical schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu around the fourth century CE, many of its central tenets have roots in the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra and the so-called third turning of the dharma wheel (see tridharmacakrapravartana). Skt. योगाचार Tib. རྣལ་འབྱོར་སྤྱོད་པ་ Ch. 瑜伽行派

Cittamātra - Though it is sometimes used synonymously with Yogācāra, it is in fact one of the more prominent philosophical theories associated with this school. It asserts that the objects in the external world with which we interact are actually mentally created representations appearing as those objects. The character of these perceptions is predetermined by our own karmic conditioning that is stored in the ālayavijñāna. Skt. चित्तमात्र Tib. སེམས་ཙམ་

Cittamātra - Though it is sometimes used synonymously with Yogācāra, it is in fact one of the more prominent philosophical theories associated with this school. It asserts that the objects in the external world with which we interact are actually mentally created representations appearing as those objects. The character of these perceptions is predetermined by our own karmic conditioning that is stored in the ālayavijñāna. Skt. चित्तमात्र Tib. སེམས་ཙམ་

ālayavijñāna - A neutral base consciousness that is posited as the storehouse for the seeds of past karmic actions in which they remain in a latent state until the circumstances arise for them to ripen as karmic consequences. Skt. आलयविज्ञान Tib. ཀུན་གཞིའི་རྣམ་ཤེས་ Ch. 藏識

tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏

Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

Descent into Laṅka Sūtra, a very influential text in East Asia and Nepal.

TGS - Tathāgatagarbhasūtra

tathāgatagarbha - Buddha-nature, literally the "womb/essence of those who have gone (to suchness)." Skt. तथागतगर्भ Tib. དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྙིང་པོ་ Ch. 如来藏

An important sūtra source for the Ratnagotravibhāga, particularly for its discussion of the nine examples that illustrate how all sentient beings possess buddha-nature.

An important sūtra source for the Ratnagotravibhāga, particularly for its discussion of the nine examples that illustrate how all sentient beings possess buddha-nature.

An important sūtra source for the Ratnagotravibhāga, particularly for its discussion of the nine examples that illustrate how all sentient beings possess buddha-nature.

An important sūtra source for the Ratnagotravibhāga, particularly for its discussion of the nine examples that illustrate how all sentient beings possess buddha-nature.

An important sūtra source for the Ratnagotravibhāga, particularly for its discussion of the nine examples that illustrate how all sentient beings possess buddha-nature.

One of the more prominent sūtra sources for the Uttaratantra, this text tells of the story of Śrīmālādevī taking up the Buddhist path at the behest of her royal parents based on a prophecy of the Buddha.

ekayāna - The notion that ultimately there is only one vehicle, or means, of achieving enlightenment. Skt. एकयान Tib. ཐེག་པ་གཅིག་པ་ Ch. 一乘

dharmakāya - "Truth body" or "true being" — One of the three bodies of a buddha. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, it often refers to a kind of fundamental principle or the true nature of reality itself. Skt. धर्मकाय Tib. ཆོས་སྐུ་ Ch. 法身

āgantukamala - Mental stains that are not inherent to the nature of the mind but are temporarily present as the residue of past actions or habitual tendencies. It is sometimes iterated as adventitious defilements (Skt. āgantukakleśa, Tib. glo bur gyi nyon mongs), which references the fickle and temporary nature of disturbing emotions that lack an ultimately established basis for existence. Skt. आगन्तुकमल Tib. གློ་བུར་གྱི་དྲི་མ་

vajrapada - Literally, vajra-footing, or base. In the context of the Ratnagotravibhāga, this is the name given to the seven subjects that are addressed in the treatise. These seven are the buddha, dharma, saṅgha, the element (dhātu), enlightenment (bodhi), enlightened qualities (guṇa), and enlightened activities (karman). Skt. वज्रपद Tib. རྡོ་རྗེའི་གནས་

One of the more prominent sūtra sources for the Uttaratantra, this text tells of the story of Śrīmālādevī taking up the Buddhist path at the behest of her royal parents based on a prophecy of the Buddha.

One of the more prominent sūtra sources for the Uttaratantra, this text tells of the story of Śrīmālādevī taking up the Buddhist path at the behest of her royal parents based on a prophecy of the Buddha.

One of the more prominent sūtra sources for the Uttaratantra, this text tells of the story of Śrīmālādevī taking up the Buddhist path at the behest of her royal parents based on a prophecy of the Buddha.

One of the more prominent sūtra sources for the Uttaratantra, this text tells of the story of Śrīmālādevī taking up the Buddhist path at the behest of her royal parents based on a prophecy of the Buddha.

One of the more prominent sūtra sources for the Uttaratantra, this text tells of the story of Śrīmālādevī taking up the Buddhist path at the behest of her royal parents based on a prophecy of the Buddha.

Bodhisattva - A person who seeks enlightenment for the sake of others. In Mahāyāna Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is a compassionate being who is training on the path to Buddhahood and aspires to eliminate the suffering of all beings and take all sentient beings to the state of enlightenment. The Mahāyāna sūtras including those on buddha-nature generally have Bodhisattvas as the main audience or interlocutors for the Buddha's discourses. Skt. बोधिसत्त्व Tib. བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ། Ch. 菩薩

Gampopa's famous work on the stages of the Buddhist path.

Kagyu - The Kagyu school traces its origin to the eleventh-century translator Marpa, who studied in India with Nāropa. Marpa's student Milarepa trained Gampopa, who founded the first monastery of the Kagyu order. As many as twelve subtraditions grew out from there, the best known being the Karma Kagyu, the Drikung, and the Drukpa. Tib. བཀའ་བརྒྱུད་

Gampopa's famous work on the stages of the Buddhist path.

gotra - Disposition, lineage, or class; an individual's gotra determines the type of enlightenment one is destined to attain. Skt. गोत्र Tib. རིགས་ Ch. 鍾姓,種性

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