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Media/An Introduction to Discovering the Buddha Within by H.E. Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche + (An Introduction to the Palpung Study and Practice program "Discovering the Buddha Within" by H.E Yongey Migyur Rinpoche 尊貴的詠給明就仁波切介紹八蚌學修教程 ─ 開啟內在之佛 ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azIK84yIJqk&t=13s Source Accessed June 8, 2023]))
Texts/De bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po bstan pa'i bstan bcos kyi mchan 'grel + (An annotated commentary written by the fifteenth Karmapa on the Third Karmapa's verses on buddha-nature, The Treatise on Pointing Out the Tathāgata Heart.)
Articles/Freedom from Buddha Nature + (An argument against buddha-nature by a prominent contemporary American Theravada teacher)
Texts/Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i don gyi snying po gsal byed kyi snang ba chen po + (An articulate synopsis of the seven vajra … An articulate synopsis of the seven vajra points in the Ultimate Continuum based on mainstream Geluk interpretation. Chone Drakpa Shedrup makes a clear distinction between the naturally abiding spiritual and the developed spiritual gene identifying the former with the emptiness of the mind and the latter with spiritual qualities such as compassion, renunciation and mind of awakening.ssion, renunciation and mind of awakening.)
Texts/Rgyud bla ma'i tshig don rnam par 'grel pa + (An early Tibetan commentary on the ''Uttar … An early Tibetan commentary on the ''Uttaratantra'', both the śāstra and the vyākhyā, that purports to represent the teachings passed on by the Kashmiri Parahitabhadra to his Tibetan student Marpa, though it is not entirely clear whether this refers to Marpa Dopa or Marpa Chökyi Lodrö, both of whom were important early Kagyu masters and translators that travelled south to receive teachings which they imported and propagated in Tibet. Nevertheless, the text follows more closely Indian commentarial styles and includes typical Mahāmudrā type instructions in its exegesis. Thus it is a prime example of the lineage that descends from Maitrīpa that came to dominate the Kagyu school's approach to the ''Uttaratantra'' in later generations.the ''Uttaratantra'' in later generations.)
Articles/Search for Sanskrit Mss. in Tibet + (An early announcement about the existence in Tibet of a Sanskrit manuscript of the Ratnagotravibhāga..)
Articles/Second Search of Sanskrit Palm-Leaf Mss. in Tibet + (An early announcement about the existence in Tibet of a complete Sanskrit manuscript of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga.'')
Media/Buddha-Nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra by Peter Alan Roberts + (An early foundational text for buddha-natu … An early foundational text for buddha-nature theory, the ''Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra'' is an influential teaching in many Buddhist traditions in China and Tibet. There is some controversy surrounding its teaching, and this discussion will illuminate some of the more interesting aspects of the sūtra. Set around the time of Buddha's passing, or ''Mahāparinirvāṇa'', the sūtra contains teachings on buddha-nature, equating it with the ''dharmakāya''—that is, the complete enlightenment of a buddha. It also asserts that all sentient beings possess this nature as the ''buddhadhātu'', or buddha-element, which thus acts as a cause, seed, or potential for all beings to attain enlightenment. Furthermore, the sūtra includes some salient features related to this concept, such as the single vehicle and the notion that the ''dharmakāya'' is endowed with the four ''pāramitās'' of permanence, bliss, purity, and a self.Peter Alan Roberts was born in Wales and lives in Hollywood, California. He earned a BA in Sanskrit and Pali and a DPhil in Tibetan Studies from Oxford University (Harris-Manchester College). For more than thirty years he has been working as an interpreter for lamas and as a translator of Tibetan texts. He specializes in the literature of the Kagyü and Nyingma traditions with a focus on tantric practices, and he is the author of ''The Biographies of Rechungpa'' and ''Mahāmudrā and Related Instructions'', along with many other translations, especially for the 84000 Project. See ''The Stem Array'', a translation of the ''Gaṇḍavyuha'' from the Tibetan, ''Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light''—a translation of the ''Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra'', and others online at 84000.co.amasūtra'', and others online at 84000.co.)
Articles/Sanskrit Palm-Leaf Mss. in Tibet + (An early mention of the existence of a Sanskrit manuscript of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga''.)
People/Sajjana + (An eleventh-century Kashmiri scholar that … An eleventh-century Kashmiri scholar that was the source from which many prominent Tibetan scholars and translators of the day received teachings. Most notably he taught the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' to Ngok Lotsāwa and Tsen Khawoche, which spread in Tibet as the Ngok and Tsen traditions and became the two primary trends that influenced much of the history of the Tibetan exegesis of the treatise. He also helped Ngok translate the text and worked with several other Tibetan translators on works that were later included in the Tibetan canon. were later included in the Tibetan canon.)
Books/Buddha-Nature and Emptiness + (An essential study of a key text that pres … An essential study of a key text that presents buddha-nature theory and its transmission from India to Tibet, this book is the most thorough history of buddha-nature thought in Tibet and is exceptional in its level of detail and scholarly apparatus. It serves as a scholarly encyclopedia of sorts with extensive appendices listing every existent commentary on the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' (''Uttaratantraśāstra''), as well as covering Ngok Lotsawa's commentarial text and his philosophical positions related with other Tibetan thinkers.tions related with other Tibetan thinkers.)
People/Zur mang pad+ma rnam rgyal + (An esteemed 20th century Kagyu master from … An esteemed 20th century Kagyu master from Zurmang Monastery in eastern Tibet with strong ties to the Nyingma and Ri-me traditions. He was a student of the 11th Tai Situ and the famed Khenpo Zhenga with whom he studied at the Śrī Siṃha monastic university at Dzogchen Monastery. His pedogical manual (''yig cha'') for the latter's interlinear commentaries to the thirteen major Indian treatises came to form an important part of the curriculum at the monastic university at Dzongsar Monastery.monastic university at Dzongsar Monastery.)
Texts/Theg mchog shin tu rgyas pa'i dbu ma chen po rnam par nges pa + (An expansive work on the Zhentong philosophy known as Great Madhyamaka in the Jonang Tradition.)
Texts/Kun mkhyen jo nang pa'i bzhes dgongs dbu tshad kyi gzhung spyi dang gung bsgrigs te spyod pa'i spyi don rab gsal snang ba + (An explanation of the general meaning of the scriptures on Madhyamaka (dbu ma) and pramāṇa (tshad ma) by the influential modern Jonangpa scholar Ngawang Tsoknyi Gyatso (1880-1940).)
Texts/Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi nges don gsal bar byed pa'i rin po che'i gron me + (An extensive commentary on the ''Uttaratan … An extensive commentary on the ''Uttaratantra'' written by a contemporary of Dölpopa and Butön during the height of the debate over the definitive nature of the treatise and its teaching on buddha-nature. Lodrö Tsungme presents an interpretation of buddha-nature which is different from what is given by many masters of Sangphu including Ngok Loden Sherab. As his position are quite similar to what Longchenpa espoused later, the commentary was mistakenly attributed to Longchenpa by some Nyingma followers.d to Longchenpa by some Nyingma followers.)
Texts/Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos legs par bshad pa + (An extensive explanatory commentary on the … An extensive explanatory commentary on the ''the Ultimate Continuum'' by one of the major scholastic voices of the Sakya school. As Bernert states, "Refuting, on one hand, the notion that Buddha-nature is synonymous with mere emptiness, and on the other that the mind is inherently endowed with the Buddha qualities, Rongtön argues for an understanding of Buddha-nature that embraces both aspects of the nature of mind: cognizance and emptiness." (Christian Bernert. [[Perfect or Perfected? Rongtön on Buddha-Nature]], 2018.[Perfect or Perfected? Rongtön on Buddha-Nature]], 2018.)
People/Rngog legs pa'i shes rab + (An important 10th century Kadam master that was one of the main Tibetan students of Atiśa and the uncle of the famed translator Ngok Lotsāwa Loden Sherab. Lekpai Sherab founded the influential monastic university Sungpu Neutok in 1072.)
People/Candrakīrti + (An important Madhyamaka master and comment … An important Madhyamaka master and commentator on the works of Nāgārjuna and Āryadeva, associated especially with what would later be known as the Prāsaṅgika branch of Madhyamaka. Very little is known about his life; according to Tibetan sources, he was from south India and a student of Kamalabuddhi. He may have been a monk of Nālandā. He wrote commentaries on Nāgārjuna’s ''Yuktiṣaṣṭikā'' and ''Śūnyatāsaptati'' as well as Āryadeva's ''Catuḥśataka''. His two most famous and influential works, however, are his ''Prasannapadā'' (''Clear Words''), which is a commentary on Nāgārjuna's ''Mūlamadhyamakakārikā'', and his ''Madhyamakāvatāra'' (''Entrance to the Middle Way''). (Source: "Candrakīrti." In ''The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism'', 165. Princeton University Press, 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.)tp://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46n41q.27.))
Texts/Laṅkāvatārasūtra + (An important Mahāyāna sūtra that was highl … 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''. its presentation in the ''Uttaratantra''.)
People/Karma phrin las pa + (An important master of the Dakpo Kagyu tra … An important master of the Dakpo Kagyu tradition. He was a student of the Seventh Karmapa and a teacher to the Eighth Karmapa and the Second Pawo Rinpoche. An immanent scholar, he wrote works on both sūtra and tantra, as well as an acclaimed commentary on the three cycles of ''doha'' of the famed Indian master Saraha.'doha'' of the famed Indian master Saraha.)
Texts/Ratnadārikāsūtra + (An important sūtra source for the ''Uttaratantra'' in its discussion of the third of the seven topics (''buddha'') in which the qualities of awakening are listed.)
Texts/Fo xing lun + (An influential text in East Asian on buddh … An influential text in East Asian on buddha-nature attributed in the Chinese canon to Vasubandhu. Though no Sanskrit recension nor Tibetan translation has ever been located it was reportedly translated into Chinese by Paramārtha in the 6th century. Much like the ''Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna'', several modern scholars of East Asian Buddhism have surmised that the work may have been actually composed by Paramārtha.The Saṃdhigambhīranirmocanasūtratīkā composed by Wan tshik translated from Chinese to Tibetan by Gö Chodrub mentions this treatise about ten times.ub mentions this treatise about ten times.)
Texts/Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos zhes bya ba'i mchan 'grel + (An interlinear commentary on the ''Uttarat … An interlinear commentary on the ''Uttaratantra'' by the famed Khenpo Zhenga. It is one of a series of such works on the thirteen major treatises of Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism that became the basis for the curriculum at several major Tibetan monastic universities, such as those at Dzogchen and Dzongsar monasteries.hose at Dzogchen and Dzongsar monasteries.)
Articles/Reclaiming Faith: An Interview with Vipassana Teacher Sharon Salzberg and An Excerpt from Her New Book, Faith + (An interview on faith and buddha-nature by a contemporary American teacher.)
Articles/See the True Nature, Then Let Go and Relax in That + (An interview with Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche that turned into a Mahamudra teaching on the spot.)

Articles/The Dharma of Liberation + (An interview with contemporary American teacher Sharon Salzburg)

Articles/On the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna + (An introduction to the Awakening of Faith)
Articles/Lhodrak Dharma Senge's Commentary on the Ultimate Continuum + (An original essay on Lhodrak Dharma Senge's Commentary on the ''Ultimate Continuum'' by Tsadra Foundation's writer-in-digital-residence, Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho.)
Texts/Rgyud bla ma'i sa bcad mtshungs med legs bshad + (An outline of the Ultimate Continuum attri … An outline of the Ultimate Continuum attributed to Lochen Kyapchok Palzang has verses in the beginning and end written with play of words used in a difficult poetic compositions. The outlines divides the main text into three sections, unlike most other outlines which presents the Ultimate Continuum in four sections.s the Ultimate Continuum in four sections.)
Texts/Nges don gyi lta sgom nyams su len tshul ji lta bar ston pa rdo rje'i mdo 'dzin + (An overview of the views of Dzogchen, Mahāmudrā, and Madhyamaka and the methods of applying them in practice, with particular attention given to the ways in which these three converge.)
Books/The Lion’s Roar Proclaiming Emptiness of Other + (An unpublished translation of Mipham's work on Zhentong.)
Books/The Philosophical Foundations of Classical rDzogs Chen in Tibet + (An updated book version of David Higgins' … An updated book version of David Higgins' dissertation on the presentations of the disparities between dualistic mind (''sems'') as opposed to primordial knowing (''ye shes'') and ''dharmakāya'' as opposed to the ‘ground of all’ (''kun gzhi'') conditioned experience, and so forth, in 8th-14th century Nyingma Dzogchen literature.-14th century Nyingma Dzogchen literature.)
Books/Daijō kishinron no kenkyū + (Anthology of articles covering such topics … Anthology of articles covering such topics as the early history of the ''Awakening of Faith'', the influence of its doctrine of original enlightenment on early Chan, Fazang's commentary, the rhetoric of the text, and the concept of the "one vehicle" (''ekayāna''). ([https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195393521/obo-9780195393521-0170.xml Source Accessed July 3, 2020])21-0170.xml Source Accessed July 3, 2020]))
Articles/Indian Materials on the Doctrine of Sudden Enlightenment + (Any steps to be taken in the direction of … Any steps to be taken in the direction of investigating the Indian roots of Ch'an are hindered by the thicket of legends in which the tradition shrouded itself. The Ch'annists must also be blamed for the fact that the question of what was the original form of this peculiarly Chinese version of Buddhism remains open, still obscured by the fallacious assumption that Ch'an was a monolithic, clearly defined school or tradition. Progress in this area is further hampered by the fact that in both India and China the early history of the movements that gave rise to Ch'an belongs to mystical traditions existing on the margins of the scholarly establishment of Buddhism. On the other hand, the broader question of contacts, connections, agreements and disagreements between Ch'an and Indian Buddhism can now be the object of documented study thanks to the indefatigable efforts of Buddhist scholars in Russia, France and Japan, who have attempted to verify the facts and meaning of an incident known as the "Council of Lhasa." (Gómez, "Indian Materials," 393)f Lhasa." (Gómez, "Indian Materials," 393))
Books/Buddha-Nature: Mahayana-Uttaratantra-Shastra (Khyentse Commentary) + (Arya Maitreya’s Mahayana-Uttaratantra-Shas … Arya Maitreya’s Mahayana-Uttaratantra-Shastra is one of the most important teachings on buddhanature and enlightenment. It is revered by buddhist masters as a very special text, one of the five great teachings given by Lord Maitreya to Asanga, and part of the third turning of the wheel of the Dharma. Within the traditional buddhist shedras for monastic education, it is often taught as the final text in the curriculum, and many masters say it can be considered a bridge between the sutras and tantra. It provides an important philosophical foundation for understanding the workings of the buddhist path, particularly for Vajrayana practitioners. We are particularly fortunate to have these teachings by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, rich with his usual clarity, warmth, humour and wisdom because, despite its beauty and profundity, this text is rarely taught in the West, and there are few translations.Rinpoche gave these teachings on the Uttaratantra at the Centre d’Etudes de Chanteloube in Dordogne, France during the summers of 2003 and 2004, after completing a four-year teaching cycle on Chandrakirti’s Madhyamakavatara. He has often emphasised the value of a grounding in the Madhyamika or ‘Middle Way’ philosophy of emptiness, as without this foundation beginners can easily misunderstand Buddha’s teaching that all sentient beings have buddhanature. For example, many of us who have grown up in a Western cultural context can easily confuse buddhanature with ideas like God or a personal soul or essence. These teachings allow us to dispel these kinds of misunderstanding. And despite their very different presentations, both the Madhyamika and Uttaratantra are teachings on the buddhist view of emptiness. As Rinpoche says, “You could say that when Nagarjuna explains the Prajñaparamita, he concentrates more on its ‘empty’ aspect (“form is emptiness” in the Heart Sutra), whereas when Maitreya explains the same thing, he concentrates more on the ‘ness’ aspect (emptiness is form).” In showing us how emptiness and buddhanature are different ways of talking about the same thing, this text gives us the grounding we need to understand buddhanature.In this way, the Uttaratantra gives us another way to understand the Four Seals that comprise the buddhist view, which Rinpoche teaches in his book “What Makes You Not a Buddhist.” It also offers a way to make sense of what modern physics has discovered about the magically “full” quality of “empty” space (e.g. vacuum particles and quantum optics). But like all buddhist philosophy, it is not intended simply to provoke an academic discussion that we leave behind as we return to our everyday lives. It is taught as a path for us to attain liberation. For practitioners, the Uttaratantra clearly explains what it means to accumulate merit and purify defilements, and it offers a safety net to protect our path from falling into all-too-common eternalist or nihilist extremes. It also tackles many of the basic questions that practitioners ask as they consider the nature of the path, questions like: What is the ultimate destination of this path? Who is this person travelling on the path? What are the defilements that are eliminated on the path? What is experience of enlightenment like? Rinpoche answers these questions and many others in this commentary on the Uttaratantra-Shastra. (Source: [https://siddharthasintent.org/publications/buddha-nature/ Siddhartha's Intent])tions/buddha-nature/ Siddhartha's Intent]))
Articles/The Buddhist Notion of an 'Immanent Absolute' (tathāgatagarbha) as a Problem in Hermeneutics + (As a religious and philosophical tradition … As a religious and philosophical tradition works out its own stock of ideas and encounters fresh ones among its neighbours, it must very often generate responses to developing tensions and oppositions unless it is simply to turn in on itself, both ossifying and isolating itself from its intellectual and human environment. Buddhism has not ossified and isolated itself in this way, and it has met such challenges not only in its spread outside the Indian subcontinent—in Central, East and Southeast Asia, and now also in Europe and America—but also, and no less importantly, in the course of its development within historical India itself. One way in which Buddhism has responded to these intellectual and cultural encounters can be related to hermeneutics: that is, the modes by which a tradition explains its sources and thereby interprets (or reinterprets) itself in a continuing process of reactivation and renewal of its heritage.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000EDE8-QINU`"' In the case of Buddhism this process—perhaps comparable in part to what in another context is now frequently referred to as ''aggiornamento''—had both endogenous and exogenous causes. It was, in other words, set in train both by internal, systemically generated requirements and tensions within the Buddhist tradition as it evolved in geographical space and historical time, and by external impulses received from its intellectual and social environment, which could be, according to the case, either positive or negative in character. The purpose of this paper is to explore this process with respect to the Buddhist hermeneutics of the ideas of non-self (''anatman'') and of a spiritual matrix or germ (''gotra'', ''tathagatagarbha'' or Buddha-nature) and the relationship of this pair of ideas to Vedantic notions and Brahmanical social groups in classical India. Reference will be made also to certain exegetical developments that either originated in Tibet or were at least fully realized there for the first time. Our analysis will revolve around the fact that, however historically antithetical and structurally contrasting these two ideas are in Buddhism, they in fact have not invariably been treated by Buddhist hermeneuticians as contradictory or even as systematically exclusive of each other. Because of its philosophical and religious significance in the fields of soteriology and gnoseology, the Mahāyānist theory of the ''tathāgatagarbha''—the Germ of Buddhahood latent in all sentient beings—occupies a crucial position in Buddhist thought, and indeed in Indian thought as a whole. In virtue of both their extent and their contents, the sūtras treating the ''tathāgatagarbha''—and the systematically related doctrines of the natural luminosity (''prakṛtiprabhāsvaratā'') of mind (''citta'') and the spiritual germ existent by nature (''prakṛtistha-gotra'')'"`UNIQ--ref-0000EDE9-QINU`"'—are amongst the most important in the Mahāyāna. The idea that the doctrine of the ''tathāgatagarbha'' and Buddha-nature is one of the supreme teachings of the Mahāyāna is explicitly stated in the ''Mahāparinirvāṇa-sutra''.'"`UNIQ--ref-0000EDEA-QINU`"' Mahāyānist doctrine is in large part concerned with the path (''marga'') of the Bodhisattva and supreme and perfect awakening (''bodhi''), that is, the state of a Buddha. The terms ''tathāgatagarbha'' and ''gotra'' are used to denote the base or support for practice of the path, and hence the 'cause' (''hetu'': ''dhatu'') for attainment of the fruit (''phala'') of buddhahood. Even when the texts do not employ the term ''tathāgatagarbha'' to designate this factor as the one which makes it possible for all living beings ultimately to attain liberation and Buddhahood, the importance of the theme of the ''tathāgatagarbha'' is basic to the soteriology and gnoseology of the Mahāyāna. (Ruegg, "The Buddhist Notion of an 'Immanent Absolute'," 229–30))
Books/Ālayavijñāna: On the Origin and the Early Development of a Central Concept of Yogācāra Philosophy. Part 1: Text + (As is well known, one of the specific feat … As is well known, one of the specific features of the philosophy of the Yogācāra school is the theory that inaddition to the traditional six kinds of mind, viz. the five sense-perceptions and non-sensory cognition (''manovijñāna''), there are two new, more or less subliminal forms, viz. ''kliṣṭa-manas'' and ''ālayavijñāna''. The former is a continuous, subtle notion or feeling of 'I', whereas the latter, in accordance with the frequent Chinese rendering, i.e. "store mind," "connaissance-réceptacle, may, in a preliminary way, be characterized as the container or store-house of the latent residues or Impressions of previous actions (''karman'') and mind processes, or, following the usual Tibetan translation ''kun gźi rnam par śes pa'' ("fundamental mind", "Grunderkennen"), as the basic layer of mind processes or even the very basic constituent of the whole living being. It should be kept in mind that (at least in the "orthodox" Yogācāra school) ālayavijñāna is strictly person-bound, each living being having its own ālayavijñāna. The present essay, though also including a few remarks on the origin of ''kliṣṭa-manas'' ( see § 7. 1A. 2. 2), is primarily concerned with the problem of the origin and development of ālayavijñana. Yet, my treatment of this matter is not exhaustive either. I have rather confined myself to dealing with the problem of the origin of ālayavijñāna in a rather limited sense (see § 1.4), and to an attempt to deduce, from my starting-point and the data available in the oldest materials, certain crucial aspects of the early development of this concept. In accordance with the limited scope of the present essay, Ifeel it justified to confine myself, as for previous research, to a short systematic outline of the essential aspects of what it has contributed to the question of the formation of the concept of ālayavijñāna (§ 1.3). Though I admit that a full account of the history of research on ālayavijñāna would be useful, it would take much more time than I can afford, and anyway it should, in view of the fact that most pertinent works are in Japanese, be written by a Japanese scholar. Nevertheless, apart from specific references in the notes, a fewrecent theories on the origin of ālayavijñāana will be discussed in detail in § 7, because they advocate solutions considerably differing from mine, and because I should scarcely be justified in setting up a theory of my own if I did not give my reasons for not adopting one or the other of those already set forth. As for the question of the origin of the concept of ālayavijñāna, the solution presented in this essay must remain a hypothetical one. In view of the fact thateven basic problems of the literary history of the older Yogācāra texts, esp. of the Yogācārabhūmi, are still unsolved or controversial and since some early materials are known only from fragments—and there may have been others no longer extant in explicit quotations—, statements on the early history of Yogācāra thought are almost inevitably, at least for the time being, bound to be hypothetical. But I think Suguro is right in emphasizing that we have no choice but to try to reconstruct the historical development of Yogācāra thought if we want to re-enact it, as it were, as a dynamic, living process, and not merely take stock of thepetrified (and often incoherent) results. Besides, even preliminary observations in terms of a history of ideas may, if handled with caution, on their part be helpful in resolving problems of literary history. But what I consider essential is that, even if we cannot (or cannot yet?), in our hypotheses on matters of the history of ideas (as well as of the literary history) of uncertain periods like early Yogācāra, reach certainty, we are nonethe less clearly called upon to proceed from mere possibility or non-committal plausibility to probability; i.e. we should try to find out criteria which permit us to single out, from among the at times considerable number of possible explanations, the one which is (or at least those few which are) probable; and it is precisely this that I intend to do in the present essay. (Schmithausen, introductory, programmatic and methodological remarks, Vol. 1, 1–3) (*Author's notes have been omitted)[https://archive.org/details/yogacharaalayavijnanaoriginanddevelopmentpart1lambertschmithausen_497_G/mode/2up Read Vol. 1 Online] [https://archive.org/details/yogacharaalayavijnanaoriginanddevelopmentpart2lambertschmithausen_861_T Read Vol. 2 Online])
People + (As one of the key doctrines of Mahāyāna Bu … As one of the key doctrines of Mahāyāna Buddhism, buddha-nature has been taught by many of the greatest masters of India, China, Tibet, Japan, Mongolia, and Korea for well over a thousand years. Here you will find introductions to the many authors who have written on the topic, from the luminaries of Indian Madhyamaka to the great saints of Japan and Tibet. Also in this section, you will find pages for the many contemporary scholars and teachers who have written and spoken on buddha-nature. Simply filter the entire list using the search/filter bar below.re list using the search/filter bar below.)
People/Karmapa, 9th + (As predicted by the Eighth Karmapa, the Ni … As predicted by the Eighth Karmapa, the Ninth was born in the Treshö region of eastern Tibet. He was heard reciting mantras in the womb during pregnancy and he, too, sat cross-legged for three days soon after birth and declared he was the Karmapa. In accordance to the prediction letter left by the Eighth Karmapa, he was soon recognized by the Tai Situpa Chökyi Gocha, who was staying not far away, and by the Sharmapa Konchok Yenlak. A year later, Shamarpa enthroned him at the age of six and gave him extensive teachings. Once Wangchuk Dorje had received the complete Kagyu transmission, he began to teach throughout Tibet, traveling in a monastic camp, which strictly emphasized meditation practice. Wangchuk Dorje did not visit China. He gave many teachings and restored monasteries and temples wherever he went. Like the Eighth Karmapa, Wangchuk Dorje was also a creative author and wrote many condensed commentaries on sutras and tantras, including three mahamudra treatises: ''The Ocean of Definitive Meaning'', ''Dispelling the Darkness of Ignorance'', and ''Pointing Out the Dharmakaya''. These treatises have played a major role in Tibet for the teaching and transmission of mahamudra. ([https://kagyuoffice.org/kagyu-lineage/the-golden-rosary/289-2/ Source Accessed Jul 29, 2020])eage/the-golden-rosary/289-2/ Source Accessed Jul 29, 2020]))
Books/Perfect or Perfected? Rongtön on Buddha-Nature + (As the most important canonical treatise o … As the most important canonical treatise on Buddha-nature, the ''Ratnagotravibhaga'' (also known as ''Uttaratantrasastra'', Tib. ''rgyud bla ma'') established the doctrinal foundations for the Mahayana philosophy of ''tathāgatagarbha'', the doctrine according to which all sentient beings are either inherently buddhas or endowed with the potential for awakening. Among the most prominent Tibetan commentaries on this text figures that of the Sakya master Rongtön Sheja Künrig, a prolific writer who was active during the golden age of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy. Refuting, on one hand, the notion that Buddha-nature is synonymous with mere emptiness, and on the other that the mind is inherently endowed with the Buddha qualities, Rongtön argues for an understanding of Buddha-nature that embraces both aspects of the nature of mind: cognizance and emptiness. Rongtön Sheja Künrig (1376-1449) figures among the greatest teachers of the Sakya tradition. Particularly renowned for his commentaries on the ''Five Treatises of Maitreya'', his vast erudition, and extensive teaching career made him one of the most influential masters for the scholastic lineages of all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. This volume contains an annotated translation of Rongtön Chenpo’s commentary on the central chapter of this treatise (including the relevant stanzas of the root text), along with an extensive introduction to the historical development of this doctrine and an analysis of Rongtön’s position. (Source: [http://www.vajrabookshop.com/categories/vajra-publications/products/perfect-or-perfected-rongton-on-buddhanature--a-commentary-on-the-fourth-chapter-of-the-ratnagotravibhaga Vajra Publications])-chapter-of-the-ratnagotravibhaga Vajra Publications]))
Books/Chi-tsang’s Ta-ch’eng-hsüan-lun: The Two Truths and the Buddha Nature + (As the title indicates, the present study … As the title indicates, the present study is primarily devoted to a textual examination of the ''Ta-ch'eng-hsüan-lun'' (hereafter referred to as ''Hsüan-lun''), a work written by the Sanlun monk Chi-tsang (549-623) to serve as an outline of the major teachings of his Three Treatises tradition.[1] The text consists of several independent essays on subjects such as the "Two Truths," "Eight Negations," "Buddha-nature," "Ekayāna," "Nirvāṇa," and "Two Knowledges."[2] From this compendium on Sanlun doctrine, the essays on the "Two Truths" and the "Buddha-nature" will primarily serve as the textual basis for this study. The objective of this dissertation is to discuss how the Sanlun theory of two truths (''saṁvṛti-satya'' and ''paramārtha-satya'') and the ''Nirvāṇa-sūtra'' concept of Buddha-nature (''buddha-dhātu'') were defined and interpreted by Chi-tsang.[3]More specifically, this study will explore the relationship between the theory and practice of the two truths and the Buddha-nature. In these two significant components of Chi-tsang's thought, one can see the synthesis of the Prajñāpāramitā doctrine of emptiness (''śūnyatā'') and the Buddha-nature theory of "not-empty" (''aśūnya''). In combining these two major doctrinal trends of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Chi-tsang's thought is innovative and constitutes an important phase in Chinese intellectual history. (Koseki, introduction, 1) <h5>Notes</h5>#Biographical data on Chi-tsang can be found in the ''Hsü Kao-seng-chuan'' (T5O, 513c-515a). The material selected by Tao-hsüan explains that Chi-tsang was a third generation Chinese whose ancestors originally came from Parthia {An-hsi). Passing through what is now North Vietnam, his family eventually settled in Chin-ling {Nanching), where Chi-tsang was born. According to the biography, Chi-tsang's countenance was Central Asian, but his speech was Chinese, and he apparently never forgot his ethnic background. Many of his works are often signed, "Hu Chi-tsang," again indicating his Central Asian origins. Chi-tsang came from a family of Buddhists; his father was also a monk who took the name, Tao-liang. Two points in the biography are rather hazy. First, the biography states that Chi-tsang became a novice under Fa-lang (507–581) when he was seven. Material on Fa-lang indicates that he left Mt. She, the center of San-lun studies in the south (Chiang-nan), in 558 to reside at the Hsing-huang ssu in Chien-k'ang (Nanching). At that time, Chi-tsang was ten or eleven. Second, the biography also notes contact with Paramārtha, the Tripiṭaka-master, who arrived in China in 546. According to Kanakura Enshō, Paramārtha entered Chin-ling in 548 and immediately left the following year. Chi-tsang may have received his name from Paramārtha, but during Paramārtha's brief stay in Chin-ling, Chi-tsang_probably had not made his appearance in the world. See Kanakura Enshō, ''Sanron Gengi'' (Tokyo: Iwanami, 1941), pp. 191–92. In addition to the primary material, see, also, Ōchō Enichi, "Eon to Kichizō," ''Bukkyō Shisō-shi Ronshū'' (Tokyo: Daizō Shuppansha, 1964), pp. 433–450; Hirai Shunei, ''Chūgoku Hannya Shisō-shi Kenkyū'' (Tokyo: Shunjū-sha, 1976), pp. 346–50. For a discussion of the three Mādhyamika texts (Sanlun), translated by Kumārajīva (''Middle Treatise'', ''Twelve Topic Treatise'', and the ''Hundred Treatise'' by Āryadeva), see Richard Robinson, ''Early Mādhyamika in India and China'' (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1967), pp. 28–39. #In addition to these six essays, two additional essays have been added, a content analysis of sūtras and śāstras. The material in these sections is taken from Chi-tsang's other work, the ''Sanlun-hsüan-i''. The essay on the two truths is similar in content to an independent work on the two truths, the ''Erh-t_i-i''. Material on ''ekayāna'' is also similar to his large work on the ''Lotus Sūtra'', the ''Fa-hua-hsüan-lun''. The essay on the "Two Knowledges" draws much of its material from a large commentary on the ''Vimalakīrti-sūtra'', the ''Ching-ming~hsüan-lun''. Finally, the essays on Buddha-nature and nirvāṇa are independent works and do not overlap with his other writings. The origins of the essay on the "Eight Negations" is not clear. Ui Hakuju, for example, believes that this essay was not written by Chi-tsang. Early Sanron scholars such as Chinkai also question the authenticity of this essay (cf. ''Daijo genron mondō'', T70, 572c- 573a). Whether Chi-tsang actually wrote this essay still remains a question, and the most common answer given is that this essay was written by Chi-tsang's contemporary, Chün-cheng. Chün-cheng is the author of another Sui Sanlun work, the ''Ta-ch'eng-ssu-lun-hsüan-i''. Despite the problem of authorship, Hirai believes that the ''Hsüan-lun'' as a whole is a work written by Chi-tsang (or compiled by a disciple). The content of the essays is consistent with Chi-tsang's other works, and all the Japanese catalogs and commentators agree that it is a work written by the "Great Master of Chia-hsiang ssu," Chi-tsang's posthumous title. Ui also noted that the text was known as the ''Ta-ch'eng-hsüan-i'' or the ''Ta-ch'eng-hsüan-chang''; he also referred to a twenty chüan version of the text, but did not give his source. Again, the Japanese catalogs and commentators all agree that the text was written in five chüan. See Ui Hakuju, "Daijo genron kaidai," ''Kokuyaku Issaikyō, Shoshubu'' I (Tokyo: Daitō Shuppansha, 1965), pp. 67–73. See, also, Hirai Chūgoku Hannya, pp. 356; 378. #The Sanskrit for Buddha-nature (''buddha-dhātu'' or ''buddha-gotra'') follows Takasaki Jikidō, ''Nyoraizo Shisō no Kenkyū'' (Tokyo: Shunjūsha, 1974), p. 11. See, also, his article, "Nyoraizō-Busshō shisō," ''Kōza Bukkyō Shisō'', vol. 3 (Tokyo: Risōsha, 1975), pp. 101–133. Further, see Ogawa Ichijō, ''Nyoraizo-Busshō no Kenkyū'' (Kyoto: Buneidō, 1974), pp. 62–66.Ogawa Ichijō, ''Nyoraizo-Busshō no Kenkyū'' (Kyoto: Buneidō, 1974), pp. 62–66.)
Books/A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Go Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga/The Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the ''Ratnagotravibhāga'' + (At least two of the masters who are mentio … At least two of the masters who are mentioned in the context of the meditation tradition of Tsen are known to have given mahāmudrā explanations on the basis of nontantric Mahāyāna works. Besides Zhönu Pal, this can be also confirmed now for the Third Karmapa Rangjung Dorjé, who in his newly discovered ''Dharmadhātustotra'' commentary equates ''prajñāpāramitā'' with mahāmudrā, both being for him a defining characteristic of the dharmadhātu.efining characteristic of the dharmadhātu.)
Media/Loving-Kindness and Buddha-Nature: Talk by Bardor Tulku Rinpoche at the First Annual Benefit for Kunzang Palchen Ling + (At the first annual benefit for Kunzang Pa … At the first annual benefit for Kunzang Palchen Ling, Bardor Tulku Rinpoche gave a talk on loving-kindness and compassion, but the first part of the talk was focused on buddha-nature. Rinpoche emphasizes that any person who truly wants to make a difference in their lives can focus on these teachings of loving-kindness and compassion to liberate themselves from suffering of karma and afflictive emotions.uffering of karma and afflictive emotions.)
Books/The Denkōroku + (Attributed to the thirteenth-century Zen M … Attributed to the thirteenth-century Zen Master Keizan (1268-1325), the Denkoroku tells of the enlightenment of the fifty-three masters, beginning with Shakyamuni Buddha and concluding with the twelfth-century Zen Master Ejyo, who was Dogen's dharma heir. Keizan explores how the personal koan (spiritual question) of the various disciples was resolved so that they fully realized their inherent enlightenment. By use of his kaleidoscopic view of Buddhist teachings, Keizan reveals the myriad ways in which the Unborn has been experienced and how these experiences relate to one's daily practice.The translator, Rev. Hubert Nearman, is a senior disciple of the late Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett, first Abbess of Shasta Abbey in California, and founder of the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives. Prior to becoming a monk, he was a scholar and translator of medieval Japanese texts and was a recipient of a grant for his translation work from the National Endowment for the Humanities. ([https://www.amazon.com/Denkoroku-Record-Transmission-Light/dp/0930066227 Source Accessed June 28, 2021])0930066227 Source Accessed June 28, 2021]))
Texts/Theg chen bstan pa'i snying po'i 'grel pa nyi ma'i 'od zer + (Ayang Thubten Rinpoche’s ''Rays of Sunligh … Ayang Thubten Rinpoche’s ''Rays of Sunlight'' is a commentary on Zhedang Dorje’s ''The Heart of the Mahayana Teachings'' ''([https://research.tsadra.org/index.php?curid=526057 Theg chen bstan pa'i snying po'i gzhung])'', a detailed guide to the stages of the path to awakening. Containing all of the Drikung Kagyu tradition’s essential teachings on sutra and tantra, ''Rays of Sunlight'' is one of the most treasured works in the Drikung Kagyu tradition.Like Gampopa's ''Jewel Ornament of Liberation'', the text ''Rays of Sunlight'' begins with a discussion of Buddha-nature, the nascent buddha within all beings, before presenting the sequential practices we must cultivate to fully awaken its transcendent qualities. With its lucid explanation of how a single individual can uphold the pratimoksha vows, bodhisattva precepts, and tantric samaya without contra-diction, ''Rays of Sunlight'' is sure to be of interest to dedicated practitioners of all traditions. And for those with an affinity for the profound path of meditation, the text closes with an extraordinary explanation of “The Fivefold Path of Mahamudra.” (Source: [https://www.garchen-stiftung.de/en/edition-garchen-stiftung-49.html Edition Garchen Stiftung])tiftung-49.html Edition Garchen Stiftung]))
People/Aśvaghoṣa + (Aśvaghoṣa was a Sarvāstivāda Buddhist phil … Aśvaghoṣa was a Sarvāstivāda Buddhist philosopher, dramatist, poet and orator from India. He was born in Saketa in northern India. He is believed to have been the first Sanskrit dramatist, and is considered the greatest Indian poet prior to Kālidāsa. He was the most famous in a group of Buddhist court writers, whose epics rivaled the contemporary Ramayana. Whereas much of Buddhist literature prior to the time of Aśvaghoṣa had been composed in Pāli and Prakrit, Aśvaghoṣa wrote in Classical Sanskrit. . . . He was previously believed to have been the author of the influential Buddhist text ''Awakening of Mahayana Faith'', but modern scholars agree that the text was composed in China. ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%C5%9Bvagho%E1%B9%A3a Source Accessed July 22, 2020])Bvagho%E1%B9%A3a Source Accessed July 22, 2020]))
People/Thub bstan dge legs rgya mtsho + (Bamda Gelek, whose given name was Tubten G … Bamda Gelek, whose given name was Tubten Gelek Gyatso, was one of the greatest scholar-practitioners of the Jonang tradition. Based largely at Dzamtang, he was considered the reincarnation of various masters, including the Indian saint Candrakīrti, the siddha Nāropa, and two famous early Jonang lamas, Tāranātha and Kunga Drolchok. Because of his strong interest in the Geluk tradition, some thought him to also be an incarnation of the great Geluk scholar Jamyang Zhepa. His intellectual prowess and strong devotion to the deity Mañjuśrī, his tutelary deity, led others to surmise that he might be an emanation of the deity himself.ight be an emanation of the deity himself.)
Books/The Resolve to Become a Buddha + (Becoming a ''buddha'' ('Awakened One') und … Becoming a ''buddha'' ('Awakened One') under the Bodhi tree (''Ficus religiosa'') was undoubtedly the most significant event in the career of the historical Buddha, and may beconsidered the starting point of Buddhism. According to both Mahāyāna ('Greater Vehicle')and Hīnayāna ('Lesser Vehicle') or non-Mahāyāna, the historical Buddha had sometime inthe distant past resolved to become a ''buddha'', thereby launching out on the career of a''bodhisattva'', that is, a sentient being who strives to attain the highest state of awakening. Amajor distinction between non-Mahāyāna and Mahāyāna, however, is that for the former thestatus of being a ''bodhisattva'' or ''buddha'' is confined to the historical Buddha (or a few others like him), while the ultimate soteriological goal of a disciple is Arhatship (that is, the finalstate of a saint who has attained release from the cycle of birth and death) primarily foroneself. For the latter, by contrast, even an ordinary sentient being is capable of undertakingthe long and arduous career of a ''bodhisattva'' by generating ''bodhicitta'' and finally becoming a ''buddha'' (just like the historical Buddha himself), primarily for the sake of many other sentientbeings. In sum, a person who possesses or has generated ''bodhicitta'' is considered to be a''bodhisattva'', and the form of Buddhism concerned with the theory and practice of a ''bodhisattva'' is known as Mahāyāna. The idea of ''bodhicitta'' in the sense of the resolve tobecome a ''buddha'' is hence the bedrock of Mahāyāna, and is what distinguishes a ''bodhisattva'' from a ''śrāvaka'', Mahāyāna from non-Mahāyāna. It is presupposed by all forms of Mahāyāna Buddhism including Vajrayāna ('Diamond Vehicle'), or tantric Mahāyāna. Multiple internal and external factors must have contributed to the formation and further development of the concept of ''bodhicitta''. The psychological need of the Buddhists to make up in one way or another for the demise of the historical Buddha may have been one of the principal internal factors that contributed to the formation of the idea of the resolve to become a ''buddha''. Such an idea would not have lacked the doctrinal justification or legitimisation that it needed, for the non-Mahāyāna sources seem to abound in doctrinal elements that could easily be used to underpin the concept of ''bodhicitta''. In its early phase of development, the idea of generating ''bodhicitta'' probably meant only the initial resolve to become a ''buddha'', a momentous decision made by an aspirant seeking Buddhahood (''buddhatva''). This was seen as an indispensable but not necessarily a sufficient condition for the attainment of Buddhahood. However, gradually the idea came to encompass the entire theory and practice of a ''bodhisattva'' and to be considered not only a necessary but in fact a sufficient condition for such an attainment. In the course of time, even the true reality that a ''bodhisattva'' or ''buddha'' experiences as a spiritual event, the meditative insight or gnosis by means of which the true reality is experienced, and all conceivable resources or means—be they psycho-physiological, visual, verbal, or visional impulses that could be employed for becoming a ''buddha''—came to be regarded as ''bodhicitta''. It is this idea as found explicated in Indian and Tibetan Mahāyāna Buddhism that the present study seeks to examine. (Wangchuk, introductory remarks, 21–22)([https://www.academia.edu/471592/Wangchuk_2007_The_Resolve_to_Become_a_Buddha_A_Study_of_the_Bodhicitta_Concept_in_Indo-Tibetan_Buddhism._Studia_Philologica_Buddhica_Monograph_Series_23._Tokyo_The_International_Institute_for_Buddhist_Studies_2007 Read More Online...])d More Online...]))
Articles/Four Steps to Magical Powers + (Before you fully embark on the path of the bodhisattvas and buddhas, says Chan master Sheng Yen, you must first practice the four steps to magical powers. What are these steps and what are the magical powers you need?)
People/Corless, R. + (Born in Merseyside, England, in 1938, [Rog … Born in Merseyside, England, in 1938, [Roger Jonathan Corless] began studying religion at the age of sixteen, understanding himself as being Buddhist, though attending Christian churches. He studied theology at King’s College at the University of London, receiving a Bachelor of Divinity in 1961. In wrestling with the Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible, and particularly in the sacrament of the Eucharist, Roger experienced God’s presence. He was baptized into the Roman Catholic church in 1964 after coming to the United States to pursue a PhD in Buddhist Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, from which he received that degree in 1973. From there, he joined the Department of Religion at Duke University and remained there until his retirement in 2000. In 1980, Roger took refuge as a Gelugpa Buddhist under Geshela Lhundup Sopa, having first obtained permission from his Catholic spiritual director and having explained to Geshela what he was doing. His refuge or dharma name was Lhundup Tashi, ‘‘spontaneous fortune’’ or ‘‘luck.’’ Later, Roger also became a Benedictine oblate, taking Gregory as his Oblate name after Pope Gregory, whose instruction to Augustine of Canterbury was not to destroy the pagan temples, but to bring them into the church by trying to find what was good and preparatory to the Gospel. Roger understood himself as a dual practitioner, but did not seek to blend the two practices or traditions. Rather, he sought to be present to each in their own irreconcilable differences and deep riches. Roger was always reflecting and writing on something, wanting to be open to the insights emerging from his studies and practices. His works are prolific. Over the past thirty years, he published three monographs (''The Art of Christian Alchemy: Transfiguring the Ordinary through Holistic Meditation'' [Paulist Press, 1981]; ''I Am Food: The Mass in Planetary Perspective'' [Crossroad, 1981, and Wipf and Stock, 2004]; and ''The Vision of Buddhism: The Space under the Tree'' [Paragon House, 1989]), one edited volume (with Paul Knitter, ''Buddhist Emptiness and Christian Trinity: Essays and Explorations'' [Paulist Press, 1990]), essays in thirty-one books, thirty-seven articles in twenty journals, articles in six encyclopedias, and twenty-seven papers. Before his death, he had also completed six additional essays, forthcoming in edited volumes, and a draft of another monograph, ''Where Do We Go from Here? The Many Religions and the Next Step''. Over the years, his works examined Buddhist teachings and practices, Christian teachings and practices, Buddhist-Christian dialogue, and interreligious dialogue; more recently his focus had turned to queer dharma topics and same-sex issues. ([https://muse.jhu.edu/article/220092/pdf Adapted from Source Jul 21, 2020])/article/220092/pdf Adapted from Source Jul 21, 2020]))
Books/When the Clouds Part/The ''Uttaratantra'' and Mahāmudrā + (Brunnhölzl, Karl. "The Uttaratantra and Ma … Brunnhölzl, Karl. "The Uttaratantra and Mahāmudrā." In ''When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra'', 151–282. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2014.As stated before, texts such as CMW, those by Mönlam Tsültrim, GC, the Eighth Karmapa’s ''Lamp'', and GISM all establish connections between the ''Uttaratantra'' and Mahāmudrā. Such connections are also found in a number of Indian and Tibetan Mahāmudrā works. Usually, these connections are made in the wider context of the Mahāmudrā approaches that came to be called "sūtra Mahāmudrā" or "essence Mahāmudrā" (the Mahāmudrā approach that is beyond "sūtra Mahāmudrā" and "tantra Mahāmudrā")."sūtra Mahāmudrā" and "tantra Mahāmudrā").)