Zimmermann, M.

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Michael Zimmermann

Professor Michael Zimmermann studied Classical Indology, Tibetology and Japanology at the University of Hamburg and earned his doctorate with a thesis on the origin of the teaching of buddha-nature in India. He spent several years at universities in Kyoto and Tokyo and later worked for the German Research Foundation in Hamburg and Kathmandu. After four years in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Stanford, in 2007 he became professor for Indian Buddhism at the Asien-Afrika-Institut of the University of Hamburg, one of Europe’s largest research institutions dealing with Asian languages and cultures.

His research focus is Indian Mahayana Buddhism in all its forms of expression, but in particular its textual history based on the canonical traditions in India, Tibet and China. Another of his interests are the developments regarding contemporary Buddhism in East and West. Zimmermann co-directs the Numata Center for Buddhist Studies at Hamburg University, an institutional hub promoting teaching, research, dialogue, academic exchange and public outreach. (Source Accessed March 5, 2020)

15 Library Items

Book
A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra
A translation, study, and annotated editions of the Tibetan and Chinese translations of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra.
Zimmermann, Michael. A Buddha Within: The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra; The Earliest Exposition of the Buddha-Nature Teaching in India. Biblotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica 6. Tokyo: International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University, 2002. http://lirs.ru/lib/Tathagatagarbhasutra,Zimmermann,2002.pdf.
Book
A Distant Mirror
In this book, an international team of fourteen scholars investigates the Chinese reception of Indian Buddhist ideas, especially in the sixth and seventh centuries. Topics include Buddhist logic and epistemology (pramāṇa, yinming); commentaries on Indian Buddhist texts; Chinese readings of systems as diverse as Madhyamaka, Yogācāra and tathāgatagarbha; the working out of Indian concepts and problematics in new Chinese works; and previously under-studied Chinese evidence for developments in India. The authors aim to consider the ways that these Chinese materials might furnish evidence of broader Buddhist trends, thereby problematizing a prevalent notion of “sinification”, which has led scholars to consider such materials predominantly in terms of trends ostensibly distinctive to China. The volume also tries to go beyond seeing sixth- and seventh-century China primarily as the age of the formation and establishment of the Chinese Buddhist “schools”. The authors attempt to view the ideas under study on their own terms, as valid Buddhist ideas engendered in a rich, “liminal” space of interchange between two large traditions. (Source: Hamburg University Press)
Lin, Chen-kuo, and Michael Radich, eds. A Distant Mirror: Articulating Indic Ideas in Sixth and Seventh Century Chinese Buddhism. Hamburg Buddhist Studies 3. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press, 2014. https://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/volltexte/2014/146/pdf/HamburgUP_HBS03_LinRadich_Mirror.pdf.
Article
A Multi-associative Term: Why Tathāgatagarbha Is Not One and the Same
Zimmermann, Michael. "A Multi-associative Term: Why Tathāgatagarbha Is Not One and the Same." In "What is Tathāgatagarbha: Buddha-Nature or Buddha Within?" Edited by Akira Saitō. Special issue, Acta Asiatica 118 (2020): 41–55.
Zimmermann, Michael. "A Multi-associative Term: Why Tathāgatagarbha Is Not One and the Same." In "What is Tathāgatagarbha: Buddha-Nature or Buddha Within?" Edited by Akira Saitō. Special issue, Acta Asiatica 118 (2020): 41–55.
Article
A Preliminary Analysis of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra as Found in the Lang Kanjur
Zimmermann, Michael. "A Preliminary Analysis of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra as Found in the Lang Kanjur." In "Establishing the Succession of the Sakya Lamas of Näsar Gompa and Lang Gompa in Dolpo (Nepal)," by Klaus-Dieter Mathes. Appendix, Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens 47 (2003): 104–5. http://austriaca.at/0xc1aa5576_0x00040b80.pdf.
Zimmermann, Michael. "A Preliminary Analysis of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra as Found in the Lang Kanjur." In "Establishing the Succession of the Sakya Lamas of Näsar Gompa and Lang Gompa in Dolpo (Nepal)," by Klaus-Dieter Mathes. Appendix, Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens 47 (2003): 104–5. http://austriaca.at/0xc1aa5576_0x00040b80.pdf.
Article
A Second Tibetan Translation of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra in the Newark Manuscript Kanjur from Bathang: A Translation of the Early Period (snga dar)
Zimmermann, Michael. "A Second Tibetan Translation of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra in the Newark Manuscript Kanjur from Bathang: A Translation of the Early Period (snga dar)." Transactions of the International Conference of Eastern Studies 43 (1998): 33-50. https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/zimmermann/tohoku-gakkai-1998-tathagatagarbha.pdf.
Zimmermann, Michael. "A Second Tibetan Translation of the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra in the Newark Manuscript Kanjur from Bathang: A Translation of the Early Period (snga dar)." Transactions of the International Conference of Eastern Studies 43 (1998): 33-50. https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/5-personen/zimmermann/tohoku-gakkai-1998-tathagatagarbha.pdf.
Video
All Living Beings Have Buddha-Nature: The Genesis of the Concept of Universal Buddhahood
This lecture will focus on one particular strand of thought in the history of Buddhism. Often neglected by scholars and even deemed to be non-Buddhist, the idea of universal buddhahood unfolded enormous influence throughout the history of Buddhism. The concept that all living beings have buddha-nature has its beginning in the early centuries of the common era in India. Its impact was crucial for the spread of Buddhism in Asia.

Direct forerunners of the idea that all living beings have buddha-nature are the Lotus Sutra and parts of the Avataṁsaka (華嚴經). The lecture will discuss how the concept of buddha-nature came into existence, what kind of factors were crucial for this development, and how the idea was described in its earliest literature. Recent years have seen a fresh and unexpected re-arrangement of the early history of buddha-nature thought. These new developments will also be presented and evaluated.
Zimmermann, Michael. "All Living Beings Have Buddha-Nature: The Genesis of the Concept of Universal Buddhahood." Produced by Glorisun Global Network for Buddhist Studies and FROGBEAR, October 7, 2019, at The University of British Columbia. Glorisun Distinguished Lecture Series. Video, 1:06:34. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZg45nKtOTM.
Article
Identification of a Quotation in the Ratnagotravibhāgavṛtti
Zimmermann, Michael. "Identification of a Quotation in the Ratnagotravibhāgavṛtti." In Vol. 3, Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University for the Academic Year 1999, 215–16. Tokyo: International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University, 2000.
Zimmermann, Michael. "Identification of a Quotation in the Ratnagotravibhāgavṛtti." In Vol. 3, Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University for the Academic Year 1999, 215–16. Tokyo: International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University, 2000.
Video
Michael Zimmermann at the 2019 Tathāgatagarbha Symposium
In light of the argument that the theory of Buddha-nature is non-Buddhist, Michael Zimmerman summarizes more recent research on the earliest history of buddha-nature thought in India and discusses possible reasons for why the idea that all sentient beings have buddha-nature made its appearance.
Zimmermann, Michael. "New Research on the Concept of Buddha-Nature in India: The Beginnings." Paper presented at the University of Vienna Symposium, Tathāgatagarbha Across Asia, Vienna, Austria, July 2019. Video, 45:00. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYkBSSAJ-zo.
Book
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)
Shimoda, Masahiro, ed. Nyoraizō to Busshō (Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha Nature). Vol. 8 of Shirīzu Daijō Bukkyō (Series on Mahāyāna Buddhism). Tokyo: Shunjūsha, 2014.
Article
Nyraizōkyō saiko: Busshō no kyūyu wo chūshin to shite
Zimmermann, Michael. "Nyraizōkyō saiko: Busshō no kyūyu wo chūshin to shite" (Reconsidering the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra Focusing on the Nine Similes of Buddha-nature). In Nyoraizō to Busshō (Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha Nature), edited by Masahiro Shimoda, 97–139. Vol. 8 of Shirīzu Daijō Bukkyō (Series on Mahāyāna Buddhism). Tokyo: Shunjūsha, 2014.
Zimmermann, Michael. "Nyraizōkyō saiko: Busshō no kyūyu wo chūshin to shite" (Reconsidering the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra Focusing on the Nine Similes of Buddha-nature). In Nyoraizō to Busshō (Tathāgatagarbha and Buddha Nature), edited by Masahiro Shimoda, 97–139. Vol. 8 of Shirīzu Daijō Bukkyō (Series on Mahāyāna Buddhism). Tokyo: Shunjūsha, 2014.
Article
The Buddha Lies Hidden Within: Discourse on the Buddha Nature (The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra)
Zimmermann, Michael. "The Buddha Lies Hidden Within: Discourse on the Buddha Nature (The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra)." In Vol. 1, The Norton Anthology of World Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, edited by Jack Miles, Wendy Doniger, Donald S. Lopez Jr., and James Robson, 1022–44. New York: W. W. Norton, 2015.
Zimmermann, Michael. "The Buddha Lies Hidden Within: Discourse on the Buddha Nature (The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra)." In Vol. 1, The Norton Anthology of World Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, edited by Jack Miles, Wendy Doniger, Donald S. Lopez Jr., and James Robson, 1022–44. New York: W. W. Norton, 2015.
Article
The Process of Awakening in Early Texts on Buddha-Nature in India
The aim of this paper is to throw some light on the question of how the authors of early texts on buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha, buddhadhātu etc.) in India, in the first centuries of the Common Era, perceived the process of awakening, i.e., how they imagined the actual realization of this buddha-nature, and how they described this process in terms of their own underlying vision. As far as I can see, the discussions of the last twenty years or so about the question of whether buddha-nature thought might actually be Buddhist at all[1] have lost their immediate punch and relevance, and might already have become an historical topic to be studied in its own right. New approaches have entered the world of academic Buddhist Studies. They have shown Buddhism to be a multilayered phenomenon to be studied on many diverse levels, and honored it as such, taking into consideration not only doctrinal aspects of the religion, but also the contexts in which these doctrines came into existence, as much as their assumed social ramifications. I have never doubted that the idea that all sentient beings have buddha-nature, alongside other notions, has always been of central interest for the Mahāyāna movement. It is an idea which can be found expressed in many of the sūtras of the Mahāyāna – not only those explicitly dedicated to the elucidation of this issue, but also in texts which in certain passages subscribe to the theory in passing, so to say.[2] (Zimmermann, introduction, 513–14)
Notes
  1. An excellent summary of the positions put forward by the proponents of the idea that buddha-nature is not Buddhist, on the one hand, and criticism of this position, on the other, is found in Hubbard and Swanson, 1997. It is my understanding that the representatives of the so-called Critical Buddhism movement (hihan bukkyō 批判仏教) started out with the aim of reforming certain deplorable states of affairs in Japanese Buddhism, but quickly turned against much of what characterizes the history of Buddhist ideas in India and beyond. Though their immediate aim was thus laudable, the normativity of their approach makes it difficult for a critical scholar of the intellectual history of Buddhism to accept their criticisms.
  2. The most comprehensive discussion of the scriptures on buddha-nature in India is still Takasaki, 1974.
Zimmermann, Michael. "The Process of Awakening in Early Texts on Buddha-Nature in India." In A Distant Mirror: Articulating Indic Ideas in Sixth and Seventh Century Chinese Buddhism, edited by Chen-kuo Lin and Michael Radich, 513–28. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press, 2014. https://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/volltexte/2014/146/chapter/HamburgUP_HWS03_Zimmermann_LinRadich_Mirror.pdf.
Article
The Tabo Fragments and the Stemma of the Tibetan Tathāgatagarbhasūtra
Zimmermann, Michael. "The Tabo Fragments and the Stemma of the Tibetan Tathāgatagarbhasūtra." In The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000, edited by Helmut Eimer and David Germano, 177-96. Brill's Tibetan Studies Library 2/10. Leiden: Brill, 2002.
Zimmermann, Michael. "The Tabo Fragments and the Stemma of the Tibetan Tathāgatagarbhasūtra." In The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000, edited by Helmut Eimer and David Germano, 177-96. Brill's Tibetan Studies Library 2/10. Leiden: Brill, 2002.
Article
The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra: Its Basic Structure and Relation to the Lotus Sūtra
Zimmermann, Michael. "The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra: Its Basic Structure and Relation to the Lotus Sūtra." Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 2 (1999): 143–68. http://iriab.soka.ac.jp/content/pdf/aririab/Vol.%202%20(1999)%20[rev.4Aug2010].pdf.
Zimmermann, Michael. "The Tathāgatagarbhasūtra: Its Basic Structure and Relation to the Lotus Sūtra." Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 2 (1999): 143–68. http://iriab.soka.ac.jp/content/pdf/aririab/Vol.%202%20(1999)%20[rev.4Aug2010].pdf.
Book
What is Tathāgatagarbha: Buddha-Nature or Buddha Within?
Saitō, Akira, ed. "What is Tathāgatagarbha: Buddha-Nature or Buddha Within?" Special Issue, Acta Asiatica 118 (2020).
Saitō, Akira, ed. "What is Tathāgatagarbha: Buddha-Nature or Buddha Within?" Special Issue, Acta Asiatica 118 (2020).


Affiliations & relations

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

tathāgatagarbha -

pramāṇa -

Madhyamaka -

Yogācāra -

The Awakening of Faith is a key source text for buddha-nature theory in East Asian Buddhism.

amalavijñāna -

tathāgatagarbha -

Sakya -

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

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

prajñā -

Mahāyāna -

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

buddhadhātu -

sūtra -

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