For several reasons the
Ratnagotravibhāga deserves our attention. It is the only text on the
tathāgatagarbha which has been preserved in Sanskrit. There are many problems connected with its place in the history of
Mahāyāna philosophy and with its authorship. The Tibetan tradition attributes the verses to Maitreya and the prose commentary to Asaṅga. This text is held in high regard as one of the five treatises composed by Maitreya. However, the Chinese tradition attributes the whole work to Sāramati. This tradition is mentioned by Yüan-ts'e (613-696) in his commentary on the
Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra[1] and by Fa-tsang (643-712) in his commentary on the
Dharmadhātvaviśeṣaśāstra.
[2] Probably the earliest reference to Sāramati as author of the
Ratnagotravibhāga is to be found in Chih-i's
Mo-ho chih-kuan (
Taishō, Vol. XLVI, Nr. 1911, p. 31b18-26) which has been dictated by him in 594 (cf. p. 125 of Tsukinowa's article mentioned in note 8). The identity of Sāramati raises many problems. Some scholars have identified him with Sthiramati,
[3] others have distinguished two Sāramati's.
[4] There are also many obscurities in the Chinese traditions concerning the translator of the Chinese version. Chinese catalogues mention two translations, one by Ratnamati and the other by Bodhiruci.
In 1931 E. Obermiller published a translation of the
Ratnagotravibhāga from the Tibetan: "The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation",
Acta Orientalia, Vol. IX, Part II.III, pp. 81-306.
[5] His interpretation of the text is based upon a commentary by Tsoṅ-kha-pa's pupil and successor rGyal-tshab Dar-ma rin-chen (1364–1432)
[6] The Sanskrit text has been edited by E. H. Johnston and published by T. Chowdhury:
The Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra (Patna, 1950). This edition is based upon two manuscripts found in Tibet by Rāhula Sāṁkṛtyāyana. The edition of the Sanskrit text has given a new impulse to the study of the
Ratnagotravibhāga. Several passages of the
Ratnagotravibhāga have been translated by E. Conze (
Buddhist Texts through the Ages, Oxford, 1954, pp. 130-131, 181-184 and 216-217). In
Die Philosophie des Buddhismus (Berlin, 1956, pp. 255-264) E. Frauwallner has given a summary of the ideas contained in this text and a translation of several verses.
[7] In 1959 Ui Hakuju published a detailed study on the
Ratnagotravibhāga (
Hōshōron Kenkyū) which contains a complete translation (pp. 471-648), together with a Sanskrit-Japanese glossary (pp. 1-60 with separate pagination).
[8] Professor Takasaki's translation was undertaken during his stay in India (1954-1957) and continued afterwards. Apart from this book he has published between 1958 and 1964 ten articles relating to the
Ratnagotravibhāga (a list is given on pp. xii-xiii).
[9] . . .
The translation of the
Ratnagotravibhāga by Professor Takasaki is the first to be based on the Sanskrit text and the Chinese and Tibetan translations. Obermiller utilized only the Tibetan version and his translation, excellent as it is, contains a number of mistakes which are obvious in the light of the Sanskrit text. Ui utilized both the Sanskrit text and the Chinese translation, but he was unable to consult the Tibetan translation directly. His knowledge of it was based upon a Japanese translation, made for him by Tada Tōkan, and upon Obermiller's English translation. It is clear from many indications that the Chinese translation is closer to the original than both the Sanskrit text and the Tibetan translation. However, as concerns the interpretation of the text, the Chinese translation is now always a reliable guide. There are several places where Professor Takasaki has been too much influenced by it but in general he indicates very well the wrong interpretations which are to be found in the Chinese translation. For the Tibetan translation Professor Takasaki has consulted only the Derge edition. A comparison of the passages quoted in the notes with the corresponding passages in the Peking edition (the only one at my disposal) shows that the Derge edition does not always give a satisfactory text. An edition of the Tibetan translation based on the Derge, Peking and Narthang editions would be highly desirable. In view of the importance of the vocabulary of the
Ratnagotravibhāga for both Buddhist Sanskrit and
Mahāyāna terminology, it would also be very useful to have indexes, on the lines of those compiled by Professor Nagao for the
Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra.
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