Revision as of 12:28, 25 June 2018

The Source Text:
The Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།

Read the Source Text Here:
- A Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna - Multilingual Edition of the root text only
- Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra - Multilingual Edition

The Texts

Gzhan stong dbu ma'i rgyan gyi lung sbyor

A supplement to Tāranātha's Ornament of Madhyamaka of Other-Emptiness (Gzhan stong dbu ma'i brgyan) that focuses on the scriptural sources of the other-emptiness philosophy. The scriptural citations and reference which were barely mentioned or referred to in the Ornament of Madhyamaka of Other-Emptiness are quoted in full to substantiate the claims of the proponents of Other-Emptiness.

Gzhan stong dbu ma'i rnam gzhag snying por dril ba

A brief overview of the philosophical positions and related terminology of other-emptiness (gzhan stong) Madhyamaka with an emphasis on the Jonang perspective developed by Dölpopa.

Legs bshad gser phreng

Tsongkhapa's comprehensive treatise on both Maitreya's Abhisamayālaṃkāra and the commentary on this work by Haribhadra, the Abhisamayālaṃkāravrtti.

Theg chen rgyud bla ma'i gdams pa

This work details instructions on the Ratnagotravibhāga that Maitrīpa reportedly received directly from Maitreya in a dream, which he then later retrieved, in actuality, discovering the text concealed within in a stūpa. Mönlam Tsultrim, the attributed Tibetan author of this work that lived centuries later, thus claims that he copied and edited this work from the original manuscript that was passed down in a lineage coming from Maitrīpa, himself.

'phags ma shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa'i snying po'i dka' 'grel 'gran zla med pa'i rgyal po tshig le'ur byas pa

One of the Tāranātha's three commentaries on the Heart Sūtra, he presents the ultimate purport of the sūtras as being the ultimate other-emptiness. He comments on the sūtra and its transmission in verses, a very rare style for a work considered to be a commentary. Like his short word for word commentary and the detailed exegesis, this verse commentary explains the Heart Sūtra in accordance with the theories of other-emptiness. Tāranātha also claims he is unique in showing how the Heart Sūtra also captures the hidden themes of the eight topics discussed in some other longer versions of Perfection of Wisdom texts. The commentary was written when Tāranātha was 29 by Tibetan reckoning.

Zab mo nang don

Rang byung's most famous, and perhaps most difficult work is yet another verse text, his Zab mo nang don, on the Anuttarayogatantras. This eleven-chapter work is thirty-two folios in length. According to a colophon provided by Kong sprul, it was written in the Water Male Dog year, 1322, at Bde chen steng. The colophons to the present redactions say only that it was written in the Dog Year. (Source: Schaeffer, K., The Enlightened Heart of Buddhahood, p. 16)

Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i zin bris tI kA

A very clear commentary on the Ultimate Continuum by Taglung Choje according to the title page, the treatise presents a brief history of the teachings on the Ultimate Continuum and follows the meditative tradition from Tsen Khawoche. The authors also cites and critiques some Tibetan interpretations and is perhaps unique in arguing Dhammakāya pervades all phenomena and not just sentient beings.

Dharmadhātustava

Also known as the Dharmadhātustotra, it is a praise written in verse attributed to Nāgārjuna. A Sanskrit manuscript found in Tibet was recently published in 2015. However, before this it was only extant in Tibetan and Chinese translations, though fragments of this text were found to be quoted in other Sanskrit texts. It is notable as perhaps the only work of Nāgārjuna that takes a positivistic view of emptiness and the existence of wisdom, in this case represented by the dharmadhātu. In fact much of the language echoes descriptions of buddha-nature. Though modern scholarship has thus called the attribution of this text to Nāgārjuna into question based on its contents, Tibetan scholars have utilized the text as a support for works that promote or defend tathāgatagarbha and it is especially prominently featured in works on other-emptiness (gzhan stong) and Great Madhyamaka.

Abhidharmamahāyānasūtra

This text is a lost Yogācāra sūtra. It is preserved only in a few quotes in other Yogācāra 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).

Theg chen bstan pa'i snying po'i 'grel pa nyi ma'i 'od zer

Ayang Thubten Rinpoche’s Rays of Sunlight is a commentary on Zhedang Dorje’s The Heart of the Mahayana Teachings (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: Edition Garchen Stiftung)

Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi mchan 'grel mi pham zhal lung

Mipam's annotated commentary to the Uttaratantra, a commentarial style in which the root verses of the treatise are embedded in the text and are then explained word by word. This text overlaps significantly with his related work on this subject Lion’s Roar: Exposition of Buddha-Nature.

Dpal dus kyi 'khor lo'i nges don gsal bar byed pa rin po che'i sgron ma

In the Jewel Lamp Illuminating the Definitive Meaning of the Glorious Kālacakra, Rendawa Zhönu Lodrö presents the content of Kālacakra tantra using the scheme of the causal continuum or the ground nature, the method continuum or the path, and the resultant continuum or the all pervading adamantine body of the Buddha. Though not a polemical work, he repeatedly refutes the position holding buddha-nature and resultant Buddha body to be identical, absolute and eternal. He provides a very clear and comprehensive presentation of the causal continuum through conventional and ultimate types of the ground nature, the method or path continuum by discussing the six limbs of yogic applications in Kālacakra, and the resultant state by discussing its nature, cause, duration, forms and qualities.

Mdo sde rgyan dang rgyud bla ma spyod 'jug rnams kyi 'grel TIk+ka gi dbu zhabs kyi tshigs bcad

Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma rgyan gyi me tog

A rather brief work that, as Tsering Wangchuk states, is "the earliest extant Tibetan commentary on the Uttaratantra that cites both tantric and sutric sources to corroborate the claims made in the treatise."

Laṅkāvatārasūtra

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.

Kǔmgang sammae kyǒng

This text, also known as the *Vajrasamādhisūtra, is a Korean apocryphon, meaning an indigenous scripture that claimed to be a translation of an Indic original. It was composed at the end of the seventh century and continues to have widespread appeal across Asia as a source for buddha-nature and original enlightenment teachings. It belongs to the genre of "samādhi sūtra" in that it offers contemplative techniques designed to lead to enlightenment. The scripture reveals influences of early Chan and the Chinese Yogācāra tradition of Paramārtha, containing an extensive discussion of "immaculate consciousness" (amalavijñāna), the ninth consciousness which unites saṃsāra and nirvāṇa in a "single taste." The great Korean scholiast Wǒnhyo (617–686, 體用) wrote the most famous commentary, in which he outlined six successive steps for realizing original enlightenment. It is translated in Buswell, The Formation of Ch'an Ideology in China and Korea, 1989.

Sekoddeśa

This is the first tantric text in the Kangyur canon related to the Kālacakra cycle. It is a summary of the third chapter of the longer Kālacakra tantra dealing with the ritual of initiation or empowerment. The Kālacakra teachings presents a unique set of seven initiations to conduct the ordinary/childlike initiate (བྱིས་པ་འཇུག་པའི་དབང་བདུན་) and then the four main initiations of the vase, secret, wisdom and word, which are also divided into two sets of the conventional and superior types. The Kālacakra cycle is considered to be very explicit in revealing the luminous nature of the mind through these initiatory rituals and tantric methods employing bodily energy and fluids.

Vajracchedikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra

One of the most revered and recited scriptures of the perfection of wisdom genre (prajñāpāramitāsūtras), perhaps second only to the Heart Sūtra, both of which became especially popular in the East Asian Buddhist traditions. It is a crucial source for Mahāyāna tenets of selflessness and the emptiness of phenomena, and its discourse is framed as an explanation of how to enter into the vehicle of the bodhisattvas by developing and sustaining their enlightened perspective.

Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi tshig 'grel thub bstan yar rgyas

A clear commentary on the Ultimate Continuum composed by the 20th century Gelukpa scholar Muge Samten at the request of Lobzang Tashi, it is based on the commentary by Gyaltsap Je. The work is incomplete due to the author's illness.

Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

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.

Gzhan stong snying po

A fairly brief work by Tāranātha on the basic tenets of the four systems of Buddhist philosophy, namely the Vaibhāṣika, Sautrāntrika, Cittamātra, and Madhyamaka. His exposition culminates with a presentation of the Great Madhyamaka, the pinnacle of the four, which is synonymous with other-emptiness as represented by the Jonang tradition.

Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i rnam bshad don dam rnam nges bsdus pa'i snying po'i snying po

In his commentary [Gendun Özer] mentions that he composed it for his students who had requested that he write something that would differ from the "coarse explanation" (bshad nyog rtsing po) of the Uttaratantra offered by the "early commentators" (snga rabs pa) of the Kadam tradition. While Gendün Özer does not intend to succumb to a "coarse explanation" of the Indian treatise, he follows his early Kadam predecessors' exposition in terms of doctrinal position, even though his literary style is different, with numerous poetic verses of admiration. In this time period it is not surprising that he wrote the commentary primarily in consultation with Ngok's Tibetan translation (rngog 'gyur) of the Uttaratantra, but the author also used the translations made by Naktso and Patsap wherever necessary. (Source: Tsering Wangchuk. The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows, 59.)

'da' ka ye shes kyi 'chi kha ma'i man ngag

One of a series of short texts by the Kadam scholar Kyotön Mönlam Tsultrim, which represent an intersection between the works of Maitreya, particularly the Ratnagotravibhāga, and the practical instructions of Mahāmudrā.

Lung rigs gnyis kyis phyag rgya chen po'i bzhed tshul la 'khrul pa sel ba'i bstan bcos zung 'jug gru chen

One of the three short texts on Mahāmudrā by Śākya Choden, this was written in response to a list of questions raised by a certain scholar named Karma Wangchuk Pel with regard to Sakya Paṇḍita’s critique of Neo-Mahāmudrā and Single White Remedy in his Distinguishing the Three Vows.

He begins with a cogent presentation of Mahāmudrā covering its sources, the objective Mahāmudrā, the subjective Mahāmudrā, its synonyms, the actual Mahāmudra experience among sublime beings, the analogous Mahāmudrā understanding among ordinary practitioners, and the Mahāmudrā concept according to the philosophical and tantric schools. Following this, he delves into how some later followers of Sakya and Kagyu tradition do not fathom the understanding of their respective teachings. He also points out how the followers of Kadampa tradition have missed the important original teachings of Atīśa and founding fathers.

In summary, Śākya Chokden underscores the point that there are two ways in which misconceptions are overcome: through an extrovert rational analysis and an introvert yogic contemplation. The Mahāmudrā tradition of Gampopa belongs to the latter category while the former includes the postulations of self-emptiness and other-emptiness.

Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i ṭīkka

Commentary on the Uttaratantra by a preeminent Geluk scholar that was a chief disciple of the school's founder, Tsongkhapa, as well as the Sakya scholar Rendawa Zhönu Lodrö, an outspoken critic of the treatise.

Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra

A crucial source text for the Yogācāra school and many of its central tenets, including the theories of consciousness-only, all-ground consciousness (Skt. ālayavijñāna; Tib. kun gzhi rnam par shes pa), and the three natures. It is also noteworthy for its discussion of the relationship between the two truths (Ch.3), the three turnings of the wheel of Dharma (Ch.7), and meditation (Ch.8). Furthermore, it is commonly included in the Tibetan lists of sūtras that teach buddha-nature and/or the definitive meaning.

Chos dbyings rnam par nges pa'i gter sgo brgya 'byed

Ri chos nges don rgya mtsho zhes bya ba mthar thug thun mong ma yin pa'i man ngag

Dolpopa's seminal work considered to be the most definitive philosophical treatise of the Jonang tradition. It became famous as the crucial source for the presentation of his view of other-emptiness (zhentong).

Rgyud bla ma'i dka' 'grel gnad kyi zla 'od

Sangs rgyas kyi snying po'i rnam bshad mdo rgyud snying po

Śākya Chokden on buddha-nature. This text is a section of a more expansive work on the Ratnagotravibhāga, titled the rgyud bla ma'i rnam bshad sngon med nyi ma sogs chos tshan bzhi.

Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos zhes bya ba'i mchan 'grel

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.

Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos legs par bshad pa

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.

Nyi ma dang zla ba kha sbyor ba chen po gsang ba'i rgyud

One of the seventeen tantras belonging to the Unsurpassable Secret Cycle (ཡང་གསང་བླ་མེད་ཀྱི་སྐོར་) or Seminal Heart (སྙིང་ཐིག་) series of the Secret Instruction Class (མན་ངག་སྡེ་) of Dzogchen teachings, this was considered to have been passed down from Vimalamitra in the 8th century although modern scholars consider this be a Tibetan composition of later period. The tantra discusses the dissolution of human body at the time of death and the various funerary practices in detail.

Bka' bsdu bzhi pa'i don bstan rtsis chen po

The seminal work of Dölpopa often simply referred to as the Fourth Council. Structured around the notion of four eons drawn from the Kālacakra Tantra, it is one of the primary sources for Dölpopa's presentation of his other-emptiness (zhentong) philosophy.

Tattvadaśaka

In this work of ten verses on true reality, Maitrīpa presents the luminous nature of reality which is beyond any duality and apprehension. The text underscores the non-abiding and luminous nature of reality and how the instructions of the master is crucial for realising the authentic nature of Madhyamaka. Through this, Maitrīpa rules out that the True Aspectarian and False Aspectarian traditions of the Mind Only school and the scholastic Mādhyamika which do not rely on direct pith instructions of the guru can realise the true nature of reality.

Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā

In the Tibetan tradition, which parses out the root verses and refers to that as the treatise (bstan bcos, śāstra), this title references the full text complete with the root verses and the accompanying prose commentary (rnam par bshad pa, vyākhyā). While the earlier Chinese tradition attributes authorship of both aspects of the text to the as of yet still mysterious figure of Sāramati, the Tibetan tradition attributes the treatise to the Bodhisattva Maitreya and this commentary to the illustrious founder of the Yogācāra school, Asaṅga. However, unlike the Chinese tradition which delineates different aspects of the text into the basic verses, the commentarial verses, and the prose commentary, the Tibetan tradition actually preserves two separate versions of the text we know as the Ratnagotravibhāga.

The first, made up entirely of the so-called root verses, corresponds to the Sanskrit title Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra, though it is usually referenced in this tradition by the Tibetan equivalent of the latter subtitle, Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos, which is commonly rendered into English as the Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Great Vehicle and is abbreviated as RGV. However, the full title, Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos dkon mchog gi rigs rnam par dbye ba, does appear at the end of each chapter of the canonical Tibetan recensions. Nevertheless, this version is likely a Tibetan redaction, in that thus far there is no evidence of a Sanskrit version written entirely in verse that excludes the commentarial sections that explain them.

The second, which combines the verses with their accompanying prose commentary, corresponds to the *Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā as it has become known in academic circles where it is referenced with the abbreviation RGVV. However, in Tibetan the subtitle is merely appended with the equivalent of vyākhyā, i.e. Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos rnam par bshad pa, and thus a translation of the Tibetan title of the complete text would be something akin to the Explanatory Commentary on the Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Great Vehicle. However, the extant Sanskrit recension of the Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra directly corresponds to the Tibetan version known as the *Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā, in that it contains both the root verses and the prose commentary. Though, again, lacking a Sanskrit work entitled the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā, we can surmise that its corresponding Tibetan title was likely manufactured in order to delineate it from the streamlined verse redaction, while the Sanskrit title *Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā was in turn a product of modern scholars. On the surface it would seem that this title is a combination of the Chinese title back translated into Sanskrit as the Ratnagotraśāstra and the one found in the Tibetan editions, which state the Sanskrit title as the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhya. Nevertheless, in terms of content, the Sanskrit RGV corresponds to the Tibetan RGVV, in that the Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra is the same text as Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos rnam par bshad pa.

Also, see the Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra and for a recent essay on the text: On the Ratnagotravibhāga by Alexander Gardner.

Theg mchog shin tu rgyas pa'i dbu ma chen po rnam par nges pa

Composition on select points considered essential for understanding the philosophical view of other-emptiness (zhentong) by the great Jonang scholar Tāranātha (1575-1635). It remains one of the most important works on zhentong in the Jonang order. Root text was composed by Tāranātha and an annotated commentary was compiled and edited by Tāranātha's disciple Yeshe Gyamtso according to oral teachings he received from Tāranātha, himself.

Shōbōgenzō

In Japanese, “Treasury of the True Dharma Eye”; the magnum opus of the Japanese Zen master Dōgen Kigen (1200-1253); the title refers to the Zen (C. Chan) school, which is considered to be the repository of the insights of the buddha Śākyamuni himself, transmitted through the lineage of the Chan patriarchs (zushi) starting with Mahākāśyapa... Dōgen’s oeuvre contains two works with this title...The second is a collection of essays written in Japanese, known as the Kana [viz., “vernacular”] Shōbōgenzō, which is the better known of the two and which will be the focus of this account. The Shōbōgenzō is a collection of individual essays and treatises that Dogen composed throughout his

eventful career.... Six different editions of the Shōbōgenzō are known to exist: the “original” volume edited by Dōgen in seventy-five rolls, the twelve-roll Yōkōji edition, the sixty-roll Eiheiji edition edited by Giun (1253-1333), the eighty-four roll edition edited by Bonsei (d. 1427) in 1419, the eighty-nine roll edition edited by Manzan Dōhaku (1636-1715) in 1684 at Daishōji, and the ninety-five roll edition edited by Kōzen (1627-1693) in 1690 at Eiheiji. The seventy-five roll edition is today the most widely

consulted and cited. Many of the essays were originally sermons delivered by Dōgen, such that some are written by him and others were recorded by his disciples. (Source: Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, 810-811.)

De bzhin gshegs pa snying po'i don rgya bod kyi mkhas pa'i bzhed srol ma 'dres par gsal bar byed pa'i zla gzhon

In this treatise, a contemporary Geluk scholar Sönam Kunga presents the understanding of the spiritual gene or rigs according to the different Buddhist philosophical schools culminating in the theory of buddha-nature in the Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna traditions. He elaborates the transmission of buddha-nature teachings and the interpretation of buddha-nature in the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Sarvabuddhaviśayāvatārajñānālokālaṃkārasūtra

The main topic of this sūtra is an explanation of how the Buddha and all things share the very same empty nature. Through a set of similes, the sūtra shows how an illusion-like Buddha may dispense appropriate teachings to sentient beings in accordance with their propensities. His activities are effortless since his realization is free from concepts. Thus, the Tathāgata’s non-conceptual awareness results in great compassion beyond any reference point. (Source: 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha)

Vimalaprabhā

A crucial commentary to the Kālacakra Tantra purported to have been written by Kalkī Śrī Puṇḍarīka, the fabled Second King of Shambhala also known as Kulika Puṇḍarīka, though in the Tibetan tradition the work is sometimes attributed to the Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara whom Puṇḍarīka was considered to be an emanation of. In the Tibetan tradition it is counted among the Three Cycles of Bodhisattva Commentaries (Sems 'grel skor gsum), which are a trilogy of canonical commentaries attributed to the transcendent Bodhisattvas Vajrapaṇi, Vajragarbha, and Avalokiteśvara on the Cakrasamvara, Hevajra, and Kālacakra Tantras, respectively.

Yid bzhin mdzod kyi 'grel pa pad+ma dkar po

The root text of the Treasury of Wishfulfilling Jewel along with its auto-commentary the White Lotus make up one of the main books among the Seven Treasures of Longchenpa. In chapter 1 of his Treasury of Wishfulfilling Jewel, he expounds the theory of buddha-nature as the primordial ground from which both nirvāṇa and saṃsāra arise. In chapter 18 he discusses the abiding nature of reality, which is the ultimate truth, and presents the experiences of saṃsāra as temporary illusions arising from adventitious misconception. Buddha-nature is understood to be the empty, luminous nature of things which abides as the ontic reality in all sentient beings and is free from all fabrications. Using the terms from the sūtras teaching buddha-nature and the Ultimate Continuum, he characterizes buddha-nature as the ultimate pure, eternal, blissful self. He considers the teachings on buddha-nature which form part of the third wheel as definitive teachings, which expound the same ground nature presented in both the sūtra and tantra literature. In summary, he writes in the Treasury of Wishfulfilling Jewel:

འོད་གསལ་བདེ་གཤེགས་སྙིང་པོ་ལྷུན་གྲུབ་སྟེ། །སྟོང་གསལ་རིག་པ་དབྱེར་མེད་ཆོས་ཉིད་དོ།། The luminous buddha-nature is indivisible reality Which is spontaneous, empty, and clear awareness.

His presentation on buddha-nature theory and associated practices in his writings became the most authoritative references which determine the interpretation of buddha-nature theory and practice in the Nyingma tradition to this day.

Sdom pa gsum rnam par nges pa'i 'grel pa legs bshad ngo mtshar dpag bsam gyi snye ma

Minling Lochen's voluminous commentary on Ngari Paṇchen's Ascertaining the Three Vows.

Sde snod bcud bsdus man ngag gi snying po

One of a series of short texts by the Kadam scholar Kyotön Mönlam Tsultrim, this was composed in Narthang at the behest of Sonam Dar, a descendent of Kyide Nyima Gön and at the request of Geshe Gönden Ö and Yönten Ö. The text contains concise lamrim instructions starting with (1) instruction on the contemplation on precious humanhood, impermanence and the law of cause and effect, and the practice of taking refuge for the inferior individuals, (2) contemplation of defects of cycle of existence, renunciation and non-self for those following the path of the hearers and solitary realisers for the middling individuals, and (3) finally the cultivation of bodhicitta and meditation on non-conceptuality and luminous nature of the mind which is free from all elaborations for superior individuals. This brief teaching underscores the importance of eradicating conceptual thoughts and abiding in the non-conceptual luminous nature of the mind.

Śrīmālādevīsūtra

One of the more prominent sūtra sources for the Ratnagotravibhāga, this text tells of the story of Śrīmālādevī taking up the Buddhist path at the behest of her royal parents based on a prophecy of the Buddha. It includes mention of important concepts related to the teachings on buddha-nature, such as the single vehicle and the four perfections, or transcendent characteristics, of the dharmakāya. It also mentions the notion that buddha-nature, which is equated with mind's luminous nature, is empty of adventitious stains but not empty of its limitless inseparable qualities. In his commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāga, Asaṅga quotes this sūtra more than any other source text. In particular, it is considered a source for the fifth of the seven vajra topics, enlightenment.

Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkārakārikā

In Sanskrit, the “Ornament for the Mahāyāna Sūtras”; one of the Five Dharma Treatises of Maitreya (byams chos sde lnga) said to have been presented to Asaṅga by the bodhisattva Maitreya in the Tuṣita heaven. Written in verse, the text offers a systematic presentation of the practices of the bodhisattva from the standpoint of the Yogācāra school and is one of the most important of the Indian Mahāyāna śāstras. Its twenty-one chapters deal with (1) the proof that the Mahāyāna sūtras are the word of the Buddha; (2) taking refuge in the three jewels (ratnatraya); (3) the lineage (gotra) of enlightenment necessary to undertake the bodhisattva path; (4) the generation of the aspiration to enlightenment (bodhicittotpāda); (5) the practice of the bodhisattva; (6) the nature of reality, described from the Yogācāra perspective; (7) the attainment of power by the bodhisattva; (8) the methods of bringing oneself and others to maturation; (9) enlightenment and the three bodies of a buddha (trikāya); (10) faith in the Mahāyāna; (11) seeking complete knowledge of the dharma; (12) teaching the dharma; (13) practicing in accordance with the dharma; (14) the precepts and instructions received by the bodhisattva; (15) the skillful methods of the bodhisattva; (16) the six perfections (pāramitā) and the four means of conversion (saṃgrahavastu), through which bodhisattvas attract and retain disciples; (17) the worship of the Buddha; (18) the constituents of enlightenment (bodhipākṣikadharma); (19) the qualities of the bodhisattva; and (20-21) the consummation of the bodhisattva path and the attainment of buddhahood. (Source: The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 514)

Bar do spyi'i don thams cad rnam pa gsal bar byed pa dran pa'i me long

The Mirror of Mindfulness is a presentation of Tibetan Buddhist teachings on the endless cycle of experience, the four bardos — life, death, after-death, and rebirth. It is aimed at inspiring and helping the practitioner achieve liberation from deluded existence and awaken to complete enlightenment for the benefit of others. (Source: Rangjung Yeshe Publications)

Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi rnam par bshad pa nges don rab gsal snang ba

A detailed explanation of the Uttaratantra written by one of Dölpopa's chief disciples.

Rgyud bla ma'i sa bcad mtshungs med legs bshad

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.

... further results

Sanskrit Texts[edit]

Maitreya. Ratnagotravibhāgamahāyānottaratantraśāstra (Theg pa chen po'i rgyud bla ma). D4024. Sanskrit edition by E. H. Johnston. Patna, India: The Bihar Research Society, 1950 (includes the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā).
Asaṅga. Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā or Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā (Theg pa chen po'i rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos rnam par bshad pa). D4025. Sanskrit edition by E. H. Johnston. Patna, India: Bihar Research Society, 1950.^[1]
Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya. Containing E.H. Johnston's Sanskrit text and E. Obermiller's English translation. Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica, 79. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1991.

Sutra Sources[edit]

Dhāraṇīśvararājasūtra = ārya-tathāgata-mahākaruṇā-nirdeśa-nāma-mahāyāna-sūtra
Śrīmālādevīsūtra
Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta
Sarvabuddhaviśayāvatārajñānālokālaṃkārasūtra
Tathāgatagarbhasūtra
Sāgaramatiparipṛcchāsūtra
Mahāyānābhidharmasūtra
Dṛḍhādhyāśayaparivarta (or Sthirādhyāśayaparivartasūtra)
Tathāgataguṇajñānācintyaviṣayāvatāranirdeśa
Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra
Kāśyapaparivartasūtra
Gaganagañjaparipṛcchāsūtra
Ratnacūḍaparipṛcchāsūtra
Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra
Vajracchedikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra
Samyutta Nikāya
Ratnadārikāsūtra
Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra

Tibetan Texts[edit]

Please see the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra or the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā page for a detailed Tibetan catalog and source listing for this text

Chinese Texts[edit]

Ratnamati 勒那摩提 (508 A.D.), 究竟一乘寶性論 (Chinese translation of Rgvbh), in T 1611. Attributed author is Sāramati.

Commentaries[edit]

Indian Commentaries[edit]

Sajjana. Pith Instructions on “The Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna” - Mahāyānottaratantraśāstropadeśa. Sanskrit edition in Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo-ldan Shes-rab’s Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha-Nature Doctrine" 513-18. PhD diss., University of Hamburg, 2006.
Vairocanarakṣita. A Commentary on the Meaning of the Words of the “Uttaratantra” - Mahāyānottaratantraṭippaṇī (rgyud bla ma’i tshig don rnam par ’grel pa. Sanskrit edition in Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo-ldan Shes-rab’s Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha-Nature Doctrine" 552–75. PhD diss., University of Hamburg. 2006.

Tibetan Commentaries[edit]

Select Tibetan Texts^[2][edit]

'Gos Lo Gzhon nu dpal, Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel bshad de kho na nyid rab tu gsal ba'i me long (Lhasa 2006), in 2 volumes.
'Gos Lo Gzhon nu dpal, 'Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal's Commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā, Edited text in Tibetan script by Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. Publications of the Nepal Research Centre 24, Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. 2003. Reviewed by Pascale Hugon in Asiatische Studien, vol. 60, no. 1 (2006), pp. 246-253.
Rinchen, Gyaltsap Darma . Commentary to the Uttaratantra. Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i ṭīkka. Collected works ga. Vol. 13. Mungod, India: Drepung Loseling Educational Society, 1997.
Mipham. Words of Mi-pham: Commentary on the Uttaratantra (theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi mchan 'grel mi pham zhal lung). Mi-pham's Collected Works, vol. 4 (pa), 349-361.
Rin chen ye shes. rgyud bla ma'i 'grel pa mdo dang sbyar ba nges pa'i don gyi snang ba zhes pa'o. Jonan Publication Series 31, Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2010.
Rngog Lo tsā ba Blo ldan shes rab and Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine." Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Hamburg, 2006. Contains a critical edition in Wylie transliteration.
Rngog Lo tsā ba Blo ldan shes rab (1059-1109), Theg chen rgyud bla ma'i don bsdus pa, Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1993.
shes rab rgyal mtshan , thogs med bzang po dpal. "theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi 'grel ba legs bshad nyi ma'i 'od zer zhes bya ba bzhugs so/." In rgyud bla'i TI ka. TBRC W2DB4614. : 153 - 305. pe cin: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2007. TBRC
Ye shes rdo rje. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos kyi bshad pa nges don nor bu'i mtsod ces bya ba bzhugs so. Jonan Publication Series 31, Pe cin: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2010.

English Translations[edit]

When the Clouds Part

"Buddha nature" (tathāgatagarbha) is the innate potential in all living beings to become a fully awakened buddha. This book discusses a wide range of topics connected with the notion of buddha nature as presented in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and includes an overview of the sūtra sources of the tathāgatagarbha teachings and the different ways of explaining the meaning of this term. It includes new translations of the Maitreya treatise Mahāyānottaratantra (Ratnagotravibhāga), the primary Indian text on the subject, its Indian commentaries, and two (hitherto untranslated) commentaries from the Tibetan Kagyü tradition. Most important, the translator’s introduction investigates in detail the meditative tradition of using the Mahāyānottaratantra as a basis for Mahāmudrā instructions and the Shentong approach. This is supplemented by translations of a number of short Tibetan meditation manuals from the Kadampa, Kagyü, and Jonang schools that use the Mahāyānottaratantra as a work to contemplate and realize one’s own buddha nature. (Source: Shambhala Publications)

Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Tsadra Foundation Series. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, 2014.

Brunnhölzl, Karl, ed., trans. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2014.
Fuchs, Rosemarie. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé "The Unassailable Lion's Roar." Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.
Kilty, Gavin. The Tathāgata Essence Commentary to the First Chapter of the Uttaratantra, by Rinchen, Gyaltsap Darma (1364-1432). Unpublished, FPMT.
Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine." Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Hamburg, 2006. Contains a critical edition in Wylie transliteration.
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Go Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008.
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. 'Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal's Extensive Commentary on and Study of the Ratna-gotravibhāgavyākhyā. In Religion and Secular Culture in Tibet, 79-96. Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (PIATS), Leiden, 2000. Brill's Tibetan Studies Library vol. 2, bk. 2 . Leiden : Brill, 2002.
Mipham ('jam mgon 'ju mi pham rgya mtsho). A Commentary on the Uttaratantra Shastra (rgyud bla ma). Translated by Padmakara Translation Group, John Canti, forthcoming.
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. Buddha-Nature, Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra, by Arya Maitreya. Edited by Alex Trisoglio. Khyentse Foundation, 2007.
Obermiller, E., tr., Uttaratantra or Ratnagotra-vibhāga: The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation, Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism: The Work of Ārya Maitreya with a Commentary by Āryāsaṅga, Acta Orientalia 9 (1931): 81-306. Re-printed in Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya, 1991. (Translated from Tibetan)
Holmes, Ken and Katia Holmes. Maitreya on Buddha nature : A New Translation of Asaṅga's Mahāyāna Uttara Tantra Śāstra. Forres: Altea, 1999. (Translated from Tibetan)
Holmes, Ken and Katia Holmes, trans. The Changeless Nature. Newcastle: Karma Kagyu Trust, 1985. (Translated from Tibetan)
Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya. Containing E.H. Johnston's Sanskrit text and E. Obermiller's English translation. Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica, 79. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1991. (Translated from Tibetan)
Takasaki, Jikido. A study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra), being a treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha theory of Mahayana Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966. (Translated from Sanskrit)
Thrangu Rinpoche. The Uttara Tantra: A Treatise on Buddha Nature, translated by Ken Holmes and Katia Holmes, edited by Clark Johnson, Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 2001.

French Translations[edit]

Loyon, Etienne, trans. Traité de la Continuité ultime du Grand Véhicule de Maitreya, avec le commentaire de Jamgœun Kongtrul Rimpoché, L'Inéluctable Rugissement du lion. With Commentary by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. 2007. Online Source: [1]

German Translations[edit]

Buddha-Natur Mahayana-Uttaratantra-Shastra = Theg pa chen po rgyud bla maʼi bstan bcos kyi ʼgrel bśad. With Commentary by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. Berlin Manjughosha Editions, 2017.
Fuchs, Rosemarie, Tenzin Dordje. Ill., R. D. Salga, trans. Buddha-Natur : das Mahayana-Uttaratantra-Shastra Mit Kommentar "Das unerschütterliche Gebrüll des Löwen" / von Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thaye und Erl. von Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche. Freiburg [Breisgau]; Eckernförde: Khampa-Ed., 2014.

The Mahāyānottaratantra Śāstra

ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།

Some quote from the text or by translator of this kind of work, like Karl? ... Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.

Treatise on the Sublime Continuum or the Ratnagotravibhāga[edit]

The teaching that all sentient beings have Buddha-nature (tathāgatagarbha) was first proclaimed in the Tathāgatagarbhasūtra. Developed in a series of Mahāyāna sūtras, such as the Śrīmālādevīsūtra and Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśasūtra, it was then systematized in the Ratnagotravibhāga, which is also called the Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra or in Tibet, the Gyü Lama (རྒྱུད་བླ་མ་).^[3]

How to Study[edit]

Read
Watch
Study

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How to Contemplate[edit]

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How to Meditate[edit]

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The Gyü Lama[edit]

Text Information

Author: Maitreya (Byams pa) or Maitreyanātha (Byams pa mgon po)
Sanskrit Title: Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra
Alternate Title: Ratnagotravibhāga
Tibetan Title: Theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos
Translated to Tibetan by: Sajjana and Blo ldan shes rab
Tibetan Catalogue: Tôh. no. 4024. Dergé Tanjur, vol. PHI, folios 54v.1-73r.7

The Gyü Lama (རྒྱུད་བླ་མ་), also called the Mahāyānottaratantra Śāstra (ཐེག་ཆེན་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས་), the Ratnagotravibhāga (RGV), or simply the Uttaratantra, is one of the most important texts of the Yogācāra tradition that expounds the tathāgatagarbha (buddha nature) theory, the idea that all sentient beings possess the nature of a buddha.^[4] The Tibetan Buddhist tradition holds the Ratnagotravibhāga to be one of the Five Treatises that Maitreya taught to Asaṅga (4th century?). According to Klaus-Dieter Mathes, the Ratnagotravibhāga was largely ignored until the eleventh century when Indian scholars and adepts attempted to bring the tantric teachings in line with mainstream Mahāyāna.^[5] The Ratnagotravibhāga and buddha nature theory provided the necessary doctrinal support for this kind of work, paving the road for its entry and subsequent importance within the Tibetan Buddhist dialogue.

As a whole, the Ratnagotravibhāga consists of three parts: (1) basic verses, (2) commentarial verses and (3) prose commentary, the third being the vyākhyā, the commentary attributed to Asaṅga.^[6] Issues with regards to authorship arise when comparing the Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan texts, as the only extant Sanskrit version^[7] attributes no author, and the only Chinese version, translated by Ratnamati sometime after 508^[8], attribues the entire text to Sāramati.^[9] (You can see various interpretations of the RGV authorship here.)

The only extant Tibetan version of the Ratnagotravibhāga was translated by rNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab (1059–1109) and Sajjana (late 11th cent.),^[10] though according to gZhon-nu-dpal there were a total of six translations made, the first by Atiśa (982–1054) and Nag-tsho Tshul-khrims-rgyal-ba (1011–1064).^[11] rNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab wrote the first commentary on the RGV^[12] officially bringing it into Tibetan discourse at the end of the 11th century, from which point, the various Tibetan interpretations of the buddha nature theory take off. Mathes points to the main issue in the various interpretations as being whether the teaching that all beings are buddhas is provisional or definitive in meaning.^[13] Over the next nine centuries, 45 commentaries were written on the Ratnagotravibhāga alone^[14], and the text was referenced in "different ways to doctrinally support disputed traditions, such as the zhentong (gzhan stong) ("empty of other") of the Jonangpas (Jo nang pa) or sūtra-based mahāmudrā."^[15] The text also serves as an important basis for both the Dzogchen tradition of Longchenpa and the Mahamudra tradition of the Kagyüpas.^[16]

Tibetan Catalogue Information^[17]
Version	Catalogue #	Category	Vol.	Folio #'s	Alt
Peking	5525	sems tsam	phi	54b7-74b6	(vol.108, p.24-32)
Dergé (Tôh.)	4024	sems tsam	phi	54b1-73a7
Narthang	4314	sems tsam	phi	48b3-69a3.
Kinsha ^[18]	3524	sems tsam	phi	64b1	(p.33-3-1)
Cone	3991	sems tsam	phi	51b1-69b1.

The emphasis of this site is to provide information on the resources available in the study of the Ratnagotravibhāga and all of its interpretations within the Tibetan Buddhist milieu. The information presented here is far from complete and will continue to develop as new scholarship arises. We welcome any feedback, and if you see any omissions or errors, please let us know via email.

The Five Dharmas of Maitreya[edit]

The Ornament of Clear Realization: Skt. Abhisamayālaṃkāra; Tib. མངོན་རྟོགས་པའི་རྒྱན་; Wyl. mngon par rtogs pa'i rgyan

The Ornament of the Mahayana Sutras: Skt. Māhayānasūtrālaṃkāra; Tib. ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ་སྡེ་རྒྱན་; Wyl. theg pa chen po'i mdo sde rgyan

Distinguishing the Middle from the Extremes: Skt. Madhyāntavibhāga; Tib. དབུས་དང་མཐའ་རྣམ་པར་འབྱེད་པ་; Wyl. dbus dang mtha' rnam par 'byed pa

Distinguishing Dharma and Dharmata: Skt. Dharma-dharmatā-vibhāga; Tib. ཆོས་དང་ཆོས་ཉིད་; Wyl. chos dang chos nyid rnam par 'byed pa

The Sublime Continuum: Skt. Uttaratantra Śāstra; Tib. རྒྱུད་བླ་མ་; Wyl. rgyud bla ma

Resources[edit]

BDRC Content[edit]

BDRC Derge Version

Bibliographical Title: theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos
Other Title: mahayanottaratantrasastra
Page Numbers: 109-148 in Volume 123 of Work W23703
Location: ff. 54v-73r
Authorship: byams pa (author); sajjana (translator); blo ldan shes rab
Tohoku Catalog Num.: 4024
Citation: tshul khrims rin chen. "theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos." In bstan 'gyur (sde dge). TBRC W23703. 123: 109 - 148. delhi: delhi karmapae choedhey, gyalwae sungrab partun khang, 1982-1985. http://tbrc.org/link?RID=O1GS6011%7CO1GS601137645$W23703

BDRC Narthang Version

Bibliographical Title: theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/
Title Page Title: mahayana uttara tantara sastra
Page Numbers: 100-141 in Volume 132 of Work W22704
Location: vol.132,ff.48v-69r (pp.96-137)
Colophon: theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/ mgon po byams pas mdzad pa rdzogs so/ /dpal grong khyer dpe med kyi mkhas pa chen po/ bram ze rin chen rdo rje'i dpon po paN+Di ta mkhas pa chen po sa dza na dang / lo tsA ba shAkya'i dge slong blo ldan shes rab kyis/ grong khyer dpe med de nyid du bsgyur pa'o//
gSer bris Catalog Num.: 3528
Otani, Beijing Catalog Num.: 5525
Citation: "theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/." In bstan 'gyur (snar thang). TBRC W22704. 132: 100 - 141. [narthang]: [s.n.], [1800?]. http://tbrc.org/link?RID=O2DB75712%7CO2DB757122DB79425$W22704

BDRC Chone Version

Bibliographical Title: theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/
Other Title: mahayanottaratantrasastra
Page Numbers: 109-143 in Volume 123 of Work W1GS66030
Location: ff. 51r-68r
Authorship: byams pa (author); sajjana (translator); blo ldan shes rab
Tohoku Catalog Num.: 4024
Citation: grags pa bshad sgrub . "theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/." In bstan 'gyur (co ne). TBRC W1GS66030. 123: 109 - 143. [co ne dgon chen]: [co ne], [1926]. http://tbrc.org/link?RID=O2DB20796%7CO2DB207962DB24440$W1GS66030

BDRC Pe Durma Version

Bibliographical Title: theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/
Other Title: mahayanottaratantrasastra
Page Numbers: 958-1009 in Volume 70 of Work W1PD95844
Location: pp. 935-986
Authorship: byams pa (author); sajjana (translator); blo ldan shes rab
Tohoku Catalog Num.: 4024

BDRC Ser Drima Version

Bibliographical Title: theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos
Title Page Title: mahayana uttara tantara sastra
Page Numbers: 129-180 in Volume 132
Location: vol.132,ff.64r-89v(pp.127-178)
Colophon: theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos/ mgon po byams pas mdzad pa rdzogs so/ /dpal grong khyer dpe med kyi mkhas pa chen po/ bram ze rin chen rdo rje'i dpon po paN+Di ta mkhas pa chen po sa dza na dang / lo tsA ba shAkya'i dge slong blo ldan shes rab kyis/ grong khyer dpe med de nyid du bsgyur pa'o
gSer bris Catalog Num.: 3528
Otani, Beijing Catalog Num.: 5525
Citation: "theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma'i bstan bcos." In bstan 'gyur/?gser bris ma/?. TBRC W23702. 132: 129 - 180. tibet: [snar thang], [17-?]. http://tbrc.org/link?RID=O00CR0008%7CO00CR000800CR034422$W23702

When The Clouds Part by Karl Brunnhölzl[edit]

About the Book

Interview with Karl Brunnhölzl

An outline of Jamgon Kongtrul the Great's commentary on the Gyü Lama

Shedding light on the meditative tradition of the five texts of Maitreya with meditation manuals and commentaries from the Kagyu and Kadampa traditions: When The Clouds Part, The Uttaratantra and Its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sutra and Tantra.

When the Clouds Part on the Tsadra Library

Buy When the Clouds Part from Shambhala Publications

Secondary Sources and Further Studies[edit]

Duckworth, Douglas. Mipam on Buddha-Nature: The Ground of the Nyingma Tradition. New York: SUNY Press, 2008.
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. Buddha-Nature, Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra, by Arya Maitreya. Edited by Alex Trisoglio. Khyentse Foundation, 2007.
Fuchs, Rosemarie. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé "The Unassailable Lion's Roar." Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.
Holmes, Ken and Katia Holmes. Maitreya on Buddha nature : A New Translation of Asaṅga's Mahāyāna Uttara Tantra Śāstra. Forres: Altea, 1999. (Translated from Tibetan)
Holmes, Ken and Katia Holmes, trans. The Changeless Nature. Newcastle: Karma Kagyu Trust, 1985. (Translated from Tibetan)
Kilty, Gavin. The Tathāgata Essence Commentary to the First Chapter of the Uttaratantra, by Rinchen, Gyaltsap Darma (1364-1432). Unpublished, FPMT.
Kano, Kazuo. "rNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine." Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Hamburg, 2006. Contains a critical edition in Wylie transliteration.
Kano, Kazuo. "Buddha-Nature and Emptiness: rNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab and A Transmission of the Ratnagotravibhāga from India to Tibet." WSTB 91. Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde (Vienna Series for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies). Vienna: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, 2016.
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. A Direct Path to the Buddha Within: Go Lotsāwa's Mahāmudrā Interpretation of the Ratnagotravibhāga. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008.
Mathes, Klaus-Dieter. 'Gos Lo tsā ba gZhon nu dpal's Extensive Commentary on and Study of the Ratna-gotravibhāgavyākhyā. In Religion and Secular Culture in Tibet, 79-96. Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies (PIATS), Leiden, 2000. Brill's Tibetan Studies Library vol. 2, bk. 2 . Leiden : Brill, 2002.
Mipham ('jam mgon 'ju mi pham rgya mtsho). A Commentary on the Uttaratantra Shastra (rgyud bla ma). Translated by Padmakara Translation Group, John Canti, forthcoming.
Obermiller, E., tr., Uttaratantra or Ratnagotra-vibhāga: The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation, Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism: The Work of Ārya Maitreya with a Commentary by Āryāsaṅga, Acta Orientalia 9 (1931): 81-306. Re-printed in Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya, 1991. (Translated from Tibetan)
Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya. Containing E.H. Johnston's Sanskrit text and E. Obermiller's English translation. Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica, 79. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1991. (Translated from Tibetan)
Stearns, Cyrus. The Buddha From Dolpo: A Study of the Life and Thought of the Tibetan Master Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen. Tsadra Foundation Series. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2010.
Takasaki, Jikido. A study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra), being a treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha theory of Mahayana Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966. (Translated from Sanskrit)
Thrangu Rinpoche. The Uttara Tantra: A Treatise on Buddha Nature, translated by Ken Holmes and Katia Holmes, edited by Clark Johnson, Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 2001.

Videos[edit]

Mingyur Rinpoche on Buddha Nature

Ringu Tulku on Buddha Nature

Ken Holmes on Buddha Nature

Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche on the Uttaratantra at Rangjung Yeshe Gomde California, 2014

Tai Situpa on the 3 Most Important Sentences Of All Living Beings

Notes[edit]

Besides this text, the only other two known Indian “commentaries” on the Uttaratantra are Vairocanarakṣita’s (eleventh century) very brief ahāyānottaratantraṭippaṇī (eight folios) and Sajjana’s (eleventh/twelfth century) Mahāyānottaratantraśāstropadeśa (a summary in thirty-seven verses). Brunnholzl, K. Luminous Heart pg 403 note 24
For an extensive list of Tibetan Commentaries, see A List of the Commentaries on the Ratnagotravibhāga
Kano, Kazuo, rṄog Blo ldan śes rab's position on the Buddha-nature doctrine and its influence on the early gSaṅ phu tradition. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 32, no. 1-2 (2009) 2010: 249-283.
Mathes, A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, 2
Ibid.
Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine, 17
critically edited by Johnston in Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya. Containing E.H. Johnson's Sanskrit text and E. Obermiller's English translation. Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica, 79. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1991.
Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga, 17
For a detailed discussion regarding the authorship of the verses and prose, see Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga; Takasaki, A study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra), being a treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha theory of Mahayana Buddhism
Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga, 89
Ibid. 90
(a) Atiśa (982–1054) and Nag-tsho Tshul-khrims-rgyal-ba (1011–1064)

(b) rNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab (1059–1109) and Sajjana (late 11th cent.)

(c) sPa-tshab Nyi-ma-grags (b.1055)

(d) Mar-pa Do-pa Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug (1042–1136)

(e) Jo-nang Lo-tsā-ba Blo-gros-dpal (1299–1353 or 1300–1355)

(f) Yar-klungs Lo-tsā-ba Grags-pa-rgyal-mtshan (1242–1346)
Translated in Kazuo's Ph.D. dissertation, "rNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine
Mathes, A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, 3
Burchardi, A Provisional List of Tibetan Commentaries on the Ratnagotravibhāga; Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga (See Appendix G)
Mathes, A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, 3
Ibid., 1
Catalogue information from Phil Stanley and http://web.otani.ac.jp/cri/twrp/tibdate/Peking_online_search.html
Golden Manuscript - Tengyur

[1] Besides this text, the only other two known Indian “commentaries” on the Uttaratantra are Vairocanarakṣita’s (eleventh century) very brief ahāyānottaratantraṭippaṇī (eight folios) and Sajjana’s (eleventh/twelfth century) Mahāyānottaratantraśāstropadeśa (a summary in thirty-seven verses). Brunnholzl, K. Luminous Heart pg 403 note 24

[2] For an extensive list of Tibetan Commentaries, see A List of the Commentaries on the Ratnagotravibhāga

[3] Kano, Kazuo, rṄog Blo ldan śes rab's position on the Buddha-nature doctrine and its influence on the early gSaṅ phu tradition. Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 32, no. 1-2 (2009) 2010: 249-283.

[4] Mathes, A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, 2

[5] Ibid.

[6] Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine, 17

[7] ritically edited by Johnston in Prasad, H. S., ed. The Uttaratantra of Maitreya. Containing E.H. Johnson's Sanskrit text and E. Obermiller's English translation. Bibliotheca Indo-Buddhica, 79. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1991.

[8] Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga, 17

[9] For a detailed discussion regarding the authorship of the verses and prose, see Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga; Takasaki, A study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra), being a treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha theory of Mahayana Buddhism

[10] Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga, 89

[11] Ibid. 90
(a) Atiśa (982–1054) and Nag-tsho Tshul-khrims-rgyal-ba (1011–1064)

(b) rNgog Blo-ldan-shes-rab (1059–1109) and Sajjana (late 11th cent.)

(c) sPa-tshab Nyi-ma-grags (b.1055)

(d) Mar-pa Do-pa Chos-kyi-dbang-phyug (1042–1136)

(e) Jo-nang Lo-tsā-ba Blo-gros-dpal (1299–1353 or 1300–1355)

(f) Yar-klungs Lo-tsā-ba Grags-pa-rgyal-mtshan (1242–1346)

[12] Translated in Kazuo's Ph.D. dissertation, "rNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga: The First Tibetan Commentary on a Crucial Source for the Buddha‐nature Doctrine

[13] Mathes, A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, 3

[14] Burchardi, A Provisional List of Tibetan Commentaries on the Ratnagotravibhāga; Kano, RNgog Blo‐ldan‐shes‐rabʹs Summary of the Ratnagotravibhāga (See Appendix G)

[15] Mathes, A Direct Path to the Buddha Within, 3

[16] Ibid., 1

[17] Catalogue information from Phil Stanley and http://web.otani.ac.jp/cri/twrp/tibdate/Peking_online_search.html

[18] Golden Manuscript - Tengyur

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+*Read the Source Text Here:
+**[[A Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna]] - Multilingual Edition of the root text only
+**[[Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra]] - Multilingual Edition
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-*Read the Source Text Here:
-**[[A Treatise on the Ultimate Continuum of the Mahāyāna]] - Multilingual Edition of the root text only
-**[[Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra]] - Multilingual Edition
 ====Sanskrit Texts====
 *[[Maitreya]]. [[Ratnagotravibhāgamahāyānottaratantraśāstra]] (Theg pa chen po'i rgyud bla ma). D4024. Sanskrit edition by [[E. H. Johnston]]. Patna, India: [[The Bihar Research Society]], 1950 (includes the Ratnagotravibhāgavyākhyā).

Primary Sources: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 12:28, 25 June 2018

The Source Text: The Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།

The Texts

Sanskrit Texts[edit]

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The Mahāyānottaratantra Śāstra

ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱུད་བླ་མའི་བསྟན་བཅོས།

Treatise on the Sublime Continuum or the Ratnagotravibhāga[edit]

How to Study[edit]

How to Contemplate[edit]

How to Meditate[edit]

The Gyü Lama[edit]

The Five Dharmas of Maitreya[edit]

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When The Clouds Part by Karl Brunnhölzl[edit]

Secondary Sources and Further Studies[edit]

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Notes[edit]

The Source Text:
The Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra

Select Tibetan Texts^[2][edit]