Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

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LibraryCommentariesRatnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

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{|class="table table-bordered table-hover depth-2" style="background: #fffcf5;"
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|+ Tibetan Catalogue Information<ref>Catalogue information from Phil Stanley and [http://web.otani.ac.jp/cri/twrp/tibdate/Peking_online_search.html http://web.otani.ac.jp/cri/twrp/tibdate/Peking_online_search.html]</ref>
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!Version!!Catalogue #!!Category!!Vol.!!Folio #'s!!Alt
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|Peking||5525||sems tsam||phi||54b7-74b6||(vol.108, p.24-32)
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|Dergé (Tôh.) ||4024||sems tsam||phi||54b1-73a7||
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|Narthang ||4314||sems tsam||phi||48b3-69a3. ||
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|Kinsha <ref>Golden Manuscript - Tengyur</ref>||3524||sems tsam||phi||64b1||(p.33-3-1)
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|Cone ||3991||sems tsam||phi||51b1-69b1.||
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The Tibetan and Chinese traditions treat the ''Uttaratantra'' and RGVV as two distinct texts. Both canons contain separate translations of the "root verses" and the prose commentary together with these verses.<ref>Note however that the Tibetan and Chinese versions of the verses differ considerably in both number and content (see Takasaki 1966a, 9–19; and Schmithausen 1971, 123–30). </ref> However, the two available Sanskrit manuscripts of RGVV (which include both the verses of the ''Uttaratantra'' and the prose commentary) as well as other In- dian sources suggest that the two are simply two elements of the same text. The Sanskrit does not speak of RGVV as a commentary on the ''Uttaratantra'', and its title is ''Ratnagotravibhāgo mahāyānottaratantraśāstram'', thus containing both names. Also, though the title ''Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā'' for RGVV is used by modern scholars, it is not attested in any Indian text<ref>The conclusions of chapters 1, 4, and 5 of RGVV contain the compound ''ślokārthasaṃgrahavyākhyānataḥ'' (the Chinese translation omits this). However, as Takasaki (1989, 389) points out, this compound simply refers to the basic verses of the ''Uttaratantra'', its commentarial verses, and the prose explanation of all these verses (RGVV).</ref> (the Tibetan translation in the Tengyur has the title Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā).<ref>Despite all this, my discussion will retain the two separate titles ''Uttaratantra'' and RGVV and treat them as two separate texts, since the latter is the prose commentary on the verses of the former.</ref> The Chinese tradition calls RGVV Ratnagotraśāstra, while it is almost always referred to as ''Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra'' or simply ''Uttaratantra'' in the Indian and Tibetan traditions, as attested by titles such as Sajjana’s Mahāyānottaratantraśāstropadeśa and Vairocanarakṣita’s ''Mahāyānottaratantraṭippaṇī'', as well as quotes from the text in other Indian sources. For example, the ''Sūtrasamuccayabhāṣya''<ref>D3935, fol. 325b.3f. </ref> by Ratnākaraśānti (early eleventh century) explains a part of the prose of RGVV<ref> J67.9–68.6</ref> and explicitly says that it comes from the ''Uttaratantra'' by Maitreya. Likewise, Abhayākaragupta’s ''Munimatālaṃkāra'' quotes a prose passage from RGVV<ref>D3903, fol. 150a.6 (J139.22–24).</ref> by saying that it stems from the ''Uttaratantra'' authored by Maitreya.
 
The Tibetan and Chinese traditions treat the ''Uttaratantra'' and RGVV as two distinct texts. Both canons contain separate translations of the "root verses" and the prose commentary together with these verses.<ref>Note however that the Tibetan and Chinese versions of the verses differ considerably in both number and content (see Takasaki 1966a, 9–19; and Schmithausen 1971, 123–30). </ref> However, the two available Sanskrit manuscripts of RGVV (which include both the verses of the ''Uttaratantra'' and the prose commentary) as well as other In- dian sources suggest that the two are simply two elements of the same text. The Sanskrit does not speak of RGVV as a commentary on the ''Uttaratantra'', and its title is ''Ratnagotravibhāgo mahāyānottaratantraśāstram'', thus containing both names. Also, though the title ''Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā'' for RGVV is used by modern scholars, it is not attested in any Indian text<ref>The conclusions of chapters 1, 4, and 5 of RGVV contain the compound ''ślokārthasaṃgrahavyākhyānataḥ'' (the Chinese translation omits this). However, as Takasaki (1989, 389) points out, this compound simply refers to the basic verses of the ''Uttaratantra'', its commentarial verses, and the prose explanation of all these verses (RGVV).</ref> (the Tibetan translation in the Tengyur has the title Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā).<ref>Despite all this, my discussion will retain the two separate titles ''Uttaratantra'' and RGVV and treat them as two separate texts, since the latter is the prose commentary on the verses of the former.</ref> The Chinese tradition calls RGVV Ratnagotraśāstra, while it is almost always referred to as ''Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra'' or simply ''Uttaratantra'' in the Indian and Tibetan traditions, as attested by titles such as Sajjana’s Mahāyānottaratantraśāstropadeśa and Vairocanarakṣita’s ''Mahāyānottaratantraṭippaṇī'', as well as quotes from the text in other Indian sources. For example, the ''Sūtrasamuccayabhāṣya''<ref>D3935, fol. 325b.3f. </ref> by Ratnākaraśānti (early eleventh century) explains a part of the prose of RGVV<ref> J67.9–68.6</ref> and explicitly says that it comes from the ''Uttaratantra'' by Maitreya. Likewise, Abhayākaragupta’s ''Munimatālaṃkāra'' quotes a prose passage from RGVV<ref>D3903, fol. 150a.6 (J139.22–24).</ref> by saying that it stems from the ''Uttaratantra'' authored by Maitreya.

Revision as of 12:48, 14 September 2018


रत्नगोत्रविभाग महायानोत्तरतन्त्रशास्त्र
Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།
theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos
究竟一乘寶性論
jiu jing yi cheng bao xing lun
Traité de la Continuité suprême du Grand Véhicule
D4024   ·  T1611
SOURCE TEXT
The Ratnagotravibhāga, commonly known as the Uttaratantra, or Gyu Lama in Tibetan, is one of the main Indian scriptural sources for buddha-nature theory. It was likely composed during the fifth century, by whom we do not know. Comprised of verses interspersed with prose commentary, it systematizes the buddha-nature teachings that were circulating in multiple sūtras such as the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra, the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, and the Śrīmaladevisūtra. The Tibetan tradition attributes the verses to the Bodhisattva Maitreya and the commentary to Asaṅga, and treats the two as separate texts, although this division is not attested to in surviving Indian versions. The Chinese tradition attributes the text to *Sāramati (娑囉末底), but the translation itself does not include the name of the author, and the matter remains unsettled. It was translated into Chinese in the early sixth century by Ratnamati and first translated into Tibetan by Atiśa, although this text is not known to survive. Ngok Loden Sherab translated it a second time based on teachings from the Kashmiri Pandita Sajjana, and theirs remains the standard translation. It has been translated into English several times, and recently into French. See the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā, read more about the Ratnagotravibhāga, or take a look at the most complete English translation in When the Clouds Part by Karl Brunnholzl.

Relevance to Buddha-nature

This text by Maitreya/Asanga is the main source of buddha-nature teachings in India and Tibet.

Description from When the Clouds Part

The Mahāyānottaratantra (Ratnagotravibhāga) and the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā

Texts and Authorships

{

Philosophical positions of this text

Text Metadata

Other Titles ~ rgyud bla ma
~ Uttaratantra
~ Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
~ Ratnagotravibhāga
~ theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos dkon mchog gi rigs rnam par dbye ba

Text exists in ~ Tibetan
~ Sanskrit
~ Chinese
Canonical Genre ~ Tengyur · Sūtra · sems tsam · Cittamātra
Literary Genre ~ Tengyur

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