Matsumoto, S.
From Buddha-Nature
< People
Matsumoto Shirō(b. 1950 - )
Matsumoto Shirõ is Professor in the Faculty of Buddhism at Komazawa University. His publications (in Japanese) include Pratītyasamutpāda and Emptiness (Daizõ Shuppan, 1989), The Path to Buddhism (Tõkyõ Shoseki, 1993), and Critical Studies on Zen Thought (Daizõ Shuppan, 1994). Along with Hakamaya Noriaki, he is associated with what has come to be known as "Critical Buddhism."
1 Library Items
Nyoraizō to Busshō
This book is part of a 10-volume "Series on Mahayana Buddhism" published between 2011 and 2014. The series consists of the contributions of over seventy authors from Japan and other countries. Mahayana Buddhism is an ideological movement that came into existence in the early years of the first millennium CE through the inheritance of the teachings of Buddhism as developed by the Buddha in India in the fifth century BCE, as well as through the development of new sutras both during and since that time. Throughout the following several hundred years, Mahayana Buddhism played a major role in deepening the development of Buddhist thought, particularly regarding epistemology and ontology. Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha nature, the themes of this book, are ideas developed in the final stages of Mahayana Buddhism, which had a significant effect on the formation of Buddhist thought in East Asia and Tibet. Especially in China, Mahayana Buddhism has received attention for both merging with the philosophy of Huayan Buddhism and for affecting the theoretical form of Neo-Confucianism, as well as for providing theoretical support for the leaders of the Xinhai Revolution.
Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha nature are technical terms that indicate the existence of the true nature of the Buddha or Tathāgata who has attained enlightenment through totally unclouded insight (prajñā), within all living things, though these living things may be covered with the impurity of worldly desire and be seemingly incapable of attaining enlightenment. In essence, these terms refer to the fact that the Buddha or Tathāgata resides within the nature of all living things. The notions of Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha nature make assertions about the nature of enlightenment or salvation for living things still trapped in an unenlightened condition of suffering. They do so from the ideological position of those Tathāgatas or Buddhas who have already realized truth and been released from suffering and unenlightenment. These ideas are expressed as a kind of theodicy and soteriology, as they deal with the challenge of how super-temporal, absolute truth appears at a historical or personal level. Ideas that originate in the mature period of the history of an ideology produce higher-level notions that allow concepts born in various contexts in the previous history of the ideology to coexist. The ideas of Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha nature, which point to the Tathāgata or Buddha that dwells within all living things, encompass both all living things and Tathāgata, and so exist at a higher conceptual level than either.
There are two foundations of the ideas of Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha nature, which simultaneously problematize both unenlightenment and enlightenment: the features of soteriology in general religious thought, and the view of truth that is unique to Buddhism. Soteriology, as conceived of in general religious thought, considers the world in a dualistic fashion, as being split into the world of humanity and the world of gods, the world of suffering and the world of liberation, the endless cycle of life and death (samsara) and supreme enlightenment (nirvana). On the one hand is a relative, limited, and impermanent world, and on the other an absolute, infinite, and eternal world. The movement from the former aspect to the latter is not ceaseless but, rather, requires a change in the dimension of our existence, such as religious conversion or enlightenment. The experience of the individual transforms the aspect of the world, which formerly appeared as a single layer, thus exposing its mysterious and unseen facets. In contrast to many religions, which end their exposition at this point, Mahayana Buddhism takes the appearance of this duality itself as a subjective experience and seeks to reach the point at which both aspects ultimately become indistinguishable. The scenery of this world as seen from the world of libreration, worldly desire purified by enlightenment, Samsara illuminated by nirvana are all accepted as they are, without the necessity of any negation or denial. The duality of the world is therefore overcome, and a higher-level equality emerges that still acknowledges individual differences. (Source Accessed June 29, 2020)
Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha nature are technical terms that indicate the existence of the true nature of the Buddha or Tathāgata who has attained enlightenment through totally unclouded insight (prajñā), within all living things, though these living things may be covered with the impurity of worldly desire and be seemingly incapable of attaining enlightenment. In essence, these terms refer to the fact that the Buddha or Tathāgata resides within the nature of all living things. The notions of Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha nature make assertions about the nature of enlightenment or salvation for living things still trapped in an unenlightened condition of suffering. They do so from the ideological position of those Tathāgatas or Buddhas who have already realized truth and been released from suffering and unenlightenment. These ideas are expressed as a kind of theodicy and soteriology, as they deal with the challenge of how super-temporal, absolute truth appears at a historical or personal level. Ideas that originate in the mature period of the history of an ideology produce higher-level notions that allow concepts born in various contexts in the previous history of the ideology to coexist. The ideas of Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha nature, which point to the Tathāgata or Buddha that dwells within all living things, encompass both all living things and Tathāgata, and so exist at a higher conceptual level than either.
There are two foundations of the ideas of Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha nature, which simultaneously problematize both unenlightenment and enlightenment: the features of soteriology in general religious thought, and the view of truth that is unique to Buddhism. Soteriology, as conceived of in general religious thought, considers the world in a dualistic fashion, as being split into the world of humanity and the world of gods, the world of suffering and the world of liberation, the endless cycle of life and death (samsara) and supreme enlightenment (nirvana). On the one hand is a relative, limited, and impermanent world, and on the other an absolute, infinite, and eternal world. The movement from the former aspect to the latter is not ceaseless but, rather, requires a change in the dimension of our existence, such as religious conversion or enlightenment. The experience of the individual transforms the aspect of the world, which formerly appeared as a single layer, thus exposing its mysterious and unseen facets. In contrast to many religions, which end their exposition at this point, Mahayana Buddhism takes the appearance of this duality itself as a subjective experience and seeks to reach the point at which both aspects ultimately become indistinguishable. The scenery of this world as seen from the world of libreration, worldly desire purified by enlightenment, Samsara illuminated by nirvana are all accepted as they are, without the necessity of any negation or denial. The duality of the world is therefore overcome, and a higher-level equality emerges that still acknowledges individual differences. (Source Accessed June 29, 2020)
Shimoda, Masahiro, ed. Nyoraizō to Busshō (Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha Nature). Vol. 8 of Shirīzu Daijō Bukkyō (Series on Mahāyāna Buddhism). Tokyo: Shunjūsha, 2014.
Shimoda, Masahiro, ed. Nyoraizō to Busshō (Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha Nature). Vol. 8 of Shirīzu Daijō Bukkyō (Series on Mahāyāna Buddhism). Tokyo: Shunjūsha, 2014.;Nyoraizō to Busshō;Doctrine;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;tathāgatagarbha;Nyoraizō to Busshō (Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha Nature)
On the topic of this person
"Zen is Not Buddhism": Recent Japanese Critiques of Buddha-Nature
Swanson, Paul L. "'Zen is Not Buddhism': Recent Japanese Critiques of Buddha-Nature." Numen 40, no. 2 (1993): 115–49. http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/HistoricalZen/zen-is-not-BUDDHISM.pdf.
Swanson, Paul L. "'Zen is Not Buddhism': Recent Japanese Critiques of Buddha-Nature." Numen 40, no. 2 (1993): 115–49. http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/HistoricalZen/zen-is-not-BUDDHISM.pdf.
Swanson, Paul L. "'Zen is Not Buddhism': Recent Japanese Critiques of Buddha-Nature." Numen 40, no. 2 (1993): 115–49. http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/HistoricalZen/zen-is-not-BUDDHISM.pdf.;"Zen is Not Buddhism": Recent Japanese Critiques of Buddha-Nature;Zen - Chan;Critical Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Hakamaya, N.;Matsumoto, S.;Paul Swanson; 
Chen, Shu-hui: Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices
The Tathāgatagarbha theory, also known as the Buddha-nature theory, is one of the most influential Mahāyāna doctrines in the East Asian Buddhism. In 1989, it was severely criticized by some Japanese scholars, namely, Shiro Matsumoto and Noriaki Hakamaya, for being contradictory to the Buddha's teaching of non-self (anātman) and accused of being a non-Buddhist theory in disguise. The purpose of this study is to refute such an accusation and to demonstrate the relationship between this theory and the Bodhisattva practices which are the very core of the Mahāyāna Buddhism.
This dissertation begins with definitions of the term "tathāgatagarbha" and some of its synonyms which are followed by a brief review of the historical development of the Tathāgatagarbha theory from India to China. With these as the background knowledge, it is easier to point out the fallacies of the two Japanese scholars' criticism on this theory. A key issue in their criticism is that they viewed the Tathāgatagarbha theory as the ātman of the Upaniṣads in disguise. It is therefore necessary to discuss not only the distinction between the ātman mentioned in the Tathāgatagarbha theory and that in the Upaniṣads but also the controversy over the issue of ātman versus anātman among the Buddhist scholars.
In the discussion to clarify the issue of ātman in the Tathāgatagarbha theory, it is demonstrated that the ātman in the Tathāgatagarbha theory is not only uncontradictory to the doctrine of anātman in Buddhism but very important to the Bodhisattva practices in the Mahāyāna Buddhism. It functions as a unity for the Bodhisattvas to voluntarily return to the world of saṃsāra again and again. Furthermore, the purport of the entire theory, that all sentient beings are endowed with the essence of the Buddha, supports various Bodhisattva practices such as the aspiration to save all beings in the world, the six perfections, etc. In a word, the Tathāgatagarbha theory is an excellent representative of the soteriology of the Mahāyāna Buddhism. Included in the end of this dissertation is an annotated translation of the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra. (Source Accessed May 26, 2020)
This dissertation begins with definitions of the term "tathāgatagarbha" and some of its synonyms which are followed by a brief review of the historical development of the Tathāgatagarbha theory from India to China. With these as the background knowledge, it is easier to point out the fallacies of the two Japanese scholars' criticism on this theory. A key issue in their criticism is that they viewed the Tathāgatagarbha theory as the ātman of the Upaniṣads in disguise. It is therefore necessary to discuss not only the distinction between the ātman mentioned in the Tathāgatagarbha theory and that in the Upaniṣads but also the controversy over the issue of ātman versus anātman among the Buddhist scholars.
In the discussion to clarify the issue of ātman in the Tathāgatagarbha theory, it is demonstrated that the ātman in the Tathāgatagarbha theory is not only uncontradictory to the doctrine of anātman in Buddhism but very important to the Bodhisattva practices in the Mahāyāna Buddhism. It functions as a unity for the Bodhisattvas to voluntarily return to the world of saṃsāra again and again. Furthermore, the purport of the entire theory, that all sentient beings are endowed with the essence of the Buddha, supports various Bodhisattva practices such as the aspiration to save all beings in the world, the six perfections, etc. In a word, the Tathāgatagarbha theory is an excellent representative of the soteriology of the Mahāyāna Buddhism. Included in the end of this dissertation is an annotated translation of the Tathāgatagarbha-sūtra. (Source Accessed May 26, 2020)
Chen, Shu-hui Jennifer. "Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices." PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998.
Chen, Shu-hui Jennifer. "Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices." PhD diss., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998.;Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices;tathāgatagarbha;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Matsumoto, S.;Hakamaya, N.;Critical Buddhism;anātman;ātman;gotra;dharmadhātu;dharmakāya;buddhadhātu;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Early Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Indian Buddhism;Tathāgatagarbhasūtra;Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta;Śrīmālādevīsūtra;Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra;Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra;Laṅkāvatārasūtra;Ghanavyūhasūtra;Fo xing lun;Dasheng qixin lun;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Chinese Buddhism;icchantika;Tien Tai;Zen - Chan;Madhyamaka;Yogācāra;ālayavijñāna;paramārthasatya;Shu-hui Jennifer Chen; Affirmation in Negation: A Study of the Tathāgatagarbha Theory in the Light of the Bodhisattva Practices
Critical Buddhism
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the relative calm world of Japanese Buddhist scholarship was thrown into chaos with the publication of several works by Buddhist scholars Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro, dedicated to the promotion of something they called Critical Buddhism (hihan bukkyo). In their quest to re-establish a "true" - rational, ethical and humanist - form of East Asian Buddhism, the Critical Buddhists undertook a radical deconstruction of historical and contemporary East Asian Buddhism, particularly Zen. While their controversial work has received some attention in English-language scholarship, this is the first book-length treatment of Critical Buddhism as both a philosophical and religious movement, where the lines between scholarship and practice blur. Providing a critical and constructive analysis of Critical Buddhism, particularly the epistemological categories of critica and topica, this book examines contemporary theories of knowledge and ethics in order to situate Critical Buddhism within modern Japanese and Buddhist thought as well as in relation to current trends in contemporary Western thought. (Source: Taylor & Francis)
Shields, James M. Critical Buddhism: Engaging with Modern Japanese Buddhist Thought. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2011. https://archive.org/details/criticalbuddhismengagingwithmodernjapanesebuddhistthoughtjamesmarkshields_202003_771_Y/mode/2up.
Shields, James M. Critical Buddhism: Engaging with Modern Japanese Buddhist Thought. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, 2011. https://archive.org/details/criticalbuddhismengagingwithmodernjapanesebuddhistthoughtjamesmarkshields_202003_771_Y/mode/2up.;Critical Buddhism;Critical Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Zen - Chan;Hakamaya, N.;Matsumoto, S.;James Mark Shields; Critical Buddhism: Engaging with Modern Japanese Buddhist Thought
Critical Buddhism and Returning to the Sources
Lusthaus, Dan. "Critical Buddhism and Returning to the Sources." In Pruning the Bodhi Tree: The Storm over Critical Buddhism, edited by Jamie Hubbard and Paul L. Swanson, 56–80. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1997.
Lusthaus, Dan. "Critical Buddhism and Returning to the Sources." In Pruning the Bodhi Tree: The Storm over Critical Buddhism, edited by Jamie Hubbard and Paul L. Swanson, 56–80. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1997.
Lusthaus, Dan. "Critical Buddhism and Returning to the Sources." In Pruning the Bodhi Tree: The Storm over Critical Buddhism, edited by Jamie Hubbard and Paul L. Swanson, 56–80. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1997.;Critical Buddhism and Returning to the Sources;Critical Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Original Enlightenment;Hakamaya, N.;Matsumoto, S.;Dan Lusthaus; 
Critical Buddhism: An Overview by Jamie Hubbard and Paul Swanson
Jamie Hubbard and Paul Swanson discuss Critical Buddhism, a trend in Japanese Buddhist scholarship associated primarily with the work of Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro.
Hubbard, Jamie, and Paul Swanson. "Critical Buddhism: An Overview." Interview by Marcus Perman, Alex Gardner, and José Cabezón. AAR Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, Nov. 2018. Video, 10:52. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWbTA-L5I_w&t.
Hubbard, Jamie, and Paul Swanson. "Critical Buddhism: An Overview." Interview by Marcus Perman, Alex Gardner, and José Cabezón. AAR Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, Nov. 2018. Video, 10:52. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWbTA-L5I_w&t.;Critical Buddhism: An Overview by Jamie Hubbard and Paul Swanson;Critical Buddhism;Matsumoto, S.;Hakamaya, N.; Critical Buddhism: An Overview
On Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro's Criticism of Tathāgatagarbha by Jamie Hubbard and Paul Swanson
Jamie Hubbard and Paul Swanson discuss the criticisms laid out by Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro with respect to the doctrine of buddha-nature, or Tathāgatagarbha.
Hubbard, Jamie, and Paul Swanson. "On Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro's Criticism of Tathāgatagarbha." Interview by Marcus Perman, Alex Gardner, and José Cabezón. AAR Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, Nov. 2018. Video, 4:44. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-ceLJnM8hM.
Hubbard, Jamie, and Paul Swanson. "On Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro's Criticism of Tathāgatagarbha." Interview by Marcus Perman, Alex Gardner, and José Cabezón. AAR Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, Nov. 2018. Video, 4:44. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-ceLJnM8hM.;On Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro's Criticism of Tathāgatagarbha by Jamie Hubbard and Paul Swanson;Critical Buddhism;Hakamaya, N.;Matsumoto, S.;tathāgatagarbha; On Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro's Criticism of Tathāgatagarbha
On Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro's Doctrinal Positions, the Japanese Response, and the Legacy of Critical Buddhism by Jamie Hubbard and Paul Swanson
Jamie Hubbard and Paul Swanson discuss Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro's doctrinal positions, the Japanese response, and the legacy of Critical Buddhism.
Hubbard, Jamie, and Paul Swanson. "On Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro's Doctrinal Positions, the Japanese Response, and the Legacy of Critical Buddhism." Interview by Marcus Perman, Alex Gardner, and José Cabezón. AAR Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, Nov. 2018. Video, 12:20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmpBqnXso_s.
Hubbard, Jamie, and Paul Swanson. "On Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro's Doctrinal Positions, the Japanese Response, and the Legacy of Critical Buddhism." Interview by Marcus Perman, Alex Gardner, and José Cabezón. AAR Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, Nov. 2018. Video, 12:20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmpBqnXso_s.;On Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro's Doctrinal Positions, the Japanese Response, and the Legacy of Critical Buddhism by Jamie Hubbard and Paul Swanson;Critical Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Hakamaya, N.;Matsumoto, S.; On Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro's Doctrinal Positions, the Japanese Response, and the Legacy of Critical Buddhism
The Doctrine of Buddha-Nature Is Impeccably Buddhist
One of the most important arguments made by the exponents of Critical Buddhism is, as Matsumoto Shirõ asserts in the title of one of his papers, that "The Doctrine of Tathāgata-garbha Is Not Buddhist." In brief, the claim made by Matsumoto and Hakamaya Noriaki is that tathāgata-garbha or Buddha-nature thought is dhātu-vāda, an essentialist philosophy closely akin to the monism of the Upaniṣads. In Matsumoto and Hakamaya’s view, only thought that strictly adheres to the anti-essentialist principle of pratītyasamutpāda taught by Śākyamuni should be recognized as Buddhist. Buddha-nature thought, being a dhātu-vāda or essentialist philosophy, is in fundamental violation of this requirement and consequently should not be regarded as Buddhist. On the basis of this reading of Buddha-nature thought, Matsumoto and Hakamaya proceed to make the several subsequent claims documented in this volume. Since the assertion that Buddha-nature thought is dhātu-vāda is such a foundational claim, I will focus my remarks upon this one point in their corpus, though at the end of this chapter I will have a few words to say regarding their charge that Buddha-nature thought is to blame for the weakness of Japanese Buddhist social ethics.
I propose in this paper to challenge Matsumoto and Hakamaya’s reading of Buddha-nature thought. In my understanding, while Buddha-nature thought uses some of the terminology of essentialist and monistic philosophy, and thus may give the reader the impression that it is essentialist or monistic, a careful study of how those terms are used—how they actually function in the text—leads the reader to a very different conclusion. I will attempt to demonstrate that Buddha-nature thought is by no means dhātu-vāda as charged, but is instead an impeccably Buddhist variety of thought, based firmly on the idea of emptiness, which in turn is a development of the principle of pratītyasamutpāda
In making my remarks I draw upon the exposition of Buddha-nature thought given in the Buddha-Nature Treatise (Fo hsing lun), attributed to Vasubandhu and translated into Chinese by Paramārtha.'"`UNIQ--ref-000008A3-QINU`"' The Buddha-Nature Treatise is a particularly useful text to consult in this matter inasmuch as it constitutes a considered attempt, by an author of great philosophical sophistication, to articulate the Buddha-nature concept per se and to explain both its philosophical meaning and its soteriological function. Indeed, the author is savvy enough to have anticipated the criticisms that this concept would face, including the particular criticisms leveled in our time by Matsumoto and Hakamaya, and to have effectively countered them in the 6th century CE. In this chapter, then, I will consider some of these criticisms in turn and see how the author of the Buddha-Nature Treatise defends as Buddhist the concept of Buddha-nature and the language in which it is expressed.'"`UNIQ--ref-000008A4-QINU`"' (King, "The Doctrine of Buddha-Nature Is Impeccably Buddhist," 174–75)
I propose in this paper to challenge Matsumoto and Hakamaya’s reading of Buddha-nature thought. In my understanding, while Buddha-nature thought uses some of the terminology of essentialist and monistic philosophy, and thus may give the reader the impression that it is essentialist or monistic, a careful study of how those terms are used—how they actually function in the text—leads the reader to a very different conclusion. I will attempt to demonstrate that Buddha-nature thought is by no means dhātu-vāda as charged, but is instead an impeccably Buddhist variety of thought, based firmly on the idea of emptiness, which in turn is a development of the principle of pratītyasamutpāda
In making my remarks I draw upon the exposition of Buddha-nature thought given in the Buddha-Nature Treatise (Fo hsing lun), attributed to Vasubandhu and translated into Chinese by Paramārtha.'"`UNIQ--ref-000008A3-QINU`"' The Buddha-Nature Treatise is a particularly useful text to consult in this matter inasmuch as it constitutes a considered attempt, by an author of great philosophical sophistication, to articulate the Buddha-nature concept per se and to explain both its philosophical meaning and its soteriological function. Indeed, the author is savvy enough to have anticipated the criticisms that this concept would face, including the particular criticisms leveled in our time by Matsumoto and Hakamaya, and to have effectively countered them in the 6th century CE. In this chapter, then, I will consider some of these criticisms in turn and see how the author of the Buddha-Nature Treatise defends as Buddhist the concept of Buddha-nature and the language in which it is expressed.'"`UNIQ--ref-000008A4-QINU`"' (King, "The Doctrine of Buddha-Nature Is Impeccably Buddhist," 174–75)
King, Sallie B. "The Doctrine of Buddha-Nature Is Impeccably Buddhist." In Pruning the Bodhi Tree: The Storm over Critical Buddhism, edited by Jamie Hubbard and Paul L. Swanson, 174–92. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1997.
King, Sallie B. "The Doctrine of Buddha-Nature Is Impeccably Buddhist." In Pruning the Bodhi Tree: The Storm over Critical Buddhism, edited by Jamie Hubbard and Paul L. Swanson, 174–92. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1997.;The Doctrine of Buddha-Nature Is Impeccably Buddhist;Critical Buddhism;The doctrine of buddha-nature in Japanese Buddhism;Paramārtha;Hakamaya, N.;Matsumoto, S.;Sallie King; 
The Idea of Dhātu-vāda in Yogācāra and Tathāgata-garbha Texts
Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shirõ are convinced that tathāgatagarbha theory and the Yogācāra school share a common framework that they call dhātu-vāda or "locus theory." The word dhātu-vāda itself is a neologism introduced by Matsumoto'"`UNIQ--ref-00000C2A-QINU`"' and adopted by Hakamaya.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000C2B-QINU`"' They argue that the dhātu-vāda idea stands in direct contradiction to the authentic Buddhist theory of pratītyasamutpāda or "dependent origination," which in turn leads them to consider tathāgata-garbha and Yogācāra theories to be non-Buddhist. In their opinion, not only these Indian theories but also the whole of "original enlightenment thought" (hongaku shisõ) in East Asia fell under the shadow of the dhātu-vāda idea,'"`UNIQ--ref-00000C2C-QINU`"' with the result that most of its Buddhism is dismissed as not Buddhist at all.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000C2D-QINU`"'
The idea of dhātu-vāda is thus an integral part of the Critical Buddhism critique and as such merits careful examination in any evaluation of the overall standpoint. Since Matsumoto first found the dhātu-vāda structure in Indian tathāgata-garbha and Yogācāra literature, we need to begin with a look at the texts in question. My approach here will be purely philological and will limit itself to the theoretical treatises (śāstras). (Yamabe, introductory remarks, 193)
Read more here:
The idea of dhātu-vāda is thus an integral part of the Critical Buddhism critique and as such merits careful examination in any evaluation of the overall standpoint. Since Matsumoto first found the dhātu-vāda structure in Indian tathāgata-garbha and Yogācāra literature, we need to begin with a look at the texts in question. My approach here will be purely philological and will limit itself to the theoretical treatises (śāstras). (Yamabe, introductory remarks, 193)
Read more here:
Yamabe, Nobuyoshi. "The Idea of Dhātu-vāda in Yogācāra and Tathāgata-garbha Texts." In Pruning the Bodhi Tree: The Storm over Critical Buddhism, edited by Jamie Hubbard and Paul L. Swanson, 193–204. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1997.
Yamabe, Nobuyoshi. "The Idea of Dhātu-vāda in Yogācāra and Tathāgata-garbha Texts." In Pruning the Bodhi Tree: The Storm over Critical Buddhism, edited by Jamie Hubbard and Paul L. Swanson, 193–204. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1997.;The Idea of Dhātu-vāda in Yogācāra and Tathāgata-garbha Texts;Critical Buddhism;tathāgatagarbha;Yogācāra;pratītyasamutpāda;Original Enlightenment;Matsumoto, S.;Hakamaya, N.;Nobuyoshi Yamabe; 
Affiliations & relations
- Komazawa University · workplace affiliation
- Sōtō Zen · religious affiliation
