Property:PosEmptyLuminNotes
From Buddha-Nature
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"The [buddha] element in sentient beings makes enlightenment attainable. This enlightenment is attained gradually and not instantaneously..." [[Mathes, K.]], [[A Direct Path to the Buddha Within]], p. 42. +
* "The tathÄgata heartās own essence is not a nonimplicative negation but is the element of basic awareness." [[Brunnhƶlzl, K.]], ''[[When the Clouds Part]]'', p. 69.
* "The determination of the ultimate as buddha nature or natural luminosity in the third dharmacakra is taken to be the direct mahÄmudrÄ approach to the nature of mind. This approach is not really different from the emptiness of the second dharmacakra. While the analytical methods of the second dharmacakra deflate all concepts, coarse and subtle, about things, the third one purifies phenomenal appearances that hinder the proper perception of buddha nature." [[Mathes, K.]], ''[[A Direct Path to the Buddha Within]]'', p. 373.
* "In the third dharmacakra, the scope of such a nonaffirming negation is restricted to the adventitious stains, whose lack of an own-being has been established by inferential valid cognitions. The ultimate that is beyond the intellect is taken to be the emptiness that is buddha nature, or the element of awareness." [[Mathes, K.]], ''[[A Direct Path to the Buddha Within]]'', p. 374.
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More specifically he asserts that buddha-nature is equivalent to the selflessness of the dharmatÄ. This is not exactly the same as buddha-nature = emptiness. Kano explains that this is a precursor to that position. [[Kano, K.]], [[Buddha-Nature and Emptiness]], p. 111 et passim. +
"Atisa explains āthe innate ÅÄ«la" abiding in every being as a cause that brings one attainment (i.e. nirvÄį¹a), but as being covered with defilements in the state of ordinary beings. He takes it as synonymous with Buddha-nature or the mahÄyÄnagotra." [[Kano, K.]], [[Buddha-Nature and Emptiness]], p. 101. +
"In his commentary on RGV I.3, bCom-ldan-ral-gri defines Buddha-nature as āthe natural luminous mind that is inseparable from ''dharmatÄ'',ā and, glossing RGV 1.153, states: āthe ultimate truth, which is unconditioned and primordially existent by itself, is the element (i.e. Buddha-nature).ā [[Kano, K.]], ''[[Buddha-Nature and Emptiness]]'', p. 342. (see also Ibid. p. 315.) +
"Thus, from the point of view of emptiness, buddha nature is the empty dharmadhÄtu (the object) and from the point of view of appearance, it is the wisdom (the subject) that is not empty of the inseparable qualities of a buddha. Both these aspects are inseparable and are empty of the adventitious stains that represent the delusive appearances of saį¹sÄra." [[Brunnhƶlzl, K.]], ''[[When the Clouds Part]]'', p. 75. +
*[[Kano. K.]], ''[[Buddha-Nature and Emptiness]]'', p. 242, footnote 4. Van der Kuijp via Shakya mchog ldan.
*Mathes cites Gƶ LotsÄwa as stating, "The followers of the tradition of Tsen (Btsan) maintain that since the luminous nature of mind is the buddha nature, the cause of buddha[hood] is fertile" [[Mathes, K.]], ''[[A Direct Path to the Buddha Within]]'', p. 33.
*"According to BA, those who follow the tradition of Dsen KawochĆ© (Tib. Btsan Kha bo che) hold that since the tathÄgata heart is the naturally luminous nature of the mind, it is the powerful vital cause of buddhahood. TOK agrees, saying that, according to the Eighth Situpa, the texts in Dsen KawochĆ©ās lineage accepted a really established, self-aware, self-luminous cognition empty of the duality of apprehender and apprehended to be the powerful vital cause of buddhahood." [[Brunnhƶlzl, K.]], ''[[When the Clouds Part]]'', p. 65.
*Karl Brunnhƶlzl cites ShAkya mchog ldan: "The sugata heart is the naturally pure wisdom, luminous by nature, that pervades everyone from buddhas to sentient beings." [[Brunnhƶlzl, K.]], [[When the Clouds Part]], p. 124.
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Specifically, he sees buddha-nature as referring only to the dharmakÄya of a fully enlightened buddha.
*"Taking the reverse position of the Gelugpas on this, both Butƶn and his student and commentator DratsĆ©pa Rinchen Namgyal (1318ā1388) identify the actual tathÄgata heart as being solely the final fruition of buddhahood." [[Brunnhƶlzl, K.]], ''[[When the Clouds Part]]'', p. 67.
*"Bu-ston and his disciple sGra-tshad-pa assert that Buddha-nature should be understood only in its resultant aspect, namely as only the dharmakÄya of a buddha." [[Kano, K.]], ''[[Buddha-Nature and Emptiness]]'', p. 343. +
"Buddha nature was taught merely as a means of temporarily easing ordinary persons of their fear of selflessness and of attracting non-Buddhists." [[Kano, K.]] [[Buddha-Nature and Emptiness]], p. 9. +
"He typically describes both buddha nature and the dharmakÄya as being ultimately really established, everlasting, eternal, permanent, immutable (''ther zug''), and being beyond dependent origination. He also equates the tathÄgata heart with āÄlaya-wisdomā as opposed to the Älaya-consciousness." [[Brunnhƶlzl, K.]], ''[[When the Clouds Part]]'', p. 68. +
"In the later Sakya School, it is the works of Gorampa Sƶnam SengĆ© (1429ā1489) that are usually taken to be authoritative. According to him, the tathÄgata heart refers to the nondual unity of mindās lucidity and emptiness or awareness and emptiness free from all reference points. It is not mere emptiness because sheer emptiness cannot be the basis of both saį¹sÄra and nirvÄį¹a. However, it is not mere lucidity either because this lucidity is a conditioned entity and the tathÄgata heart is unconditioned." [[Brunnhƶlzl, K.]], [[When the Clouds Part]], p. 76. +
"Gro-lung-pa appears elsewhere in the same text to endorse rNgogās idea of tathatÄ as emptiness, and follows rNgogās position with regard to the ineffability of the ultimate." [[Kano, K.]], [[Buddha-Nature and Emptiness]], p. 340. +
*[[Wangchuk, Tsering]]. ''[[The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows]]'', p. 32.
*"One of the central doctrinal points of Blo-gros-mtshungs-medās position is the two modes of Buddha-nature: the gnosis aspect and sphere aspect. Under the former, Buddha-nature is existent in terms of its qualities, while under the latter it is empty in terms of its mode of existence. [[Kano, K.]], ''[[Buddha-Nature and Emptiness]]'', p. 336.
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"...He states that Buddha-nature was taught in order to attract those who fear emptiness. [[Kano, K.]], [[Buddha-Nature and Emptiness]], pp. 150-151. +
There are different takes on what is view was:
*Karl includes him in the category of those assert buddha-nature to be Mind's Luminous Nature. Stating, "JƱÄnaÅrÄ«mitra cites ''Uttaratantra'' I.154 and RGVV and explains that real aspects are mental forms that have the nature of being appearances of lucidity (''prakÄÅarÅ«pa''), which he equates with buddha natureāthe tathÄgata element (''tathÄgatadhÄtu'')." [[Brunnhƶlzl, K.]], ''[[When the Clouds Part]]'',pp. 57-58.
*However, Kano suggests his view is is that buddha-nature shares features (or coincides) with emptiness and is a property (''dharma'') of the image (''ÄkÄra''), which in turn is its possessor (''dharmin''). In this he was a precursor to Ngok's innovative equation of buddha-nature = emptiness. See [[Kano, K.]], [[Buddha-Nature and Emptiness]], p. 61. +
Though he might be an early antecedent to the position that combines emptiness and luminosity, Brunnhƶlzl counts him among those that hold this position.
*"One should add here KamalaÅÄ«laās (c. 740ā795) ''MadhyamakÄloka'', which takes the tathÄgata heart to be natural luminosity but defines the latter as the dharmadhÄtu characterized by twofold identitylessness: "This statement āAll sentient beings possess the tathÄgata heartā teaches that all are suitable to attain the state of unsurpassable completely perfect awakening since it is held that the term tathÄgata expresses that the dharmadhÄtu, which is characterized by personal and phenomenal identitylessness, is natural luminosity." [[Brunnhƶlzl, K.]], [[When the Clouds Part]], p. 56. +
*"The tathÄgata heart is mindās luminous ultimate nature or nondual wisdom, which is the basis of everything in saį¹sÄra and nirvÄį¹a. Its essence is empty, its nature is lucid, and its display is unimpeded (this is also how the nature of the mind is presented in the MahÄmudrÄ tradition, and the Karmapaās commentary on the ''DharmadhÄtustava'' indeed equates the tathÄgata heart with MahÄmudrÄ)." [[Brunnhƶlzl, K.]], ''[[When the Clouds Part]]'', p. 72.
*Another take on this is found in [[Mathes, K.]], ''[[A Direct Path to the Buddha Within]]'', pp. 51-54, in which he seems to suggest that his views are more inclined to view it as the dharmadhÄtu, which is equivalent to dharmakÄya.
*"This becomes clear from an answer to a rhetorical question in the autocommentary of the Zab mo nang gi don:
Question: How are the properties of purification produced?
They are supported by buddha nature, [in as much as] it is the dharmakÄya of the above-mentioned purity of mind." [[Mathes, K.]], ''[[A Direct Path to the Buddha Within]]'', p. 58.
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"He also describes an āultimate universal groundā (''don gyi kun gzhi'') in his autocommentary of his ''Wish-Fulfilling Treasury'': āThe basic element is called āthe ultimate universal groundā because it co-exists with the unconditioned qualities of the naturally pure nirvÄna.ā He says that this ground is the support for both samsÄra and nirvÄna, and identifies it with Buddha-nature: Due to abiding as the expanse neither conjoined with nor separable from the exalted body and wisdom, it is Buddha-nature; due to supporting all phenomena of samsÄra and nirvÄna, it is the abiding reality called āthe ultimate universal groundā; it is unconditioned and abides as the great primordial purity..." [[Duckworth, D.]], [[Mipam on Buddha-Nature]], p. 104. +
"YDC clearly subscribes to the disclosure model of buddha nature, asserting that the stainless tathÄgata heart adorned with all major and minor marks as well as awakening exists in all beings, refuting that the reality of cessation is a nonimplicative negation, and denying the position that the fully qualified sugata heart exists solely on the buddhabhÅ«mi, while it is only nominal at the time of sentient beings." [[Brunnhƶlzl, K.]], ''[[When the Clouds Part]]'', p. 310. +
Though Mipam clearly presents several different perspectives on this issue:
* "Mipam states that the basic element (Buddha-nature) is empty of adventitious defilements, yet not empty of consummate qualities. These consummate qualities are inseparable from the suchness of phenomena that is luminous clarity and self-existing wisdom." [[Duckworth, D.]], ''[[Mipam on Buddha-Nature]]'', p. 18.
* "Mipamās two models of two truths support his interpretation of the compatibility of emptiness and Buddha-nature. The indivisibility of the two truths, empty appearance, is Buddha-nature; and the unity of appearance and emptiness is what is known in authentic experience." [[Duckworth, D.]], ''[[Mipam on Buddha-Nature]]'', p. 26.
*"In his ''Trilogy of Innate Mind'', Mipam also calls this suchness of mind āBuddhanatureā: āExisting in the minds of all sentient beings in the manner of suchness on the occasion when obscurations dwell as suitable to be removed, it is called āBuddha-natureā because when this suchness of mind is realized, one becomes a Buddha.ā The suchness, or nature, of mind is Buddha-naure.
Self-existing wisdom is simply made manifest; it is not produced by a cause." [[Duckworth, D.]], ''[[Mipam on Buddha-Nature]]'', p. 100.
*"Mipam also refers to Buddha-nature as the abiding reality of the āground of the primeval beginningā (ye thog gi gzhi) in his Trilogy of Innate Mind: Buddha-nature is not a mere absence; it is emptiness and luminous clarity. It is the abiding reality of the ground of the primeval beginning of all phenomena, the abiding reality that is the indivisible truth of unityāemptiness endowed with all supreme aspects (rnam kun mchog ldan gyi stong nyid)." [[Duckworth, D.]], ''[[Mipam on Buddha-Nature]]'', p. 105.
*"In his ''Lionās Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature'', Mipam describes the essence of the Buddha-nature as follows: āThe essence of the Buddha-nature itself is free from all conceptual constructs such as existence and nonexistence, permanence and annihilation; it is the equality of the single sphere of indivisible truth.ā [[Duckworth, D.]], ''[[Mipam on Buddha-Nature]]'', p. 107.
*In conclusion Duckworth sums up Mipam's view as such, "Since he depicts Buddha-nature with the qualities of the Buddha present at the time of a sentient being, his presentation shares an important feature with the Jonang tradition. His interpretation also shares a quality with the Geluk tradition, given that he equates Buddha-nature with emptiness. However, Mipamās integration of Buddha-nature and emptiness most directly reflects Longchenpaās description of the ground of the Great Perfection, the pinnacle of Buddhist vehicles in his Nyingma tradition, where Buddha-nature represents the unity of primordial purity and spontaneous presence." [[Duckworth, D.]], ''[[Mipam on Buddha-Nature]]'', p. 115.
