Difference between revisions of "Peter Alan Roberts: Buddha-Nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra"

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|description=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 sutra. 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.
 
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Revision as of 14:40, 22 August 2024

Peter Alan Roberts
Buddha-Nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra
31 August 2024 · 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
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Description & Participants

Buddha-Nature in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra
31 August 2024 · 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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 sutra. 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.

Guest

Peter Alan Roberts
Host

Lopen Dr. Karma Phuntsho

Conversations on Buddha-Nature

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A Tsadra Foundation Event
Regular live interviews with Buddhist practitioners, scholars, and thinkers.
This is a space for stimulating and inspiring conversations on Buddha-Nature and related subjects. As a part of the Buddha-Nature Project of the Tsadra Foundation, Karma Phuntsho will host conversations with a Buddhist leader, influencer or expert each month on the theories and practices of Buddha-Nature, which will be live on Facebook. As an exercise of mindful listening, right speech, and wholesome exploration of meaning and nature of life and existence, these conversations aim to enhance the understanding and awareness of Buddha-Nature and promote the ethos of innate goodness and positive perception.

Recommended content

Book
Mahāmudrā and Related Instructions
The Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism began in the eleventh century with such renowned figures as Marpa and Milarepa, and its seminal meditative traditions are Mahāmudrā and the six Dharmas of Nāropa. Mahāmudrā teachings focus on the cultivation of profound insight into the nature of the mind. The Mahāmudrā texts in this volume include a lucid work by the celebrated master Tselé Natsok Rangdröl and works by the twelfth-century master Shang Rinpoche, the great Third Karmapa, the Eighth Tai Situ, and Drukpa Pema Karpo. The volume also contains an inspirational work by Gampopa, the Drigung Kagyü root text, The Single Viewpoint, the Sixth Shamarpa’s guide to the six Dharmas of Nāropā, and finally an overview of tantric practice by Dakpo Tashi Namgyal, author of the famous Moonlight of Mahāmudrā. The texts in this volume were selected by the preeminent scholar of the Kagyü school, Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche. (Source: Wisdom Publications)
Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. Mahāmudrā and Related Instructions: Core Teaching of the Kagyü Schools. Edited by Thupten Jinpa. Library of Tibetan Classics 5. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2011.
Text
Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra
There are three translations in the Tibetan canon under this name:
  1. Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (RKTSK 119)
  2. Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (RKTSK 120)
  3. Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (RKTSK 121)


The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra is one of the main scriptural sources for buddha-nature in China and Tibet. 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.

It may be noted that there are three different texts with similar titles in the Chinese and Tibetan canons. Of the three Tibetan texts with Mahāparinirvāṇa in their title, a short one (Derge Kangyur, No. 121) called Āryamahāparinirvāṇasūtra contains prophecies of events in the centuries after the Buddha's Mahāparinirvāṇa but has nothing on buddha-nature. Thus, this is not the Mahāparinirvāṇāsūtra which is considered as a Tathāgatagarbhasūtra. The two which deal with buddha-nature are Mahāyānasūtras and contain detailed accounts of the final teachings of the Buddha. The first sūtra, the longer one covering two volumes of Derge Kangyur (mdo sde Nya and Ta) is a translation from Chinese, while the second one is a translation from Sanskrit. They appear to be two different recensions of the same original sūtra as they have similar titles and overlapping content. However, the one translated from Chinese is much longer and also contains information on the events after the Buddha entered Mahāparinirvāṇa.
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